June 7, 2024 • 18 mins
Jeff Hartings sits down with Rob King to talk about his football career and more
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Okay, Jeff.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
First of all, I don't know what happened to you,
But did you get to you? Did you get into
contest for that one fanak or you're good buddy, like
a weight loss challenge or something.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
No, we didn't.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
But and I couldn't win that challenge with him. I
saw him last night, you know, he's I was thinking,
how did this guy run a marathon when he was
done playing football? I retired from football because you know,
my knees and I could. I don't think I've run,
you know, two miles since I've retired. But you know,
once you get out of the weight room, my job
literally was to eat and weightlift and get sleep and
(00:37):
to stay at two hundred and ninety five pounds. And
you know, once you're not doing that, you know, the
weight just kind of came off pretty quickly. But you know,
I'm fifty one years old now. To get to this point,
I wouldn't say it's a lot of work, but you know,
you got to watch what you eat, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Well for a lot of us, if eating and sleeping
was a job, that'd be a good job. But the
in between parts of lifting and running into huge one.
I want to take you back to when you were
a bigger guy. So how did you wind up going
from northwest Ohio to Penn State.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Well, I was a Notre Dame fan, and you know,
back then they didn't have five star, four star, three
star recruits. But I would have probably been a three
star recruit. You know, I'm guessing. But my quarterback from
a high school team, small school, I mean, we're small
town school. He was a five star recruit and he
was getting recruited by a lot of big schools. Pen
State included, Yeah, Bobby Hoying, right, he was getting recruited,
(01:26):
and I think in the recruitment of Bobby Hoying, then
I came on the radar and Penn State in particular,
it is like, who's that guy? And you know I
wasn't an Ohio State fan. I was, like I said,
a Notre Dame fan, and Notre Dame. You know, you
had to be five star to go to Notre Dame
then and now. Really, but I'm very thankful because I
wanted two things. I wanted to the chance to win
(01:48):
a national title and a chance to go to the NFL.
And then Penn State really fit me well, just because
of the country setting a little bit, you know, small
town still compared to Ohio State in a city and
some other schools, and but bottom line is it was
it was about winning. Wanted to win a national title,
and they were coming off of eighty two, eighty six,
and you know I was recruited in ninety one, so
(02:10):
you know, hopefully we would be the next national championship team.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, you're drafted by the Lions not too far from
your hometown within a few hours. What was it like
the draft day and getting the phone call, I assume
from the Lions saying you'd been drafted.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, you know, you kind of know where you're going
to end up going to some extent. I mean, obviously
we watched drafts now and guys are in the green room,
so to speak, and you know, they fall out of
the first round, so I guess that could have happened.
But I kind of had a pretty good idea it
was going to be late in the first round, but
not necessarily where so you know, there's a little bit
of anxiety, but you know, I'm a pretty focused guy,
(02:45):
so my focus was just on I don't care where
I go. I want to play in the NFL didn't matter.
I actually didn't even root for NFL teams in high
score college because I was like, I'm not going to
be an Avid Bengals fan or Avid Browns fan and
then get drafted by you know this dealers and then
you know that's you. So I was like, I don't
care because I'm you know, my plan is to go
to the NFL. And I'm not saying that arrogantly. It
(03:07):
was just like I wanted to just go all in
on that. And so, you know, I remember exactly where
I was. I mean, obviously, you know at our house.
I wasn't in no green room. It wasn't like it
is now. I'm not sure I would have been anyways,
but you know, you're on You're waiting for a phone
call and then you get one. Maybe I was picked
twenty one and so you get one or twenty three.
(03:28):
I'm sorry, twenty one. Another guard got drafted. That's why
I always remember that. And that was the Seattle Seahawks,
and so it was, you know, we kind of knew
it was going to be between the Seattle Seahawks or
the Detroit Lions as the pick started rolling off, and
so you know, around that time, It's like, man, we're
either going to be in Seattle or Detroit. That was
a big difference, and so it was kind of thankful that,
(03:49):
you know, I felt two spots and ended up in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, they had some good teams there, and Kevin Colbert
was the director of pro scouting with the Lions.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
He moved on to the Seaers.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Was that connection any part of the reason why why
you wound up leaving Detroit signing with the Cvision Free Agency.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
It's probably close to say it's.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
One hundred percent of the reason why, because I think
Kevin when he was in Detroit, he saw the capability
that I had of moving to center. And you know,
they were looking for a center because DERMONTI. Dawson was retiring,
and so you know, while a lot of other teams
were just kind of probably looking at me as a guard,
(04:27):
he had that first hand experience to be able to
see me as a matter of fact. In Detroit, we
had another great center Kevin Glover there, I mean a
perennial pro bowler, not quite Hall of Famer, but great man.
