Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

First off, can you let me know how it’s going since your time with the NFL?

Well, my son is doing great at Liberty – he’s their safety and I think he’ll get drafted.

Give him any words of advice as a former NFL player?

My only words of wisdom were to stay focused and to keep doing what got you there. Everything else is irrelevant. I’m old school- the noise and lights and social media, they don’t matter. What happens between the lines is what matters.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Tight End Harold Bishop, 1998-1999”

First off,  what’s the offseason plan for you?

I’ve been back here with my family in Ohio, spending my time lifting in a gym I used when I was off and on with the Cardinals last year. But I’ve been bored a lot of the time – I’m not handling the down-time well!

We did get out schedule and I’ll be heading to Pittsburgh April 15th.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Steelers Defensive Lineman Jacob Slade”

First off, can you let me know how you got started in your current position as Bishop?

I’m the current Bishop now of the Youngstown Catholic Diocese. That oversees six counties in Northeast Ohio. It was a great surprise and through Divine Grace, I got the call and was told the Holy Father wanted me to be the Bishop. I got that call on November 9th, and on November 17th of 2020 I was approved. In 2021 I was ordained.

I like to think that I am continuing on as a pastor, but my parish got much larger!

Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Chaplain/Current Most Reverend David Bonnar, Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown”

First off -what’s next for you – what’s the offseason look like?

I always come back to Atlanta and train. In the offseason we take a couple of trips and reset our minds and spend time with family. It’s good to move around a bit – during the season as a family we’re more stationary. It’s good to get some mental relaxation and have some fun before the season starts.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Bud Dupree, 2015-2020”

First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?

I was there in Pittsburgh from 2011 to 2013. After that I got involved in personal training – I was training athletes with a well-renowned trainer in Atlanta – Chip Smith. We were working with players, helping them get trained and prepared for the draft.

After that, in 2014, I went into law enforcement. I joined the Atlanta police department and was there for 8 1/2 years. I’m still in law enforcement now. I also got married in 2012 and now have four beautiful children – three girls and a boy.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Erik Clanton, 2011-2013”

First off, why did you decide to sign with the Steelers?

After my injury settlement with Atlanta, I was waiting for a couple of months for a call. I had a workout visit with the Steelers during that time. They were the only ones that contacted my agent. I don’t know how they knew about me for sure, but I think it was from our last preseason game. We played Pittsburgh and I had a pretty good game {six catches, 71 yards} and I’m sure that was a big reason why they signed me.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Steelers Wide Receiver Keilahn Harris”

Continued from Part I of interview...

What has changed most in the scouting work since you started – what is different now – and for better or worse?

The technology now is wonderful – now a game can end and an hour later you can pull up the video on your computer.

What’s lost is the comradery between scouts. It used to be like a fraternity. At the combine we used to have free time to meet up and talk and get drinks together. Now, it’s much more secretive and everyone is more suspicious of each other. Everyone wants to be a GM now – they all have five-year plans to go from scout to GM. I don’t blame them for being ambitious but it’s not very reasonable.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Steelers Scout Mike Butler, 1983-2023 Part II”

First, I know you recently retired – there were a number of changes in the Steelers front office – what if anything changed in the way the team approached scouting as an organization?

The biggest thing is the bigger influence now analytics has on the department. Omar is a little more into it than Kevin was. They’re brought in new guys. It’s interesting stuff – they delve into every fact and stat and extrapolate it all out into graphs and charts – it’s another tool.

How are they using analytics now in a practical manner – how are they using that data to help the scouting?

Well, nothing replaces the guys watching film and games and talking to coaches. But the past year we used a lot more analytics than we did under Kevin. We used it a lot to compare guys’ stats to see if they met certain criteria for success with guys in the past who were successful. We try to find the guys that matched that criteria. We even went back and added guys to the database from the past to create a database of players to compare to.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Steelers Scout Mike Butler, 1983-2023 Part I”

First off, what’s the offseason plan for you?

I’ve just been in the weight room, consistently. And just taking in the year. This was my rookie year and it was long one. It’s just cool looking back on things and what I was able to duo in Pittsburgh. Playing my first game and finishing the season in the playoffs….Looking back on how far I’ve come since the Senior Bowl and combine and what it took to get here – it’s been amazing.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Steelers Cornerback Darius Rush”

First, can you let me know what you got into career-wise after your football career?

I went back home after I was done with football – I needed three hours to graduate so I did that and got my degree. Of course I never ended up using it – I got a job working on an oil rig then went and sold oil field services after that for 45 years. I had the personality to do that then. I retired about five years ago.

Besides that, I had a family, did a lot of hunting and fishing and eating and entertaining!

Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Offensive Lineman, Jim Files, 1976-1977”