The Pittsburgh Steelers would not be the franchise that it is without Mean Joe Greene. Greene was the first player drafted under Chuck Noll, and he completely changed the culture in Pittsburgh. Before he arrived, the Steelers were losers. Once he and the rest of the Steel Curtain got going, though, the Steelers launched a dynasty in the 1970s. Although many people have said Greene isn’t actually as mean as his name would imply, former Steelers corner Rod Woodson got to experience Greene’s temper firsthand.
During a recent appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Woodson, who played with the Steelers from 1987 to 1996, spoke about what Greene was like when he was the defensive line coach for the Steelers.
“Mean Joe Greene was the defensive line coach, and he was mean,” Woodson said. “He was a teddy bear outside of football, but inside of the game itself? Back then, we didn’t have digital projectors, and when his defensive line was not doing well, and our defensive back room was [right next to them].
“Tony Dungy was our coach,” Woodson added. “You know Tony’s not gonna raise his voice. You could hear projectors and items being thrown in the other room and crashing against the wall, and it was Mean Joe Greene.”
Greene coached the Steelers defensive line from 1987 to 1991. At that point, that group was a far cry from the Steel Curtain, so it isn’t surprising to hear that Greene was often frustrated. Picturing Greene screaming at young defensive linemen and throwing a projector is terrifying. For a young player like Woodson, it had to be even scarier.
Times were different back then, and it’s likely that Greene wasn’t the only coach who showed his frustrations like that. He had to be the most intimidating, though. Greene is one of the best defenders in NFL history, and making him angry was never a good idea.
Woodson would end up becoming a Hall of Fame player in his own right, but he didn’t win championships in Pittsburgh like Greene did. However, like Greene, Woodson would also go into coaching after his career ended. He never ended up with the Steelers, but Woodson did find a few different coaching stints in the league, most notably with the Oakland Raiders.
It would be great to hear the perspective of one of those defensive linemen Greene coached. It would probably be funny to look back on some of the things Greene did when he was upset, although in the moment, you probably couldn’t buy a smile in that room. Thankfully, things are different now, and at the very least, teams shouldn’t have projectors to throw around.
