PITTSBURGH ― The Steelers have announced today that Hall of Famer Joe Greene has retired from their player personnel department.
Greene, who spent the last nine years as a special assistant for pro and college personnel for General Manager Kevin Colbert, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 after spending his entire NFL playing career with the Steelers and becoming one of the best defensive tackles in league history.
"When I played, our success was based on the people there — the players, coaches and front office — and I felt the same way when I was in scouting," Greene said. "The people were very important to me, brought me along and made me feel comfortable, and I thought we made a pretty good team together. The people that I was working with made it all good for me — made it important to me — made it special. I will miss everyone in the Steelers organization."
"There are very few people in the history of the NFL who have had a greater impact on one franchise than Joe Greene has had on the Pittsburgh Steelers," Steelers President Art Rooney II said. "As a player, Joe was the cornerstone of the greatest defense of all time. As a coach, Joe helped Chuck Noll finish his tenure as Head Coach. Then we were fortunate to have Joe rejoin the organization in our player personnel department for the last nine years, which included two more Super Bowl championships. Joe has been an inspiration in this organization in many different capacities over so many years. We will miss Joe Greene, but he will certainly continue to serve as an ambassador of this organization for many years."
In 1969, Greene was drafted as the team's No. 1 pick, the first in Noll's career, in the NFL Draft. After a 13-year playing career (1969-81), Greene briefly worked as a color analyst for CBS Sports before becoming the Steelers' defensive line coach from 1987-91. He then went on to coach the defensive line with the Miami Dolphins (1992-95) and the Arizona Cardinals (1996-03) before retiring from coaching and moving into the player personnel department with the Steelers.
