Let's get to it:
RONNIE CAP FROM YANKTON, SD: A couple of questions: With the contract extension for Mike Tomlin extending through the 2027 season, who are the longest-tenured NFL head coaches in history? Also, with Zach Frazier signing his rookie deal, do the draft picks count against the roster limit before they sign? And are they able to join in all team activities prior to signing?
ANSWER: There are a lot of variables, in my opinion, when it comes to listing the longest-tenured NFL head coaches. For example, George Halas is credited with 40 seasons with the Bears, but because he also was the owner of the franchise his longevity was something of a given unless he had decided to fire himself. Curly Lambeau spent 7 seasons as a player while also coaching Green Bay during the 1920s; Don Shula coached for 33 consecutive seasons, but they came for 2 separate franchises – the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins; the same goes for Andy Reid's 25 seasons, because after 14 with the Eagles he was fired and then hired by Kansas City for 11 more seasons coaching the Chiefs; and 4 of Paul Brown's 25 seasons were in the All-America Football Conference.
Taking into consideration all of these caveats, here is my attempt at a list of coaches to answer your question as the longest-tenured with a single franchise: Tom Landry (29 seasons), Don Shula (26), Curly Lambeau (26), Bill Belichick (24), Steve Owen (24), Chuck Noll (23), Mike Tomlin (17-and-counting).
As for the situation with rookies: draft choices do not count on the 90-man offseason roster until their sign their contracts, but unsigned draft choices are permitted to take part in all offseason activities from the time they are selected until the start of training camp. No unsigned players are permitted to take part in training camp.
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MARK ADKINS FROM ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, FL: This is a two-part question. What was your favorite game, or from what game do you have your best memories that was played at Three Rivers Stadium? And what game so far have you had your best memories from when it was Heinz Field?
ANSWER: From Heinz Field, it would be the 2008 AFC Championship Game vs. the Baltimore Ravens. That still is the most physical, violent but legal football game I ever saw, and it climaxed with Troy Polamalu's pick-6 that clinched the Steelers' win and sent them to Super Bowl XLIII. From Three Rivers Stadium, I'm going to pick the 1991 regular season finale, which ended up as a seemingly meaningless game at the end of a 7-9 regular season. But what made it special and memorable for me was that it was the final game in Chuck Noll's career as the coach who changed the course of a franchise by transforming the Steelers from losers into the most dominant and feared team of the 1970s, a decade that included 4 Super Bowl victories over a span of 6 seasons.
NICHOLAS PELCHAR FROM PURCELLVILLE, VA: I have a VHS tape that's somewhere among several boxes of them containing a Steelers-Broncos game played at Mile High Stadium, I believe from the late 1980s. Bubby Brister beat John Elway as the Steelers crushed the Broncos. I can't find the tape yet, so do you know who was our fullback who had a great game?
ANSWER: The game you reference was played on Oct. 14, 1990, and the Steelers defeated the Broncos, 34-17, at Mile High Stadium. Bubby Brister completed 21-of-28 (75 percent) for 353 yards, with 4 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 156.2. In the same game, John Elway completed 17-of-36 (47.2 percent) for 194 yards, with no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 63.9. The Steelers fullback in that game was Merril Hoge, who had 76 yards on 18 carries (4.2 average) and 1 touchdown.
ALONSO GOMEZ FROM PUEBLA, MEXICO: Between minicamp and training camp, can players do whatever they choose, or do they need to check in once in a while at the Steelers facility?
ANSWER: Mandatory Minicamp ends on Thursday, June 13, and players do not have to report to training camp at Saint Vincent College until Wednesday, July 24, which is a span of 5 weeks plus 6 days. During that time there are no requirements for players at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
STEVE YOUNG FROM SAINT DAVID, AZ: Now that Donnie Shell has been enshrined in Canton, do you feel that there are any other players/personnel from the 1970s Steelers dynasty who deserve Hall of Fame honors but continue to be "snubbed?" Or is that volume of history officially closed?
ANSWER: There are instances when two things can be true at the same time, and I believe this is one of those instances. L.C. Greenwood is deserving of a bust in Canton, in my opinion, because it never has made any sense to me that there is only one member of the most famous/feared defensive line of the 1970s enshrined in the Hall of Fame. But I also believe that there won't be any more Steelers from the 1970s elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
DJ KLAKAMP FROM ERIE, PA: In the June 11 installment of Asked and Answered, you were asked to list the weights of the 1970s Steelers linemen vs. their current linemen. The 50-60 pound average difference is amazing to me. You listed RG James Daniels at 327 pounds. Is Daniels the heaviest man ever to play for the Steelers?
ANSWER: No, and while I didn't do any comprehensive research on that, my guess is there would be more than a couple of Steelers players who weighed in at more than Daniels' 327 pounds. Just off the top of my head, Max Starks (345 pounds) and Zach Banner (358) were heavier, and there undoubtedly were others.
KURT CARMEL FROM BALTIMORE, MD: How do you see the kickoff rule changes affecting player personnel? Some reports indicate a true kicker may not even be necessary, and kickoffs will have more of a running play appearance. I'm curious to know how the Steelers plan to address the rule changes.
ANSWER: I have received many questions about the new kickoff rules and how the Steelers plan to deal with the changes and attempt to address them in a way to turn the play into an advantage for them. On the first day of Mandatory Minicamp (Tuesday, June 11) Special teams Coordinator Danny Smith held a media briefing and was asked some of those kinds of questions. Here are his answers:
Q. What's the process of trying to figure out how you attack it considering it is kind of a new thing? It's been done in the XFL but not in the NFL.
A. You know, that makes it a challenge for all of the special teams coaches in this league, me included. And it makes you work harder. I've never been one to run away from work, and so it's been a challenge from that standpoint. We'll see how it is on display. I'm glad we have three preseason games to find out about it, but it's exciting.
Q. The rules changed, but what else must change? Are body types going to change on the return?
A. That's the talk, and that's interesting. The body type in the coverage, the body type in the return, the quickness of the play, the type of returner. We're all searching for answers and we're on that path in Pittsburgh. I have studied numerous plays that I have been able to find from other leagues that are similar. There is nothing exactly like we're doing it in the NFL, but there are some similarities in some things. I've met with a lot of people who have done it. I've watched a lot of tape, and I'm sure others have, too. But those are the challenges. And some of it is going to be a challenge in practice where we go back and say after we look at the tape, "Hey, that was good." Or, "Hey, that looks good." Or, "Hey, this doesn't (look good)."
Q. Why do you think it's good for the game?
A. It puts the kickoff back into play. You know, it really does. You can fair catch (the ball), but the receiving teams gets it at that spot. The old fair catch (rule) bailed us out last year. It did. I never had a bad play-call last year. Think about this: If they're kicking the ball to my left, and I had called a return to the right, last year, I am going to fair catch that thing and they put it at the 25-yard line. "Great call, Danny," because I'm not running that thing across the field to get tackled at the 14-yard line. So that was the bailout. There is no bailout now. That's why it's great for the game. You better be right. You better have a plan. You better have players who can execute that plan. And that's where we are."