And he retired in ninety eight. So in ninety nine
I almost moved to US. I was one of the
guys they considered and then went a different direction, and
(04:47):
so it definitely played into that decision.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So, no pressure, you're gonna move from right guard to center,
there's one problem, and then you're gonna take.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Over for DeMay Dawson.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Did those thoughts go through your head and what was
that transition like moving from guard?
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It absolutely went through my head as I don't know
how this is going to come across money talks. So
what I mean by that is like you're a free
agent and you obviously kind of want to have a
pretty good deal, and you know, Detroit had decided at
that time to just let me go into free agency.
They were going a different direction with their whole franchise,
(05:22):
so that you know, that made sense to them, and
there wasn't necessarily a lot of options out there that
I felt like, we're really good UH franchises teams that
you know, we're gonna give me an opportunity to win
because you're not going to play forever. And Super Bowls
were absolutely my goal and it was a tremendous blessing.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
UH.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
And never forget the day when we got I got
called and asked to take a visit to the Pittsburgh
Steelers because they want, uh, they're looking for a replacement
for Dermanni Dawson, and I was like, okay, like I'm
not sure.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I'm super excited about moving to center.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Never played there, actually never played there in Pittsburgh and
Penn State or in Pittsburgh. Definitely had the body type
for it. But I had watched Hermanni Dawson, not as
much because you didn't play crossover games as much as
you do now even and so I rarely saw him
on film. But when I did see him, and I
wasn't really looking at him. He's a center on a guard.
(06:19):
But I'll tell you this, I signed. You know, I
was very thankful for the contract that I was able
to get everything fit really good, super excited about playing
for this franchise. I already recognized the fact that man,
they just always win. They find a way to win.
I love the way they played. I loved Coach Cower.
And then I sat down and watched film of who
(06:40):
I was going to replace, and.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I was like, after about a week, I was like.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I can't do those things, so I better just focus
on what I can do. He was an amazing man
and an amazing football player.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
So I want to step aside from football for just
a moment because I think toun Choakin was an important guy.
Obviously was a Steelers, you know, former great offense lineman
himself and became the color commentator. He was an important
guy in your life, wasn't he?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Absolutely? Absolutely? You know, it gives me chills when I
think about him often, and I never come to Pittsburgh
without thinking about him. I mean, obviously, his death isn't
that far away, so you would you you would maybe
think that, but no, he was a mentor to me.
He was Actually I met him. First time I met
him was in Pittsburgh Detroit and uh, we brought him
(07:26):
in to work out, you know, the touch punch workout,
and he had he you know, of all the all
the people in my life, he's in the top five.
I'm not kidding. His Uh, his faith first and foremost
really encouraged me in my faith. We would I would
drive in the team buses and sit next to him
and Wolfy and I would eat dinner out with him
(07:48):
and wolfully on road trips and after our career, after
my career was over, his was obviously over, you know,
we did a lot of ministry together here in Pittsburgh,
so that was really devastating to hear the news that he,
you know, he had a disease, and you know, obviously
everyone was hopeful that he would he would last a
lot longer than he did because we just loved him
(08:10):
and cherished our time with him. And I was never
actually able to have another moment with him from the
time that I found out because I was in the
middle of my football season and and then you know,
he passed so quickly at the end of that football season.
You know, definitely, uh brings sadness to my heart right now,
and wish his family well. And he was you know,
(08:31):
I want to be like him and have the have
the legacy that he has in a city, and you know,
I was kind of you know, like in a positive way,
kind of envy, I think is the is the right word,
Like you want to be like that guy because you're
so jealous of the impact that he had and the
love that a city had for him. And he's definitely
a guy that I think this city will never forget
(08:53):
and I hope hopefully you know, kind of quote unquote
and shrines him, you know, over by hinds Field somewhere.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
So I did want to ask you. Now you've moved
to the the others, you wind up blocking for Jerome Bettis.
You blocked for two Hall of Famers, Barry Sanders, Jerome Bettis.
