First, give me a quick rundown on all that you’re doing sine you just retired?
Currently, I’m doing media work for the Steelers – the two-hour radio show and I also do my own podcast – the Arthur Moats Experience. That’s twice a week. And i recently wrote a book – MOATS Theory of Life. And a ton of media stuff!
Tell us more about the book – why you wrote it and what message you were hoping to deliver to readers?
My thought process was that I wanted to be an author – Arthur the author! I didn’t want to write an autobiography – I wanted to write something that would help people be inspired and impactful in life. I learned a lot of lessons from football and life in general and wanted to help educate people on how to be better as people.
You just recently retired. How has the post-NFL adjustment been for you so far? You seem to have hit the ground running…
It’s safe to say I’ve hit the ground running yeah. I know a lot of guys do struggle – they don’t have any plans – their identities are tied to their jersey numbers.
I listened to the older guys I played with and talked too. They taught me to have a plan. The end comes for every player whether you play for two years or 20. And you’re still going to be a young guy when it’s over. My fourth season I started looking at different things that I might be interested in doing when I retired. I did a lot of radio and TV – I knew I had an interest in that – to get comfortable and to see if I liked it. When I officially retired, I knew then what I wanted to do and had already made the connections.
Stepping back – you signed with Pittsburgh in free agency – what made you decide to sign with the Steelers?
I just came off of my best season in Buffalo – I played inside linebacker. But they just brought in Doug Marrone and were switching management. They wanted to bring in players that fit their system which was understandable. So I thought first of Cleveland as my number one team to sign with since Mike Pettine was now there and I played under him – I knew the transition would be easier. But Cleveland had no stability there either – it was the same as what I just experienced in Buffalo, with different head coaches and general managers. I didn’t want to go down that road again.
New England was another team I had considered, but I viewed them as a rival team and I just couldn’t play for them. I got a call from Mike Tomlin who told me the Steelers were looking for edge rushers. He remembered me when I was a pass rusher at James Madison – he was from William and Mary so our colleges were close to each other and rivals. He asked if I’d have interest in playing outside linebacker. Cleveland and New England offered me more money, but Tomlin said he’d give me a one-year deal and if it worked out they’d give me a bigger contract afterwards. It was a leap of faith for me, but I had his word and I was a fan of his work.
I thought of all the legendary players that played in Pittsburgh. If you could play there, I thought you could play anywhere. You can question your own ability when you play for a bad team – and Buffalo then wasn’t a good team. Does being a bright spot on a bad team mean you’re really a good player? So I challenged myself = it was an opportunity to prove my ability to myself.
Of course once you re-signed, they drafted Bud Dupree round one. Was that frustrating for you?
I wouldn’t say I was frustrated – more … surprised. I just signed the extension but I knew it was a possibility that they’d draft a linebacker. Jason Worilds had just retired and Harrison was still retired then as well. At the time the only outside linebackers on the roster were me and Jarvis Jones. Actually, the same argument I used in my contract negotiations was the same for them drafting Bud, in that regard.
I was going into my sixth year, and I remembered as a rookie veterans molding me as a replacement for them. Those guys helped me early in my career. And there was one that wasn’t so open to helping me too. I told myself I would be a mentor and do things the right way. I remembered feeling supported and not supported and wanted to make sure I supported the younger players.
What were the biggest differences between Pittsburgh and Buffalo?
The biggest thing was the family feeling. We talk about it a lot and you can’t take it for granted. That was the biggest difference between the Steelers and Bills. I maybe talked to the owner in Buffalo two times and I doubt he even remembered my name. Dan and Art – I can’t count the number of conversations we had every week – and they weren’t about football. They asked about my family – about my wife’s pregnancy. It starts at the top. I remember driving my car to the stadium and seeing that the Rooneys had no reserved parking spot – they waited in line just like everyone else. Seeing that was so dramatically different.
It’s also how put together the organization is. Every year you knew who your coaches were and what guys were coming back. In Buffalo you’d get texts from coaches saying it was a blast working with you, or from new coaches introducing themselves and telling you you’re playing a new position. You didn’t have to worry about switching defenses and positions in Pittsburgh like that.
You did have one coaching switch in Pittsburgh – from LeBeau to Butler. How did that go for you? What were the differences in those two?
Remember Butler was my position coach before he took over as coordinator, so the move was not drastic. The change wasn’t like when I was in Buffalo and Edwards ran a 3-4, then Wannstedt came in and changed it to a 4-3, then Pettine changed it again to a 4-3 multiple. That was all over a four-year period. You could never get a good understanding of the scheme and your position.
LeBeau and Butler were close to the same kinds of coaches. Of course Butler coached under LeBeau and was molded by him. From a situational standpoint though they could be different, LeBeau would have 40-50 playcalls a game and if you didn’t know them you didn’t play. Butler would adjust more. Sometimes players couldn’t keep up and he’d have as little as 10 playcalls a game.
Butler had a younger defense though right?
Definitely – that’s true.
Who were some of the guys that helped you adjust to Pittsburgh’ when you signed with them?
Harrison, Timmons and Polomalu were the biggest three. I was a big fan of Harrison as a rookie – I used to watch film of him because we were similar in size. I would gravitate towards him and watch him – he helped me grow as a player a lot.
Timmons was a good guy to talk to about understanding the playbook. And Troy – whenever you have a chance to hang around Hall of Fame players – to learn how they trained and watched film to get better – well that’s what I did.
Any fun memories that stand out to you?
I always laugh at the first time meeting James Harrison. As I said – I studied a lot of film on him – his pass rush moves. I was a fan of his work. When I signed with the Steelers I told my wife I couldn’t wait to see him and the other guys in person.
When I first saw Harrison, I was in the locker room and saw him there. I called my wife and told her I was going to introduce myself to him. I went over to him to say what’s up when he turned around with that crazy look he gets sometimes in his eyes – that look that says don’t you talk to me! So I put my head down so he couldn’t see who I was and just walked past him! My wife asked me later if I met him and I told her that I didn’t see him! I just kept my head down.
After that – when he came back from retirement I talked to him a lot. He is one of the funniest dudes to be around once he knows you.
What are your thoughts on Coach Tomlin’s coaching performance this season and how he’s overcome obstacles – what makes him successful in doing so?
The knock on him is he’s a player’s coach – that he needed to be more stern with the players. But that’s the reason why he could have the year he had despite working with guys who never played in the NFL before – and some who many thought couldn’t play at this level. He can motivate guys to get them to overachieve. You can’t do that without a personal connection. Guys who wouldn’t typically have been successful can be when they are motivated – and that doesn’t happen without having respect for the coach like they do Coach Tomlin.
I saw it firsthand. He was able to motivate the stars and non-stars – guys with and without the big money. He can maneuver through all of those personalities and still motivate guys. That’s what makes him an elite coach.
As a media guy and former player, what are your thoughts on the way the NFL has been changing?
I do like the player health and safety initiatives. I have seen a lot of older players dealing with the ramifications of how the game was played then.
But the replays – the constant reviews – trying to make the game perfect is hurting the game. It’s losing the human element of sports – that’s what makes sports unique. Part of it I think is due to all of the money the NFL has invested in gambling. It makes them want to make the game perfect but it’s holding the game back from the organic way it is supposed to be played.