First, what’s next for you now that the Shear Da Beard event is done?
Well, it was an awesome ride from 2010 – a decade of beards. It was a great accomplishment – I’m not bashful when I say that it’s been a great 10 years where we raised over a million dollars for sick kids at Childrens Hospital.
The Steelers fans made it happen with their support – them showing up is the reason why we had such great success.
Next up for me is a wide canvas. I have lots of options. I started Mighty Oak Adventures a few years ago – that offers leadership and teambuilding exercises in outdoor settings. It’s a refreshing way to get people out of the office. I’ve been doing that since 2015 and it’s been growing as well.
You and your wife also seem to get involved in so many charities. What drives that for you?
I met so many great people – had so many great relationships when I was playing. Make a Wish kids would just want to spend a day, an hour with you. It put things in perspective for me. Aaron Smith’s son who had Leukemia -he was a great inspiration for me too. Just all of those families I met and helping kids – taking them fishing – doing whatever. The interaction with the fans like that is the main reason for me.
Was the post-NFL adjustment difficult for you? So many guys seem to struggle…
The first year was tough, especially after playing as long as I did. By body was trained to be ready in July for training camp. Things were just laid out for you that way. Regardless of how much you plan and prepare for life after football you never anticipate that wall you have to climb.
I was fortunate that I had a little bit of a plan. Things I used when I was with the Steelers helped me after football. Getting people to sit across each other at a campfire – you never know what that can create for people. I think that really helped me making those relationships. It was a blessing to be a Steeler and have those.
Was it hard at all being a cult celebrity figure in a sports town like Pittsburgh? Is there an added pressure?
The fans were such a blessing to me. To be drafted and play for a town where sports are such a big part of the culture and pastime…I felt the same way about the fans so it wasn’t hard for me. They saw that I think. I treated then the way I wanted to be treated – with respect. If they wanted to give high fives I was all for it. I’d give them right back.
What were your thoughts, going back, on being drafted by Pittsburgh?
I thought I’d go mid-round – so it was a mixed feeling. I had a draft party day one with family and friends, and it carried over to day two. The next day I think the people thought this was a dud! In the seventh round though Bill Cowher called me and asked me what I knew about Pittsburgh and whether I wanted to be a Steeler. I was elated to be drafted and wanted by an NFL team. A lot of players don’t get that opportunity. I wanted to get the draft behind me. As a seventh round pick, I thought maybe there was something teams didn’t understand about me. I wanted to go in and prove that I was a high-caliber player.
Anyone help mentor you when you got there as a young player?
Chris Hoke – I knew him and saw that he worked his tail off as an undrafted free agent to make the team. I thought if he could do that I could as a seventh round pick – that I had a shot too. He was a friendly face to have in the locker room.
John Mitchell from the moment I got there told me to keep my eyes on number 91- Aaron Smith. He was the yard dog for so long and one of the best 3-4 defensive linemen in the game, if not the best. I watched him and constantly asked him questions. And it really paid off.
What specifically did he show you?
Just his work ethic. He was the first one in and the last one our of the building every day. I tried working out with him but it didn’t work out. I couldn’t keep up – he’d max out every day. We disagreed on some things on training – he was different than anything I was accustomed to in regards to training. He was an iron horse. He didn’t just train to get the training in. He wanted to get better every day,
Aaron told me a lot about his hate then love for Coach Mitchell. What are your memories of working with Coach Mitchell?
I definitely had the same experience. Mitch was very tough on young guys. Coming from the outside in, it’s hard to understand. It didn’t seem like he let up even when you did something right – he’d still correct something you did. As a young guy it’s tough. Coming from a college atmosphere where mostly what you hear is positive things all the time, it’s tough. He was hard, but rightfully so.
Mitch was the first black player to play at Alabama and had a hard-nosed football life. He wanted players who wouldn’t buckle under pressure in the fourth quarter. He wanted to see if you could handle the pressure and not buckle under it. If you buckled he would say he couldn’t count on you. But if you tried and showed him respect, and if you just kept showing up and did anything to get his respect, he loved guys like that.
You ended up being a leader on those teams. How hard is it balancing being a leader and having a big personality without crossing perceived lines with players, coaches and fans?
When I was young and I first went into the locker room, I saw number 36, Jerome Bettis’ name on a wooden nameplate. I couldn’t believe I was in the same locker room as him. Bruener, Faneca, Gildon – I saw how they did it and fell in line.
I’ll never forget, I was a young player walking to my car after practice when Dan Rooney walked up to me and asked me to be more vocal – to be a leader. I couldn’t believe it – why me? He must have saw something in me I didn’t see in myself then. That was the motivation I needed to stand up and say the things I knew needed to be said. I tried to be accountable and to respect my peers and give it my all.
When all is said and done, whether it’s in middle school, high school, college or the pros, you want to know you finished the game giving it your everything. To have no regrets. That’s how I feel I left it with the Steelers.
Any fun stories you can share of your time there?
I think it was in my third year – I had come off IR. I grew a beard out while I was getting back in shape and someone gave me a hard time about it so I shaved it. Well, Casey Hampton and I had breakfast every day together. That day I sat at the table when Casey came up to me, stuck his hand out. and introduced himself and asked me where I came from. He had no idea who I was. That was my first indication of how different I looked without a beard!
You were there when Tomlin came in and replaced Coach Cowher. What did Tomlin do to win the players over, from your perspective?
Tomlin came in and set the tone right away. He knew he had a good team and quality players that could make a run for the Super Bowl. He wanted us to know that he was going to run things his way though. I respected him for that. It was refreshing to have a new perspective on everything.
I loved Cowher for his demeanor and the way he ran the team, but I loved Tomlin too for how he did things. Each had their unique quirks. Tomlin started the “News” in meetings. He’d show guys things they did wrong in meetings on film. “This guy got pancaked today!”
No one wanted to make the news and be put on blast in front of the whole team! After a while he let it progress so there was some fun stuff in it too. It was awesome how he handled things – he was a players’ coach. He wanted to hear from the players – he didn’t brush them off. He was bought into the team and we all saw that.
You were there in Pittsburgh for 13 years which is so rare nowadays – I’m sure you had chances to play elsewhere over your career. Why did you stay?
Yeah – there were opportunities. But I wanted to be with the guys in the locker room. We had such a bond for such a long time with many of the guys there. I spoke to guys on other teams in the league – you see that what you have in Pittsburgh is rare. The environment on the Steelers – the way they do it is unique. The vets help the younger players and we all look out for one another. It’s not like that everywhere. I’m grateful to the Rooneys for wanting to keep me. I went from special teams to starting on defense to becoming team captain. It’s like the American dream – starting from nothing and finding success. Our names are on the Lombardi forever. That’s not too shabby!
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
