When Tom Moore was hired as the Steelers wide receiver coach in 1977, I was covering the team for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
My story line on his hiring was whether the college coach could make the transition to the NFL and be successful on that level.
He certainly proved he could. At age 85, he is in his 46th 4th season as an NFL assistant coach. He has been an offensive coordinator for 22 years and called plays for 23 years. He has coached 16 division winning teams and in 48 post season games and won four Super Bowl rings and has been honored at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is one of the best assistant coaches ever if not the best. He is in his sixth season as a senior offensive assistant with the Bucs.
He coached three Hall of Fame quarterbacks – Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady — and numerous other Hall of Fame players.
He has chronicled his career in his book entitled “The Players’ Coach from Bradshaw to Manning, Brady and Beyond” with Rick Stroud.
He later commented to me about that first story so he hasn’t forgotten it. He told the story about it in his book and his version is that I said he was joining a team that had won two Super Bowls and I said, “What do you bring to the table?” I don’t remember asking it quite that way, but his answer was, “Hard Work.”
He certainly believes in hard work. He likes to get to work at 3:15 a.m. with plays sketched in pencil on a legal pad. Being old school, he isn’t into I pads and computers. He likes knowing if the power goes out he still has his playbook.
He has a page of diagrams of some famous Steeler plays including 60 Prevent Slot Hook and Go that they used twice in the fourth period of Super Bowl XIV against the Rams. The first one went for a 73 yard third down touchdown pass from Bradshaw to John Stallworth that put the Steelers ahead to stay. Another one was 93 Tackle Trap that Franco Harris ran for a touchdown in Super Bowl XIII against the Cowboys.
The strange thing is that he never was offered a head coaching job in the NFL and got only two interviews. But he expresses no bitterness and admits he doesn’t have a lot of charisma.
His career has lasted so long that he coached Tony Dungy as a teen age quarterback at the University of Minnesota and then worked for him when Dungy was a head coach with the Colts. In between, he helped recruit him to sign with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent.
The Steelers told Moore he could go to a $5000 signing bonus but to start at $2000. Moore decided to offer him the $5000 and a three year contract at $15,000, $17,500 and $20,000. Dungy was making less money than some of the writers covering the team but salaries had yet to explode in those days. Dungy even worked in the offseason at a bank to complement his salary. When Dungy decided to coach, Moore again recruited him to be a Steeler assistant before winding up working for Dungy in Indianapolis. Moore worked 13 years for both the Steelers and Colts.
Moore provides a lot of insights in the book including a series of coaching points. For example, he says coaches have to guard against boredom. He said coaches are insecure and start thinking you need to add plays as the season goes along, which means you have to practice them and then you stop doing what worked in September. You never think of boredom becoming a problem.
He also adds a lot of interesting comments what he experienced in his career.
For example, when the Colts visited Tampa Bay in 2003 in Dungy’s first game there after being fired by the Bucs, the Colts fell behind 35-14. Dungy asked Moore if he thought they should pull Manning and Moore suggested they give Manning one more chance. Dungy did and the Colts rallied to win in overtime. Moore said that win gave them a boost of confidence and helped them rally from a 21-3 deficit in 2006 AFC title game against the Patriots. They then beat the Bears to win the Super Bowl in the first Super Bowl featuring two black head coaches.
He also Barry Sanders often fell asleep in meetings and when Moore confronted him and said he needed to stay awake, Sanders said what he sees on film isn’t what he sees on the field. He explained the game starts fast, but when he carries the ball, the slower the game gets.
He also said one of that one of the reasons Brady had a frustrating last season with the Bucs is that Brady was dealing with his divorce. Moore said he lost 20 pounds and his face was drawn and he was surprised he didn’t get hurt because that can happen if you lose concentration.
“If it affects Tom, then it affects the guy next to him, and all of a sudden, it affects everyone,” Moore said. The Bucs rallied to make the playoffs but were routed by Dallas.
It is insight that like that makes this a must read for NFL fans. The only question now is how long Moore will continue to coach. He doesn’t seem like the retiring type.
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