What's the difference blocking for two completely different style running
backs like that?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Yeah, it is completely different styles. I mean even when
you look at running backs now and I get asked that,
or I'm comparing myself, you know, who do you compare
to Derme Bettis? I don't even know if there is
good comparisons because that guy could run guys over, but
he could also he had feet that could make guys miss.
And then you have Jerome Bettis, who he's just you know,
(09:33):
I heard a great quote from about or from Barry Sanders.
He was never looking at the guy in front of him,
whereas Jerome really understood our blocking concepts and really understood
how to make cuts based on how the defense aligned
and how Allan and myself and you know, the other
guys up front were going to block for him. And
(09:55):
I mean I I kind of knew exactly where he
was going to go.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
In two thousand, when you guys led the league in
rushing two thousand and four and five led the conference
one year, But in those years and other years, you
let the league in rush attempts very frequently. So you
guys would get into games, you'd get a lead. Teams
knew they had to stop your running game and you couldn't.
They couldn't. Yeah, what was that like being on a
team like that, where here we come, we're gonna run it.
(10:21):
You could even shout it out to play and they
couldn't stop.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Yeah, well we did shout out to play a little bit,
you know, I mean to be honest with you know,
we would have a call Opie and they pretty much knew, oh,
it wasn't gonna go here, and now it's gonna go here.
And you know, it was very satisfying. I mean, we
took a lot of pride in that. Coach Kaward took
a lot of pride in that. One thing I'm coaching now.
One thing that I take from coach kwar is, you know,
(10:45):
what is your identity going to be? And our identity?
You know, I can remember one of the seasons, maybe
it was week four or five, and you know, his
challenge was we really haven't shown we really haven't shown
what our identity is going to be. We took that
personal as an offensive line because we knew exactly what
he meant. We're gonna run the ball, We're gonna stop
the run and play great defense, pass rush, great pass
(11:07):
rush with Joey Porter, and you're exactly right. You know,
there's so many comebacks in the NFL. You know, now
in the NFL. Now from twenty one points down, twenty
four points down, it was hard to come back against
us when we were up ten points, you know, even
if it was in the first quarter halftime. Once we
got up ten, I think teams were like, I'm sure
(11:29):
coaches were saying, you cannot get down to this team
because you really don't have a chance to come back.
And that's a credit to coach Cower first and foremost,
maybe even the Rooney family, because you know, we all
know in Pittsburgh, you know, they want to be able
to run the ball, and they draft that way, and
that's the culture. And they went out and got drum
bets because they wanted to run the ball in ninety
(11:49):
whatever it was before I came here. And so at
the end of games, you know, forty five rush attempts
and fifteen pass attempts.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
That was fine with us.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
We liked that well when you won the super Bowl.
First of all, a great run through the end of
the season, adversity in the playoffs, you know, Drume's rare
fumble and having to win that game and then beating Seattle.
I'm sure just winning it is enough. That journey in
that season was pretty incredible. What's it like? What was
it like for you? You came to Pittsburgh to win
(12:19):
and you want, well, you.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Know, I mean, it was just like a dream come true.
You know, I don't I don't want to make it.
You know, it's surreal, you know, honestly, it's just like
you know, going to the Super Bowl. And it definitely
meant a lot more. And I experienced a lot more
because it was my tenth year. And I think it
meant more to our team because we had we failed
in two thousand and one and coach kiro was definitely
(12:43):
the kind of coach that was capable of winning a
Super Bowl, went there in ninety five. I think, like
I said, built that team back up to be able
to potentially go in one and then fell short and
then two wasn't quite the same team. And then three,
you know, the wheels fell off, but we had an
opportunity to draft Big Ben. So then you know, we
come back in four and we won fifteen in a row,
(13:06):
I think, one of the longest streaks in NFL history,
maybe including the playoff game. Sixteen in a row.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
That was rare.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
That was one of those years where we really felt
like we could run the ball down. You know, anybody,
you know, we weren't even necessarily out to win the
last couple of games of the year because we had
we had had locked it up, and yet we were
able to go run the ball and still win those games.
