First, let me know about your new role with the NFL and how that began?

Basically, I was working with officials to help coach them. My official title is Coaching Coordinator of Officials.  The job was started by Walt Anderson. After I retired from coaching I reached out and they offered me the position. My job is to coach officials on basic football knowledge from the coach’s perspective. They know the rules but I work with them to better understand the ins and outs of the game – formations, that sort of thing. This helps them anticipate and understand better what they see on the field and to understand what the coaches are doing from their perspective.

Officiating seems to be a thankless job. How has working with them in this role changed how you see their work?

Working with them from the other side now from coaching, now I can appreciate the work they do more. The preparation, film study…it’s a time-consuming job. They don’t just call games on Sundays and go home. They study all week. Many of these guys are CEOs of banks and own their own companies…some are high school coaches….yet the amount of preparation they put into the job is unbelievable.

I’ve said this to some coaches around the NFL. If they would spend a week with the officials working with them and watching how they prepare, they would appreciate them a lot more.

Should it be a full-time job?

Absolutely it should be, from my perspective. Now, it’s not my call to make. But they go to OTAs, training camps…it’s a full-time job in my opinion.

Stepping back, how did you end up in Pittsburgh as their special teams coach in 1989?

It was really by happenstance. This is how I got to Pittsburgh.

I was coaching at Notre Dame, and we had a few coaches leave to coach special teams in the NFL – Fazio, Stock, Schottenheimer…Since I coached the special teams and linebackers at Notre Dame they’d ask for pointers on what and how to do things.

Well, after the ’88 season, we were at our staff meeting the week before signing day and Vinny Cerrato – the recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame then – said we should drive down to Indianapolis to sit in at the combine since our recruiting was really done for the year. We thought it would be nice to see Fazio, Stock and Schottenheimer – to have a burger with those guys or something there.

Well, we go, and I end up sitting in the stands with Foge to watch the combine. Foge says, “Let’s go get some coffee.” I told him I don’t drink coffee, but he told me there were donuts in the lounge as well. Well, I love donuts!

So, we go and Chuck Noll is standing there next to the table where the donuts were. Foge takes it upon himself to introduce us – he knew Chuck from when Foge coached at Pitt. Then Foge tells him that I was interested in the special teams opening the Steelers had. I didn’t even know there was an opening!

Was it a set-up?

It really wasn’t. Foge just decided to offer it up when he saw Chuck. Well, Chuck told us they had a guy in mind already, so I thought to myself “Great!” I wasn’t really interested in the job anyway.

Well, then Al Davis comes over and says “Hi” to Chuck and Foge.  I didn’t think he had any idea who I was, but then he turned to me and asked why I wasn’t out recruiting. I told him we were done already. Coming off a great season we were able to recruit early and get a good class. He then started talking to me about Tim Brown, who they drafted the previous year. Chuck was still there listening, and Al went on to tell me about how NFL-ready Tim was when they drafted him. That they barely had to coach him and that we did a great job with him at Notre Dame.

Well, after Al left, Chuck asked me what I was doing next Thursday! He said the Steelers would fly me in to meet with Tom Donohoe about the position. They offered me the job when I went in that Thursday!

So, because of a donut, Foge Fazio and Al Davis, I got the job with the Steelers!

What did Chuck ask of you as the new special teams coach?

Before I got there special teams weren’t really a priority. They had one special teams practice a week – on Saturdays. There wasn’t a lot of structure there – Chuck coached the special teams himself. Remember, back then most teams didn’t have a special teams coach – it was usually a tight ends coach or somebody that also coaches special teams.

But the year before, in ’88, the Steelers had six punts blocked.  They realized, I think, that they needed a special teams coach.

When I got there I was really playing with house money. I didn’t realize it when I got there, but the Steelers were ranked last in the NFL in ’88 on special teams. I didn’t know how bad they were then until I started watching tape, then I realized it. If you don’t take care of things over time and work on them regularly, things fall apart, and that’s what happened there.

How hands-on was Chuck after you arrived?

Chuck allowed me to make decisions on my own – he encouraged that.

For example, in my first game with the team – it was a preseason game against Washington. At Notre Dame if  wanted to fake a punt or rush the punter, anything like that, I would ask Coach Holtz. That had to go through him.

