Today, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced former OLB James Harrison will be inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor. Most of Harrison’s career, and his peak seasons, came under head coach Mike Tomlin and today Tomlin spoke on what it was like to coach Harrison.
“First of all, man, James loves football,” Tomlin said in his interview which was posted to Twitter by 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hatthorn. “James is a good teammate. James is a hard worker and tremendous competitor. And heaped on top of all that he was an awesome character. He was a guy who brought energy and laughter to our day. Just an awesome guy and well deserving of the honor.”
Harrison’s great career almost never happened, famously getting cut four times before finally getting his chance in Pittsburgh. Eventually Harrison became a mainstay in Pittsburgh with him breaking out in 2007, Tomlin’s first season as head coach.
In a way you can’t tell the story of Harrison without Tomlin. It was under Tomlin that Harrison was given the chance to start after outside linebacker Joey Porter was released. Harrison had been on the Steelers roster since 2004, but rarely played under head coach Bill Cowher, relegated to mostly special teams duties as he sat behind Porter and Clark Haggans. Following Porter’s departure, Harrison took over as starter and never looked back.
In 2008 Harrison won AP Defensive Player of the Year and the Super Bowl with Pittsburgh as he became one of the best and most feared played in the NFL. Despite the accolades, he never lost his walk-on mentality as he continued to get better.
Harrison holds the Steelers all-time sack record with 80.5 but that is likely to change hands soon with both DT Cameron Heyward and EDGE T.J. Watt breaking down his neck. Despite this, no one can ever take Harrison’s legacy away as he is an all-time Steelers great who always strived to get better. And now, Harrison is being honored by the Steelers for his awesome legacy, one in which he helped the Steelers lift two Lombardi Trophies.