But we've you know, fell short again to the same team,
you know, so that was tough. And then you know
(13:33):
Week eleven in two thousand and six is when we
were I guess it would have been thirteen. We were
seven and five out of the playoffs. You know, ESPN
puts the playoff up there and you're like, oh my goodness,
I came.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Back, Drome came back. You know, we all come back.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
To go to the Super Bowl, and we find ourselves
out of the playoffs right now, had a great team meeting,
We had great team leadership, and like you said, then
went on a little bit of a roll four games
god hellalthy and and then you know, played really really
well Indian Indian Indianapolis, and Manning dominated him. But yet,
(14:09):
you know, I had to have a little bit of luck,
that's for sure, after he fumbled, and you know that
was another like are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (14:14):
But it all added to that really did add.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
To the satisfaction and fun of winning the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Did it feel a little bit full circle for you
to win the Super Bowl in Detroit where you started
your career.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Absolutely, I mean I don't think I I you know,
I think Jron probably enjoyed that a lot more because
that was his hometown. Honestly, I enjoyed being in Detroit
because we weren't in the sun and fun in Florida
or something like that, and our team would be distracted
and my family would all want to come down and
want to do whatever. And I kind of liked it
because you know, it was there was nothing to do
(14:45):
but focus on football. And then I didn't have any
animosity towards Detroit from that perspective. But like you said,
full circle, you know, when you end up coming back
you know, my first game, ironically, it was a it
was a preseas game, but was in Detroit in the
new stadium. The stadium that I thought was, you know,
I was excited about them building and I'm going to
(15:06):
be able to be there, and we're building towards a
you know, a super Bowl in Detroit, and and you know,
I'm I'm a I'm a loyal person. So I was
committed to the franchise and they chose to go a
different way. So that was that. That probably was a
little full circle. Also standing I can still remember that
standing going against my teammates, and so then five years
(15:27):
later coming back standing in the same stadium and I'm
not sure I had played in that was it was
really special. Added a little bit more, you know, I
guess you could say made it a little bit more
special because it was in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
And when you look at your decision to move to Pittsburgh,
you win a Super Bowl, a couple of Pro Bowls,
first Team All Pro. You cannot come up with a
list of the greatest free agent signings in Steelers history,
and Nazie Jeff Hardings on that short list. What was
your time in Pittsburgh like you.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Know it was you know, I'm a man of faith,
really blessed. You know, when I think about the play,
the players that I played with, the coach that I
played for, the coaches that you know coached me, that
I'm still you know when you see them, you you know,
you you literally say, you know, I love you. And
because it was that kind of special time, you know,
I think and uh, And you know, what I've really
(16:22):
learned in life is like you're not in complete control
of everything. You know, obviously you have to make decisions,
but you if you can't, I can't ignore where God
was really leading me because we really had prayed a
lot about that. I had become a Christian and prayed
a lot about our decision and decided that we had
laid our family foundation in Detroit. And so it was like, okay, yeah,
(16:44):
we'll stay in Detroit. And then to have Detroit say
we've decided to go another way, that rejection is hard.
I don't, I don't doesn't matter. You know, we're human beings,
football players are. And so when you feel like you
made a commitment somewhere and then they go another way,
that was like I was in the valley. You can say,
everybody I think understands that proverb, and you know, went
(17:04):
and visited another team and had an interest from another team,
and it was like, man, these teams aren't even close
to the super Bowl right now. They're building towards that.
Like I said earlier, to have a phone call from
the Pittsburgh Steelers to block for Drone Battis, to play
for Bill Kauer, to play for a franchise that I
was aware of and you know, maybe didn't remember watching
(17:27):
those Super Bowls in the seventies. Even now, it gives
me chills of how blessed I am. So I can't
that would be the number one word that I would
think about. I think that no matter where you play,
you're going to have some teammates that you're friends with,
and I have those in Detroit. But then you add
the camaraderie and the uniqueness of getting close to Super
(17:48):
Bowls and losing championship games and then having to come
back and do it again, having to come back and
you know, kind of did it together. I was five years,
you know, because that was my sixth year. Those guys,
maybe you could add one or two more years where
a lot of those players were drafted. I think Aaron
Smith and some of those guys came in, you know,
prior to me. Clark Hagan's obviously Joey Porter, but that
(18:08):
group of guys from about ninety eight to two thousand
and eight was definite me falling right in the middle.
That was a really, I think a special. The seventies
and then that probably ten year era are maybe the
best eras of Pittsburgh Steelers football.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Jeff, thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Appreciated great catching up with you.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
It was an honor and a pleasure.
