Super Bowl XL-winner Kimo von Oelhoffen has backed Aaron Rodgers to have a profound impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers in what could be his final season before retirement.
In an exclusive interview with Ozoon, the former defensive tackle even suggested that Rodgers could continue to have an impact on his team in the future if his end product remains strong.
Von Oelhoffen, who enjoyed spells with the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles across a storied NFL career, also gave his thoughts on the prospects for each franchise this season.
Read his full interview below.
One of the big moves in the offseason was Myles Garrett leaving the Cleveland Browns. If you’re a fan of the Browns, how would you feel about him seemingly being convinced to come back when he didn’t want to, and then suddenly leaving within like a couple of years?
How do I feel about the Browns committing so much to Myles Garrett last only to trade him a year later? You know, that’s a tough situation. Myles is a great player. His impact on the game has always (been) felt. You know, as a Cleveland Browns fan, I love Cleveland. I think I would probably be disappointed.
A couple of the coaches that you played under during your time in the NFL was Bill Cower and Andy Reid. What can you tell me about those guys?
You know, I would say with Bill Cower, for me personally, and I know a lot of the guys feel this way, you could see Cower’s passion from the day he walked into the building, and you see that smile in his face, but then you look in his eyes, and there’s… a resolve there. And I think the presence he brought and the standards that he upheld- there was an unwavering resolve with him to uphold a standard, a Pittsburgh standard.
Andy Reid was awesome. You know, I wish I’d gotten to spend a little more time with him. With Andy, there was a trust, you know. The way he treated his players was fair. He had a great sense of humor. But when you got on that football field, you know, it was bang, bang, quick, quick, do everything right. And no matter who you were, if you did something wrong, he’d let you know.
Great coaches. Love both. I wish I got to spend a little bit more time with Andy. But those are the things for me that made a big difference.
Are you encouraged that maybe more scouts and coaches are looking toward a market like Hawaii? And do you think that’s different than in your day?
Over the last, you know, fifteen, twenty years, I spent a lot of time in Hawaii helping some of the youth. And the local community, the local coaches, the local trainers, over the last couple of decades, have done a really good job developing young men. You know, whether they’re from Hawaii or Polynesian or wherever they come from, the local programs, (they) have done a great job of developing the bodies and the minds of some of these young boys.
In your opinion, which NFL market of all the NFL teams you played in was the toughest and why?
The toughest NFL market I played in? I would say New York, (Eric) Mangini. I love Mangini, man. He was a hell of a coach. Mangini not only brought a standard, but Mangini brought a presence of do your job, a presence of understanding production.
When you, you know, when you walked into the building, there was structure from day one, all the way up from developing the bodies, developing the minds, getting involved in military aspects of mine warfare, exposing us to extreme competition groupings throughout the year. And so his competitive standard and his production, and you understood that to be a pro was really about production, that there was just a higher level of standard that you always tried to have to reach for, but he kept it up there. And so, you know, it was when you thought you were there, you weren’t there.
You know, and I assume that some of that came from (Bill) Belichick, but you knew when you got there there was a job to be done. He gave you all the information to do your job. And if you didn’t do your job, you know, there were always repercussions. And so it was a little more business-like, but, you know, as a football player, that’s your job. And I loved doing my job. So I enjoyed it, but it did have more of a business feel, which is okay.
Do you have a particular offensive lineman that you had to match up against in your NFL career who was one of the tougher ones to get by?
My toughest match in the NFL to get by? I played against Jonathan Ogden for six years. Jon was a great one, man. That guy was special. He was big, he was strong, he played the game the right way, smiled. You know, I don’t know if I ever saw him have an angry face, but Jon was a load. When you came to play Jon, there were certain things that Jon could do that you really had to prepare for.
So, you know, in my career, that was probably the best player I faced over a period of time. Probably the best group was Seattle in the Super Bowl. Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson. Those guys together were, I would say, the best I’d ever seen. You know, individually and together. I was actually glad I got to play the best in the best game. So it was those two guys who also come to mind.
I wanna go to your original team, the Cincinnati Bengals. Do you think that they should have tried a little bit harder though to keep Trey Hendrickson?
I have a special place for the Bengals. I have a special place for the management. I do know that Cincinnati has been trying to build a standard over the last decade or so. Some of it showed here, maybe not the last couple of years, but there are a few years there where you’ve seen the standard rise. And you know, sometimes as an organization, you gotta make decisions based on that standard. I’m not sure why they made the decision on Trey Hendrickson, but I do know that their trend was to try to build dogs, you know, over time. They’re looking for higher standards.
Well, let’s talk about Zach Taylor, the coach. Could his job be on the line if the Bengals miss the playoffs again?
