First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?
We had Tuesdays off when I was in Pittsburgh – on those days I worked at Merrill Lynch – learning the family business. After football I went to New York and worked at Lehman Brothers for a few years, then opened up my own firm in Ohio – Blue Ridge Capital here in Ohio. My wife and I met in high school in this area so we decided to move back.
Was the post-football adjustment difficult for you?
It’s funny – until I got to the NFL I thought college football was the coolest thing. The NFL was the furthest thing from my mind – I never thought about playing football professionally. When I was done at Michigan I thought about the NFL then – but I didn’t want to be like those guys who hang round the sport and play in Canada and NFL Europe. I didn’t want that.
So, Pittsburgh was the cherry on top for me. I always looked ahead – I didn’t want my tombstone to say “Football was his life” and have a career than ended when I was 24 or 25. I was lucky to stick around as long as I did and experience what I did.
How did you end up in Pittsburgh as a free agent?
I signed with Tennessee originally but pulled my hamstring in mini-camp. I was going at maybe 80 or 90 percent. They cut me which I thought was weird since I thought, maybe I’m being biased, that I played better than some of those other guys they kept.
The Steelers called me a couple of days later and told me they wanted to bring me in – someone else there wasn’t working out for them. I figured I might as well do it – to give it a try. A day later I was at St. Vincents.
That was Ben’s first year. Bettis was there – even though I was from Ohio I was a big Notre Dame fan. The season before the team went 6-10. As an undrafted free agent trying to make the team, you’re really almost waiting for an injury to open up a spot. I was surprised I made the practice squad – I guess they saw I was a hard worker and paid attention.
Did anyone take you under their wing as a rookie?
I think this is something Steelers fans would enjoy hearing. I was shocked at the difference between Tennessee and Pittsburgh. When I went to Pittsburgh it felt like I was back at Michigan – that’s the best way to describe it. It was like a college environment – good guys and a close team, from the owner down.
In Tennessee they joked that the owner had the biggest office in the building but he never went in it.
The Rooneys were there every day. I went to a Catholic high school so practicing at a Catholic campus was interesting. It was a great group of guys that all took me in. In Tennessee it was cutthroat – you were like a number or piece of meat. In Pittsburgh you were a person. No one was a jerk or didn’t help you.
I played nose tackle behind Casey and Hoke. I didn’t get any specific lessons that changed me – I just watched how they and others like Kimo and Aaron Smith carried themselves. Sometimes it’s more about learning what not to do than what to do.
Any good practice squad stories that stand out to you?
I remember being on the scout team – they told you you don’t hit Ben or Jerome. Those were the rules. Well, once I remember shedding a blocker and hitting the hole and ending up face-to-face with Jerome. I stopped – I knew the rule. Well, he made a move and ran by me and all the fans oohed and awed like he made a big move on me. But I stopped!
It amazed me how different players wanted to practice too. Alan Faneca hated to practice and would always get angry if you gave a ton of effort against him. He didn’t need you to help him prepare that much. “I know what I’m doing!” he’d say.
You had to learn how they wanted to prepare – every player was different. You had to prepare them the way they wanted to be prepared. It’s tough because you want to show what you can do too – it’s a fine line. You want to show your skills but you don’t want to get them angry.
So I’d try and help wherever I could – in film study, filling in as an offensive lineman, whatever I could do. I’d look for opportunities to help out where I could.
How was Coach Mitchell to play for?
He gave you a lot of feedback and it was tough, because a lot of times you’d only get four or five reps. So if you messed up one rep it makes you look like a bad player even though you may not be. It was a high stakes environment that way. You got more leeway I guess if you were a proven guy.
Mitch was a good guy though. I got married before the second camp and didn’t think anyone knew. Well he told me one day I needed to stay later after practice. I thought “Is he cutting me?” Well, he ended up giving me a wedding gift – a silver bowl that we still use! I didn’t even know anyone knew I had gotten married.
He was a character too. H loved to talk about wine. After practice he’d talk about wanting to go home and have a bottle of wine with his wife – he had a collection of corks he kept. After Hurricane Katrina – he was from New Orleans – he gave us all a 20-minute lecture on how the levees worked.