Okay, Jeff.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
First of all, I don't know what happened to you,
But did you get to you? Did you get into
contest for that one fanak or you're good buddy, like
a weight loss challenge or something.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
No, we didn't.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
But and I couldn't win that challenge with him. I
saw him last night, you know, he's I was thinking,
how did this guy run a marathon when he was
done playing football? I retired from football because you know,
my knees and I could. I don't think I've run,
you know, two miles since I've retired. But you know,
once you get out of the weight room, my job
literally was to eat and weightlift and get sleep and
(00:37):
to stay at two hundred and ninety five pounds. And
you know, once you're not doing that, you know, the
weight just kind of came off pretty quickly. But you know,
I'm fifty one years old now. To get to this point,
I wouldn't say it's a lot of work, but you know,
you got to watch what you eat, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Well for a lot of us, if eating and sleeping
was a job, that'd be a good job. But the
in between parts of lifting and running into huge one.
I want to take you back to when you were
a bigger guy. So how did you wind up going
from northwest Ohio to Penn State.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Well, I was a Notre Dame fan, and you know,
back then they didn't have five star, four star, three
star recruits. But I would have probably been a three
star recruit. You know, I'm guessing. But my quarterback from
a high school team, small school, I mean, we're small
town school. He was a five star recruit and he
was getting recruited by a lot of big schools. Pen
State included, Yeah, Bobby Hoying, right, he was getting recruited,
(01:26):
and I think in the recruitment of Bobby Hoying, then
I came on the radar and Penn State in particular,
it is like, who's that guy? And you know I
wasn't an Ohio State fan. I was, like I said,
a Notre Dame fan, and Notre Dame. You know, you
had to be five star to go to Notre Dame
then and now. Really, but I'm very thankful because I
wanted two things. I wanted to the chance to win
(01:48):
a national title and a chance to go to the NFL.
And then Penn State really fit me well, just because
of the country setting a little bit, you know, small
town still compared to Ohio State in a city and
some other schools, and but bottom line is it was
it was about winning. Wanted to win a national title,
and they were coming off of eighty two, eighty six,
and you know I was recruited in ninety one, so
(02:10):
you know, hopefully we would be the next national championship team.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, you're drafted by the Lions not too far from
your hometown within a few hours. What was it like
the draft day and getting the phone call, I assume
from the Lions saying you'd been drafted.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, you know, you kind of know where you're going
to end up going to some extent. I mean, obviously
we watched drafts now and guys are in the green room,
so to speak, and you know, they fall out of
the first round, so I guess that could have happened.
But I kind of had a pretty good idea it
was going to be late in the first round, but
not necessarily where so you know, there's a little bit
of anxiety, but you know, I'm a pretty focused guy,
(02:45):
so my focus was just on I don't care where
I go. I want to play in the NFL didn't matter.
I actually didn't even root for NFL teams in high
score college because I was like, I'm not going to
be an Avid Bengals fan or Avid Browns fan and
then get drafted by you know this dealers and then
you know that's you. So I was like, I don't
care because I'm you know, my plan is to go
to the NFL. And I'm not saying that arrogantly. It
(03:07):
was just like I wanted to just go all in
on that. And so, you know, I remember exactly where
I was. I mean, obviously, you know at our house.
I wasn't in no green room. It wasn't like it
is now. I'm not sure I would have been anyways,
but you know, you're on You're waiting for a phone
call and then you get one. Maybe I was picked
twenty one and so you get one or twenty three.
(03:28):
I'm sorry, twenty one. Another guard got drafted. That's why
I always remember that. And that was the Seattle Seahawks,
and so it was, you know, we kind of knew
it was going to be between the Seattle Seahawks or
the Detroit Lions as the pick started rolling off, and
so you know, around that time, It's like, man, we're
either going to be in Seattle or Detroit. That was
a big difference, and so it was kind of thankful that,
(03:49):
you know, I felt two spots and ended up in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, they had some good teams there, and Kevin Colbert
was the director of pro scouting with the Lions.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
He moved on to the Seaers.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Was that connection any part of the reason why why
you wound up leaving Detroit signing with the Cvision Free Agency.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
It's probably close to say it's.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
One hundred percent of the reason why, because I think
Kevin when he was in Detroit, he saw the capability
that I had of moving to center. And you know,
they were looking for a center because DERMONTI. Dawson was retiring,
and so you know, while a lot of other teams
were just kind of probably looking at me as a guard,
(04:27):
he had that first hand experience to be able to
see me as a matter of fact. In Detroit, we
had another great center Kevin Glover there, I mean a
perennial pro bowler, not quite Hall of Famer, but great man.
