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Speaker 1: Can you just start and explain why coming here to

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Speaker 1: Pittsburgh to be the offensive coordinator just made sense for you.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a such a unique opportunity to be able

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Speaker 2: to work for an organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers, with

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Speaker 2: the history, the culture here, and the opportunity to work

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Speaker 2: with Mike Tomlin. It's to me it's a perfect cultural.

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Speaker 1: Fit in terms of your offensive philosophy. How would you

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Speaker 1: describe it to somebody who's never watched one of the.

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Speaker 2: Games you've coached. Yeah, certainly with our offenses, we've clearly

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Speaker 2: adapted to the strains of our players, but there's a

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Speaker 2: certain identity we want to have. You know, any offense

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Speaker 2: I've been a part of, you know it's going to

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Speaker 2: be a physical brand. You know, you want to win

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Speaker 2: the honest scrimmage. But it's also to a playing strengths.

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Speaker 2: Obviously trying to create explosives when I have a very

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Speaker 2: smart unit, because it's gonna come down in the National

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Speaker 2: Football League, situational football, which kind of encompasses third down,

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Speaker 2: two minute and a half in the games. Obviously red zone,

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Speaker 2: that's what we have to do. We had a score points.

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Speaker 2: You gotta have those full points swings and create.

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Speaker 1: Touchdowns for the quarterback to be successful in your system,

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Speaker 1: What do you need to see from that person?

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Speaker 2: Well, they're again I've been fortunate. I've worked with a

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Speaker 2: lot of different quarterbacks and different parts of his careers,

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Speaker 2: like with Ryan Tanneiler was at a different part of

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Speaker 2: his career than Matt. Ryan was when when I had

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Speaker 2: apt with Matt and worked with the young quarterbacks as well.

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Speaker 2: And it's exciting to you know here, you know the

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Speaker 2: way that this office has built with a lot of

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Speaker 2: young players and obviously what Kenny Pickett's had going to

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Speaker 2: his third year playing with a young quarterback. You know,

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Speaker 2: being efficient, you know, being able to get the ball

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Speaker 2: out and making the smart decisions getting the ball and

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Speaker 2: the play maker's hands and taking care of the football

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Speaker 2: and a lot of things that come up and the

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Speaker 2: responsibility of playing quarterback in the National Football League because

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Speaker 2: there's pressure situations they happened all game and having command

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Speaker 2: of those situations and ultimately, you know, putting the ball

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Speaker 2: in the end zone. You know whether it's through the

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Speaker 2: air and you know, handoff or running it end. But

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Speaker 2: there's a lot on it and there's a natural evolution

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Speaker 2: that happens.

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Speaker 1: With the quarterback you mentioned Kenny Pickett. Steeler president Art

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Speaker 1: Rooney the second said that the OC he wants to

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Speaker 1: see them help Kenny take that next step in his career.

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Speaker 1: How do you start that process and what do you

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Speaker 1: think that's going to look like?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, first off, you know, there's a relationship that's

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Speaker 2: got to be built between me and Kenny, and that's

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Speaker 2: so paramount between the play call or and the quarterback.

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Speaker 2: Quarterbacks obviously the one out there between the white lines,

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Speaker 2: and there's a trust that's got to be built daily

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Speaker 2: and goes both ways. You know, I've got to earn

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Speaker 2: Kenney's trust and vice versa as we build this offense

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Speaker 2: and all the things we want to work on and

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Speaker 2: we want him to work on and take command of

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Speaker 2: his offense.

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Speaker 1: As you start to look at this roster that's currently

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Speaker 1: here now for agency and the draft will happen, what

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Speaker 1: excites you about this group?

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Speaker 2: There's a lot of exciting young football players here and

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Speaker 2: guys that Pittsburgh's invested in. Guys I'm really excited to coach.

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Speaker 2: It's a young offense, but there's a lot of exciting players.

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Speaker 1: During your time in Atlanta as the head coach. What

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Speaker 1: do you take away from that experience that can maybe

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Speaker 1: help you as you come to Pittsburgh.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously thankful to be here Pittsburgh,

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Speaker 2: but as all the different stops on my coaching journey,

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Speaker 2: you know, very grateful for the opportunity I had in Atlanta.

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Speaker 2: You know, it was a unique situation essentially rebuild a team,

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Speaker 2: and there were some good lessons learned and has some

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Speaker 2: tough lessons, but it'll help me here, especially with some

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Speaker 2: of the young players that we have and how you

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Speaker 2: fit the offense and try to play those guys strengths.

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Speaker 2: And we had a lot of young guys we invested in,

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Speaker 2: and I mean we had three straight years where Rooie

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Speaker 2: went over a thousand yards guys that were productive and

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Speaker 2: dealing with that and how they fit into this and

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Speaker 2: what we're building here in Pittsburgh. So all those experiences

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Speaker 2: add up. But I'm really excited to be here.

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Speaker 1: You mentioned Ryan Tannehill, but going back to Tennessee the

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Speaker 1: last time you were in oc what made that group

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Speaker 1: click where you guys had such great success as a unit,

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Speaker 1: but also individual players too.