It’s interesting because in college the coaches know they have you for four or so years. In the NFL the coaches may only have you for two or three months, so they often work like consultants, helping you out as much as they can before you go.
You also got to play under a legendary coach in Dick LeBeau as well…
What amazed me about Coach LeBeau is – everyone talks about how amazing and dynamic his defense was, but the fascinating thing to me was that his playbook was a quarter of the size of the one I had at Michigan. It was exotic but simple.
In Michigan guys got screamed at if they let up a big play. I remember one time in the film room LeBeau paused to show a guy get beaten deep. “Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes it gets you.” he said. Then he moved on. It was amazing.
Tell me more about how that playbook worked? What made it exotic yet simple?
Well, we had a limit on the number of things we ran. We would run walk-throughs incessantly though against every formation. We did that over and over. We rarely had busted coverages because we went over things over and over and didn’t have many different formations on defense. We just changed looks each play – that’s what made it exotic.
For example, Troy had the deep middle third. But he’d run to the line of scrimmage before the snap to fool the offense. Coach LeBeau knew though that he could get back back in time – he trusted Troy to do that.
Things like that. It was always the same defense, just different looks. We’d move guys around and blitz from different places, but it was the same defense. It was much less complicated as a result.
It comes down to the fact that sometimes coaches try to win games. LeBeau knew that players won the game. Overcomplicating things allows for more problems like blown coverages. He knew that it was the players that won the games.
Any memories stand out to you the most?
I was lucky to have my locker next to Troy Polamalu. He was just an incredible guy – the best player – the most athletic and instinctual player I ever saw on film. He was a huge fan of Gracie JuJitsu – he’d talk about it all the time – he was obsessed with it then.
Another good memory is of my second or third week of my rookie year. I was walking down the hall and I heard someone singing the Notre Dame fight song. This was about a week after Notre Dame beat Michigan. I just kept my head down and kept walking. Well I hear it again and then a guy grabs me from behind – it was Bettis. I didn’t even know he knew who I was. It was the coolest thing – even though he was ribbing me, he knew who I was and that I played at Michigan. He made me feel like I was part of the team. I could understand why guys wanted to win for him.
And of course you were on that Super Bowl team!
Well, let me tell you the story about that – it’s a good story. At the end of camp that season I was cut. Kevin Colbert then told me I shouldn’t give this up. But I didn’t want to wait a year to go through all of this again.
I spent a month or so interviewing then got a job at Lehman Brothers. Well, in the AFC Championship game a Steelers player {Andre Frazier} broke his ankle. I was in a meeting and when I got out I had two calls from my agent and my mother and another from my wife. I found out the Steelers wanted to bring me back fro the Super Bowl – they wanted someone who knew the team and who would fit in without any issues.
I asked my boss if I could go – I had only been there a few months. But they said for that, “Yeah!” The Steelers asked if I was still in shape and I said “Yeah.” – but I had lost 30 pounds since I was in camp. When I got there Larry Foote asked if I was trying to take his spot now – I looked like a linebacker not a lineman!
What do you remember most about that Super Bowl experience?
We were practicing in the Silver Dome in Detroit – and after our last practice I remember the guys were ripping down all of the Super Bowl stuff from the walls – banners and signs and stuff. Hines, Ben – everyone – they were like kids. Everyone was signing stuff for each other. I still have a banner that was signed by just about everyone on the team including Coach Cowher.
I also remember doing shots of Hennessey with Snoop Dogg and have a picture of me with one arm around Troy and another around Hank Williams Jr. But I don’t remember that happening!
After we won we had the parade, then the next day I was back working at Lehman!
What do you think about the game and team today?
Even though I got cut I still have great affection for the franchise. I watched Troy’s Hall of Fame speech and understand why he said what he said. The consistent hand of the Rooney family is why that team is so successful for so long. They don’t sink big money into many free agents and they care about the culture.
I saw the difference with the Tennessee franchise – the Steelers really understand the game. They have no cheerleaders – they have a different feel than other franchises. That’s why most guys want to stay there and why many take less money to do so. They are part of something bigger in Pittsburgh – not just a number.
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