One of the most beloved Steelers legends, Joe Greene, or ‘Mean Joe’ as other players called him during his playing days, has chosen to retire from the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. Greene was a member of the Steelers’ player personnel department for nine years as a special assistant to General Manager Kevin Colbert.
In 1984, Greene was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a stellar career with the Steelers as one of the best defensive tackles in league history. His time with the Steelers began in 1969 when he became the number one pick in the NFL Draft, and joined Chuck Noll’s team. Greene played in the NFL at defensive tackle for an amazing thirteen years and when he retired from the game as a player, spent time with CBS Sports as an analyst. From 1987-91, Greene worked as the Steelers’ defensive line coach. His love for the game continued as he coached the defensive line with the Miami Dolphins (1992-95) and Arizona Cardinals (1996-03).
“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.”
Joe Greene was voted the fan-favorite all-time best Steelers player in the history of the franchise, and he will be missed by Steelers faithfuls. His legacy will carry on, however, despite his exit from the organization.
“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.”
