First, can you let me know about all the things you’ve bene doing lately?
I’m doing a couple of things. I’m working with my training program working with young people to develop their physical mental and emotional skills. It’s important that kids know that training is not just about the physical stuff – a big part of being an athlete is dealing with the emotional and mental parts of the game. So I work with them on that.
I’m also doing speaking engagements and looking to get my book published and doing podcasts as well. I have lots of irons in different things – and I coached for Fox Chapel last year and imagine I’ll be doing that again as well.
It’s been a great road I’ve been on. I like to think of it as me recycling my career!
Any mentors that helped shape your approach to coaching and training?
Definitely it started with my first team – my family. My mom and dad were my first coaches. When I got older it was easy for me to hear what the coaches were telling me because I heard those same things from my parents – work hard, do your best, be considerate… I already heard those things.
As I got older and more mature, I saw some things differently, as people do. You go through experiences that mold you – and how you respond to those things I always found interesting. It’s how you respond to things. Things happened to me – in relationships, in sports. It’s still people who play sports. Underneath the uniforms, we are people first.
Anyone besides your parents help influence you?
I played at the high school college and pro levels, and frankly speaking, I was often challenged to see if I really wanted to do this. I’ve been in programs that were dropped, been through strike seasons and seasons cut short. It makes you think if I really want to do this. Sometimes it’s not an easy thing to do – making decisions at a young age. You just want a sense of less derailment in your life sometimes, and it’s hard to get that in sports.
Sports brings out the competitive nature in people, but it can be disappointing and hurtful when coaches are yelling at you…
I will say Jim Taylor – my Pee Wee League coach – he made football inviting for me. He was a tall guy and I was an introverted, shy kid. But he made it easy for me to get involved in the game. It was intimidating but I enjoyed it.
And my high school, college, and pro coaches all had a caring link. They were very unusual in that they were uniquely caring and compassionate coaches.
Moving forward – how did you get the job as the Steelers Director of Player Personnel?
I was drafted by the Eagles and played for them for four years. That’s where I met Bill Cowher. We were on the team together there. I introduced myself to him int he locker room then – we weren’t best friends or anything but we were on special teams together – on the same kickoff team.
Well, I missed a block on a kickoff and went to the sidelines after the play, and saw after that Cowher was down on the field. That guy ended up hitting Cowher and injuring him. It was Cowher’s last play in the NFL.
The next season he ended up coaching in Cleveland. That year, Cleveland traded for me, and I ended up playing for him! Cowher would talk to the special teams guys about the importance of doing their jobs and making their blocks, and would tell the players that I was the reason he wasn’t playing any more. I said “No! I’m the reason you got into coaching!”
Then years later I read the Cowher got the head coaching job in Pittsburgh, so I thought I’d send him my resume. The next day I got a call from him asking me to come in and talk to him about a new job. I went in and as I sat down I saw his secretary bring him the mail with my letter and resume! So he called me before he read it – he just thought I’d be good for the job.
What does the job consist of, specifically?
My job was less about evaluating and coaching players than it was about bringing them external information. If a guy wanted to go back to school to get a degree, I’d help the players do that and to work with them to find something they may be interested in. – the fields that interested them. Then I’d help find a school or program they’d like and show them they could do that while playing football.
I also brought in instructors from schools like Duquesne to show players how to manage money – from setting up accounts to doing taxes. I advocated for this program as well as just offering personal assistance to players. Everything from helping them with their moving and real estate needs to finding the right charities for them to work with,
How hard is it convincing players to take advantage of these opportunities? Do they feel like concentrating on life after football threatens their mindset on playing football?
It takes a lot of focus to be above the norm in sports. I understand that. But you have to think about life after football while p[laying. Sometimes it’s just abut making relationships while playing so you’re ready after football. It can be uncomfortable to think about what to do after football I know. But it’s not a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you play football, you’re used to being evaluated daily. That can motivate guys in unique ways. There’s not many things out there that can derail you and drive you as easily in the business world. You need to find something that gives you that same desire and spark – something that matters to you. And then find a way to make plays in this new thing.
What motivates you in this work?
I’ve worked with kids who were 10, and seeing them now at 16 years old and the dramatic changes in them – emotional as well as physical – that’s why I work with these kids. I love when parents tell me they thought the kids got so much more out of things than they expected. Sometimes you have to suffer through things to develop and be your best. It’s almost like a ministry – it can be tough but it’s nothing they can’t do with guidance – with someone who is there to help them. I’m there to help them do whatever they want to do.
And in terms of your work with the Steelers?
People tell me I must have been a great player in college to have made it as far as I did. But they don’t know how I got there. I sat on the bench for the most part at Ohio State after transferring there from Villanova. After my senior season was over I decided to go Ohio State’s pro day on my own to see if I could take part in it. I didn’t know much about it. I was there in my grey shorts and sweatshirts while all of the top guys were there in their Nikes and gear. A coach asked me what I was doing there and I told him I was thinking maybe I could run for the scouts. He told me though that the pro day wasn’t just for anyone – it was just for the all-pro guys. I told him I didn’t know that so went and sat down and watched.
Soon after another coach came over and told me it was good seeing me and asked me what I was doing there. I told him what the first coach said and he told me he could get me on the list since I was there anyway. I was embarrassed – I said no at first. But after he asked me a few times I said ok. After I ran, one of the NFL scouts asked who I was and said I had a good time on my run.
They asked who my agent was. I laughed – agent? I gave them my number and told them I’m staying in the dorms if they needed to reach me there! My roommate was an entomologist – he had posters of bugs all over our room. On draft day he told me some guy – “Vermal…Vurmine…was trying to call me. I said “Dick Vermeil??” I thought it was a joke at first when he told me I had been drafted.
When I was traded from the Eagles to Cleveland, I found out when I was watching tv and they announced the trade on tv. I was there when we lost to Elway and the Broncos on “The Drive”. I never got a chance to be part of a Super Bowl until the Steelers played Dallas.
The point is all of this tests you not just physically – but mentally and emotionally. Helping others through the same types of situations I’ve been through – that’s what motivates me.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
