The Pittsburgh Steelers have a strong alumni base as many of their former players and staff will return once their careers are over and check in on the team to make sure it is still in good hands. There are many stories of players like Mean Joe Greene, Mel Blount, and the late Franco Harris popping into the facility to meet the Steelers players.
Today, some Steelers alumni returned to OTAs and hung out with head coach Mike Tomlin and the team. As Tomlin posted on his Twitter account, it is one of his “favorite days” when the alumni return.
Some of the alumni that are present in the picture posted are former general manager Kevin Colbert, quarterback Charlie Batch, linebacker Arthur Moats, kicker Shaun Suisham, cornerback Delton Hall, tight end Matt Spaeth, safety Will Allen, wide receiver Louis Lipps, safety Robert Golden, quarterback Mike Tomczak, and offensive lineman Craig Wolfley. While we don’t know what the alumni did today with the Steelers we can expect they shared their knowledge of how to be pros with the rookies and told them about The Standard.
Not many other teams have days like this where alumni come back. The Steelers are pretty unique in this as it is something that will happen often at the collegiate level with NFL players going back to their alma mater, but at the pro level it is not very usual for players to have such a connection with their former NFL team.
One reason for this strong connection is because Pittsburgh is an ever-consistent organization. Since 1969, the team has had had three coaches and has been owned by the Rooney family for its entire existence. The team has also consistently been good. There is a reason for The Standard and these alumni all played a role in creating and upholding it. Now they want to pass that Standard onto the new generation of Steelers.
As you may note among the former players present today, they stretch decades and different coaches. For Steelers alumni, they don’t identify with whoever their coach was at the time. They identify with the organization and city, which is why all of these guys decide to come back year after year to meet new players and stay involved with their former team.
