Steelers PR Specialist Ryan Scarpino: “Kevin Colbert was an unbelievable person as well. He had that same mentality – blue collar, and treated everyone with respect. It didn’t matter who you were, his door was always open and you could go in and talk about anything. I used to go in and watch film with him – even as a PR guy he let me go in and would ask me what I saw. I’d tell him I saw guys getting to the second level or something and he’d laugh and tell me I should have been a scout!”
Steelers Scout Doug Kretz: “Colbert had a phenomenal system on how to evaluate players. He marked every player with character or injury issues and it affected where they were on the board but he never took them off the board. He also didn’t care about what other teams did. They made their own decisions. He said Pittsburgh will make it’s own decisions and own mistakes.”
Steelers Coach Mike Miller: “Colbert I think is one of the best general mangers ever. He got everyone involved. I went on the road with scouts to college pro days. I got to hear the philosophies of the what type of player they and process they wanted.
Nate Washington: “Colbert pulled me aside on the day of the cuts. I was avoiding the front office people all day, then ran into Kevin and was scared. He pulled me off to a side office and told me to keep it to myself, but congratulations, I made the team. Kevin made sure I knew I was part of a family. Jerome pulled me aside after and told me he didn’t know I was from Toledo. That he was going to make sure I was raised right as a Steeler and have a successful career!”
Ike Taylor: “I was on the sidelines and Kevin Colbert asked me what was wrong. I told him I was done. That I lost my passion. He asked me if I was serious. That’s how good our relationship was – that I could do that mid-game. He looked me in the eyes and knew I was serious”
David Gilreath: “I still want people to know I was the greatest ping pong player! I remember Colbert was always in the locker room playing pool. I didn’t know who he was and always wondered who that old White guy was in the locker room! Then {tight end} Jamie McCoy told me it was the general manager – the one responsible for my paycheck. I’d only been there for a couple of months. I was like “Oh shit!”. Seeing those guys – Colbert, Tomlin and the owners so hands-on. They treated us like human beings, and that wasn’t the case on every team.”
Kendrell Bell: “Most guys that leave learn that Pittsburgh is the best place to be in for success and happiness. You have to factor in team culture and get involved. Don’t talk through agents. You can talk to Colbert – he’s a reasonable guy.”
Vince Williams: “Colbert is my GM and he’s helping me buy a house! The people here care about you. They want to help you and want you to be successful. As a Steeler but as a human being too.”
Alameda Ta’amu: “If I had my way i would have stayed and been a part of a great culture. I loved Kevin Colbert and the Rooneys.”
Kent Graham: “I love the Steelers. I love the organization and people there still. Colbert does a great job of managing the team. And he’s a good guy. He really cares about the guys and creates stability with the team.”
Justin Hunter: “And Kevin Colbert – let’s just say he thinks he was the best pool player in the building. But I disagree, let’s just put it that way. he was good – maybe the best one the team now. I don’t want to discredit him, but when I was there, he wasn’t the best!”
Doran Grant: “I spoke with Coach Tomlin and Kevin Colbert and a lot of what we talked about was just about life. It helped me to understand how they saw me. They thought I could play cornerback in the NFL.”
Justin King: “And of course Kevin Colbert when I played in Pittsburgh – the way he operated things. He was held in such high regard. I was coming off of injury from Indianapolis. I was a free agent – coming back home to play under Tomlin and Colbert was a no-brainer. I was delighted to see how things worked there when I played. How they ran the team. There are 10 ways to skin a cat – seeing how the congruency of what they did – how things were consistent from the management to players – that philosophy was impressive.”
Justin Kurpeikis: “They didn’t care how you got there – just what you could do there. Colbert too – even though he was a North Catholic guy and I was a Central Catholic guy!”
Rick Druschel: I played with Kevin Colbert’s brother in college, so Kevin and I have brief conversations. He told me if I needed anything to let him know. When I worked at Hempfield the Steelers called to ask to use the field there – the rain had damaged the Steelers’ field and they didn’t like practicing on AstroTurf. I said sure. Well afterwards I saw a gentleman with a young boy there – he introduced himself as Kevin Colbert and told me he understood I may know his brother. He thanked me for helping out with practice and I told him I was glad to help. He offered to give me preseason tickets, but I told him that wasn’t what it was about. I just wanted to help the Steelers organization.