The Pittsburgh Steelers announced on Monday that Hall of Famer Joe Greene has retired from their player personnel department. Greene, 66, has spent the last nine years as a special assistant for pro and college personnel.
Greene was drafted by the Steelers with the fourth overall selection in the first round of 1969 NFL draft out of North Texas and of course was part of the four Super Bowl winning teams of the 70\’s. He retired from the Steelers following the 1981 season after 13 years in the league and was rightfully inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1987.
During his 13 seasons with the Steelers, Greene was a five time First-Team All-Pro selection and a ten time Pro Bowler.
Following his retirement from the Steelers as a player, Greene worked briefly as a color analyst for CBS Sports before becoming the Steelers’ defensive line coach from 1987-91. He then went on to coach the defensive line with the Miami Dolphins (1992-95) and the Arizona Cardinals (1996-03) before retiring from coaching and moving into the player personnel department with the Steelers.
Upon returning to the Steelers in 2004, here is a quote from Greene\’s talk with the media at that time.
“Being a Steeler has been in my blood for many, many years, since the beginning. When I went to work elsewhere I put those groups in the forefront, but the Steelers blood was still there. The interest in what was going on in terms of the won-loss record for the Steelers was always there. My concentration and my dedication to what was at hand was with the people I was working for, but my loyalties never wavered”
In the Steelers news release today, here is what Greene had to say.
“When I played, our success was based on the people there — the players, coaches and front office — and I felt the same way when I was in scouting. The people were very important to me, brought me along and made me feel comfortable, and I thought we made a pretty good team together. The people that I was working with made it all good for me — made it important to me — made it special. I will miss everyone in the Steelers organization.”
Thanks, Mean Joe, I still think you\’re the best ever.
