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

Hall of Fame defensive back Troy Polamalu discusses his great career, and modern NFL defense, with Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.

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 Polamalu reveals his NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame presenter

LeBeau spent 13 seasons coaching up Polamalu. Now he’ll present him for enshrinement.

If you were on social media Tuesday evening, you may have seen Troy Polamalu’s post hinting at who he’s asked to present him for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

From the moment it was announced he’d be inducted, everyone speculated about who would be the one to induct Polamalu. And, of course, most people predicted correctly that it would be his former defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

LeBeau came to Pittsburgh in 2004 after a year off from coaching the Cincinnati Bengals. From Polamalu’s second season to his last, LeBeau had the privilege to coach one of the best to ever don a Steelers uniform. And Polamalu had the privilege to be coached by one of the best coordinators in the game.

So, it only makes sense that Polamalu chose LeBeau for this momentous occasion.

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Dick LeBeau talks Troy Polamalu and the 2006 Super Bowl champion Steelers

The former Steelers defensive coordinator was a recent guest on Sirius XM NFL Radio’s Late Hits.

The legendary Dick LeBeau, former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator, was recently a guest on Sirius XM NFL Radio’s Late Hits.

As the portion of the interview reached the topic of the Steelers, LeBeau was asked his feelings on his protege Troy Polamalu, who will be joining him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

“Yeah, I guided him, alright. I stayed the hell out of his way,” LeBeau said with a laugh when asked about grooming Polamalu. “…Troy had the ability to go from point A to point B probably as quickly as any man I’ve ever seen… he confused offenses. He had great anticipation. I think he’s the best safety that’s ever played, that’s my opinion. Of course, it is biased.”

“Troy is one in a million — as a player, as a person.”

LeBeau had to work for nearly five decades in football before he won his first Super Bowl ring. In 2005, his 47th season coaching, the 2005 Steelers finally brought home the Lombardi.

After a midseason four-game win streak, the Steelers lost three consecutive games to the Ravens, Colts, and Bengals taking their record to 7-5. They were dealing with injuries to Ben Roethlisberger, backup quarterback Charlie Batch and Hines Ward — the outlook for the remainder of the season was not good. Thankfully, Pittsburgh beat their next four opponents (Bears, Vikings, Browns, Lions) to finish the regular season at 11-5. That year, it was just enough to head into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed.

LeBeau was asked what made that particular Steelers squad so special.

“We really got off to a good start,” said LeBeau. “We hit a snag with a lot of injuries in the middle of the year. As we began to get those key players back, it was just at the proper time that the team was really gelling. The character had been built in the games that we had to play without some of our best players. By the time we hit the playoffs, we were a handful for anybody we were going to play.”

“They were a family and a brotherhood, which all successful championship teams are. It was a joy to be with them,” LeBeau shared. “That team, that year, we were really stout, and the offense was really coming on as the season matured.”

The Steelers were only the second team ever (and the first in 20 years) to beat the No. 3 seed Bengals, the No. 1 seed Colts, and the No. 2 seed Broncos to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 40. With the victory, they became the first team post-merger to win a Super Bowl without having played a home playoff game.

“We played four great playoff teams — we were a six seed and had to go on the road all the way. We played four straight offensive teams that averaged over 400 yards a game — more than now, that was a sizeable amount of yardage.”

“I had been to the Super Bowl three times before, that fourth time was the first time we won. I wasn’t a spring chicken, I didn’t know if I was ever going to be part of a championship.”

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Dick LeBeau: ‘Kenny Riley represents what the Hall of Fame is all about’

Dick LeBeau has big praise for former Cincinnati Bengals defender Ken Riley.

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Cincinnati Bengals great Ken Riley has been a consistent topic as the organization reportedly re-opens the discussion about a Bengals Ring of Honor.

But the Hall of Fame aspect is always a big talking point given the fact the defender with the fifth-most interceptions in NFL history from an era where teams didn’t pass all that much got snubbed.

The great Dick LeBeau, who had the opportunity to coach Riley during his time with the Bengals before going on to be longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator, has thoughts on the subject too.

LeBeau says Riley is a good personification of the Hall, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com

“Kenny Riley represents what the Hall of Fame is all about, in my opinion … I think Kenny’s stats merit that. I definitely do. Look at how many games, how many years that he played. The productivity he exhibited. The leadership that he exhibited.

Not many play cornerback for 10 years and you have to average five a year to even get to 50 and it’s hard enough to average two a year. Kenny to a certain extent and me definitely, when I played teams ran the ball 60 to 65 percent of the time. Pound, pound, pound, play-action. Kenny overlapped that era a little bit. Now they run the ball 35 percent of the time and pass, pass, pass.”

While these aren’t necessarily new ideas in the greater Cincinnati area when it comes to Riley’s candidacy, it carries more weight from LeBeau—and it apparently needs amplified quite a bit more nationally.

If anyone would know whether a player is worth of enshrinement, it’s LeBeau.

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Troy Polamalu’s official HOF presenter announcement

It will be announced on Sunday who former Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will choose to induct him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Legendary Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will announce on Sunday who will have the honor of presenting him at the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony.

In February, it was announced that Polamalu was elected into the Hall of Fame. It marks the first time since 1986 that a safety will be inducted in his first year of eligibility.

Without hesitation, my guess is that it will be former Steelers defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau. I’m not really going out a limb there.

Who do you think Polamalu will choose as his presenter?

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