And he retired in ninety eight. So in ninety nine
I almost moved to US. I was one of the
guys they considered and then went a different direction, and
(04:47):
so it definitely played into that decision.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So, no pressure, you're gonna move from right guard to center,
there's one problem, and then you're gonna take.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Over for DeMay Dawson.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Did those thoughts go through your head and what was
that transition like moving from guard?
Speaker 3 (05:00):
It absolutely went through my head as I don't know
how this is going to come across money talks. So
what I mean by that is like you're a free
agent and you obviously kind of want to have a
pretty good deal, and you know, Detroit had decided at
that time to just let me go into free agency.
They were going a different direction with their whole franchise,
(05:22):
so that you know, that made sense to them, and
there wasn't necessarily a lot of options out there that
I felt like, we're really good UH franchises teams that
you know, we're gonna give me an opportunity to win
because you're not going to play forever. And Super Bowls
were absolutely my goal and it was a tremendous blessing.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
UH.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
And never forget the day when we got I got
called and asked to take a visit to the Pittsburgh
Steelers because they want, uh, they're looking for a replacement
for Dermanni Dawson, and I was like, okay, like I'm
not sure.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
I'm super excited about moving to center.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Never played there, actually never played there in Pittsburgh and
Penn State or in Pittsburgh. Definitely had the body type
for it. But I had watched Hermanni Dawson, not as
much because you didn't play crossover games as much as
you do now even and so I rarely saw him
on film. But when I did see him, and I
wasn't really looking at him. He's a center on a guard.
(06:19):
But I'll tell you this, I signed. You know, I
was very thankful for the contract that I was able
to get everything fit really good, super excited about playing
for this franchise. I already recognized the fact that man,
they just always win. They find a way to win.
I love the way they played. I loved Coach Cower.
And then I sat down and watched film of who
(06:40):
I was going to replace, and.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
I was like, after about a week, I was like.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I can't do those things, so I better just focus
on what I can do. He was an amazing man
and an amazing football player.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
So I want to step aside from football for just
a moment because I think toun Choakin was an important guy.
Obviously was a Steelers, you know, former great offense lineman
himself and became the color commentator. He was an important
guy in your life, wasn't he?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Absolutely? Absolutely? You know, it gives me chills when I
think about him often, and I never come to Pittsburgh
without thinking about him. I mean, obviously, his death isn't
that far away, so you would you you would maybe
think that, but no, he was a mentor to me.
He was Actually I met him. First time I met
him was in Pittsburgh Detroit and uh, we brought him
(07:26):
in to work out, you know, the touch punch workout,
and he had he you know, of all the all
the people in my life, he's in the top five.
I'm not kidding. His Uh, his faith first and foremost
really encouraged me in my faith. We would I would
drive in the team buses and sit next to him
and Wolfy and I would eat dinner out with him
(07:48):
and wolfully on road trips and after our career, after
my career was over, his was obviously over, you know,
we did a lot of ministry together here in Pittsburgh,
so that was really devastating to hear the news that he,
you know, he had a disease, and you know, obviously
everyone was hopeful that he would he would last a
lot longer than he did because we just loved him
(08:10):
and cherished our time with him. And I was never
actually able to have another moment with him from the
time that I found out because I was in the
middle of my football season and and then you know,
he passed so quickly at the end of that football season.
You know, definitely, uh brings sadness to my heart right now,
and wish his family well. And he was you know,
(08:31):
I want to be like him and have the have
the legacy that he has in a city, and you know,
I was kind of you know, like in a positive way,
kind of envy, I think is the is the right word,
Like you want to be like that guy because you're
so jealous of the impact that he had and the
love that a city had for him. And he's definitely
a guy that I think this city will never forget
(08:53):
and I hope hopefully you know, kind of quote unquote
and shrines him, you know, over by hinds Field somewhere.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
So I did want to ask you. Now you've moved
to the the others, you wind up blocking for Jerome Bettis.
You blocked for two Hall of Famers, Barry Sanders, Jerome Bettis.
