The Pittsburgh Steelers’ media team recently aired a fantastic documentary this week. Blitzburgh took a look at the Steelers’ swarming defense of the 1990s. Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd, and those who coached them made appearances to share their perspective of those days. The only man who didn’t was the late Kevin Greene, who passed away in December of 2020.
So his former teammates and coaches made sure to remember him fondly and share his legacy of those vaunted Steelers’ defenses.
“He had a switch he turned on,” Levon Kirkland said, comparing Greene to a professional wrestler. “So he was this character on the field, in front of the cameras.”
With long, flowing blonde hair, Greene only spent three seasons with the Steelers. He made every snap count. Over that span from 1993 through 1995, he recorded 35.5 sacks, made the Pro Bowl twice, and was once selected first-team All-Pro.
“He could rush the passer better than anyone I know,” said Kirkland. “He had the technique down.”
Greg Lloyd played opposite him. With a quiet and more tense demeanor, the two shared the same mentality on the field: get to the quarterback at all costs. They succeeded. In 1993, the duo combined for 18.5 sacks. In 1994, that number jumped to 24, and in 1995, they recorded 14.5.
The bookends made up the foundation of Blitzburgh and were perfect fits for Dick LeBeau’s Fire Zone defense, an aggressive and attacking front. Everyone got involved in getting after the quarterback, but without Greene off the edge, the scheme wouldn’t have been as powerful.
“Just a funny, outgoing guy,” Lloyd said. “We had fun.”
The sacks didn’t just pad stats or sacrifice the greater defensive good. All three seasons, the Steelers finished in the top ten in scoring and run defense. They made the playoffs all three seasons and won the division twice. In 1995, the group made it to the Super Bowl before falling short in the big game to the Dallas Cowboys. The lack of a ring is the only blemish on an otherwise incredible run.
The framework of those players and that defense lives on today. Those who were passed the baton, like Jason Gildon, credited Greene and Lloyd with paving the way. James Harrison said Kevin Greene is from whom he learned his signature speed bull-rush. That’s called a legacy that reverberates to the Steelers’ of today, even if the scheme doesn’t resemble the Fire Zone Days.
The whole documentary is well done and a capsule of a special moment in the Steelers’ history- the most impressive stretch without a Lombardi at the end. It even includes a 2005 interview with Greene along with present-day conversations with Bill Cowher, Rod Woodson, LeBeau, and other members of the organization, past and present.
