First, let us know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your time in the NFL?
Well, after Pittsburgh I played briefly for the Giants and then went back home to Topeka, Kansas. My brother-in-law got me into coaching and I got my teaching certificate. My family and wife’s family were in Topeka so it all made sense. I was a coaching assistant for five years then got a job as a head coach at my alma mater. I coached there for 15 years and started up a baseball program there.
In 2007 I went to Moberly, Missouri – which wasn’t that far from Topeka – and became their football coach and athletic director there.
Anyone help influence the way you coached and worked with kids?
I had a lot of good coaches. Frank Walton was my high school coach – he was the brother of Joe Walton. He was a big influence on how I worked with kids to give them discipline and to motivate them.
At Missouri, Warren Powers and my position coach, Jim Donnan – who later became the head coach at Georgia – they were big influences, as were Chuck Noll and Bill Parcells.
I worked with a lot of good coaches and took a little bit from all of them. If I had to choose, I’d say I learned the most from my high school coach just because I played for him the longest. Working with young athletes, his influence on how to motivate kids and getting them to commit to the game was very helpful.
You were a great athlete – track, baseball, basketball, and football – you won accolades in nearly all of those sports in high school. How did you settle on football?
It’s hard to say. I was really good at baseball and was a good athlete. I was big at the time – I was 6’4″ and could run a 4.6 in high school, and a sub 4.6 in college. At the time that was really good for someone my size. In high school I was recruited a lot for football and I think baseball just took a backseat to football.
At Missouri I played quarterback and it went ok – I ended up in a quarterback duel with another guy then, and as a senior they moved me to wide receiver because of my athleticism too. There were games where I played both quarterback and wide receiver.
Was it hard settling on a position?
The Steelers drafted me in the 10th round as a tight end. Cap Bosa and Brent Jones were also drafted that year as tight ends.
When I got there though they started me off at running back, but they moved me quickly back to tight end. I never really had to block in college, so that was a big learning curve for me. They had me stay after practice to work on my blocking – I’d go up against Mike Merriweather which wasn’t easy! They tried to get me to improve my blocking skills.
I also played special teams of course and played well there. I was never assured a spot though, and my second season they moved me to wide receiver. But they already had guys like Lipps and Stallworth.
Was it frustrating, not getting a chance to focus on one position?
I was a really good athlete, but yeah, not being able to focus on one spot I do think hurt me in the long run.
Coach Blackledge told me that I’d be a good coach one day because I played a number of different positions. I was even the third-team emergency quarterback and would practice some at quarterback too. I had a wide range of experiences but I didn’t really have any great accomplishments there.
All you can do really is do what they say, work hard and practice hard. It’s hard because adjusting to the schemes is different depending on your position. It’s different every time you switch positions, having to know what every player is doing around you changes depending on what position you’re playing.
Any fun memories that stand out to you?
My first preseason game was at Three Rivers against the Bears – they were coming off winning the Super Bowl.
Well, they had two buses taking the team from Latrobe to Three Rivers. I had family in, so I though I’d drive with them to the game and follow the buses in – I didn’t know how to get there – I hadn’t been there before.
I didn’t know though that all the players got on the first bus and the second evidently was just going to the station. The second bus turned off and I followed it, but after 90 minutes and not being close to the stadium, I knew something was wrong. I figured we should have been there by then. This was before cellphones and GPS’.
Well, I turned around. We were in my new Trans Am I bought with my signing bonus, and we were doing 85-90 miles an hour on the highway until we finally go to the stadium. I walked into the locker room thinking this was going to cost me – that they’d probably cut me or fine me. But everyone was just coming down from breakfast – me being a rookie I don’t even think they knew I wasn’t there. I just slipped into the locker room and got dressed.
I got in to the game in the fourth quarter and played ok. We were near their goal line and I ran a wheel route out of the backfield and caught a touchdown – I think it was Bubby Brister who threw the pass. I played well on special teams too and they gave me player of the game honors. That was a big deal for me. I found out later that I actually blew my assignment on the touchdown. I was supposed to pick up the blitz on that play!
So no repercussions from getting there late!
No – Myron Cope interviewed me after the game and we all stayed at the hotel near the stadium, so we had a few margaritas and partied it up a little bit. The next morning I found out my Trans Am was stolen! Later I learned Pittsburgh was known at the time for car thefts. I ended up having to take a cab home from the hotel.
The middle of the next week I had to ask Coach Noll to miss practice because my car was found and at the pound and I had to go get it. He understood. I remember driving back from the pound to Latrobe with the driver’s side window broken out from the theft in my new car that was also banged up.
Any other memories stand out to you?
We used to have a small group of us go to chapel together – Dungy, Gary Anderson and his family. Dave Edwards lived next to us as well. It was a lot different than when we were in college. The players – some were 23, some were 36, some were married and some single. We were in different parts of our lives so friendships weren’t as close as they were in college when we were all in the same stages of our lives. But it was an exciting time. It was hard never knowing if I was going to make it, but I can say I played for an excellent organization like the Steelers and was able to play pro football for a couple of years.
I’m happy. It wasn’t a long career, but I am blessed that I can say I played for a couple of years in the NFL.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
