First, what have you been doing with yourself since your time in the NFL?
Well, I have five kids, four that are in sports. It’s definitely been busy – a busy part of the season for us. I work for Farmer’s Insurance – I manage the retirement investment business for most of the Southern United States.
I run around a lot but I also get to work out of the house and be around the for the kids – get to take them to school. So that’s fun for me. I always wanted to have more fun where I am now that where I was before, and I think I’m doing that.
Was the post-NFL adjustment difficult?
Immediately after I was wondering what I do now. It’s an awkward stage – you’re in a different place than 99% of the population. I remember asking myself what I should do next. Friends asked me what I was passionate about, and I thought, like, football! That was my mistake in college – not doing internships and learning about different fields.
I always joked that I was a nice guy, but once a year I’d have this intense rage when someone pissed me off. That’s why I couldn’t become a coach. It was just take one kid to mouth off and I’d do something politically incorrect and get fired! So, coaching was not in my future!
So, the transition takes a while. I know guys who just retired and I tell them to take it one step at a time. For me, my NFL career didn’t allow me to make enough money to last the rest of my life, so I knew I had to do something fast!
But you did stay involved in the NFL by being on the board of the Austin Chapter of the NFL Alumni Association. How did that come about?
Actually, Dan Neill, the University of Texas offensive lineman and Pro Bowl lineman for Denver asked me. We were playing golf and asked why I don’t do it. I didn’t think I could be a member but he said of course I can be part of it.
Really, I started doing it because, as a Christian, I realized that I donated money to charities but I wasn’t putting in the time and service to help others. The organization fits me. The Austin Chapter helps children’s charities and helps me to donate my time to those.
The chapter’s main focus is helping children. But we also do a great job helping former players out too. We actually set up a fund for a former player with health issues and it’s gone over well. We help them financially but also spend time with former players. We have become a support system.
Getting into your time in Pittsburgh – you signed with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Why Pittsburgh?
It was interesting. Several teams said they would draft me, but none of them did. Literally one minute after the draft though, I started getting phone calls. I didn’t know what to do, honestly. I realized though that after not being drafted, I had a choice on where to play!
To be real direct, my agent didn’t do a whole lot of research on where I should go – where would be a great fit for me. What teams had needs where and what players were there for how long. I knew I wasn’t going to go somewhere and beat out a first team Pro Bowl guy. So I didn’t really know where a good fit would be. My agent told me I should just sign with the team that offered me the most money. I thought that made sense, sure. They wanted me more, so sure. Looking back on it, it was kind of stupid. We really didn’t do that much research on it.
I will say going to a team that had Russ Grimm as the offensive line coach helped – it all lined up and helped it make sense. I learned more in one week with Russ Grimm than I did my entire college career! It’s amazing what he knew. I thought that if I had this kind of coaching in college, I could have been awesome!
Did any of the players help you that year – and how, if so?
Jeff Hartings – thought I don’t know if he would have considered it that way. But he helped me. I kind of shuffled over to him. He shared knowledge with me on how to play and, with his Christian values, it was a good fit for me. He had kids and adopted others. He was a good person for me to be around – a good influence for me on and off the field.
Any fun stories you can share with me about your time in Pittsburgh?
One of my favorites yeah. I actually just shared this the other day with a friend. I took my daughter to support her cheerleading team during a game at her school. My friend was hearing a lot of pops on the field – a lot of big hits – all coming from the other team! He asked me what big hits I remember when I played. I told him the biggest one was in practice in Pittsburgh!
We were going over some new counter plays – working on those and how to pull around the corner. We were going over stuff and Russ Grimm looked at me and told me I was supposed to cut the middle linebacker on that play, which in practice would have been Kendrell Bell. But he told me, if you cut Kendrell Bell, I’ll fire you! He said it jokingly, but he was 100% serious. So I said ok, I’ll just hit him. Literally, the difference though in technique between a cut block and just hitting him was about three inches in my shoulder being up or slightly down.
So, during the practice, we’re running at full speed. I get around the corner and lowered my shoulder and remembered I didn’t want to get fired, so I moved my shoulder up just slightly when I got hit by Kendrell so hard I literally got flipped over. I was over 300 pounds. It was ugly.
So, the next day, we’re all watching film with Russ Grimm, and he stops the film and tells everyone to watch Matt on this play. He plays it and rewinds it a number of times and everyone’s screaming and laughing. Finally, he said ok, that I did a good job and what he asked me to do. Then he said, ok let’s watch it again!
So, any repercussions from the play with Kendrell?
Well, the next day we had a night scrimmage in front of the fans. We ran a play and I was supposed to get on Kendrell on the play. He rushed in and it was one of those plays – my facemask on his chin – I slammed him on his back. It was one of those blocks that was so solid you don’t even feel the other guy. I was laying on top of him as the play was running past us and he got so mad he benched press me and threw me off of him.
The next day, I walked out and saw Tim Lewis, the defensive coordinator, sitting on a wall outside our meeting room. Next to him on the right was Kendrell – no one was sitting on his left. He asked me to sit down next to him and told me that I had one minute to say anything I wanted to Kendrell. Then it was over. he gave me permission to talk shit for the entire minute if I wanted too. The entire defense was there watching, but I just said no thanks. The whole defense was jumping up and down watching us!
Lastly, the team released you at the end of the season. What happened- what did they tell you?
They told me thanks for being there when they needed me. Jeff Hartings was hurt, but then he returned and they had Chukky Okobi behind him already. Also, another guy got hurt so they needed to being someone else in. They just told me they were sorry. It’s just part of the business. It’s not what you want to hear, but it was interesting.
My career didn’t last long. But I was talking to a guy who spent eight years in the league and was released. No one is ready for that. Few get to leave the league on their own terms.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
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