What's the difference blocking for two completely different style running
backs like that?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Yeah, it is completely different styles. I mean even when
you look at running backs now and I get asked that,
or I'm comparing myself, you know, who do you compare
to Derme Bettis? I don't even know if there is
good comparisons because that guy could run guys over, but
he could also he had feet that could make guys miss.
And then you have Jerome Bettis, who he's just you know,
(09:33):
I heard a great quote from about or from Barry Sanders.
He was never looking at the guy in front of him,
whereas Jerome really understood our blocking concepts and really understood
how to make cuts based on how the defense aligned
and how Allan and myself and you know, the other
guys up front were going to block for him. And
(09:55):
I mean I I kind of knew exactly where he
was going to go.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
In two thousand, when you guys led the league in
rushing two thousand and four and five led the conference
one year, But in those years and other years, you
let the league in rush attempts very frequently. So you
guys would get into games, you'd get a lead. Teams
knew they had to stop your running game and you couldn't.
They couldn't. Yeah, what was that like being on a
team like that, where here we come, we're gonna run it.
(10:21):
You could even shout it out to play and they
couldn't stop.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Yeah, well we did shout out to play a little bit,
you know, I mean to be honest with you know,
we would have a call Opie and they pretty much knew, oh,
it wasn't gonna go here, and now it's gonna go here.
And you know, it was very satisfying. I mean, we
took a lot of pride in that. Coach Kaward took
a lot of pride in that. One thing I'm coaching now.
One thing that I take from coach kwar is, you know,
(10:45):
what is your identity going to be? And our identity?
You know, I can remember one of the seasons, maybe
it was week four or five, and you know, his
challenge was we really haven't shown we really haven't shown
what our identity is going to be. We took that
personal as an offensive line because we knew exactly what
he meant. We're gonna run the ball, We're gonna stop
the run and play great defense, pass rush, great pass
(11:07):
rush with Joey Porter, and you're exactly right. You know,
there's so many comebacks in the NFL. You know, now
in the NFL. Now from twenty one points down, twenty
four points down, it was hard to come back against
us when we were up ten points, you know, even
if it was in the first quarter halftime. Once we
got up ten, I think teams were like, I'm sure
(11:29):
coaches were saying, you cannot get down to this team
because you really don't have a chance to come back.
And that's a credit to coach Cower first and foremost,
maybe even the Rooney family, because you know, we all
know in Pittsburgh, you know, they want to be able
to run the ball, and they draft that way, and
that's the culture. And they went out and got drum
bets because they wanted to run the ball in ninety
(11:49):
whatever it was before I came here. And so at
the end of games, you know, forty five rush attempts
and fifteen pass attempts.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
That was fine with us.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
We liked that well when you won the super Bowl.
First of all, a great run through the end of
the season, adversity in the playoffs, you know, Drume's rare
fumble and having to win that game and then beating Seattle.
I'm sure just winning it is enough. That journey in
that season was pretty incredible. What's it like? What was
it like for you? You came to Pittsburgh to win
(12:19):
and you want, well, you.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Know, I mean, it was just like a dream come true.
You know, I don't I don't want to make it.
You know, it's surreal, you know, honestly, it's just like
you know, going to the Super Bowl. And it definitely
meant a lot more. And I experienced a lot more
because it was my tenth year. And I think it
meant more to our team because we had we failed
in two thousand and one and coach kiro was definitely
(12:43):
the kind of coach that was capable of winning a
Super Bowl, went there in ninety five. I think, like
I said, built that team back up to be able
to potentially go in one and then fell short and
then two wasn't quite the same team. And then three,
you know, the wheels fell off, but we had an
opportunity to draft Big Ben. So then you know, we
come back in four and we won fifteen in a row,
(13:06):
I think, one of the longest streaks in NFL history,
maybe including the playoff game. Sixteen in a row.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
That was rare.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
That was one of those years where we really felt
like we could run the ball down. You know, anybody,
you know, we weren't even necessarily out to win the
last couple of games of the year because we had
we had had locked it up, and yet we were
able to go run the ball and still win those games.
