Ryan Clark is an accomplished NFL safety and analyst. He’s a Super Bowl and Sports Emmy winner. But if it wasn’t for Danny Smith, he might’ve been just another forgotten undrafted free agent. In a teaser video ahead of tonight’s Inside The NFL, Clark shared the story of how Smith took the gamble on him to suit up for his first NFL game.
“Without Danny Smith, I’m not sitting here hosting this show…It’s 2004,” Clark told the show. “I was picked up the day before camp. I was down the first week. The second week, I’m up because I’m a starter on every special teams. LaVar Arrington, on the Sunday of the second game of the year against the New York Giants, who had just cut me, goes and says, hey Coach, I can play. I can play a couple snaps of defense. Danny Smith and Gregg Williams have a conversation with Joe Gibbs.
“Danny Smith says Ryan Clark practiced this entire time. He was a guy who busted his tail the entire preseason on special teams. I told him that he would be up. And I want to keep my word. Danny Smith wins that argument and keeps his word. It’s halftime of that game. I’m using the bathroom next to Steve Jackson. He turns to me and goes, do you know strong safety? I go, yes, Coach, I do. Those were the first defensive snaps I played for Washington.”
While best remembered for his days with the Steelers, Clark didn’t begin his career in Pittsburgh. Undrafted out of LSU, he spent his first two years with the New York Giants before being cut in the spring of 2004 to make room for ex-Steelers’ safety Brent Alexander.
Clark spent the next two months in free agency before being signed by Washington on July 31. Still a young player with a limited resume, his chances to stick weren’t strong. But he showed out on special teams to make the roster. Clark being “down” Week 1 meant he was inactive and didn’t dress for the game. Week 2 was his chance to dress and play until Arrington nearly changed those plans. But the old-school Smith, then Washington’s special teams coordinator, stuck to his guns and kept his promise to Clark.
In his Washington debut, Clark finished the game with four tackles, though the Redskins lost 20-14 to the Giants. But Clark showed enough to stay in the defensive rotation and climb the depth chart.
“I played the next week and the next week. And the week after, I was the starter. If Danny Smith doesn’t fight for me to be up, just to play special teams because All-Pro Lavar Arrington said he could go after not practicing all week, I’m probably not sitting in this position.”
While Clark’s story seems largely accurate, it’s worth mentioning Arrington did play in that game against the Giants. He underwent knee surgery in late September and a setback while rehabbing after slipping on a wet patch of grass. However, Clark’s story largely checks out, even Arrington’s determination to play, once comparing his situation to the 1980 US Men’s Olympic hockey team. He would return in Week 15 but hardly played before landing on injured reserve.
Regardless of the details, Smith helped influence Clark getting a helmet and playing. Once the starter, Clark didn’t look back. He spent the rest of 2004 and 2005 as Washington’s starter before signing with Pittsburgh for the same role in 2006, where he won a ring and was part of their historic 2008 defense.
It all started with Smith, who rejoined Clark in Pittsburgh in 2013. It’s easy to see why today’s Steelers players love Smith. He’s been fighting for his guys his whole career.
