How does the old saying go again? “Those who can’t do, teach.”
Well, in the case of OLB T.J. Watt, he doesn’t have to worry about teaching anytime soon as the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year is in the prime of his NFL career. Watt is having yet another strong season in 2023, posting 30 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 20 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown), one interception, and six pass breakups. He is in the midst of another DPOY-caliber season and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down soon.
Still, Father Time is undefeated, and Watt’s playing days will come to an end at some point. Chris Long of the Green Light Podcast asked Watt if he would get involved with the media the same his brother, J.J. Watt, has done now that he has retired. Watt said that the media side isn’t for him but that he would enjoy exploring another venture after his playing days are done with the other brother in the Watt family.
“I think when I’m done, I’ve always said I’d love for Derek, my middle brother, to be like a head football coach and me, I just be like a d-line coach for like high school or something,” Watt said on the Green Light Podcast which aired live on the show’s YouTube channel. “That would be my lane, you know, because like I could like show up to practice. If I’m there, it’s cool. If I’m not there, it’s whatever. But I don’t wanna be the head guy.”
Derek Watt played with T.J. Watt for the Steelers the last three seasons in lead up to 2023, playing out a three-year deal he signed in 2020. The Steelers opted not to offer Watt another contract this offseason, and he currently is out of football.
All three Watt brothers played for Pewaukee High School in Wisconsin with both T.J. and Derek getting their jerseys retired this past summer. T.J. Watt would love nothing more to stick around the game that his family has adopted as a way of life as a coach one day, teaching his tricks of the trade to young up-and-coming high schoolers who aspire to follow the same path the Watt brothers did, going on to play at Wisconsin and later carving out successful careers in the pros.
T.J. Watt is a football junkie, and any high schooler in his right mind would crave the opportunity to learn from a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Still, Watt wants no part of the responsibility that comes with being the head coach of the team, opting to defer to his older brother as the two coach together after getting to play together in high school, college, and with the Steelers.
