Before James Harrison went on to have a remarkable NFL career, going from undrafted free agent, NFL Europe player, cut multiple times and then turning into the Defensive Player of the Year and a potential Hall of Famer, he was largely an unknown to the NFL.
Coming out of Kent State in 2002, Harrison was undersized and a bit light overall, which had teams concerned about his ability to play defensive end or even outside linebacker.
Ultimately, the Steelers gave him a shot ahead of the 2002 season, putting him in the NFL. That led to his winding path to stardom, one that is one of the best undrafted tales ever.Â
But it possibly couldn’t have happened without the help of Harrison’s personal trainer, Chip Smith.
Appearing on the “Not For Long Media” podcast with former NFL player Colin Thompson, Smith said that he placed a call to the Steelers to help get Harrison a look, convincing Pittsburgh to at least take a shot on his guy as an undrafted rookie if they weren’t going to draft him.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but James Harrison played at Kent State, and when he got to me, same situation, had no draft grade, not even a priority free agent draft grade. Five [feet] 11, got to me at 258 [pounds]. I actually called the Steelers on his behalf and talked to the head coach and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a guy that I’ve seen some film. He’s a good player. Y’all need to take a look at him,'” Smith recalled to Thompson, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “And he said, ‘Well, I’ll have our director player personnel call you.’ The guy called me the next day and we talked about him. He said, ‘Well, we’re not gonna draft him, but we might sign him.’
“I said, ‘Coach, I’m telling you right now. You should look seriously at him. I think you can play him.’ Well, obviously fast forward, he will go in the Hall of Fame. But James Harrison, I was the guy that made the call and got him into the Steelers.”
Based on Smith’s recall, that would have been head coach Bill Cowher whom Smith talked to prior to the 2002 NFL Draft, as well as Kevin Colbert, who at the time was the director of football operations for the Steelers.
Now, it’s hard to know if that’s exactly who he talked to, but as Harrison’s personal trainer it’s very cool that he went to bat for his guy, made some phone calls, and at least got Harrison’s tape in front of the right people. Ultimately, the rest is history.
Harrison got his opportunity with the Steelers full-time in 2004 after bouncing around on the practice squad, being cut three times by Pittsburgh, once by Baltimore and spending the 2003 season in NFL Europe. But in 2004, Harrison carved out a special teams role and was sound depth for the Steelers at outside linebacker before getting his starting job in 2007, going on a historic run as the starter.
Harrison played 14 seasons with the team and held the Steelers’ record with 80.5 career sacks before T.J. Watt broke the record with a sack of Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson in Week 2 of the 2023 season with Harrison in attendance.
Harrison ended his Hall of Fame-worthy career with 811 regular-season tackles, 84.5 sacks, 34 forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, eight interceptions and one defensive touchdown. His career included time spent with two other teams, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the New England Patriots.
During his time in Pittsburgh, Harrison was named the 2008 Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year after finishing that season with 16 sacks, a team record at the time. He was voted first-team Associated Press All-Pro twice during his career and was named a Pro Bowl selection five consecutive years (2007-11) Harrison was also twice voted the Steelers’ team MVP (2007-08).
He also had the most iconic play in Super Bowl history with his 100-yard pick-six against Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.
Now a member of the Steelers Hall of Honor, Harrison awaits his potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was named a semifinalist the last two years but has yet to crack the top-15 finalists.
