Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

First, can you let readers know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your days in the NFL, and how you got involved in this?

What I do now really has nothing to do with my time in the NFL. I work as a full-time associate at Marten’s food store. I’ve been there for eighteen years. I moved here to Hagerstown  from Baltimore because I couldn’t find a job teaching in Baltimore – I have an education degree. I taught in prison in ’85-’86, but they wanted me to become a corrections officer and I didn’t want to do that.

Continue reading “Mike Collier, Steelers Running Back/Return Specialist, 1974-1977”

First, can you let readers know about your coaching career and the Mo Betta Bull Company. How you got started in both and what your job/business venture entails?

Well, I’m not coaching now. When Coach Kubiak was let go we were all too. So I’m always keeping my eye out for other coaching jobs.

The rodeo business has been great – I’m a contractor of rodeos – we supply the livestock. I don’t do the hands on work myself. I started fourteen years ago studying the breeding of bulls and cows. It was my escape from football. I studied bulls – their bloodlines, talking to breeders – I umped into it headfirst. I built the business up so we had good bucking bulls. I got lucky – now we’re in the finals in Vegas every year. I enjoy watching and being around them.

Continue reading “Jeff Zgonina, Steelers Defensive Lineman, 1993-1994”

First, can you let readers know about your post-NFL life. What you’ve been doing since your time with the Steelers and how your pet tortoise is doing!

First of all Buck50 is great. He is growing and getting pretty big. Since leaving the game I have been pursuing other business ventures. My art is doing extremely well as is my salsa company AngryMan Salsa.  We just sold our 1000th jar a few weeks ago and we are on track for big things this upcoming year. Really I’ve just been doing whatever I feel like will make me happy.

Continue reading “Baron Batch, Steelers Running Back, 2011-2012”

First, can you let readers know about your post-NFL career and Camp Ratliff – what caused you to follow those career directions and how have they gone so far?

After I retired from football I was not done with the game. I started a training group for kids and that turned into a recruiting service. I’ve helped countless kids receive athletic scholarships and I’m now the go-to man for schools throughout the country recruiting Central Florida.

How did your time in the NFL prepare you for your post-NFL life? Did any of the NFL’s post-career classes/programs help you?

My time in the NFL has prepared me for anything life has for me. I am a stronger person mentally from my battles during training camp. I am a stronger person from having to move around and adjust to so many different personalities over my career. The career classes and programs have shown me some thing’ to expect while trying to start from scratch. A job in the NFL is no doubt a dream come true but at the same time probably one of the most stressful jobs ever.

Continue reading “Keiwan Ratliff, Steelers Cornerback, 2009”

First, can you let readers know what you’ve been up to since your time in the NFL?

I’ve been just been being a dad  – staying down here (in Florida) coaching my kids little league teams. That’s pretty much it – raising my kids. I have two boys – one in high school and one in seventh grade.

Any coaching lessons from your NFL days you apply now as a coach?

I really respect coaches now. Coach Cowher was a great coach. When you first get in the NFL you think you know everything. As a coach you deal with all those different personalities all across the team – even to the practice squad. The things he went through dealing with all of that was a lot.

Continue reading “Troy Edwards, Steelers Wide Receiver, 1999-2001”

What made you decide to get into coaching and what has been your favorite part of coaching to date?

I was born and reared into coaching; that was all I ever knew. I would go to practice and games with my dad. I am a coach’s kid. I knew that I really wanted to coach when I was midway through college.  I knew that when my playing days were over, that I wanted to pursue coaching as a profession.  I love the competition, and I enjoy teaching and watching kids grow and develop. I started coaching at my old high school (Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown Texas). After a year of high school coaching, I decided that I wanted to get into college coaching. I contacted Ken Hatfield (he was my first college head coach as a player, and he had recruited me out of high school).   He was at Rice University which was about an hour away from where I lived.  I asked if he had a GA position available, and he did and hired me.  I coached there for a year. Jack Crowe, called from Jacksonville State Univ. in Alabama, it was a I AA program in Alabama.  My family and I were there for five  years, and then I was given opportunity to coach at the Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe, a Div I school.  I coached for two years in Monroe, LA.  We beat Alabama at Alabama that last year at ULM.  That was one of the highlights of my coaching career. I left there and coached at the University of Arkansas, my college alma mater.  I coached for two years, with Bobby Petrino as head coach.

Continue reading “Kirk Botkin, Steelers Tight End/Long-Snapper, 1996-1997”

First, can you let readers know what you are doing with yourself now, and how you started in this new line of work?

Well, presently I an say there’s a lot going on here.

First of all, I’m the Regional Manager for a Payables 101 – a software company. I’m also working on a book as we speak, and I’m working on a play that will premier July 13th.They book and play are  loosely based on my ups and downs growing up in the inner city of Washington D.C . and my time in the NFL. The things I went through growing up and in the game – they inspired me  to get my story out. I had some challenging times and I worked with a young lady who was the ghostwriter for Tyler Perry and put it all in book and play form.  We got together and found a location and the resources, and it will premier in Philadelphia. We’re hoping to get a nice response and take it from city to city.

Continue reading “Leon Searcy, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 1992-1995”

First, can you tell readers about your post-NFL coaching career. How did you get started and what do you enjoy most about the job?

I’m now a mentor, educator and football coach in Texas. I’m also an author now as well. My cousin was here coaching and when I retired I reached out to my family members for ideas for my next move and she responded. I’ve been here in Texas since 2011. It’s a great feeling to help a kid avoid some of the same mistakes I made growing up. Kids can since sincerity and the gravitate towards it!

Continue reading “Jeremy Parquet, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 2007-2008”

First, can you let readers know about your post-NFL career and Arcadian Cove. Tell us about the business, how you get started and why?

I was extremely fortunate to play for 15 years in the NFL; in turn it allowed me to pursue and establish a second career while still playing.  Between years seven and eight,, I began to pursue two of my other passions (second and third to football,  not knowing my career would go that long.  I love to develop projects from start to finish; from the idea to the completed project.  Developing business infrastructure, procedures, and protocols as well as building the team.

My third passion comes from growing up with my grandparents and being fortunate to have people mentor me, care for me, and teach me core values and characteristics – and what it means to give back. This passion is to improve the lives and opportunities of our young adults and our elderly population.

Continue reading “Kimo Von Oelhoffen, Steelers Defensive Lineman, 2000-2005”