Well, in that first preseason game I wanted to rush the punter. I went up to Chuck and asked him, and he said ok, but gave me a puzzled look. Then he told me, “George, I have Tom Moore as my offensive coordinator. If he wants to throw a deep pass he doesn’t ask me for permission. Rod Rust doesn’t ask me if it’s ok to blitz. I brought you in because I trust you.” He told me that’s why he hired me. He went on to say that if I wanted to run a fake punt from my own 10 he’d trust me – that he would trust his defense to stop the other team if it didn’t work. Now, I wouldn’t have run a fake punt from my own 10, but still.

This was all as the game was going on. Here I am, a 38-year old coach who was new to the NFL and he gave me the green light to do as I wanted.

Who were some of the guys you enjoyed working with most while you were there?

When I came into the NFL from college, I wanted to be sure never to lose the passion I had for the game. Working with guys like Dwain Painter, Joe Greene and Dick Hoak was a pleasure. Getting time with them to pick their brains and learn from them was great. I looked at Pete Carroll – he was a grad assistant coach when I was in college – you can see he never lost his enthusiasm for the game. I wanted to be like that too.

Any players that stand out most to you?

Carnell Lake. He was a linebacker in college that moved to safety and become a Pro Bowl player. Watching his progression was special. Tyronne Stowe – he was a special teams player and made a career out of it, and was a terrific leader.  David Little was a terrific leader as well. Dwight Stone and his great speed.

And Bryan Hinkle – he was a grizzled vet when I was there. After the ’89 season he came up to me and said “George – this was the best special teams unit I ever saw in the NFL.” Coming from a veteran player coming to me as a coach – that was special for me to be accepted by a guy like that.

Any funny or poignant moments stand out to you?

There’s one moment…I wouldn’t call it funny. But I was in the office late in Three Rivers, around 10:30 or so  – I was with either with John Fox or Ron Blackledge, I forget which. There was a Rolling Stones concert at the stadium that was still going on when we left. Our cars were parked next to the stadium right outside the glass doors you go through. Well, we step out and it looked like a rain storm. Water was coming out from the upper deck and hitting our cars. We didn’t realize it was raining. Well, we go outside and see, it wasn’t raining. People were peeing off the top of the stadium. Our cars ended up drenched with urine. Not a funny story but one I’ll remember.

Otherwise, there wasn’t a ton of levity. Chuck had a dry sense of humor which I appreciated, but it was mostly business.

One other story that also wasn’t so funny, but one I remember was about Rod Woodson. Rod had a pinched nerve in his shoulder for a long time – when that happens the blood doesn’t travel to the shoulder. You could see one shoulder and arm was more muscular than the other over time – the other shoulder had atrophied a bit and it was affecting his play. Well, we played Cleveland, and Rod got hit right on his bad shoulder. And just like that, the nerve was un-pinched. It was a crazy thing. After that you could see his shoulder getting stronger again and him getting back to being the old Rod Woodson.

Your last season there was the year Noll retired. How did that affect you and the other coaches there?

The thing about his retirement then was that we didn’t have multi-year contracts like they do today. Chuck would come to us every year and tell us we were being renewed. So when he retired our futures were in question. Mr. Rooney called every one of the coaches in the offseason – there were nine of us – and gave each of us a check for $25,000. He told us he didn’t want us to be on the streets without any financial support.

Well, two days later I got an offer from Tampa Bay to go there and coach. I called Mr. Rooney and told him I wanted to give the money back to him. He said “No – that money is yours.” That’s the way he handled his business. He was a very special person. It was a very special family and organization.

I just want to say, they’ve had three head coaches for the Steelers since the 70’s. That says a lot about the organization and the Rooney family. It’s one of the greatest franchises in the NFL. I loved working for Eddie DeBartolo in San Francisco. He was the gold standard for me in the way he managed the team. The Steelers are at that same gold standard.

Steelers Takeaways fundraising drive!

Help keep these free interviews coming! If you can, please donate as little (or as much!) as you like by contributing to Steelers Takeaways here:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/pittsburghsports

Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades.  To order, just click on the book: