0:14

This is in the Locker Room with

0:17

Wolf and Starks on Fox Sports

0:19

Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation Radio,

0:21

presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.

0:24

The F one fifty is the official truck

0:26

of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

0:29

Well, the power hour just got a little more accurate.

0:31

You can hear the music in the background.

0:34

That's right. The man, the myth

0:36

the eagle himself.

0:39

And I say that in a golf sense, not

0:42

a mythical bird sense type of type of

0:44

deal or the type of metaphor. It

0:46

is the one, the only Jerry do Lack. He's a

0:49

walking eagle. I'm sure, Jerry.

0:51

Are you in your basement practicing with

0:53

your with your pitching wedge again or

0:55

have you are safer?

0:58

Confines I'm in I'm

1:00

in.

1:01

A safer room, but I could

1:03

be headed there shortly, depending on how

1:05

good the conversation is. What

1:07

I want to know? What

1:11

I want to know? Man, it sounds as though you're

1:13

in a studio, but I can't believe that, or you

1:16

on on sip.

1:17

No, I no, I'm I'm actually in my in

1:20

my in my office home office studio.

1:22

So it does have a sound

1:24

to it.

1:26

And don't be telling me you have an afternoon tea

1:28

time schedule.

1:29

Please, No, not today. It's

1:31

actually it just started raining.

1:32

I was going to hit the driving right across the street

1:34

today, but unfortunately I

1:36

have to well, you know,

1:38

I have to get ready for the for the for

1:41

the NFLPA Trust Golf outing in

1:43

Vegas.

1:43

While I'm out there working so.

1:45

Hard and tirelessly to bring

1:47

broadcasting to the masses, you

1:49

know, I I do have to make sure that I also

1:52

pay myself off a little bit by

1:54

saying that I can go relax and play a

1:56

nice eighth year whold round at a very expensive

1:58

golf course.

1:59

I'd never pay for myself. So I'm

2:01

going to LPA do that for me.

2:03

I've been angling to get an invitation to

2:05

that. So far i've struck out.

2:09

Well, you know, I know a guy in

2:11

the future, So

2:14

if you do peruse your way to a Super Bowl

2:16

site, please do let me

2:18

know because I might I might be able.

2:20

To help you out there.

2:21

Well, I will keep that, I will keep that

2:23

in mind, all right.

2:25

Yeah, Well I could I could whip both of these

2:28

guys in miniature golf.

2:31

I still don't know. I believe that clown with

2:33

the teeth would probably give you some trouble to

2:37

the windmills. You know what it is?

2:38

Will trying to time that

2:40

windmill is just brutal on me.

2:43

You just can't get that timing.

2:45

No, yeah,

2:47

the counterplay was easier to time than

2:49

that windmill, that's for sure.

2:50

You know.

2:50

It's kind of like a hot read for a quarterback,

2:53

you know, up and go.

2:57

Oh my gosh, well, Jerry,

3:00

I got I got I gotta come off the top ropes earlier

3:02

on this with the first question. Now,

3:06

now I preface this. Are you a part of

3:08

the pf W a a k a. The

3:11

Pro Football.

3:11

Writers, the pf W A A. Yes, I am.

3:16

How and you know, you know what,

3:18

don't even let me say that, you know, let me rephrase that.

3:21

Miles Garrett won the Defensive Player

3:23

of the Year award for the p W

3:26

A pf W A.

3:29

Okay, I'm just gonna ask how how.

3:33

I'm just gonna yeah,

3:35

how did that happen?

3:37

Yeah?

3:37

Well, the only thing I can think

3:39

of is that, like most

3:43

instances, those guys

3:45

who win those awards, unless it is

3:47

overwhelmingly in favor of a

3:49

person, Typically those awards

3:52

come from a player on a winning team,

3:55

a playoff team, and it's not that

3:57

the Steelers weren't a winning team and a playoff

3:59

team, but the brown you

4:01

know, we're more

4:03

dominant in that area and were

4:06

favored to win the playoff game. And

4:08

then of course we know Miles Garrett

4:11

but disappeared in that game. But

4:14

that's you know, he had

4:16

his you know, hey, he had his own kind

4:18

of quote national campaign going. It

4:21

doesn't shock me because

4:23

we've seen that happen before. While

4:27

TJ's year was outstanding,

4:30

it wasn't to the level of two years

4:33

ago, even though it was outstanding, because

4:36

that you know season

4:39

two years ago was just dominant

4:41

and off the charts. So

4:44

those types of things never surprised me, nor

4:46

do as a as a

4:49

member of the fifty two person

4:51

selection committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame,

4:54

to some of those votes surprise

4:57

me. They just, you know, sometimes

4:59

I'm just you know, I see some of the players

5:01

who get in, and with all due respect

5:03

to all the players on the ballot

5:06

and the ones who get to the final

5:09

the fifteen finalists, sometimes you

5:11

know, you sit there and you go, okay, yeah, they're really good,

5:13

but are they you consider them a Hall

5:15

of Fame player?

5:18

You know, it happens. It happens.

5:20

So I will say, with all those awards,

5:22

none of it ever shocks me.

5:24

You know, I look at this and I got Miles

5:26

Garrett and TJ. Watt side by side in

5:28

fourteen recognized categories from

5:30

tackles to strip sacks, all that TJ

5:34

leads Miles Garrett and eleven of them,

5:36

they're tied in two of them, and

5:38

Miles Garrett leads in one of them.

5:40

And that's the tackles for loss on run plays.

5:43

You know, now you're only two.

5:44

Yeah, crazy, you're preaching

5:46

to the choir.

5:47

And I don't I mean, I don't even come

5:49

close to putting Miles Garrett in Aaron

5:52

Donald's category.

5:53

Who's just to me, with the

5:55

attention.

5:55

He receives, still might be

5:57

the most dominant player defensive player

6:00

in the NFL, you

6:02

know, but his numbers or weight are

6:05

down because I mean, he's at least

6:07

double team and a lot of times triple

6:09

team. And he's not double team. He's not getting

6:11

a chip from the tight end. You know, he's

6:13

on the interior. He's getting two offensive

6:15

linemen on him and sometimes are running

6:17

back waiting for him.

6:19

So to me, he is the.

6:21

Most disruptive player in the NFL,

6:24

even though sometimes he doesn't get the chance, but

6:27

the attention he gives is disruptive

6:29

enough to an offense and what

6:32

they would like, maybe like to do. So yeah,

6:34

well, look I'm with you. I'm with

6:36

you, and I'm curious to

6:38

see who wins Defensive Player of the Year.

6:41

I mean, I think TJ.

6:42

Watt obviously should win it, but I'm not

6:44

going to sit here and tell you it's a slam dunk by any

6:46

stretch, because just because

6:48

of the noise that was made early

6:51

on about Miles Garrett, Miles

6:53

Garrett, Miles Garrett, So we'll see, we'll

6:55

see.

6:57

No, absolutely, I had to

6:59

ask.

7:00

That just kind of astonished me on flabbergasted,

7:04

and I was like, well, what are they saying, Like, how

7:06

are they doing this metric? Because I you

7:08

know, last time I checked, usually

7:10

when you lead and a majority of tangible

7:13

stat categories as coming from a position

7:15

that has very arbitrary, subjective

7:18

stats to really judge who you are as

7:20

a player, I was like, these

7:22

are tangible stats, these are these are hard

7:24

and fast stats that apply and

7:27

and when you're comparing the best, you

7:29

would think you picked one of the best in those categories.

7:32

Well, and Max.

7:33

Unlike any type of voting on

7:36

the Hall of Fame, you

7:39

know that is done with a

7:42

of the finalists, a presenter, a

7:44

discussion, question

7:47

and answer, and then a

7:49

summation.

7:50

There's none of that.

7:51

Here's here's your ballot. Who are you voting

7:53

for? So nobody is standing

7:55

up and presenting a candidate and

7:57

and like to Wolfe's fourteen stats

8:00

leven and TJ's favor or whatever the number

8:02

was, and there's none of that. So,

8:05

you know, there obviously, the Pro Football

8:07

Hall of Fame it's more involved, you know, the meeting

8:09

last all day, the voting last all

8:11

day. This is he gets your ballot.

8:14

Yeah, okay, yep like him,

8:16

Yep, there we go and and and

8:18

that's basically it. I mean, I'm

8:20

not dismissing those who don't who

8:23

give it a certain amount of thought, because I'm sure they

8:25

all do, but it's you know, it's not there's

8:27

nobody sitting there, you know,

8:30

presenting somebody's case and why they

8:32

should be that person and that and that's

8:35

you know, it's so it's an entirely different animal than

8:37

what what I'm talking about with the Pro Football Hall

8:39

of Fame.

8:39

Of course, well this leads me to a question.

8:41

Now, Jerry, I got to ask you, does it ever

8:43

get heated in those Hall of Fame discussions?

8:46

You know, I mean, it.

8:46

Gets very it gets very involved.

8:49

Well, now, well, I will say, of course,

8:51

this is my first year doing it. You know, my

8:54

colleague uh Ed Bouchette retired

8:57

and so then you know, I

8:59

I stepping in for him.

9:04

I wouldn't use the word heated. But the discussion

9:08

nobody, nobody is shooting

9:11

down a candidate as much as they

9:13

are may

9:15

be more, you know, inquisitive

9:17

about certain things, you know what I mean, everybody

9:21

is, Yeah, everybody is deferential

9:23

to all these guys because they are all terrific

9:26

players. There's no disputing that. So

9:28

it never gets heated, but the discussion

9:30

can get involved and

9:33

including even like with the coach contributor

9:36

category and then the senior

9:38

category, which you know, because you have your fifteen

9:41

modern day candidates, and

9:43

then you have a coach

9:45

contributor candidate who was

9:48

advanced to the selection committee

9:50

by a coach contributor

9:52

committee. And then you have three

9:56

I don't know if there's a limit, but there's three senior

9:59

player who are no longer eligible as

10:01

modern day. You have you have twenty years

10:04

from we have twenty five years

10:07

from the day you retire to be eligible

10:10

as a modern day candidate, and

10:12

then you get tossed into the

10:15

senior candidate category. And

10:17

this year the senior candidates

10:19

were not the inductees,

10:21

but I mean, but they were the candidates

10:24

they could be inducted. And of course you know that'll

10:26

be announced during the Super Bowl, where

10:29

Steve McMichael, Randy Gradish

10:31

are and is

10:33

that Art Pole was a receiver for

10:36

the Oakland Raiders. And so those

10:38

three senior candidates are advanced

10:40

by a committee and those three guys then

10:43

are presented to the fifty two person

10:45

selection committee, who then vote

10:47

on which of those guys, one

10:50

of them, two of them, all three of them get

10:52

in.

10:54

And I do remember Randy Gradish are he

10:56

was a pretty tough guy.

10:58

Yeah, And there were yeah, And

11:00

there were a lot of, obviously, if you can

11:02

imagine, very very

11:04

very positive testimonials about

11:07

why this guy needs to be in

11:09

the Hall of Fame. And I will

11:11

tell you I was impressed with the presentation

11:14

on Steve McMichael because kind

11:16

of like what you were presenting to the stats

11:19

about t J. Watt, the numbers that

11:21

they were presenting that

11:23

were being presented for for

11:25

for for Steve McMichael, where

11:28

they were eye opening.

11:29

I did not.

11:29

Realize statistically

11:32

he was that dominant

11:34

in that in that defense.

11:37

No, absolutely no. And this

11:40

is always the fascinating part of it, right because

11:43

you.

11:43

Know, this is the time of year where

11:46

you know, you always want to know the inside edge

11:48

as far as how things are calculating,

11:50

you know, uh, you know. Unfortunately I get

11:52

to work with Alex Marvez who's also on that

11:55

on.

11:56

Who's on the committee, that's right, And yeah, and I

11:58

will tell you I will tell you Mac since

12:00

he's because you brought that up, Alex

12:02

storing one of when he chimed in

12:05

on one of the candidates, and and

12:07

and I'm trying to remember if

12:10

it was one.

12:11

Of the Oh, it might have been one of the modern day

12:13

guys. Probably was Max.

12:14

Whether.

12:17

Whether it was Jarry Evans

12:19

or Willy Anderson. Maybe, uh,

12:21

he referenced you and and

12:24

something that you had said about the guy,

12:26

as you know, one of the toughest or one of the best.

12:29

But he used a comment from you when

12:31

he chimed in on that candidate. But was

12:33

it Willy Anderson? Do you think Max.

12:35

Yeah, I think I

12:37

think it was Willy when I was talking

12:39

about Willie because.

12:41

That's or maybe you know, or or would have been

12:43

would have been.

12:44

Jared Allen maybe no,

12:46

no, you know who it was. It was. It was Jared,

12:49

Dwight and.

12:52

Dwight Frank that that was right compared.

12:55

Yeah, that's right, we had.

12:57

That's right, Yeah, that

13:00

exactly who then one of those one

13:02

of those three guys. When Alex chimed

13:04

in, he referenced the comment that you

13:07

made about whichever one of those three we're

13:09

talking about here?

13:09

Yeah, yeah, no.

13:11

And that's one of the things, you know that that's always

13:13

fun because you know, a couple of different guys

13:16

you know, will call me.

13:17

I always. I always get a list from from

13:19

one writer.

13:20

He'll he's like, MaTx, give me your

13:22

top five here, and it's always the Hall of

13:24

Fame finalis list, Like how would you rank these?

13:26

And I try and give my input, you know, and and

13:28

be thoughtful in my choices just

13:30

to help the process from my perspective, especially

13:33

where I know, you know, if this guy, especially guys I

13:35

played against or played with, to

13:37

try and make sure that I'm being consistent. So

13:39

it's always fun to just get a peek of that,

13:42

cause, I mean, I think it's it's so intriguing and

13:44

it is a tough job. I mean, what you guys have to

13:46

do, Jerry, you know, and thinking

13:48

about the history of this game and

13:51

how you know, how there's

13:53

been so many contributions, right, and

13:55

the different factors you have to take into account

13:57

when your vote. So it's it's always

14:00

say, you know, I love speeching debate as a kid,

14:02

so you know, hearing how those meetings

14:04

go, I'm like, oh man, I.

14:06

Was like, I can't, I can never get enough.

14:07

And you know, so it's just a fun

14:10

process.

14:11

Yeah, it's a very involved, thoughtful

14:14

process. With our question, we started at

14:16

nine am and we finished at six pm,

14:19

and so right and

14:22

it was on Zoom. We were supposed to meet

14:24

in Atlanta last Wednesday.

14:27

Last Wednesday now

14:29

when the Steeler and they

14:31

were flying everybody down to Atlanta,

14:34

putting us up in a hotel, and we were gonna

14:36

meet Tuesday night, I think for the

14:38

coach and seniors, and then

14:40

we were gonna have an all day meeting up well

14:42

from like seven thirty to three o'clock for

14:44

the modern day people candidates,

14:47

and then fly to people home, so it's gonna

14:49

be one night, two days. But with

14:51

the weather and there were so many

14:53

playing cancelations, and then like

14:55

in my case, the Steeler game got

14:58

moved to Monday. Well, I would you

15:00

know, I was supposed to fly out Tuesday morning, while

15:02

I said, look, first of all, given

15:04

the weather, I don't know if I'm going to get out of Buffalo,

15:07

and even if I do, I'll be traveling Tuesday,

15:09

so I would be unable to attend, which

15:11

was the case with several other people. But with

15:13

so many people getting having weather cancelations

15:16

that with plane and planes and everything,

15:18

they decided to scrap the meeting

15:21

in Atlanta and just do it by just

15:23

do it by zoom.

15:25

So yeah, it was.

15:27

I was very impressed with the thoroughness of

15:29

the meeting. I will say of

15:31

the final five, they whittle it the fifteen

15:34

to ten, and then they whittled the ten

15:36

to five, and of the five

15:40

of the ten, the five that I voted

15:42

for for the

15:44

final five for the five that

15:46

I voted for made

15:49

it so I know who those are who

15:52

got in. But everybody has sworn the

15:54

sec secrecy until the honors

15:56

program TV show on whatever that is

15:58

February eighth or something.

16:00

Oh, so we can't

16:10

forget it.

16:13

That's awesome. All right, here's something

16:15

else we got to ask you.

16:16

Now we'll shift the focus from that to

16:19

what about what's going on with the offensive

16:21

coordinators?

16:22

Once again, once again, I'm sworn

16:24

to secrecy. We I'm

16:28

kidding you. I'm kidding you. No, no, I'm

16:30

sorry.

16:31

Thomas Brown. Oh, that's okay,

16:33

Thomas Brown Carolina. Has

16:36

he already been in for it? Because I saw

16:38

the announce it.

16:39

Okay, yeah, yes, he was in yesterday.

16:41

He was the first of those candidates

16:43

to be interviewed on the south side. Mike Tomlin

16:46

is headed to the Senior Bowl

16:48

next week. I don't

16:50

know if I

16:53

think they want to interview all the people here

16:55

because you know they want Omar wants

16:57

to be involved, even though you'll be done at the

17:00

Senior Bowl, and Art

17:02

wants to be involved. But I'll make it

17:04

clear. You know, Mike Tomlin hires

17:07

all his coaches. Now, of course Art

17:09

Rooney has to sign off on him, but you

17:11

know, Mike Tomlin picks his

17:13

coaches, and he will pick the offensive coordinator.

17:17

But he was the first one.

17:19

They have a list of candidates Zach

17:22

Robinson is one of those candidates. Cliff

17:25

Kingsbury right now is not one of

17:27

those candidates. Despite what's being said.

17:29

He is not on the list. As as

17:31

we speak, he is not on the list. But

17:35

beyond that, beyond that, I'll be honest,

17:37

I can't tell you any more who

17:39

it might be as of right now, because

17:42

I don't know anything more than

17:46

basically than that. And I don't

17:48

think they're gonna wait very long. I

17:50

would imagine sometime after the Senior

17:52

Bowl they will make that decision, and

17:55

you know, they want to get things going. And

17:58

Mike Sullivan is in dealing with the

18:00

Raiders today to be their

18:02

offensive coordinator. He has an interview

18:04

with the Saints, and i've

18:07

i've it's been indicated to me that

18:10

should that not work out, that

18:13

he could and probably will

18:15

be back as a quarterback

18:17

coach, because you know,

18:19

Mike Conland likes him obviously. Of course, he's a very

18:22

likable guy, as you guys now. More importantly,

18:24

all the quarterbacks really like Mike

18:27

Sullivan, and when you think about it, it's probably

18:29

important to have that continuity there,

18:31

that type of relationship while you're adjusting

18:34

to a new system. Excuse me in a new

18:36

coordinator, Yeah.

18:38

No doubt about it.

18:39

I would think, you know, Thomas Brown,

18:41

Now, he's obviously got some some

18:43

problems in the fact that he comes from the worst

18:45

offense in the NFL.

18:47

Right, you know that's right, that's going

18:49

to be.

18:49

Something that I'm sure is not going to be

18:51

a shining example for him. But the other

18:54

guys like Zach Robinson, he's the

18:56

Rams passing coordinator, right,

18:58

the passing.

18:59

Game beck coach, right fan pask

19:01

game coordinator.

19:02

Yeah.

19:02

Now I will point up to Thomas Brown. He

19:05

did work for two years, you

19:07

know, in Sean mcvay's system, and

19:09

I think he was Yeah, I don't

19:11

know if he had an assistant head coach title or

19:14

whatever he had, but yeah, I

19:16

tend to agree with your wolf about coming from Caroline

19:18

to their offense. Obviously it was not impressive

19:20

at all. And

19:24

but I think you know Zach Robinson.

19:26

Now, you know, Mike Tomlin was asked, would

19:28

you prefer somebody

19:30

who's been an NFL coordinator, and he said

19:32

yes. Just because he says he would

19:35

prefer doesn't mean it will be that

19:37

that will be the case. You know, he's going

19:39

to hire the person who he feels is best

19:42

capable of running that

19:44

offense. Now, maybe, and I

19:46

don't want to say probably, it'll be somebody with

19:49

NFL O see experience.

19:51

But I wouldn't sit here and run to the bank, run

19:53

to the betting parlors with that one. That's for sure.

19:55

Because he just said he prefers.

19:57

That doesn't mean that's what it's going to be.

20:02

No, And that that is intriguing because

20:05

you know, and I'm glad you kind of desvelped myth because

20:07

I know a lot of steam was picking up about Cliff Kingsbury

20:09

because he was in Philly and knowing

20:12

that, you know, in proximity

20:15

was Pittsburgh, Cleveland.

20:17

Of course, Cincinnati now has their guy. They they

20:20

they promoted what Dan Dan Pitcher, right.

20:23

Yeah, yeah, And all I'm saying, Max is

20:25

he is not on their list as we

20:27

speak, and they have a list of candidate

20:30

and he is not on that list as of right

20:32

now.

20:33

Hmm okay, okay, Well

20:35

then then we shall leave it at that for further

20:38

speculation. You

20:41

know, as we look at this, you know, obviously

20:43

there's also another vacancy. Defensive backs

20:45

coach or assistant

20:47

defensive back coach has now become an

20:50

availability with the

20:52

departure of Gerald Alexander going

20:55

to said Raiders as well along

20:57

with the team that myself was interviewing at. So

21:01

you know, what, have you heard anything as

21:04

far as what they're thinking in that area or is

21:06

that something that kind of stays a little bit under the radar

21:08

because it's only an assistant position.

21:10

Versus right, you know, the more prominent coordinator.

21:13

Yeah, exactly, Max, and

21:15

you know things like that, you know,

21:18

you're you're bringing in somebody that nobody

21:20

really knows of. I will say Gerald Alexander

21:23

was an intriguing coach.

21:26

He had a nice little background former player.

21:29

You know, Mike Tomlin tends to lean that way as

21:31

we have seen for the most part, and

21:35

you know, he has a he has a kind of a nice little

21:37

background for for a young coach who's

21:39

kind of worked his way through through

21:41

the ranks and

21:44

and and that's why he was he

21:46

was hired at the Raiders, you know, and he worked for the Dolphins

21:49

for a couple of years as a young safety.

21:52

Uh.

21:53

Secondary coach. Yeah, secondary coach, I believe with

21:55

the Dolphins. So but those kinds of

21:57

guys, the assistance you know, it's like, you

21:59

know, a they can hire an assistant, we go who's

22:01

that you know? And

22:03

and so yeah, those those ones aren't as prominent,

22:06

and those kinds of names don't surface. They're kind

22:08

of like, okay, who's out there? After you hire

22:10

your you know, your your regular

22:12

coaches, and then if you need an assistant or want

22:14

an assistant, they bring somebody in. So yeah,

22:17

those ones typically fly under the radar, unnoticed.

22:20

Well something that's not unknoticed as Terrell

22:22

Austin is now that has been

22:24

re upped as the defensive coordinator.

22:27

What do you what's your thoughts on that?

22:30

Well, let me just give you a little

22:32

quick background. Typically when they hire

22:35

a coordinator, they give the coordinator

22:37

a three year contract, which is what Matt Canada

22:39

had when he came in. But when Terrell came

22:42

in, well when it was promoted,

22:44

you know, to defensive coordinator, he

22:48

was he just he just wanted

22:50

the two year contract. So that's why

22:52

his deal was up and Mike

22:54

Tomlin wanted him back. There was never a question

22:57

whether he was going.

22:58

To be back.

22:58

But you know, he got his you know, he got another

23:01

two years and that's what they do. They give him a three year deal.

23:03

When you become the coordinator, and then after

23:05

that it's just two years for the

23:08

coordinator. I think with assistant coaches,

23:10

and that don't hold me to this. Assistant coaches

23:12

when they come in sign a two year deal and

23:14

then every year after that is typically

23:17

just a one year deal. But

23:19

yeah, they wanted Tarrell back. I'm

23:22

glad for him. I think the defense

23:24

has done a pretty good job. You

23:27

know, we saw a lot of injuries, and

23:30

especially where it hurts in the middle of the field,

23:32

you know, having your two thirds of your

23:34

inside back or crew wiped out

23:36

and then having your safety position traumatized

23:39

with injuries, and you

23:42

know there when you look at how

23:44

many points per game, that's a big factor.

23:46

They were seventh in the league the fewest points per game

23:48

allowed. So I don't

23:50

have a huge issue with the defense. Now, I think

23:52

you might see a few changes

23:55

maybe or a change at

23:57

a position coach on the defense. It

24:00

wasn't going to be Tara Austin

24:02

and you know, uh, he got

24:04

his he you know, he just finalized

24:06

his deal. But there

24:09

was never really a question of whether he was going to

24:11

be background.

24:14

All right, well, awesome, Well, Jerry, I I

24:16

don't want to keep you

24:18

further from your from your

24:20

from your destiny and the basement pitching wedge

24:23

game.

24:23

So we're.

24:26

Going to let you slide. Uh. Are

24:30

you around next week? Are you? Are you vacation next

24:32

week?

24:33

Don't tell me? You guys are doing the show another

24:35

week.

24:36

Yeah, we have one more week, one more week.

24:38

Oh you told me last week?

24:40

More we well,

24:43

we thought it was one more week a week ago,

24:45

but now it's one more week.

24:46

We thought.

24:47

You know what, I will tell you.

24:49

I will tell you we will have to do a different

24:51

day, I think, but because

24:53

I will be in Florida. But we

24:56

Friday next week, I

24:59

would be glad join you boys from

25:01

the sunny climbs of Florida.

25:03

But check with me. But we'll make it work.

25:05

But Thursday, our regular Thursday,

25:07

won't work next week for me?

25:08

All right?

25:09

And what what? What will? What golf

25:11

course? Are you playing? First? Well?

25:13

Actually I'm going actually I'm going down

25:15

to visit my daughter. So I will tell you

25:17

despite spent and I'm not going to the Pro Bowl

25:20

that that during six

25:22

days in Orlando, I do

25:24

not have any plans to play golf because

25:26

I'll be with my daughter.

25:28

My goodness, very very nice,

25:32

would you exactly?

25:33

Yeah, Charlie Steakhouse while

25:36

you're out there, then if you're looking.

25:37

For, well,

25:40

well I will and I will be

25:42

probably visiting one of those Disney parks,

25:44

I'm sure one day. But I have a lot of

25:46

other things to do and take care of for

25:48

my daughter, and so I will be busy

25:51

doing a lot of that.

25:52

But you never know.

25:53

Don't rule out the small, small possibility

25:55

I could sneak out to a golf course for nine wholesome.

25:59

I don't listen.

26:01

If you do make it out there, there's a there's enough

26:03

good ones, you know. Also, I know a guy

26:05

out there by the way if you if you're trying

26:07

to get on the Rits course. Uh, you

26:10

know, as being being being a native son

26:12

of Orlando, I

26:14

do have a bunch of connections.

26:15

Jerry, you know I have.

26:17

It's funny because the last time the meetings were

26:20

down there, I played there. And

26:22

it's funny you say that, Max, because I

26:24

was going through my phone

26:26

numbers in my phone of course,

26:28

the other day, and I came across this name

26:30

and I go.

26:31

Who's that?

26:31

And here it was the either director

26:34

of golf at the Ritz or the GM at

26:36

the Ritz. And I'm sure I have it in my phone

26:39

because of the last time I played there. But

26:42

can't, I can't what what could

26:44

you? What's the guy's name? But

26:47

you don't have to say you don't have.

26:48

To say, well, I can text you that. I can

26:50

text you that.

26:51

Text it to me just so I know. I'm just curious

26:53

if it's the same guy. But yeah,

26:55

I do have a I do have a contact in my phone

26:57

for the Rits.

26:59

Yeah, no, definitely, yeah, no, I mean because

27:01

I and also I do, I do. I used to do my

27:03

golf tournament at Shingle Creek, which is right there off

27:05

of an eye drive.

27:06

Oh you know, it's it's funny. It's

27:08

funny. You mentioned that too, But text me

27:10

that guy's name. And I only say that because I

27:13

saw I was watching the Golf Channel,

27:15

which I typically do when I'm working out, and

27:18

they were doing one of their quote playing lessons

27:20

with the Bones Mackay

27:23

who was the caddy, and he's with one of the young

27:25

players, and it was being taped at Shingle

27:27

Creek.

27:28

Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, I mean it's

27:31

beautiful course and yeah it looked

27:33

great. Yeah we used to do it for yeah, really not and it's

27:35

right there. You know, not far from

27:37

Disney, not far from Universal right there

27:39

on International Drive behind the Convention Center,

27:42

so it kind of always a little overlooked,

27:44

but it's it's a very nice, centrally located

27:46

place.

27:47

You're talking about

27:49

shingles Shingles Creek.

27:53

Not the one dingle shingle

27:56

Yeah, yeah, not on a house and not and

27:59

not for a vaccine.

28:02

Right next to the villages down there.

28:03

Right wolf,

28:06

you feel like you got the shingles when you're staring

28:08

at a downhill uh left

28:10

to right, five foot them.

28:13

I don't know what that means, but that's okay.

28:15

Well that means you well, that means you start to shake

28:17

and get nervous and you can't pull the butter

28:19

back and the whole bit.

28:20

That's what I mean.

28:21

No, for me, I meant the five footer

28:23

who left to right, I don't know.

28:28

And on that note, Jerry, we'll let you go, but you

28:30

sir, all right, boy, yeah, we'll chat chat

28:32

next week. Thank you very much, Take

28:34

care, Jerry, and Jerry's brought to us by Archies

28:37

on the South Side. Remember you could go

28:39

there and get some of the best food

28:42

also libations if you're trying to get

28:45

hydrated. While getting dehydrated at the same

28:47

time. There's no better place to do that than than

28:49

Archis on the Southide. They got tremendous screens Conference

28:51

Championship weekend. Make sure you stop on in

28:54

there if you want to catch all your game action.

28:56

We'll be back. We'll be back with more when we

28:58

step aside.

28:59

Here you're inside the locker Room with Wolf and Starks

29:01

on Fox Sports Pittsburgh and SNR Radio.

29:11

This is in the Locker Room with

29:13

Wolf and Starks on Fox Sports

29:15

Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation Radio,

29:18

presented by your neighborhood Forward Store.

29:21

The F one fifty is the official truck

29:23

of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

29:25

You know, one of the interesting things we've been talking about was

29:27

killing around, was Tarol Austin get a

29:29

new contract as a defensive coordinator with

29:31

I think it's great he was back.

29:33

The fact that.

29:34

Gerald Alexander has

29:36

moved on to Vegas now as far as an

29:38

assistant defensive backs coach, I think

29:40

he's the head defensive backs guy out there.

29:43

But also, you know, we talked about

29:45

Mike Mitchell possibly

29:48

you know, being considered for the

29:50

coaching the safeties because one of the safeties

29:52

out there is a guy named Trenton Thompson.

29:55

You know, you think about Trenton Thompson, what

29:57

he did over a period

29:59

of what five six games, doing

30:02

a nice job coming in.

30:03

You know, you think.

30:04

About it, and the fact is Gerald

30:07

Alexander and and Terrell

30:09

Austin too, they're they're hampered by

30:11

the fact that you get decimated by a plague,

30:14

not seeing since what the Egyptians

30:17

in the Red Sea. I mean, it's

30:19

unbelievable these injuries that happened, you

30:21

know, just wiping out three or four safeties

30:24

and three or four inside linebackers

30:26

right down the middle. And you know,

30:28

you think about how

30:30

do you patch together the

30:32

back end of a defense like that when you have

30:35

so many injuries, And what a great job

30:37

that Gerald Alexander did along with

30:40

Terrell Austin and the rest of the coaches, the

30:42

coaching staff, they're being able to put some players

30:44

out there. But Trenton Thompson, think

30:47

about a max. At the opening of training

30:49

camps, he was prepping for the upcoming

30:52

XFL USFL merger creating

30:55

the UFL, which is going to start in March. United

30:57

Football League. But he had he did

31:00

some big moments with his Steelers now he ended up

31:02

on the ir with a neck injury.

31:04

But you know what I'm talking about when you

31:06

you know, again it's

31:08

you're you're not even on the roster

31:11

at the start of the season, but all of a sudden, you

31:13

know, you get pulled up in a way, you go and

31:15

I know that you had first hand experience for that.

31:19

Yeah, I mean it's one of those things where

31:21

you know, the old added as applies

31:24

and it's a bit cliche, but if you if

31:26

you stay ready, you ain't ever got to get ready.

31:28

Good point, good point.

31:29

But yeah, that's what Trenton Thompson did, and

31:32

we have to appreciate that. You know, I look at

31:35

so many guys that were pressed into service

31:37

to to expand their role or

31:40

take on a role right which

31:42

or which wasn't there before. I mean

31:44

I think of Miles Jack, Michael Walker as

31:46

well, you know, kind of get get

31:49

thrust into the limelight immediately. I

31:51

know we brought in Blake Martinez, didn't really see

31:54

much of him, but I mean

31:56

it's phenomenal when you think about

31:58

having to replace guy.

32:00

And Jerry talked about this, the

32:03

injuries that.

32:03

Ran through the middle of this defense, well,

32:06

injury slash suspensions running

32:09

through the defense in the middle, and

32:11

for you to still.

32:12

End in the top ten in points

32:14

allowed. Yeah, but that,

32:17

I mean, that's that's.

32:18

Remarkable considering how many

32:21

linebackers, how many safeties and dbs

32:23

we lost.

32:24

Defensively, and it didn't

32:26

stop.

32:27

It didn't stop the train, which I think, I think

32:29

is a testament and why Terrell Austin

32:32

was well deserving of that honor. But you

32:34

know, more specifically, Trenton Thompson, you

32:36

know, coming in and just doing the work. I

32:39

mean, that's what it is, right, It's it's

32:41

this is the job. Here's a description. Can

32:44

you or can't you do this job? And

32:46

he went out and he proved, hey, I can do this

32:48

job.

32:50

Boy did he ever? And again Cincinnati had a very

32:52

important baby. You

32:54

know, anytime you get one of those picks, that's just

32:57

ginormous. But the fact of the matters you

32:59

look at again per sculpting

33:01

that defense together. And by the way,

33:03

one of the interesting things

33:05

that I'm sorry, do you do you have something of us?

33:08

Oh?

33:08

Okay, yeah, I was.

33:10

I was getting the high sign from from West

33:12

and all of a sudden, what's he doing?

33:13

No, I'm just telling you a couple of minutes till we got a breaking

33:15

I got lost. I was usual, give

33:18

him the usual, like one or two minutes.

33:19

Sign man, I just like totally floated

33:21

down right out of the gourd man yead

33:24

zukes.

33:25

Wait a second, I don't speak sign language.

33:28

He's holding up one then two, and I'm not going wait

33:30

a minute. You know, you know, the same thing we've been doing

33:33

since August since you

33:35

know what you know.

33:35

My first thought was, you know, the result

33:37

was the concussion test.

33:43

I'm going, but what

33:45

am I concussior? I was like, well, if

33:48

I close my way, if I close my left

33:50

eye, you know it's one.

33:51

If I opened both eyes, it's too I

33:54

don't know.

33:55

Yeah, it's stubborn blurry vision,

33:59

you know.

34:00

But just before we go to break up, you know, Trenton

34:02

Thompson, you think about it, Mika goes

34:04

down, KZ goes down a

34:07

suspension, but you know that's a contusion of

34:09

the pocketbook. And then

34:11

you got Kean O'Neil ended

34:13

up with a neck injury, and yet

34:15

he came in and he and Elijah rything. So I

34:17

just the patchwork quilt that was put

34:20

together and the back end of that defense

34:22

is demonstrative of just what

34:24

a great job Tara loustin the rest of the

34:26

coaching staff did to be able

34:28

to, as you said, you know, to piece

34:30

together a group that was in the top

34:33

ten and least amount of points giving.

34:34

Up well and also add

34:37

Eric Rowan to that. Remember you know,

34:39

how can I forget that?

34:40

Yes?

34:40

Right?

34:41

I mean I mean to go find essentially,

34:45

you know, the dusty penny under

34:47

the couch, right, No talk

34:49

about having ninety nine cents and needing a penny

34:52

to make it a dollar and being

34:54

able to find those pieces. It

34:57

was just phenomenal work. And you know,

34:59

you got to give credit to omar Andy

35:01

and company over there in the scouty department, Sheldon

35:03

White to go find these guys on that

35:06

short list available to then put

35:09

us in a position to still be competitive

35:11

and successful.

35:13

On top of that, well, on

35:15

top of that, we're going to go to break because let's

35:18

let's give me the high.

35:19

Sign and it wasn't giving

35:21

you a concussion test.

35:23

We'll be back with more in the locker room after this.

35:31

M h.

35:50

M hm.

35:58

This is in the Locker Room with

36:00

Wolf and Starks on Fox Sports

36:02

Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation Radio,

36:05

presented by your neighborhood Forward store.

36:07

The F one fifty is the official truck

36:10

of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

36:13

It is bell lap time. That's

36:19

right.

36:20

This is your official Thursday early

36:23

lunch warning system, brought to you by

36:25

Wolf and Starks. And of course

36:28

the uler is the actual

36:30

bell ringer. He's our town crier on

36:32

the show, letting you know that it

36:34

is almost lunchtimes.

36:35

That means it's almost forging time. Or

36:38

for my good friends

36:41

over there in the locker.

36:44

Locker, yeah, exactly, exactly,

36:47

it's only that much closer to their Cali and

36:49

te.

36:51

Yeah. I mean, I mean, gosh, it's just bad

36:53

format.

36:54

No, it's not even that. I'm just all the heathens in this

36:56

building. Somebody will scoop it up. The starting

36:58

in themselves have to throw

37:01

in here. Oh man, did.

37:03

You see the name on the order? No, we just saw

37:05

pizza.

37:08

So that now you guys have forced me to now think

37:10

about what my pizza consumption happened

37:12

has to be today. Because I was planning on being

37:14

very healthy and doing my veggie chili. I

37:17

was gonna I was gonna be nice. I was gonna go get a

37:19

workout it. But now I gotta go forge and

37:21

find pizza, uh somewhere

37:23

around here.

37:23

I don't know. I can't go full hog

37:26

here, but uh go

37:28

to.

37:28

Mod Okay, well let me tell

37:30

you this. You've got me on this

37:32

this soup kick.

37:34

All right.

37:36

I've been doing this coconut shrimp soup

37:38

that is really good. You

37:41

know it's oh yeah, it's it's like really

37:43

good stuff.

37:44

They're they're like a faith special

37:46

or I know, it's.

37:47

Like paleo stuff.

37:48

You know, they're they're soupers, but

37:51

they come prepackaged and they are

37:53

really good. Maybe it's vegan. I

37:55

don't know, I can't remember which it isn't veg

37:58

can can't be vegan?

37:59

Yeah, exactly, Yeah, that would be

38:01

tough.

38:03

Whatever.

38:04

If you found vegan shrimp, you are

38:06

you are you are a dynamo.

38:10

But I've never even heard of that.

38:12

Yes, anybody needs so much

38:14

soup during training camp as you listen.

38:17

I love what can I say? I love soup.

38:19

I mean there's a reason why I was in the Campbells Chunky souper

38:21

commercials.

38:22

Back in the day.

38:22

That's true. I forgot that.

38:25

Yeah.

38:25

No, The only reason why I know that is because my

38:27

my my best bud, Danny

38:29

White, Danny.

38:31

I was sitting there talking with the kids with him and my

38:34

my god daughters last night, and.

38:36

He was like, tell about the Campbell Chunky super

38:38

commercial. How that happened.

38:39

I was like, oh, geez, so so it

38:42

was fresh in my mind about the

38:44

Campbell's Chunky Soup.

38:45

So I was like, well, it's still there in the Gord,

38:47

might as well bring it up. Yes, that is why

38:49

I love soup.

38:50

And I talked about Super

38:52

Bowl well, I mean, you know, we

38:55

had the opportunity after we.

38:56

Won super Bowl forty there

39:00

there was an opportunity for us

39:02

that had been asked. Ben was supposed to be.

39:06

Ben and his mom were supposed to be the new Campbell's

39:08

Chunky Soup duo because Donovan McNabb

39:10

and his mom had done it for so long.

39:12

To really start off that that campaign.

39:15

And of course we all know, been sustained

39:17

a motorcycle accident and

39:20

it was just like a couple of days before the

39:22

shoot, so it was a last second

39:24

thing where they were like, hey, you know,

39:26

they asked us because.

39:27

It was the O line and everybody like.

39:29

Hey, we're still planning

39:31

to shoot this commercial, you know,

39:34

and they got and Charlie was involved with

39:36

it. So they're like, Okay, we need to find

39:38

is anybody's mom local that

39:41

can come in tomorrow and go for the makeup

39:43

and all that stuff. And so I threw my hand up

39:45

a meetate because I knew this is my mom always wanted

39:47

you know, where were you at?

39:50

I was in Pittsburgh. I was here in Pittsburgh.

