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Troy Polamalu talks about his Hall of Fame Steelers career, and the modern NFL safety

Selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of USC, Troy Polamalu made the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a first-ballot entrant in 2020 after a 12-year career in which he totaled 583 solo tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 12.0 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries for 120 yards and two touchdowns, 32 interceptions for 398 yards and three touchdowns, eight Pro Bowl nods, four First-Team All-Pro selections, three Super Bowl appearances, two rings (Super Bowls XL and XLIII), and his status as the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year, and membership in the Hall of Fame All-2000s Team.

Polamalu’s legacy extends to the modern game in interesting ways, which is par for the course for one of the most unique players in NFL history. In an era when most defensive coordinators had defined free and strong safeties, Polamalu was the forerunner of today’s do-it-all defender, patrolling at multiple positions for the Steelers. From the defensive line to the box to the slot to free safety to outside cornerback, there wasn’t a place on the field Polamalu couldn’t line up and have an immediate impact.

Doug Farrar: Troy, I wanted to start by asking you about the Head & Shoulders/Fiverr Never Not Working campaign. The never-not-working obviously fits into your play style, so tell me about that and what you’re doing.

Troy Polamalu: It’s also an interesting dynamic after being retired for about six years as well. I think any parent knows that when you have two busy children as well that you’re never not working. Head & Shoulders and I have teamed up with Fiverr, the world’s largest creative marketplace of digital services, and they do a lot of great things providing services online for people. I’m here actually on shoot, and we’re doing a lot of cool things, from tattoo to piano to all of the great services that Fiverr provides for everyone.

DF: You’ve been with Head & Shoulders for a long time. How are those Patrick Mahomes commercials? Those look like fun.

TP: It’s been a blast, man. It’s funny; I’ve almost had a career in making commercials with Head & Shoulders. Staring almost 15 years ago and being able to be shooting commercials with Patrick Mahomes, the future of the NFL, has been a real blessing for me.

Troy's Hall of Fame weekend

Oct 17, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers Hal;l of Famers from the class of 2020 and 2021 are recognized at halftime of the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Heinz Field. The daughter of Bill Nunn (from left, Donnie Shell, Alan Faneca, Troy Polamalu, and Bill Cowher all received their Hall of Fame rings. (Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports)

DF: Let’s get to some football. How did it feel to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not just that, but as a first-ballot guy? Because that’s rare.

TP: It was incredibly humbling. Just to be around all the other Hall of Famers, to be around my teammates again, to be around football – it was such a great experience to be in Canton. I would encourage any football fan, or fan of sports, to go to Hall of Fame Weekend. It’s such a tremendous event.

DF: The event itself. It was kind of a weird time for you. You had to wait a year, obviously, for your official induction because of COVID. Then we were all hoping you’d actually make the ceremony because you’d been diagnosed with COVID, I think, what, eight days before the event. Are you all good now?

TP: Oh, yeah. All is good, thank God. We’ve kind of got flus and all that stuff kind of running through our household but thank God our family’s doing well. We’ve been very fortunate enough to make it out healthy.

DF: If I can ask, there are some players – some high-profile players – who are pretty outspoken about not being vaccinated. Having had COVID, what would you say to them?

TP: Well, nothing, to be honest with you. That’s really all I can say. I think everyone has their own opinion about vaccines. Obviously, we have children and being part of the public school system, and these sorts of things are a real big part of everybody’s lives. But everyone has their own opinion.

DF: You talked in your speech about Steelers culture. What does that mean to you? And how did it feel to be officially inducted with former Steelers Alan Faneca, Donnie Shell and Bill Cowher, and the family of Bill Nunn?

Troy: It was a tremendous weekend. Honestly, a Pittsburgh Steeler weekend. It was such a blessing to talk with coach, spend more time with Alan, Donnie Shell, Bill Nunn’s family. It was such a great… almost like a family reunion there in Canton.

Doug: Yeah, you can’t forget about Bill Nunn either. One of the pioneering scouts.

