First, can you let us know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?
I work for Eli Lilly in their Oncology Division. When I finished playing I thought I’d go the coaching route and coached with Coach Rodriguez for a year at Glenville State. But I realized after that that coaching wasn’t for me. I wasn’t willing to make that sacrifice away from my family that I saw coaching took.
I was dating my now wife then. She was in Glenville but I saw her more playing for the Steelers than I did coaching for Glenville State. So after that I looked for that competitiveness I loved in football in sales. I sold ads for Fox television before taking a job with Merck, then moved on here to Eli Lilly where I’ve been now for over 20 years.
Was the post-NFL adjustment difficult?
I have to say I was ready. There are some guys that struggle with it. I didn’t want to be a hanger-on – a guy who just couldn’t let it go. But I get it – that rush you get when you play and being that bright light in the room when you walk in the room. When it dims I can see how that bothers you. You can tell the people that are really close to you when you’re done – when you’re on top everyone’s your buddy, but are they there when you’re done? For me, I looked forward to what was next in my career, though.
How did you end up in Pittsburgh?
It’s an interesting story. Playing at Glenville State, we’d have our big money games against Division 1A schools like Indiana State and Liberty. Samford was a powerhouse then and Chan Gailey was their coach. When we played them I had a pretty good game. He was very complimentary of me after that game.
Well, when he went to the Steelers he called me before the draft and said he wanted to work me out. I just signed with an agent – I was this podunk kid from West Virginia – I had no idea about the process. Well, my agent said Pittsburgh wasn’t the right place for me – that I should go to Philadelphia. I told him I had Chan Gailey calling me! But he said no – I needed to go to Philly. I mean, you sign with an agent you think he’s the guy you should listen to.
Well, I get to Philadelphia and they brought in 17 receivers! I didn’t even get a rep in. I called my agent and asked him what he did to me. Pittsburgh – they only brought in seven receivers. They didn’t run cattle calls like many teams did at each position. Well, I fired my agent after that and ended up signing a no-cut contract with Calgary in the CFL. I called Chan after that and he told me to hang in there. At the end of the season they called and signed me to the practice squad.
What did they tell you?
It’s funny. I was at home and had just taken my now wife out for the first time. I was talking to my dad when the landline rang and when I picked it up the person said it was Tom Donohoe. I thought it was a joke at first – a friend calling. “I said “Hi Tom!” not thinking it was really him. But then he asked me if I was in shape, and something clicked and I realized it was really him. I told him I was and he said they wanted to sign me and asked how soon I could be in Pittsburgh. I told him two hours.
I told my dad the Steelers wanted to sign me and he told me “Christopher, don’t mess with me!” Now, I was supposed to go out on another date with my wife so I had to tell her I couldn’t meet her tomorrow night. She said that if I didn’t want to go out with her again I could just tell her – I didn’t have to make up a story. So when I got to Pittsburgh I called her from the hotel to prove to her I was wasn’t making it up!
How did those matchups go while you were on the practice squad?
While, I was never that guy that knew who every player was on every team – I wasn’t that kind of fan. I think that helped me in not worrying too much about who I was facing. But I remember once going out for a pass showing the other team’s stuff for our defense, running hard, and this monster linebacker is covering me, and he’s running close with me. I wasn’t a blazer but I wasn’t slow either. I was thinking, “Did I lose a step?” Then I found out it was Kevin Greene. I thought “Ok. That makes sense!” I felt better after seeing who it was!
Rod Woodson too – I went up against him a few times. I knew who he was of course. In Latrobe I caught a pass on him and then another afterwards. After the second he kept trying to rip the ball out after the whistle and it became a bit of a scuffle. He wouldn’t stop.
Afterwards I was thinking “I just got into a fight with Rod Woodson!” Later on that night I was in the dorms walking down the hall and he is walking my way, coming right at me. I was getting anxious – was he going to jump me? But he just said hi and told me “Nice job today.”
Later on in the season in practice he was covering me and rolled his ankle on mine. I thought I was going to get cut for hurting Rod Woodson. He ended up being ok though.
Did anyone show you the ropes most when you were there and mentor you at all?
I lived at the Allegheny Center and was really living out of my suitcase at that point. I’d practice then go home – I didn’t explore the city much. I do remember Andre Hastings invited me out once with the receivers. They’d go out every week – bowling or stuff like that on Thursdays usually. That was a cool thing for him to do. I wasn’t a guy playing on Sundays you know? So I appreciated that.
Any other good stories?
We’d get fined $500 if you fell asleep in meetings. You’d practice during the day then study film in a dark meeting room. Some guys would fall asleep. Yancey Thigpen would tell on the guys that fell asleep just to mess with people. I still blame him now for how much coffee I drink.
Another good story is when I brought my dad down for a visit. I didn’t know where he was allowed to go in the facility so I told him to wait in the locker room while I got my stuff. Jerome was there and asked if that was my old man and I said “Yeah.”
Well I got my stuff and went back and my dad wasn’t there. I looked all over for him – went to the parking lot to see if he was at our car, went back in…. I was looking for him for like 15 minutes when I hear his laughter behind Coach Cowher’s door. I was thinking “Oh shit.” I go in and he’s sitting there like he’s in his living room, BS’ing with Coach Cowher, Jerome and Tom Donohoe. Jerome took him around to meet everyone. That’s just the guy Jerome is – he’s such a good guy.
Did anyone there help mentor you at all and take you under their wing?
Not a ton no. I had to pick things up and catch on on my own really. I did the offseason stuff – Chan thought that would be a good idea so I stayed in Pittsburgh. They were all good to me but no one really mentored me. In thinking about it it would have been helpful, but that’s on me too. I could have sought that out more.
You broke so many NCAA records at Glenville State – first receiver to break 400 receptions and others. What made you so effective?
I was a hard worker and was quick. I ran a 4.5 but also ran a 4.4 a couple of times. I was more laterally quick and was adequately fast. I was also willing to go over the middle and take a hit and had good hands. I think my biggest asset was probably my toughness.
Do you think about the way the game has changed today?
I do a little bit. The way the game has changed, it’s now where we were back when I played at Glenville. We ran a lot of four-wides and spread guys out. I think I would have been much more comfortable in today’s game than I was playing in the pro style offenses we were running then.
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