Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

First, can you let readers know about your post-NFL career – how you get started and why?

My second year in Pittsburgh I started thinking about my future after my NFL career, you always hear veterans players say, “football doesn’t last forever so take advantage of it while you can”. I took note to their advice and started buying real estate. My second  year is when I bought my first rental property in California . I didn’t own a house because I would spend very little time there. So one lead to two then three so I ended up with 8 properties between California and Arizona  ranging from single family homes duplexes and four-plex units.

I also received my Certification as an Emergency Medical Technician two years ago while volunteering for the Glendale and Phoenix fire departments in Arizona. Currently, I volunteer as a coach at a local junior college and high school in Los Angeles.

Continue reading “Oliver Ross, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 2000-2004”

First, can you let readers know about your new business venture. How you got started with this and why you chose this venture?

Right  now I’m the Director of Marketing Development for a company that sells premier brand appliances – stoves, refrigerators, freezers – premier high end appliances. We also sell lower end stuff too. We have four stores in California and just opened one up in Chicago. We sell other items too – all plumbing supplies and more. We do it in a really unique way – all in one live showroom. It’s a totally new concept – we have four chefs and five baristas – it’s an experience – like Lexus does. You need to see it to really understand and appreciate it. We’re opening up stores in Dallas, Atlanta, New Jersey… and a bunch of other places after that.

Continue reading “Tim Tyrell, Steelers Running Back, 1989”

First, can you let readers know what about the Golden Equipment Company – how you got started and what your role is there?

Golden Equipment is a large commercial equipment dealer that sells to different public works offices and contractors in the states of WV, PA, and NJ.  We sell many different product lines but our top three are Street Sweepers, Sewer Camera Inspection equipment, and Sewer Cleaners.  I am currently the Vice-President/General Manager of this 30 year family-owned business.  The gentleman who is the owner of Golden Equipment contacted me in December 2013 and said that his Vice President just moved on to greener pastures and he is looking for someone to take over his company and manage the sales aspect and everyday operations.

Continue reading “Jason Capizzi, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 2007-2008”

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”