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Speaker 2: There's a huge part of this that the chemistry and

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Speaker 2: fit matters. You know, there's there's so many great players

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Speaker 2: and coaches in this league, but a lot of it

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Speaker 2: is about chemistry and fit and how that those guys

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Speaker 2: that will come together. And it was there was a

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Speaker 2: lot of shared values between a lot of those guys

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Speaker 2: in Tennessee and that's a big part of it, and

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Speaker 2: that is real. You know, there are certain guys that

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Speaker 2: fit together and what you're trying to do, and there's

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Speaker 2: an evolution as guys improved. There was a great chemistry

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Speaker 2: among those guys and those offenses I was able to

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Speaker 2: be a part of in Tennessee.

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Speaker 1: Across passed with a lot of people with Steelers connections,

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Speaker 1: Mike Malarkey, Mike Munchek, Mike Rabel. Did you lean on

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Speaker 1: those guys at all during this interview process, as you know,

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Speaker 1: decided you wanted to come to Pittsburgh a little bit.

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Speaker 2: But those are conversations I've had through the years. There's

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Speaker 2: so many people that have Pittsburgh connections that it's kind

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Speaker 2: of a dream come true to be able to work here.

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Speaker 2: You know, I'm somebody that loves the history of this

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Speaker 2: game and I can even take it back to when

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Speaker 2: I was able to work for five weeks with Tom Moore.

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Speaker 2: I've already walked by. I've seen a young Tom Moore.

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Speaker 2: Tom's looked like he's been the same age for the

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Speaker 2: last thirty years, going back, I think for his forty

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Speaker 2: six year coach in the National Football League. But those

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Speaker 2: five weeks developed places with Tom. And the one thing

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Speaker 2: that hit home to me, He's like, I don't know

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Speaker 2: why people don't study Chuck Nolmore and Tony Dungeye like

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Speaker 2: mar he was the same way. You know, Mike got

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Speaker 2: to play here at the end of his career and

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Speaker 2: then he coached here, and he was adamant about learning

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Speaker 2: about Chuck and a lot There's not a lot of

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Speaker 2: literature on Chuck noll and I love it his humility

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Speaker 2: and of that advice from Tom and Mike Malarkey. And

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Speaker 2: then obviously you mentioned Mike Rabel who was here as

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Speaker 2: a player, started his career here, Bill Cower, and then

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Speaker 2: I've gotten to work with Dick Lebo, Ken wizzen On,

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Speaker 2: Russ grimm Ay Horton. I mean, there's so many connections

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Speaker 2: with Louis Spanos. I can go on and on, like

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Speaker 2: who's who players h and everybody to a person talks

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Speaker 2: about how special it is to work here in Pittsburgh,

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Speaker 2: and so I don't know many places like this in

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Speaker 2: all professional sports, with the history and there's a certain

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Speaker 2: unique When people see that Steelers logo, they know what

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Speaker 2: it is. And the fan base is real football fans here.

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Speaker 2: They love it. I'm excited to be a part of it.

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Speaker 1: When you get a chance to talk to your players

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Speaker 1: and meet your players, what's the one thing you really

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Speaker 1: want them to know about you?

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Speaker 2: The person? Yeah, I mean, I think everybody I've ever

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Speaker 2: tried to coach, whether it's been one day or you know,

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Speaker 2: five years, is you know, you try to build a

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Speaker 2: relationship and to get to know the person first. And

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Speaker 2: there's a certain way we want to operate. There's an expectation,

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Speaker 2: but it's not aweso me. This is a relationship business

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Speaker 2: and everybody's different, and that's the one thing I'll certainly

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Speaker 2: go out of my way to make sure we have

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Speaker 2: a relationship. Because there's a certain style and you know,

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Speaker 2: the way we want to coach demands and the style

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Speaker 2: play is going to be big. But it's that trust

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Speaker 2: in the relationship that I'm excited about trying to develop,

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Speaker 2: which every player we have your own offense.

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Speaker 1: Every feature I watched or read about you, your work

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Speaker 1: ethic is always brought up. How is that instilled in you?

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Speaker 1: And does it go back to when you were really young?

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Speaker 1: Is it a football thing?

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Speaker 2: Certainly a love of football happened at a early age.

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Speaker 2: But you know, I'd give a lot of credit to

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Speaker 2: my parents. You know, I want to ten kids. My mom,

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Speaker 2: she somehow got us all through, and then my father.

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Speaker 2: You know, it's fortunately be raised by an old marine

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Speaker 2: and serve two tours in Vietnam and one of those

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Speaker 2: humble people I know, never been impressed with themselves. And

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Speaker 2: so you know, I'm lucky I get to coach football,

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Speaker 2: and you know, I just have a mentality. I mean,

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Speaker 2: you know, you got to earn your job every day

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Speaker 2: and it's a privilege, your honor being in the National

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Speaker 2: Poole League and certainly working with Pittsburgh. So it's just

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Speaker 2: it's the way it was instilled to me when I

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Speaker 2: was young.

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Speaker 1: You mentioned your dad and the Salute to Service nominee

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Speaker 1: for the Falcons the past two years. Is that where

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Speaker 1: you got so involved in supporting the military, making sure

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Speaker 1: you give back.

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Speaker 2: It is Like I said, he was a marine that

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Speaker 2: did two tours of Vietnam. My great uncles and a

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Speaker 2: lot of people that served in World War Two. I've

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Speaker 2: got two nephews and went the Naval Academy that are

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Speaker 2: currently serving. One was a naval pilot and the other

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Speaker 2: one took a marine bull. It's over in Okinawa, so

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Speaker 2: it's the least I can do to try to get back. Awesome.

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Speaker 1: Well, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for your time,