Titans turning into ‘Pittsburgh South’
The pro football season is here.
The 2016 NFL season kicks off with the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos hosting the Carolina Panthers at Mile High Stadium.
The Pittsburgh Steelers open their season in a Monday night game in Washington on Sept. 12.
I took a football trip on Aug. 15-17 with my pal, Bill Priatko. We visited our good friend Hall of Famer, Dick LeBeau, in Nashville at the training camp of the Tennessee Titans. I was aware of Steeler connections with the Titans, but I was amazed to find 15 connections with coaches and players.
The Titans head coach is former Steelers player and assistant coach Mike Mularkey. Lebeau was an assistant with Steelers for 16 years, including 13 as defensive coordinator. Also on the staff is Russ Grimm, who is the offensive line coach, former Steelers defensive back Deshea Townsend, who coaches the Titans鈥� secondary.
Former Steelers assistant Lou Spanos is linebackers coach for the Titans. Former Steeler defensive lineman Nick Eason is in his third season with the Titans, and first in charge of the defensive line. Keith Willis, who played in Pittsburgh from 1982-91, is the Titans鈥� assistant defensive line coach.
Also on the Titans staff is former Steelers assistant Bob Bratkowski, who coaches the wide receivers, and former Steelers assistant, Bobby April, who enters his first season with the Titans as their special teams coordinator.
Another former Steeler serving an assistant coaching internship with the Titans is former standout linebacker Chad Brown.
Five former Steelers are on the current Titans roster: defensive backs Antwon Blake, Brice McCain and B.W. Webb. Linebacker Sean Spence is with the Titans along with defensive lineman Al Woods.
鈥淚 first met Coach Mularkey in Pittsburgh,鈥� LeBeau said. 鈥淲e worked together there and a lot of the guys that are working for Mike he knew from Pittsburgh, he worked with them there or he played with Coach Willis. Some of the players I had at Pittsburgh and I had a strong recommendation for them. We鈥檙e just trying to build our roster. I think we鈥檝e got an excellent coaching staff.
鈥淩uss Grimm was with us in Pittsburgh and Bobby Bratkowski, he had a long career as a coordinator at Cincinnati, but before that he was at Pittsburgh. They are all quality coaches. Bobby April has been in the league a long time and we鈥檝e got a ton of experience. Deshea Townsend was one of my favorite players. He and Troy Polamalu, they made me a pretty smart coach for a lot of years.鈥�
The owner of the Titans is the daughter of the late Bud Adams, Amy Adams Strunk. The Pittsburgh connection was very apparent to her.
鈥淲e鈥檙e happy to have all of them,鈥� Strunk stated. 鈥淗opefully the tradition and the winning rubs off on us.鈥�
An interesting fact surfaced on the trip, counting high school, college and pro football, this is coach LeBeau鈥檚 67th consecutive training camp. LeBeau came into the NFL as a player in 1959 and played 14 seasons and he has coached 44 鈥� that鈥檚 58 years in the NFL.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 hardly believe it myself,鈥� LeBeau joked. 鈥淚 just count myself as being blessed and people say 鈥榟ow do you do it?鈥� I just get up everyday and go to work and take each day as it comes and consider myself blessed to be allowed to still be able to do this. Both have a job and have the health to do it.
鈥淚鈥檓 a teacher and you鈥檝e got to have players to teach and if you鈥檙e going to be a teacher you鈥檝e got to be a coach, there is no better place to coach than in the National Football League.鈥�
The visit to Nashville also resulted in a very unique souvenir for a LeBeau and Steeler fan back in Pennsylvania.
The remarkable rarity of fifteen former Steeler coaches and players now with the Titans created a rarity that involved an autographed football. Bill Priatko, for the past fifteen years, has worked the summer months at Kennywood Park. His boss, Mike Henninger, Supervisor of Food and Beverages at the Park asked Bill if he could possibly obtain autographs of the former Steelers with the Titans, on a Titan football. LeBeau graciously fulfilled the request for Bill. It has to be the only autographed football in the country that has fifteen former Steelers as present Tennessee Titans. Truly, a double rarity, indeed.
As we prepared to leave Nashville, LeBeau took a look back at his career in Pittsburgh, during which time his defense finished in the top five in defensive rankings 10 times, and five seasons as number one in defense (2004, 07, 08, 11, 12).
鈥淚t鈥檚 humbling when I think about my years in Pittsburgh and the people of Western Pennsylvania and the city of Pittsburgh,鈥� LeBeau said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just amazing how good they were to me, how good the players were, the tremendous seasons that we had there. They are lifetime memories that will never ever be taken away from me and I鈥檓 so thankful to those people. I miss Pittsburgh, life is what it is and I鈥檓 blessed to be in Nashville, but I would like to send my love to all the people of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.鈥�
May I say in closing I know this is Steeler Country, but if you want a second team to root for might I suggest 鈥淧ittsburgh South.鈥�
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.