Exclusive with Former Steelers Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, 2013-2016

First – I feel funny asking you this since you have so much going on all the time, but what is top of mind you want to let folks know about now?

Well, presently I have my weekly radio show during the NFL season on NFL Radio – every Thursday and Friday. The main thing I’m doing though is my work with Pro Football Focus. I help oversee the quarterback grading  – every week I grade ever NFL pass – some college players too. That takes up a lot of my time!

You also have some other ventures…

True yeah – I have a restaurant called Social in Toledo and Pilgrimage Hospice in Pittsburgh. I started the hospice while I was still playing. I wanted to give back to the area and the community – it made good sense to me. I wanted to give back to the city I love. My wife is a nurse.

It isn’t affiliated with the NFL but Ramon, Pouncey, Marcus Gilbert all came by to visit with people there. They donated their time and I’m very thankful to them. These are guys not a lot of people see a lot. You only hear about guys these days when something is wrong – but there are so many good guys on the Steelers who do good things in the community. The team stands for the right things and many of the players give back to multiple charities.

Why did you choose to sign with the Steelers in 2013?

At that point in my career I was backing up Andy Dalton. It was crazy timing – you can see how God works looking back on it. My Uncle Joe just hd a bad stroke  – he was learning how to walk and talk again. This was in February so I was a free agent. I never spoke with Tomlin or Colbert before that – I saw them at some pro days but that was about it.

But my agent called me and told me the Steelers were interested in me. It was a perfect fit. I could come back home and finish my career and be back with my family. My wife and I had lived in San Francisco, Cincinnati….we were finally about to have kids so it was perfect timing. I always thought it was a first-class organization looking at it from the outside-in. I thought highly of them.

After I signed I saw I was right – it was an amazing culture. It’s hard to pinpoint why but you have to give so much credit to the Rooneys. The only had three coaches since the 70’s and the way the draft and develop guys is amazing.

As a backup, how were you able to help the team most?

I just had to go in and compete. I mean, with Ben there I knew I wasn’t competing for the starting job! But I still needed to be competitive. Watching Ben was fun too – he’s such an amazing player and I was happy to play my part and be a good teammate and to make sure I was ready if needed.

How much did that 2009 raiders game you led the comeback win in impact their decision?  Did they give you some fun grief for that?

It’s funny – I think it’s probably why I got the chance to sign in Pittsburgh. When people see you up close and they what you are about. Maybe that’s what Tomlin and Colbert saw – that I was a competitor. I think that Raiders game played a big role in my signing.

I think in that game I brought more intensity than any other game. I wanted to win against my home town team. And of course when I got there I had to rub it in a little with guys like Timmons and Ben. He had his trophies – I had to get him with something!

Even Dick LeBeau – I ran the scout team for the offense against out defense and competed with Keisel, Clark – it was my job to make them and the defense better. We did some fun trash-talking. I wanted to make sure the defense had a good luck against whoever we were playing. That was important.

How were the Bengals, Raiders and Browns different from the Steelers team you played on?

They were just different. The Steeler organization from the top down was consistent. Tomlin was very consistent – it was never too high or too low.  He let guys be themselves – it was freeing and made it fun to come to work. You didn’t have to worry about anything other than football. It was a testament to his leadership.

How else were you able to help Ben and the team as the backup quarterback?

Continue to stay prepared. As you said, the scout team was huge. You get few reps so you have to be mentally prepared and watch lots of film.

Sometimes you see things differently than Ben too. You can give him some reminders on the sidelines – be ready so if he has a question you’re there to answer it. And sometimes it’s just those little reminders – if a team does this check down to that…. quarterbacks have so much on their minds – any little reminder can help. Ben’s a Pro-Bowl quarterback, so there’s little I can tell him, but I can be a helping hand.

OK – as a now unbiased media person, what are your thoughts on Randy Fichtner and his playcalling?

Ha! I have always been a fan of Randy – he was the quarterback coach when I was there. He was always a hard worker and really cared about what he was doing.

I see more of a difference in the offense now which I like – more motions and shifts. I thought we got too stagnant in Pittsburgh. I like the screens and reverses now. You have to change it up. I like that – like what McVay does with misdirection with the Rams. I like the bunch sets.

I think Randy is doing a good job. It’s not easy – you look at all of the young quarterbacks struggling now. He’s making sure the offense is communicating well and all on the same page.

You’ve done some coaching – do you want to do more? And what coaches and lessons have you learned from the guys you played for and with that have impacted the way you approach coaching most now?

Every year I think about it. I have always tried to help inspire and motivate players and pass my knowledge on to others. I’m staying engaged with the game. My work at Pro Football Focus helps me stay on top of what’s going on around the NFL. I help locally now at local high schools too. But if I do at a bigger level it’ll have to be the right opportunity.

As for influences -I think the biggest takeaway for me is being consistent in who you are as a leader. Tomlin is always consistent. It doesn’t matter if you are a strict disciplinarian like Belichick or someone who’s more laid back, you have to be consistent.  You have to be that same guy all the time.

Strategically, I like what McVay does with shifts and motion. I like the quick game but like play action more. The quick game relies on very precision passing and quick decision-making – that type of offense doesn’t work for everyone.

Any memories stand out most to you of your time in Pittsburgh?

I think what I remember most aren’t the big things – it’s the good times I had with the guys – having pizza after those long days of practices.

When I was in camp Ben was my suite-mate. We had different rooms but shared a bathroom. I remember him telling me that I went to the bathroom after 11:00 not to flush – that he’d be asleep. I thought that was funny.

And I have a lot of good memories from the Raiders. We all knew that Al Davis would come in at 5:30 to work out. I was told to just say hi- not ask him how he was doing. If you did, he’d just say “How do you think I’m doing- we’re not winning any games!”

But he was very cool – he cared about his players. He was smart. Once I remember him asking about how my brother was doing when he was still at Delaware. He remembered things like that and cared about his guys.