Troy and his coaches during his time with the Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, right, talks to strong safety Troy Polamalu in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

DF: When it comes to Mike Tomlin, what makes him a great coach, and why has he lasted so long in a league where coaches get fired right and left?

TP: Coach Tomlin is a tremendous leader of people, especially managing… I think every generation has its unique, different personalities. I think Coach Tomlin is somebody who is able to coach different generations. I think, more than anything, he’s proven to probably coach this generation is one of the most difficult to manage. He’s a great leader of men. I think his football IQ is probably the most underrated aspect of him. Aside from that, he truly loves the game of football. I’ve been fortunate not only to have a Hall of Fame coach in Bill Cowher, but I couldn’t say anything that he would be any less of what Coach Cowher is. Coach Tomlin, to me, is also a great Hall of Fame coach. I’ve been fortunate to learn from both of them.

Aug 7, 2021; Canton, Ohio, USA; Troy Polamalu, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class, right, poses with his presenter Dick LeBeau during the induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (Ron Schwane/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports)

DF: Speaking of football IQ, I spoke with you about 10 years ago at the Nike event in Oregon, the 7-on-7 thing. You had some remarkable things to say about Dick LeBeau, who’s obviously one of the best ever to do this. The article is, unfortunately, lost to the Internet somewhere. So, I wanted to ask you again, because you had some really amazing things to say about him… What made Coach LeBeau so remarkable as a defensive pioneer and just a guy who really forwarded as few people have.

TP: A lot of what I said about Coach Tomlin you could say about Coach LeBeau, as well. I would also add with Coach LeBeau being a Hall of Fame football player and then being a part of the game longer, probably, than any other person outside of an owner. His commitment to the game, his addition to the game as a player, as well as a coach, and really inundating the game on the defensive side of the ball, being a head coach. There’s really nothing that he hasn’t accomplished in this game. The fact that he’s one of a few and one of, maybe, the only one that’s really had the success that he’s had at every single level.

DF: In you, he had definitely a one-off player. I’m a Seattle guy, so I’ve covered the Seahawks since Pete came here. I remember talking with Pete about you and Earl Thomas a few years back, and, obviously, Pete coached you at USC. I asked him about how certain players combine what looks like total abandon with an absolute understanding of where you are on the field at all times. And Pete mentioned how rare that is and talked about your combination of those two things specifically and just watching you through those years. How were you able to go all out in what seemed like a totally insane fashion but still be in the right place at the right time? Because most guys who try to play like you, they’re going to run themselves right off the screen, and you didn’t.

TP: Football’s an interesting game, I guess, in a sense that, especially as a defender, a lot of the thinking is done really at the first couple of seconds of the play. After that, it’s really just kind of a relentless pursuit to the ball. To me, I think one thing that my brother always had told me, even from a young age, is that you can always control your effort to the ball. In the most simplest terms is, to me, the game of football is just really a game of effort, and you just have to have a real relentless effort pursuit to the ball.

DF: You came into the league in 2003, which, at that time… today, guys are playing 300 snaps in free, 300 in the box, 300 slot. It wasn’t really that common back then, but you were kind of that guy from the start. In 2006, your third season, which is the first in which Pro Football Focus has charted at this time, you played 105 snaps on the line, 253 in the box, 264 in the slot, you played 16 at outside corner. What allowed you to play in so many spots when it wasn’t generally the practice to do so?

TP: One is Coach LeBeau, I think, his confidence allowed me to play in different positions. It was definitely a huge learning curve when Coach Cowher kinda forced me to learn all the different positions from dime to nickel. These are just an extension of Will and Sam linebacker, as well as a little bit of linebacker in the sub packages to playing both safety positions and even corner. So, to me, it was just a lot about learning that, and I think what made Coach LeBeau a genius in a lot of ways is the fact that you can just move one person around, and it really changes a lot of protection schemes and out of the very same blitz. So, I can blitz in the same pattern as a corner; I can blitz in the same pattern as a linebacker. And, although it may be the same coverage and the same blitz, the personnel’s changing and protections have to change as well. To me, that was the real cool thing that I was able to do in moving around and blitzing but also covering to bring legitimacy to those positions, as well. So, it was fun.

