First, can you let me know what you’ve been doing since your time in the NFL?
I’ve been working as a behavioral interventionalist at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District in Carrollton Texas – I’ve been here for over 19 years now.
After Pittsburgh I worked for 15 years as a juvenile probation officer in Fort Worth and owned a couple of business. I’ve always worked with children and families.
What inspired you to work with children?
I was raised in a family of servant leaders. My father was a pastor – he was a mover and a shaker in his small town for civil rights issues. I grew up in that vein.
Was the post-football adjustment difficult for you?
It was incredibly easy for me. I always considered myself a civilian. People often look at athletes and see them as otherworldly – but I always saw myself as a civilian. I wasn’t in Pittsburgh long anyway. But my family kept me grounded.
How did you end up in Pittsburgh that strike season?
An injury kept me out of the last four or five games of my Senior year at Tulsa. I didn’t plan to play elsewhere after that. I was working two part-time jobs when I got a phone call from the Steelers to come in. I wasn’t in shape – I was barely working out. But I guess they remembered me from one of the Tulsa Pro Days.
The asked me if I could come in – they needed guys because of the strike. They sent me a plane ticket and the next day I was on my way to Johnstown, where they were practicing. It was a brief camp – two weeks later I was on a plane to Atlanta for our first game!
How did you get acclimated so quickly to be able to play?
It was an odd time. I showed up and they had me play a position I never played before. They put me at nosetackle – I was a linebacker in college. I never played in a three-point stance before in my life.
It was tough overall – playing a new position – and coming in after not having played any football for over a year – I didn’t even have pads on for a year. It was difficult – I didn’t even know anything about the technique to play nosetackle.
Who helped you to learn the position – and how?
Joe Greene was my position coach and he helped. Mike Minter was from North Texas so I spoke with him a lot. He was a jovial, easy loving guy to talk to.
What they both taught me most was to “Shoot the gap!” Mike Webster was there at center and he cleaned my clock every day. I weighed 250 pounds at the time – most linebackers then weighed around 210 or 220. I watched the other players a lot to learn from them. Tommy Dawkins was another guy I watched a lot.
I was a quick study. I only played one year of football in high school so I had to pick up football pretty quick when I got to Tulsa. I was used to that.
Any fun or poignant moments there stand out?
Nothing remarkable. It was a pretty tense time. I got an apartment and roomed with Spark Clark. We were careful not to get into any trouble. We wanted to take advantage of the chance as best we could – and no one knew when how long it would last – when the strike would end.
Did you hear or experience any anger from the veterans that were on strike?
My upbringing taught me to take one day at a time – not to borrow on tomorrow’s troubles. No one expressed any anger towards me that I saw. Stallworth came back before the last game and he and I talked. Frank Pollard also was there – he was from a small town close to where I grew up and we shared some friends, so I felt comfortable around those guys.
How did the coaching staff bring all of you together and get you all on the same page?
It’s not hard to play football if you focus on the basics. Those are the same in high school, college and the pros. That’s what they did. We all came in from quality college programs. Tony Dungy – he was a calming presence. The experience was all business. I never spoke to Chuck Noll though.
What did they tell you once the strike ended?
The NFL then was a full-time job – it wasn’t like college. There were no classes. When the strike was about to end they brought us all in for a group meeting. They told us some would be kept but most would not. I got a lot of correspondence from New England afterwards. Pittsburgh sold my rights to them for one dollar! I think they had to do that for collective bargaining purposes. I wasn’t savvy about those things.
I just clearly remember that by the time I got it figured out how to play nosetackle I was released. It was just too late for me.
Are you close to the game today?
I am yes. I’m a fan of the game and am close to the game. I’m involved with the NFL Alumni Association and am close to a lot of the guys like Love Smith. A lot of the guys I played with coach or are around the game in other ways. If the right opportunity came up I would do more as well.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
