First off, what’s the plan now? What’s next?
That’s a hard question now. My son is involved in coaching now – he’s with the Cowboys. I have two daughters and I’d like to be there as they continue to grow. So I’m on hold right now. I’m still working out and watching film but right now things are on hold.
You’ve coached at all levels – is there a preference now between head coach or coordinator?
It’s all time-consuming. As a head coach you run the whole club – you handle the offense, defense and special teams. It really depends on what you want to do. I think I’d most like at this point to be around younger coaches and helping them develop- that’s the most intriguing thing to me. Like an advisor – for an NFL club.
I was a head coach in the XFL last year and that was fun, dealing with the GM. I had a blast doing that because we could hand-pick our players. That was enjoyable.
Why did you want to be a coach and how did you get started?
I graduated with an Elementary Education degree – it wasn’t something I was thinking of doing then. But I had learned so much from my coaches in Buffalo – Chuck Knox and Tom Catlin. They let me in meetings to see how they ran those and handled players. I always joked that elementary education and coaching players go hand-in-hand!
What about growing up in Pittsburgh influenced you as a player and coach?
Pittsburgh is a sports town. When I moved back everyone wanted to talk to me about the Steelers and Pirates. I still have the Pittsburgh accent – I still say “Dahntahn!” When I go to the gym I still get asked questions: “What do you think about the quarterback?” That kind of stuff. It’s a sports town and if you don’t love sports you’re in the wrong town.
It’s funny, I liked to watch guys like Chuck Noll and Chuck Knox more than I did the players. Knox was from Pittsburgh. They way they ran things and interacted with the other coaches. They were always hard-nosed but loved their players. They demanded a lot from them but treated them well.
I spoke to Levon Kirkland who said it was a love-hate relationship at times as he argued over calls because he said he didn’t understand at the time the whole picture. How hard is that to give the macro and micro view of that stuff to players?
Levon was a hard player to coach early on until he understood things more. He was also newer to the position. Later on he started to understand things more and fell in line. But he fought it at first. It was a lot to ask a young player to run that defense. But to this day he still calls and texts me and stays in touch. We talk weekly.
I recently saw the video of you hitting/bloodying Terry Bradshaw – remember that? What did he say to you?
It’s funny – I was just named Rookie of the Year the day before we went to Pittsburgh for that game. We were not a playoff team and were already down to Pittsburgh I think 14-0. I knew the only way we could win is if we took him out of the game. He took off and ran – he didn’t have his chinstrap on and his helmet came off when I kicked him in his head. I was thrown out of the game after that and people were throwing things at me. I still hear about that today.
The funny thing to, when I was the head coach in New Orleans Terry was doing TV – covering football. But he wouldn’t talk to me. He still won’t – he hasn’t talked to me since!
Does having played really make a huge difference as a coach?
It helped me. Getting to sit in Tom Catlin’s and Chuck Knox’s office and watching film and learning from them as a player – you don’t get that experience now playing. So it helped me get into the profession and learn from guys like that.
What brought you to Pittsburgh from New Orleans to be the defensive coordinator in ’97? What sold you on the job and why did they look at you?
Bill Cowher let Dick LeBeau go and offered me the job. I was hesitant – Dick LeBeau was a great coach and I was going to be the guy replacing him. I didn’t even interview for the job. Bill just knew what he wanted.
What did they ask of you in the interview – what were they wanting you to focus on most?
I had to learn their system – they didn’t want me to bring any changes. So I was like a new player in that it was all new and I had to learn it just like them. I told Bill that I was new – that if there was something he felt I needed to change to talk to me and let me know. But everything was to be done their way. If I wanted to change anything I had to run it by Bill first.
What are some of the more poignant and fun memories of your time there?
It was truly a unique situation. We had the greatest owner ever, in my opinion. Donohoe was an unbelievable GM and Cowher surrounded himself with great coaches like Mike Archer, Bill Mitchell and Tim Lewis. It wasn’t hard to be a good defense with the guys we had like Greene, Lloyd, Vrabel, Kirkland, Olsavsky – we had just drafted Porter too. We should have won more Super Bowls
You were there for three years – how hard was it to leave and what was that discussion like?
It was hard to leave. I grew up in Pittsburgh and had family here. My wife was from here. We had kids here. But I left to take over a team that needed help in New Orleans, and I knew the GM. Randy Mueller was a good guy and I was familiar with him and the team having been there before. I knew what I was getting into. If it was any other place it would have bene harder.
It’s hardest I think on the wives. Packing up three kids and a dog – it’s not fun for the women in this business!
What did Bill say to you?
When I accepted the job I didn’t tell Bill at first. I wanted to tell him in person but it got in the papers before I could do it. Bill was pissed. I was going to tell him that day but it was too late – it got into the paper first.
Do you like the way the sport has changed/evolved over the years – especially as a defensive-minded coach?
I think it’s simpler now. Everyone wants to run 11-personnel and three wide receivers. I think it makes it simpler for the defense but you have to have more great players.
Is it harder to cover up for the weaknesses in defenses/talent now for a coach?
I think how you utilize players’ strengths and weaknesses – how you help them or not as a coach – that’s the stuff that goes into every gameplan and how you approach the draft. That hasn’t changed. I just think what offenses can do now has changed things dramatically.
How involved were you in the draft in Pittsburgh?
All the coaches were involved in the draft in Pittsburgh. Donohoe was the best at that – he gave lists to every coach and we had certain guys we needed to look at and rank. Every organization should let their coaches have opinions on players. We know what we want for our schemes – what works best.
I got excited in every player. Every player can do something – it’s up to us to find their strengths and weaknesses and utilize those strengths. You hope you do a good job of due-diligence.
Any players surprise you?
In New Orleans we had a guy who could run ok and was athletic – but we didn’t know how good he was. That was Joe Horn – he snuck up on me the most.
In Pittsburgh there really wasn’t someone like that because we were already so deep. We had more good outside linebackers than we could handle then.
Any memories stand out to you the most of your time in Pittsburgh?
One funny one was with Levon Kirkland. When we went to the Pro Bowl he did something in practice and I yelled at him. I got mad at him during the game and pulled him because he wasn’t in shape and he yelled at me. I yelled at him that he was too fat – that he was 300 pounds and all he did was eat and drink! We were both just angry. We had a love-hate relationship between the two of us.
But I’ll tell you this about the kind of person Levon is. When my daughter wanted to go to Clemson he helped talk to the folks in admissions. She has since graduated and worked for the Outback Bowl, the U.S. Olympic Team, Redskins and then worked for a startup – as the VP of Consumer Affairs at DraftKings! When I talk to her and ask her if she needs anything she tells me she’s making way more than I am!
I am proud of all of my kids. My son is working for the Cowboys and my daughter is at Blue Cross Blue Shield. They are all doing well.
That’s a tribute to their parents!
Thank you! I am proud of all of them!
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