DF: Let’s talk about your blitzing. Interesting. PFF has 2006 as the last season you had any snaps in the defensive line from 105 that season to none through ‘07 to ‘14. Does that align with how you remember things changing?

TP: Not really.

DF: That’s why you ask the questions. I’m like, that’s really like zeros? Ok.

TP: The reason why it’s an interesting thing is because, like I said, there are a lot of positions that I would’ve blitzed as a defensive lineman. I could say, “Hey Aaron Smith, you take this pattern, and I’ll switch with your pattern in terms of the blitz.” That way, we can get the matchup and the protection that we wanted. So, to me, that was the cool kind of little cat-and-mouse game that Coach LeBeau allowed me to play a little bit in protection schemes. Although maybe not initially lined up in that position, I could’ve ended up in that position, as well, many times.

DF: I think they go with, OK, at the snap, you were on the line. You weren’t moving up or whatever. But that’s funny.

I think you still hold the Steeler game mark for sacks by a safety in 2005 with three of David Carr. What do you remember about that game?

TP: Man, that was a while ago. I think that was in Houston. It was a tremendous run offense and Arian Foster; I remember how excellent of a running back he was. He made some really awesome, athletic moves in that game, and, to me, that’s what that game was really about was playing against a great running offense and Arian Foster, in particular.

A master class in modern safety play

In this Saturday, Oct. 16, 2011, file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu (43) lines up against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second quarter of a football game in Pittsburgh. His long hair — a tribute to his Samoan roots — spilling out from under his helmet onto the top of his No. 43 jersey, Polamalu careened from one side of the field to the next for 12 seasons in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright, File)

DF: Not that most safeties can mimic your play style. But what’s the key to being a great deep-three defender because they’re in very short supply, and it seems like now they’re more important than ever?

TP: That’s an interesting question because… I would answer it, I guess, as a safety. A corner, I’m sure, may answer it very differently given their role within the defensive mentality that they have.

DF: You’re the single-high guy, and you’re basically you’re responsible for that deep third. You’re it.

TP: Ok. So, from an outside-third perspective to me, when a safety plays in outside-third, he doesn’t need to be there unless there’s work out there, for example. So that’s why I’d say that from an outside-third perspective. From a middle third perspective to me, the first of all, the guys that I always look to is obviously somebody like Ed Reed who plays that position great. Ryan Clark was a great middle-third player, especially the way he tackled people in the alley. To me, first and foremost, the safety position is to stay on top and not score, and Ed was great at that. Not only not scoring but scoring for the defense. I think the second thing, from a middle-third safety, is to be able to tackle in the alley, and that’s what Ryan Clark was able to be great at, as well.

DF: You talked about the Will and the Sam positions and replacing in dime and things like that. And safeties today have to play a lot of box. What makes a good box player?

TP: To me, I think, really having the feel for gap integrity is really important, and having sound gap integrity. From the standpoint of our defense, the Steelers play, it was really all about the inside, the interior three linemen, and the defensive line. And really, nobody could do much against the run on us because we had really great gap integrity. To me, I think that’s really the most important thing is really understanding your gaps and how they change once linemen start crossing up and whatnot.

DF: You had a lot of uniquely shaped players, too, and I think that was a LeBeau thing – where he could take unique guys and make them… I remember Casey Hampton, who was like, six-foot and 300 pounds, and he would go out and defend flat really well.

TP: You bring up a good point because I think that’s one thing that’s really interesting about our defense is that… the argument that I know was made is that I wasn’t really Hall of Fame-worthy, but our defense was. The reason why I say that is because we had guys like Casey, who, arguably, may be the best 3-4 nose guard ever. Two great ends like Aaron Smith and Kimo von Oelhoffen, and in order for you to really understand the quality of them, you’d have to understand defense. Without a doubt, these guys played Hall of Fame-worthy in the scheme within our defense. From him to James Harrison to James Farrior to Ike [Taylor] to Ryan Clark, and I think that’s what really makes our defense so unique is that we really played well together.

