Speaker 1: Oh, our first fall. Congratulations. UM, take me through what
Speaker 1: was the interview process like find and then finding out
Speaker 1: that you are the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Speaker 1: I've been through this process a few times in other places,
Speaker 1: so I kind of knew what to expect. Um. I'm
Speaker 1: always grateful just to be involved in the conversation. That's
Speaker 1: the important part of this. And you know, Art Art
Speaker 1: called me in and said he wanted to meet in
Speaker 1: his office, and you know, he offered me a job.
Speaker 1: I app said yes, absolutely, of course, and uh so
Speaker 1: excited and his dream come true for me. I'm sure
Speaker 1: it's surreal. But now you kind of have to jump
Speaker 1: in as the GM and start the process. So what
Speaker 1: is what is the things you want to accomplish before
Speaker 1: you get to training camp and building a staff and
Speaker 1: all the things that come with a new title and job.
Speaker 1: I think the number one for me right now is
Speaker 1: just putting my staff together. You know, that's a fluid
Speaker 1: process and continues, and you know, I'm really excited about
Speaker 1: the ninety men we have in that locker room, and
Speaker 1: I think we have a great future with that group. Obviously,
Speaker 1: if there's an opportunity to improve in certain areas we will,
Speaker 1: But I'd say right now, putting my staff together is
Speaker 1: is number one for me. You've worked very closely with
Speaker 1: head coach Mike Tomlin. Does your relationship have to change
Speaker 1: at all now that you are the GM or does
Speaker 1: it stay the same. It stays the same, my kid
Speaker 1: or not and I have known each other for I
Speaker 1: think it's sixteen years now, and we have a great
Speaker 1: relationship and that makes that makes us this job fun.
Speaker 1: Replacing Kevin Colbert here for over two decades, we all
Speaker 1: know you know what he was able to accomplish here.
Speaker 1: Is there pressure with that? You know? I wouldn't say
Speaker 1: there's pressure. I mean, you don't really replace Kevin. You know,
Speaker 1: Kevin and I've been together for over twenty years. Um,
Speaker 1: I've learned so much from him. Um, he's great lessons
Speaker 1: and I'm really just gonna build and when he has
Speaker 1: taught me and then put some ideas that I have
Speaker 1: in place that I think will help us out and
Speaker 1: just move forward. What's something that you learned from Kevin
Speaker 1: that you'll kind of keep with you over your time
Speaker 1: working with him. Your approach here has always been, Uh,
Speaker 1: you build around the draft, and that's not going to
Speaker 1: change here. Obviously have some ideas and I'm gonna put
Speaker 1: in place, but that approach and level change. The other
Speaker 1: thing he always said is when Joe Green speaks, you listen,
Speaker 1: and I'm always gonna remember that. Um, when in your career,
Speaker 1: did you say, Okay, you know what I want to
Speaker 1: be a GM? You've obviously interviewed before, but was there
Speaker 1: like an aha moment for you? I've always drunk about
Speaker 1: being being in the National Football League. I think the
Speaker 1: moment was probably when I used to run around the
Speaker 1: football field i played football. I realized I wasn't as
Speaker 1: good as all the other guys on the field, so
Speaker 1: I should probably transition to being a front office person
Speaker 1: and not a football player. Is there someone that you
Speaker 1: would say as a mentor and somebody that's really helped you,
Speaker 1: you know, going back to when you started with the
Speaker 1: Saints to now, you know, my my parents have always
Speaker 1: been the biggest influence in my life. You know that
Speaker 1: they've been my rock and to this day, the two
Speaker 1: harts hardest working people I've ever met. So I'd say,
Speaker 1: my parents. What do you think are some of the
Speaker 1: qualities a successful GM has to have. That's a good question. UM,
Speaker 1: I think you have to obviously be a good leader.
Speaker 1: You have to be able to communicate. Listen, Delegate, UM,
Speaker 1: there's lots of qualities, but UM, we could be here
Speaker 1: forever talking, but those are some key ones in my opinion.
Speaker 1: Doesn't mean for you personally, your family. You guys get
Speaker 1: to stay in Pittsburgh. Your girls were born here. It's
Speaker 1: a dream come true. And I've been here over twenty years.
Speaker 1: I love this community. My wife's from Western Pennsylvania, my
Speaker 1: kids were born here. Um, I've been part of the
Speaker 1: Stealer Nation for over twenty years, and it's exciting to
Speaker 1: know that I'm going to continue there. What do you
Speaker 1: think about the two thousand two season and the team
Speaker 1: that you guys have and knowing that there is a
Speaker 1: lot of change, especially on the offense, it's exciting. You know,
Speaker 1: we're we're very coach and I've talked about how how
Speaker 1: confident we are on the team we've assembled here and
Speaker 1: we think the future is bright. All right, now more,
Speaker 1: thanks for your time. Thanks MISSI