First off, I know you got into coaching after football – how did that start?
After I was done playing I had no idea what to do next. I kind of fell into coaching. I got word through the Polynesian community that a coaching job opened up and got hired as an offensive line coach. I stayed with coaching and am now the defensive line coach for Mesa High School in Arizona.
I know a lot of guys that coach end up coaching the other side of the ball like you’re doing now -how helpful is that to approach it that way – I know Jon Kolb did that in Pittsburgh?
Well when I was at Rutgers I was originally a defensive lineman. I was a Juco transfer and was recruited as a defensive lineman. But there were injuries there on the offensive line so they asked me to play both ways. As a Junior I went back to playing defense then played on the offensive line as a Senior.
How tough is that switching back and forth like that?
My last year in college Coach Flood had me as an offensive guard – that’s all I knew. When I got to the NFL I didn’t understand things like blitz coverages. At Rutgers Darnell Stapleton was my center and he would tell me what to do – what guys to block. But in the NFL you have to know those things. So it was overwhelming for me.
How did you handle that?
Alan Faneca saw that I was struggling – that I was having trouble. He pulled me aside and had me go up to his room to talk through it. He simplified things for me the first time – we went over it all – then told me to bring the other rookies with me next time so he could help us all out. That really helped me those last three preseason games. That was really cool.
In Green Bay they switched me to center – that’s when I really learned everything.
Did you know the Steelers had interest in you before you were drafted?
No – I thought I’d be a second or third round pick. Atlanta and the Patriots showed interest. When it was the fifth round Detroit’s offensive line coach called me – then I got a call on the other line. It was the Steelers – I forget who it was but they asked if I was by a TV. I said ‘Yeah.” They said “Look at the screen.” Then I saw them announce that Pittsburgh selected Cameron Stephenson! I said ‘Oh shit!” Then Mike Tomlin called and welcomed me to the Steelers. I was so happy I was going to get to play with Troy Polamalu!
Did you know at the time the Polynesian player connection the Steelers seemed to have then?
Yeah – Polynesian players know the other Polys in the NFL. Kemoeatu, Troy, Marvin Philip, Shaun Nua….. It was overwhelming. I grew up in Southern California and watched USC. They had a mentoring program where the Poly players mentored inner city Polys.
The first guy to welcome me to the team was Troy – he gave me a big hug and said “Welcome Ooos!” I played it cool but inside I was so excited. I’d get to go over his house and hang out at times.
I know you were born in Australia – how did you get interested in football?
We moved to the states when I was seven – we’d go back to Australia every year and I’d play rugby. That helped me to be aggressive and be athletic. I thought I was going to play in the NBA but I stopped growing when I got to 6’4″. I also did track at high school – we had to do track and I did shotput and discus.
Any memories stand out to you from your time there?
I got my first concussion playing in my first day in pads in Pittsburgh. We were doing double-team drills with Sean Mahan and Alan Faneca. I eased up a bit and got the hardest hit ever. They came off the ball and boom – I got hit so hard I blacked out. I shook it off and went again after that – but that was my “Hello” to the NFL.
I also remember going to the Steak n Shake drive through. Me, Darnell, Nua, Kemoeatu and Mahan…we were all in the car. We had all gone out that night – I didn’t drink – I never drank in a new area – I didn’t trust anyone to do that. But we had gone out and were exhausted and in the drive-through we all fell asleep! I woke up and was just like “Oh shit!” and apologized then!
I know you played for a number of teams and leagues over your career – how difficult was that for you to navigate?
It was very hard – I regret hanging it up when I did. I did it because I was bouncing around – I just wanted t be a regular person. But I regretted it. It was hard to figure out where you fit in as lower round pick. You’re just waiting for injuries to get an opportunity. You start looking at which teams would have the highest probability of injury just to get a chance. It sucks. You build relationships with those guys and in the back of your head your hoping and not hoping at the same time for an injury so you can get a chance. It sucks.
When I was with the Chargers my wife was pregnant with my third son. She was in labor and I was trying to make the team. I felt I couldn’t leave – but then the doctor called telling me she had an artery burst after pregnancy and she was going into emergency surgery. I was three days away from the game and I was starting. I had all of these emotions. I had to make the team for my family – even if she passes I have to provide for my kids. I had so many mixed emotions. It was hard to know what the right decision was.
I loved all the teams I played for though – I loved playing with Aaron Rodgers. The team I didn’t like was the Eagles – that was my worst experience in the NFL. It was my third team – I went there after Green Bay released me – that was when Brett Favre came back. Philadelphia was just empty promises and when they let me go they did it by calling me and telling me I needed to go to the facility and meet with security. The security guy walked me to my locker and got my playbook and other stuff then walked me out of the building. That was it – I didn’t talk to anybody.
You played with Aaron Rodgers – any good stories on playing with Aaron?
Aaron was awesome. He took care of us. For Christmas he bought the entire number two linemen MacBooks. Brett Favre didn’t get us anything! We thought that was funny.
Aaron’s house was always open in the offseason for us to hang out. He beat me in ping-pong – he was the self-anointed ping-pong champion. He had a chef that was always there cooking for people. I see the media bashing him all the time but he was the most awesome guy to all of us.