But we've you know, fell short again to the same team,
you know, so that was tough. And then you know
(13:33):
Week eleven in two thousand and six is when we
were I guess it would have been thirteen. We were
seven and five out of the playoffs. You know, ESPN
puts the playoff up there and you're like, oh my goodness,
I came.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Back, Drome came back. You know, we all come back.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
To go to the Super Bowl, and we find ourselves
out of the playoffs right now, had a great team meeting,
We had great team leadership, and like you said, then
went on a little bit of a roll four games
god hellalthy and and then you know, played really really
well Indian Indian Indianapolis, and Manning dominated him. But yet,
(14:09):
you know, I had to have a little bit of luck,
that's for sure, after he fumbled, and you know that
was another like are you kidding me?
Speaker 1 (14:14):
But it all added to that really did add.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
To the satisfaction and fun of winning the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Did it feel a little bit full circle for you
to win the Super Bowl in Detroit where you started
your career.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Absolutely, I mean I don't think I I you know,
I think Jron probably enjoyed that a lot more because
that was his hometown. Honestly, I enjoyed being in Detroit
because we weren't in the sun and fun in Florida
or something like that, and our team would be distracted
and my family would all want to come down and
want to do whatever. And I kind of liked it
because you know, it was there was nothing to do
(14:45):
but focus on football. And then I didn't have any
animosity towards Detroit from that perspective. But like you said,
full circle, you know, when you end up coming back
you know, my first game, ironically, it was a it
was a preseas game, but was in Detroit in the
new stadium. The stadium that I thought was, you know,
I was excited about them building and I'm going to
(15:06):
be able to be there, and we're building towards a
you know, a super Bowl in Detroit, and and you know,
I'm I'm a I'm a loyal person. So I was
committed to the franchise and they chose to go a
different way. So that was that. That probably was a
little full circle. Also standing I can still remember that
standing going against my teammates, and so then five years
(15:27):
later coming back standing in the same stadium and I'm
not sure I had played in that was it was
really special. Added a little bit more, you know, I
guess you could say made it a little bit more
special because it was in Detroit.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
And when you look at your decision to move to Pittsburgh,
you win a Super Bowl, a couple of Pro Bowls,
first Team All Pro. You cannot come up with a
list of the greatest free agent signings in Steelers history,
and Nazie Jeff Hardings on that short list. What was
your time in Pittsburgh like you.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Know it was you know, I'm a man of faith,
really blessed. You know, when I think about the play,
the players that I played with, the coach that I
played for, the coaches that you know coached me, that
I'm still you know when you see them, you you know,
you you literally say, you know, I love you. And
because it was that kind of special time, you know,
I think and uh, And you know, what I've really
(16:22):
learned in life is like you're not in complete control
of everything. You know, obviously you have to make decisions,
but you if you can't, I can't ignore where God
was really leading me because we really had prayed a
lot about that. I had become a Christian and prayed
a lot about our decision and decided that we had
laid our family foundation in Detroit. And so it was like, okay, yeah,
(16:44):
we'll stay in Detroit. And then to have Detroit say
we've decided to go another way, that rejection is hard.
I don't, I don't doesn't matter. You know, we're human beings,
football players are. And so when you feel like you
made a commitment somewhere and then they go another way,
that was like I was in the valley. You can say,
everybody I think understands that proverb, and you know, went
(17:04):
and visited another team and had an interest from another team,
and it was like, man, these teams aren't even close
to the super Bowl right now. They're building towards that.
Like I said earlier, to have a phone call from
the Pittsburgh Steelers to block for Drone Battis, to play
for Bill Kauer, to play for a franchise that I
was aware of and you know, maybe didn't remember watching
(17:27):
those Super Bowls in the seventies. Even now, it gives
me chills of how blessed I am. So I can't
that would be the number one word that I would
think about. I think that no matter where you play,
you're going to have some teammates that you're friends with,
and I have those in Detroit. But then you add
the camaraderie and the uniqueness of getting close to Super
(17:48):
Bowls and losing championship games and then having to come
back and do it again, having to come back and
you know, kind of did it together. I was five years,
you know, because that was my sixth year. Those guys,
maybe you could add one or two more years where
a lot of those players were drafted. I think Aaron
Smith and some of those guys came in, you know,
prior to me. Clark Hagan's obviously Joey Porter, but that
(18:08):
group of guys from about ninety eight to two thousand
and eight was definite me falling right in the middle.
That was a really, I think a special. The seventies
and then that probably ten year era are maybe the
best eras of Pittsburgh Steelers football.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Jeff, thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Appreciated great catching up with you.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
It was an honor and a pleasure.
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