Let’s start by talking about how you ended up in Pittsburgh as their tight ends coach in 2001?
Well, I was in the league coaching already with the Jets. Dan Henning – he drafted me as a player and always helped me. When Al Groh got the head coaching job with the Jets he hired Dan Henning as their offensive coordinator, who brought me in as their tight ends coach. The idea was that Dan would groom me so that when he stepped down I would take over as coordinator.
But Groh went back to Virginia and that blew the whole thing up. I was looking for a job and Pittsburgh had an opening . They hired Mike Mularkey as their offensive coordinator and Mike and I knew one another. When I was with the Redskins and he was with the Steelers we’d scrimmage each other in preseason and I got to know him then. I talked to Coach Cowher – we met at the Senior Bowl to talk about the position. After that he and Mike offered me the position and that’s how I got started there.
What made the job attractive to you?
I didn’t know much about Cowher then but I had heard good things. When we were in college then we used to get recruited by NFL teams – we’d get letters from NFL teams all the time if they thought we wouldn’t be drafted to see if they could sign us later as free agents. I got a lot of letters from the Steelers then and that gave me a good impression. I never thought I’d work for them but I liked them and was excited to get the opportunity.
Any of those coaches you play for or work for help shape the way you coach now? How so?
I learned from Dan Henning. He supported my coaching start – those are where my roots as a coach started. Bill Curry at Georgia Tech also – I learned a lot from him as a player in college. But it wasn’t really about what they taught me. Of course they taught me how to prepare for practices and games, but moreso, it was about learning in general. Learning from everyone you’ve been around. Learning how to adapt and to be open to changes. They were big in helping me get started – everyone needs that start and for someone to support and help you.
Cowher – he was also very good to me. I appreciated how he handled the team and players. He also had high expectations for his coaches. I liked that.
What did he ask from you and how different were you from Mularkey, who seemed to be a riskier/more daring type of coordinator?
I don’t know – I mean, I like Mike and we worked well together. I don’t think I was consciously different in my coaching style. Especially after talking to Cowher – when he hired me, he told me what his expectations were from me as a coordinator.
What were those expectations?
It was a long time ago, but he wanted us to run the football and to be a physical offense. My first year as the coordinator we ran the ball 62% of the time, which was unheard of then. But we had good players – tough-nosed guys that liked to control the ball.
You also were forced to start off with a rookie quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, How do you approach a situation like that, where you don’t want to get then in over their heads but you still have to keep defenses on their toes?
It depends on the player and team. A lot of it depends on what they can do and what they can handle. They’re there for a reason but it’s still very different from college. Ben had a tremendous skillset – he was big, mobile, and very smart. But we still had to be careful not to try and do too much. We had a good team, a good defense and good leaders there which helped then. It took the pressure off Ben. Russ Grimm did a terrific job with the offensive line and we had great leaders like Faneca and Bettis which was important.
How did that leadership make a difference?
You always felt like the team was fully committed to winning. They were willing to do what it took. There was a strong sense of servant leadership. They had a formula that worked. If they brought guys in and they didn’t fit in, they would be outcasts. The chemistry there made it very special.
The tight end positioned changed a great deal over your time as a coach and player. How as a coach do you handle the change in position and skillsets of players coming out of college?
The tight end position used to be an extended offensive tackle – now as it used to be is extinct. Now, teams are looking for guys that can create mismatches on linebackers and even safeties. If you can get a good receiving tight end matched up against someone who is primarily a run defender, you can get those chuck plays downfield.
Eric Green was unique in that he could block and was a good receiver. He was rare then. Now, you get guys who played basketball in college playing tight end. It takes good athletes that can create those mismtaches, the problem is many end up not great blockers. They are good weapons – the issue is on how you use them,
How do you address their lack of blocking fundamentals though?
In the NFL you have limited padded practices so it’s not easy to get those blocking reps in. You have to be able to block as a tight end. You can’t just be a receiver – you have to be able to block efficiently. But teams know defenses have just so many guys who can cover man-to-man so they value receiving tight ends. But blocking is definitely something that we’ve had to address more.
It ultimately comes down to desire though. There has to be the desire on the player to want to be able to block. It has to be important to them. And some of that is up to the front office to pick the right guys. But it’s rare to find tight ends that are so good as receivers that you can live with bad blocking. I’ve seen many good receiving tight ends that are out of the league because they aren’t willing to block.
Any memories stand out from your time there?
I remember when Tommy Maddox got hurt in the opener. We were getting Ben ready to start the game the following week against Miami. Bill called me that week to tell me we were flying to Miami early because they were getting hit by a hurricane. I said “Do what??” We were flying into the hurricane to make sure we could get there and play that weekend. We lost power in the hotel that weekend and had to break out flashlights to see.
The first play in the game, I thought Miami would expect us to run, so I called a play-action pass thinking Miami wouldn’t expect it, and Ben threw an interception. But we found a way to win that game in pure Steelers fashion – we slogged it out and won.
But it was pretty cool – that whole experience. We’d walk to the end of the hallways in our hotel and could see the transformers blowing out. It was a little concerning but an interesting experience.
How involved was coach Cowher in the offensive strategy and playcalling?
Well you asked about good memories, and of course the reverse pass in the Super Bowl was a big deal. That happened because Cowher believed in those plays and allowed you to call them.
The way it worked was that on Tuesdays we’d go through the gameplan – it was on the board and we’d walk through it. There were always a couple of plays he wanted – something he wanted to put in after film study. He’d say he wanted this or that and maybe leave some plays on my desk. But I can’t stress enough how much it meant that he let us call our own plays. To be able to call a reverse pass in the Super Bowl – that was a big deal. And he supported us on those calls.
You’ve coached for a while now at different levels – how has the game changed, from your perspective?
It’s always changing – always very cyclical. Strategies that go out of style are always coming back and becoming popular again. It comes down to having to be ahead of the curve and knowing you have to continue to change and adapt even if you are ahead of the curve. Some teams think they can stay the same but teams catch up to you. The game changes so fast. And some teams fall into the trap of thinking they can just “do what they do” and stay successful, but the game changes too quickly. You have to be open-minded to making changes.
The run and shoot offense came and was gone shortly after. But the basics though – blocking and tackling – you can’t forget about those. Those stay the same. You have to always work on those details. College players today have less understanding of technique. You need proper technique. Some guys are just much more physically gifted than others and you don’t stand a chance against them without technique. Everyone has to be on the same page and understand what you’re trying to get done
And of course the quarterback position has changed – it’s become even more important. It used to be that you could still win games and get away with not having a great quarterback, but not anymore.
Any last thoughts as you look back?
I was lucky to have the opportunity to coach in Pittsburgh. I made great friendships and have so much respect for the organization and the Rooneys. And the fans are awesome – I still hear from fans. It was a tremendous place to work.
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