39:53

Because I had because I was actually

39:55

in Arizona when the accident

39:58

happened. And so

40:00

I found out while I was at my training facility

40:02

out here, and it came across the news

40:04

because we got TVs all in there, and

40:06

I was like, oh my god. So I jumped on a plane

40:08

immediately flew back, flew back to Pittsburgh,

40:11

you know, and uh, and went to

40:13

go see Ben. And

40:15

so we met with the production because I know I was coming back

40:17

in a couple of days.

40:18

Anyways, it just fast tracked it. And

40:21

so we get in this meeting and they're like hey, and I

40:23

was like, hey, my mom, My mom was available. She could be there

40:25

tomorrow, no question mind

40:27

you. My mom. I was in Pittsburgh. My mom

40:29

was all the way in Florida. So it wasn't she was

40:32

not close at all.

40:33

And this is this is a time in which

40:36

you know, you know, yeah, you had to You had

40:38

to either call on the phone or go to the airport

40:40

to get tickets like this before all the apps

40:42

and everything else, everything's you know, is

40:45

encased in your phone.

40:46

You had to do things old fashioned way.

40:48

So I remember calling while

40:50

driving to the airport to tell my mom,

40:53

Hey, get to the airport immediately, I'm putting

40:55

you on a flight. And back then, air Tran was

40:57

was the airline, and air Tran had a direct

41:00

from from Pittsburgh to Orlando and back and forth.

41:02

Right, so I knew, I knew the flight schedule.

41:04

But like the back of my hands, Mom, go

41:06

to air Trap.

41:07

It's gonna be at the counter. Get here.

41:09

I can't tell you till you get here, but you got to get

41:11

here now. So my mom and a tizzy.

41:14

Like she's packing, she doesn't even know what to package.

41:17

And so I get her there, she meets and they fall

41:19

in love with my mom, and so then we proceed

41:21

to do the commercial. Uh and my

41:23

mom ends up becoming the Campbell's Chunky

41:25

Soup Team Mom.

41:26

That was the first of the Team Mom series. Yeah,

41:29

and so it was. It was the O line.

41:31

It was Jeff Kendall, Marvel Allen,

41:34

myself and uh and we had Charlie

41:36

Batch Chunky at Kobe. We were all in the Campbells

41:38

Chunky Suit commercial that ran for that year and then

41:40

I think the next year, uh and we taped

41:42

a whole bunch of different as we're like running

41:45

in an alley working out.

41:46

In this random like like like Jim,

41:49

I don't even know where.

41:50

It was somewhere somewhere in uh

41:53

in uh on the south side. And

41:55

then and then we went to the stadium

41:58

and there was a scene where we were in the locker room eating

42:00

soup while my mom was doing laundry outside on the field,

42:02

like hanging off the gold posters.

42:04

So it was it was just it was a really cool

42:06

moment.

42:06

And then we got in a van to pretend

42:09

to drive somewhere like she was taking taking all.

42:11

The boys to practice.

42:13

So it was it was really cool, really special,

42:15

and uh, you know, I'm so happy I got to.

42:17

Do that with my mom.

42:18

Exactly unfortunate situation on how

42:20

it happened, but uh, you

42:22

know, it was.

42:23

It was a cool opportunity that came out of that.

42:25

What about your little girls you got, I'm sure you

42:28

show those you got them package something.

42:30

All my little girls have seen it.

42:31

I mean they've seen the

42:33

commercials because it's still on like YouTube

42:36

or somewhere else where. They found it, because

42:38

my girls will randomly just do a search of their

42:40

dad.

42:40

And I'm like, why are you?

42:42

You know, at first, it's like it's weird, right because

42:44

I don't think of myself in that light, you know, and

42:46

you can go back and actually watch stuff, and then

42:49

I'm like, oh, that's that's pretty cool that my girls actually

42:51

want to look me up. Then I'm actually cool enough to be looked

42:53

up by by my own kids.

42:55

It's a sad statement to.

42:56

Say, right, but but

42:58

but it's funny. And then just

43:01

all the memories start to fade back in your mind

43:03

and you think about that, like I remember doing

43:05

uh McDonald's commercial with Jeff

43:08

Reid and Charlie Batch and

43:11

that that that funny commercial. So

43:13

I've had some great experiences over the years,

43:15

and you.

43:16

Know, you know why, because you are

43:18

so cool?

43:20

Oh my god, yeah,

43:24

I got the double dip there, right,

43:28

don't worry, don't worry what.

43:29

I'll send you my my my tate heart.

43:33

No, but

43:36

you sent the most beautiful picture of Oakley.

43:38

With his ball.

43:39

Oh yeah, exactly.

43:41

Yeah, the one moment when he was not squeaking the

43:43

ball, I got it. And now that

43:45

ball has disappeared, at least to his knowledge.

43:47

He's disappeared, and he doesn't understand all the words

43:49

that I say. And now he's sitting dejected

43:52

with his back to me. Uh, I

43:54

would playing with I'm like, but I can't do it while

43:56

I'm on the show. So

43:59

but anyways, that's a show for today.

44:01

That's that's been. It's been a fun Thursday as always.

44:03

Well, if we look forward to doing it again, same Black

44:06

and Gold channel, same Black and Gold time. Uh.

44:08

Do we we have Missy tomorrow? Correct? Correct?

44:10

Wesley? Yeah, we got

44:12

Missy coming up. So that's gonna be fun.

44:14

To check in to check in with, of course Mom extraordinaire

44:17

Missy Matthews and also broadcast

44:19

team Mom.

44:20

Uh, Missy Matthews on the airwaves.

44:22

And for everybody else, he's Craig wolf

44:25

Lee, I'm Max Starks, Wesley Euler, Ones and

44:27

twos.

44:28

Uh what what what? What?

44:29

What?

44:29

What's CJ's titled today? Let's

44:32

see Uh,

44:34

you know, you know what I'm gonna say. He's he's

44:36

He's He's Pizza Security. He's Pizza

44:38

Security.

44:41

Junior Trainee uh CJ

44:43

and also the since blan La Martina.

44:45

We appreciate everything. Go

44:47

make it a great day