First, can you let me know what you’ve been doing with yourself since you retired?
Well, I stopped coaching in 2016 and am living in L.A. now with my family. I’m now working with a real estate company with a guy I’ve known for fifty-plus years and went to school with.
What got you into coaching, and as a coach, anyone help influence your style as a coach?
I played thirteen years professionally, twelve in Canada and one in Kansas City. I retired in ’87 after going to law school in Chicago during the offseason. I became a lawyer in Chicago for four years but I missed football. A quarterback coaching job opened up at Notre Dame then and interviewed with Lou Holtz and got the job and worked with him for four years before getting an NFL job.
There wasn’t anyone specific. Anyone I associated with I took something from – what to do or what not to do. I learned from all of the coaches I worked with.
Tell me a bit about why Coach Cowher brought you into Pittsburgh – what he was looking for?
I don’t know – you should probably ask him! I coached for three years in New Orleans and then in Kansas City before Dick Vermeil was fired and I had to look for another job. Then the job opened up in Pittsburgh and I pursued it and got it. I was glad to come back home to Pittsburgh.
There was nothing specific he asked me to do. Just to get guys ready for games and get their fundamentals. We were all held accountable for their performance.
You worked with two very different quarterbacks in Maddox and Stewart. How did you approach each one – what did you do differently for each?
The approach to coaching them wasn’t any different for either guy, The needed to be aware of the defenses they faced but the fundamentals are the same. We went over footwork things, but they were both good guys to be around.
Anything different in how you and the team handled each guy?
Kordell was already the starting quarterback when I got there. My first year he did a good job – he had a great year and made plays. The guys all rally around you when you make plays.
The playcalling wasn’t really different. Of course we had some plays designed for Kordell around his mobility. That was the main difference. Kordell had a strong arm and could get yardage with his legs, so we ran designed runs and movement passes.
I give credit to both individuals. The first year we had no issues – Kordell was the guy. The next year he had an injury in preseason and he started off slow. So they turned to Tommy and he did well. Each supported the other though. They both wanted to play and each prepared to do so when the other was starting,
How involved was Cowher with the quarterbacks?
Bill spent most of his time with the defense and special teams. He wasn’t in the quarterback room often. His involvement was more on the field. If he saw something he would tell me or them and share those observations.
How involved were you in the draft process and playbook development?
The personnel department would give us a list of players to look at. Not all the quarterbacks in the draft – just the ones they selected. The scouts did the full job. I’d attend draft meetings and watch film and go to workouts for some of the guys. But the personnel people and Cowher had the final say.
In terms of the playbook, you had individuals across the offense – not just quarterbacks. We had Bettis, a good offensive line, and Ward was just coming into his own then. Our job was to install an offense that put players in a position to succeed – to do what they do well. It’s a collective effort and what we do in the offseason. You analyze what your guys can do and I had my input.
Our offense had a certain philosophy under Cowher. We were going to be a physical, ball-control running team. We were going to do that. So we tried to come up with plays that suited that and established that system with physical players.
Tell me more about that and how college quarterbacks readiness for the NFL have changed over time?
College quarterbacks aren’t playing under center as often. They are playing more in shotgun offenses and we’re now seeing that more in the NFL. That’s the biggest thing.
It’s a different world to drop back from center then to play in the shotgun. Its harder to analyze defenses as you’re dropping back. And the footwork is different and harder. It’s harder to be in tune with the route when you’re dropping back and to take the precise steps – to eliminate false steps.
But the shotgun is getting more and more en vogue. It’s harder to run certain aspects of the running game in a shotgun – especially power running, In the shotgun you don’t have a fulback – so it limits the runs you can use.
Any good memories you’d like to share of your time in Pittsburgh?
I have more memories from the Steelers games I watched as a five or six year old with my dad at Forbes Field. Bobby Layne, John Henry Johnson, Dick Hoak…I was there for the Chicago game when Mike Ditka dragged what seemed like twenty guys for forty yards.
As far as coaching, the biggest memory would be the playoff game versus Cleveland where we were behind by twenty-two points in the fourth quarter and came back to win. That was a great win to be around.
What advice would you give young quarterbacks entering the game today?
Whatever position you play, it’s about the fundamentals. Do the little things right. Do the proper work in the little areas to position yourself to make big plays. Know your job and techniques so that you don’t have to think about them when you play. And compete on every play. And when you have a chance to make a play, you better do it.
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