The Pittsburgh Steelers announced their 2023 Hall of Honor class on Saturday, with one of the inductees being former DL Aaron Smith. Smith talked to Bob Pompeani after the induction was announced and talked about the mindset of Pittsburgh’s great defenses throughout the 2000s.
“Coming in as a fourth-round pick, you had to earn it. You always had to. And I was a guy that felt like you had to work. But then it becomes part of who you are,” Smith said. “I know I need to work, I need to hone my skill and get better and better. And then as the younger guys come along you teach them how to work. And that kind of became a culture of our team and especially that defense. Through those years, that defense was a team that just grinded it out. We may not have been the prettiest, may not have been the fastest or the best athletes but we were gonna fight you ‘til the very end and work all day on you.”
Sometimes, with enough talent, hard work is all it takes. Those Steelers’ defenses weren’t littered with first-round picks, with Smith being a fourth-round pick, James Harrison (another 2023 Hall of Honor inductee) going undrafted and Brett Keisel a seventh-round selection. While they had like Troy Polamalu and Casey Hampton who were high selections, it was a group that thrived off the collective work ethic.
That work ethic led to one of the greatest defenses in NFL history and a Super Bowl title in 2008, and it’s the leadership of that unit and Pittsburgh’s other defenses throughout the 2000s that really stands out.
Obviously, with Dick LeBeau at the helm, they had one of the best coordinators of all-time, but it’s a group that was rife with leaders in Smith, Polamalu, Keisel, Ryan Clark, Larry Foote, Ike Taylor and so many more. They paved the way for the younger guys to come up and that mentality is something that the Steelers still have to this day.
Those guys embraced the culture of what made Steelers teams great, and now Smith and Harrison are getting honored for their work with an induction into the Hall of Honor. The current Steelers defense, while not quite as talented across the board, has a similar group of guys who take on a leadership role and embrace Pittsburgh’s culture.
As a result, it’s no surprise that their defense has been one of the best in the league for a number of years with Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick leading the charge. All great football players, but great leaders too who impart their own work ethic and habits on their teammates to lift the collective unit up.
It’s awesome to see Smith get recognized in the Hall of Honor. He’s incredibly deserving and was a key part of so many good Pittsburgh defenses. Now, he’ll go down in immortality as a team legend.