DF: There are two Smiths that I don’t are remembered as well as they should be. And that’s Aaron Smith and Justin Smith. Tell me what made Aaron Smith such a great player.

TP: Aw, man. To me, I think you would have to ask all the offensive linemen. The reason why I say that is there’s a lot of great defensive lineman that make a lot of noise in this league and get their due respect. But then there’s a lot of people that people just honestly respect and hold up just as high regard as those players. I think that’s the category that Aaron falls into, for sure.

DF: How has the game changed both offensively and defensively since you’ve played it? And how, if at all, would you play differently if you were playing today?

TP: I couldn’t give a fair assessment to today as I don’t watch the game as much, but from my initially coming into the league in 2003 and leaving in 2015, it evolved quite a bit. It was definitely kind of more a run-first league, and it started a little bit more of a horizontal league as in spreading it out, but not necessarily pushing it vertically. And then now it’s really become all over. A lot of trickery. A lot of misdirection and really trying to win these kind of little small little minute mismatches and gap integrity by spreading the defense out a little bit more. But, again, the game, as I’ve seen, always kind of evolves back to kind of the three yards and a cloud of dust sort of thing. I dunno. I will say this, that the defensive players, especially from the secondary in, are probably better than they’ve ever been, given what they’re asked more of today in terms of the skillset that they’re asked.

Coming back to the game of football

Aug 7, 2021; Canton, Ohio, USA; Class of 2020 member Troy Polamalu speaks during his Professional Football HOF enshrinement ceremonies at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

DF: You mentioned that you don’t watch football, but do you still enjoy the game?

TP: I do. Absolutely, I do. Part of that was a reawakening going back to Canton and just seeing other like-minded men that have been touched by the game like myself.

DF: Do you watch safeties today? I’m thinking of a guy like Minkah Fitzpatrick who, at Alabama, he was a four-position guy, and then at Miami, the Dolphins used him as a four-position guy. The Steelers trade for him, and they make him a free safety, and he’s like a top-5 free safety. Do you talk to players or watch players today who play your position?

TP: There’s a little bit of, I guess, generational gap there as in, as soon as I left the game, I completely left the game. That’s where I think Minkah and Tyrann Mathieu and Jamal Adams and these guys really started to come while I was not so much watching the game. But now, I guess, in the last maybe year or so, as I’ve been getting more into the fold watching Minkah, Tyrann, and Jamal and all these other young, tremendous safeties. Like I said, I think these guys are asked to do a lot more given what offenses are doing nowadays, as well as how the rules have evolved—big fan of their game, for sure.

DF: Did you need to take a break for a minute? It sounds like you did.

TP: Well, my relationship with the game is very different. I just loved playing the game. I wasn’t a fan of the NFL or the fandom that surrounds the game, y’know, the fantasy sports so much. The first game that I watched was the first game that I played in. I really just kind of enjoy the game from that aspect of it.

DF: You had never watched a game before you played?

TP: Yeah. There were games on TV and whatnot; I’d go to Super Bowl parties, but as soon as I was there, I was outside playing football.

DF: Wow. I guess some people can just pick it up.

TP: I loved the tackling; I loved the catching. My friends had to tell me who Hines Ward, who Jerome Bettis was before I went to Pittsburgh. I wasn’t a big follower of the game in those ways.

DF: I wonder if that was an advantage for you because the Steelers have such a history and, the fact that you weren’t as aware of it, maybe you didn’t come in kind of stumbling over the past as much as other people might have.

TP: It’s obviously a program with a lot of legacy. I’d say USC is similar in that way, too.

DF: Definitely. Troy, thank you so much for doing this. Best of luck with the new campaign, and be well.

TP: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Take care.

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