Steelers' Troy Polamalu Had To Get 'Political' With His Coaches To Play His Revolutionary Style Of Defense

Pittsburgh Steelers legendary safety, Troy Polamalu is well known for his dominating physical presence and cerebral approach to the game. He has talked openly about how he became a scholar of the game of football and how that led to him being able to pick apart opposing offenses. At times, his competitive spirit put him at odds with his coaching staff. Polamalu would often switch places with other defenders just before a play, much to the chagrin of his coaches. Polamalu recently shared that he had to play a bit of a political game with the coaches to help the defense succeed. 

Polamalu recently appeared on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast and spoke with co-hosts Taylor Lewan and Will Compton. They asked him about his ability to play practically every position on the defense and how the coaches felt about him switching stuff up all the time.

"I'm like I play every position. I know what everybody's doing, if I know the ball's going there coach, I'm just going to switch with him. I'm going to say, 'Alright linebacker, you play safety, I'm going to play linebacker because I know if you play it right, I'm going to blow it up,'" recalled Polamalu.

He said that was how it all started. He'd recognize what the offense was going to do from their film and just switch places with a teammate. Compton was shocked that Polamalu would just do that real-time in the game, that it wasn't something he brought up in practice and they worked on as a defense. He said he learned pretty quickly that he had to outsmart the coaching staff.  

"I started getting smart enough to know that when I would do this in practice, the coaches would say, 'You can't do that.' I'm like alright, I'll just wait for the game to do that. You know coaches would be yelling at me, 'Hey, it's cover two! It's cover two! It's cover two, you should be in the half!' And I'm showing cover three, but I'm telling the corner, 'Hey, you got the half, I'm going to take the flat.' So I'm showing cover three the whole time and coach is yelling at the side, 'Hey, you got to be back! You got to be back!' I'm trying to ignore him and then I'll get to the side, 'Coach, I just inverted with the corner, I let him play the half. I just wanted to give the quarterback a different look.'"

Polamalu said he was fortunate enough to play for some of the best coaches in the NFL, with two Hall of Fame level head coaches in Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, and a Hall of Fame level defensive coordinator in Dick LeBeau. LeBeau was a defensive savant who was the architect of complex, but smothering defensive schemes. He had strict rules about how players ran his defenses and did not appreciate anyone messing with them. 

Cowher would be the same way, initially telling Polamalu to run the play as called. But the results spoke for themselves and Polamalu said eventually, LeBeau began to trust him. He would tell them, "Here's the play, go fix it." 

"I'm a little bit of a politician too. I would tell them, 'You told me though, if you tell me it's 100% run, then I'm going to play 100% run, like don't tell me it's going to be something that it's not.' That's what I try to tell players. Don't study film just to study film. You make plays by studying film, believe what you see."

The choices Polamalu made helped the Steelers consistently have one of the best defenses in the NFL. He helped them win two Super Bowls. In 2008, the year that led to the Super Bowl win over the Arizona Cardinals, they led the NFL in the fewest points allowed, total yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and was second in rushing yards permitted. 

Polamalu is widely considered one of the best safeties in the history of the league and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. During his time with the Steelers, he made 783 tackles, had 12 sacks, and 32 interceptions. He was a four-time First Team All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowler. 

Steelers' Troy Polamalu Credits His Coaches For Showing Him The Way

Polamalu has been quite open about how blessed he has felt to play for the coaches he had in Pittsburgh. He said that all three of the main ones - Cowher, Tomlin, and LeBeau, helped him learn how to be a better human, on top of being a better player. He said that watching Tomlin with his young children helped teach him how to be a dad. 

How they all inspired him to be a better football player not only motivated him at the time, it taught him the basis of how to coach himself. He took what they showed him as role models in his life and has used it to shape how he has taught his sons the game and how he has helped young players coming up in the league. 

Now Polamalu is the one inspiring a new generation. His innovative way of playing the game as well as his incredible work ethic made him a fan favorite. His affable demeanor and gentle way of speaking, which was so opposite to the way he played, transcended Pittsburgh and won him fans all over the NFL. 

What is your favorite Polamalu memory? Are you surprised he had to be a bit of a "politician" to get the coaches on board with his way of doing things? Click to