You know, I’ve followed Zach Taylor for the last six years, ever since he started doing a great job with that program. I don’t know. Sometimes in the NFL you have your players; sometimes you’ve got some rebuilding to do. I do know that if you want to win championships, you do need somebody like Joe Burrow. He’s been hurt a little bit these last couple of years, and I’m gonna assume that has affected a little bit of the winning.
If you have that to get to that level, you do need a quarterback. But the second thing you need is an offensive and defensive line. And so it sounds like they’re looking at those two. But I have confidence in him (Taylor). I hope they stick with him, and I (wish) him the best.
Can somebody like Joe Flacco take the reins right away and keep this team winning and successful if Burrow gets hurt?
Joe Flacco? Yeah, I believe so—quick story. I was a part of the Cincinnati team when Boomer Esiason came back out of retirement. I don’t know if you remember that. Jeff (Blake) had, you know, struggled earlier in the season. I think we won seven out of the last eight games, but Boomer came with experience. Boomer came with a sense of trust.
And you know, guys like Joe (Flacco) and Boomer will raise people around them. People will look at them, see what they have done. And I’m sure for Joe (Flacco) to still be in this league, his standard of excellence when it comes to prep preparation is still high, and it’s really good for young players to see that. And so I think Joe is a great move. If something happens to Burrow, that’s a smart move to have Joe there.
Aaron Rodgers is reuniting now with Mike McCarthy with the Steelers. How do you see that relationship transpiring? Can they get back to that Super Bowl form from the early 2010s?
Can Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy take the Steelers back to winning the Super Bowl? You know, I think a collaboration between the two is a force multiplier for the team. Aaron’s a hell of a player. He’s got that standard. That’s what brought him to where he’s at now. They’ll build that together, whether it’s this season or them preparing other guys to get to another level. I’m actually glad they’re together, and I think they’ll do some special things for sure.
Do you see this as Rodgers’ swan song season?
Will this be Aaron Rodgers’ last season? To get to where he is at his age and performance level, I don’t know if it’s ever been done before, especially holding a production level that high.
You know, there’s always something deep in us. And if his body holds up, I think, you know, he will affect guys around him, and I’m pulling for him.
What does Mike McCarthy need to do to have that kind of stability that Mike Tomlin and Bill Cower had in Pittsburgh?
I would say at our best at Pittsburgh, the standard became the leader. And so the resolve to hold everybody to that standard. And Mike McCarthy has proven that he can build a standard and build the team.
He needs to bring in dogs, guys that practice like champions, guys that are there with a purpose. They come out every single day with effort and intent. That is rare. And that was the one thing we had at Pittsburgh. We had some very tough men that played every practice like a game. I mean, our offensive line, the defensive line.
I can’t say I saw one player not put their hand on the ground during the practice, expecting to win. So bringing in guys with those standards- the more of those guys, they may not be the best, but ,you know, guys like James Harrison, just no-nonsense. We’re here to win; we’re gonna practice like the best. So I think he’s (McCarthy) gonna set a great standard. I think that’s gonna be a big deal.
What does Patrick Graham need to do to make sure that TJ Watt gets back to essentially being one of the best defensive players in the NFL?
TJ Watt? You know, I’m not gonna say that he’s not one of the best defensive players in the NFL. You know, the season can go different ways. You know, the offense has a lot to do with it. Your position in the game has a lot to do with it. I did get a chance to watch TJ last year. And there’s the same dominance. As players around him get better, maybe windows will open up as the run game picks up. Sacks, I think, are sometimes controlled by factors other than TJ.
Watching TJ, the cat’s still dominating, you know, his movement’s still great, especially for his age, and I think he’s gonna be just fine.
If he (Watt) were to retire today, should he be in the Hall of Fame?
Should TJ Watt be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame? No doubt. No doubt. When you watch the game, and you watch men dominate other men, TJ did that for a long time. Players will recognize that. I hope the fans recognize that. But you know, I see the Hall of Fame as just men who did really special stuff, not necessarily numbers, stats, and Pro Bowls. He (TJ) dominated for a very long time, and he needs to be in (the Hall of Fame).
Do you think that the Jets are in the best position to get a guy like Arch Manning?
When New York has a really, really good quarterback, they play really, really good football. It’d be a smart move if they could pick up Archie (Manning).
Let’s go to another one of your teams, the Philadelphia Eagles. One of the big talking points for them going into this season is: how can Saquon Barkley bounce back? Do you think that he’s been unfairly criticized?
I think Saquon Barkley will come back. My pick for the Super Bowl is actually the Eagles. You know, if you look at that line, man, they got some great players; they got a good young center coming up. So I do see that changing really quick.
They did make a big move on offense though in trading away AJ Brown. How much do you think that is gonna hurt the passing game?
Will trading away AJ Brown hurt the Eagles? I think they’ll be okay. If they can get that running game, especially with Jalen (Hurts) included. I think that style, you can almost throw in whatever receiver you want. So if they get back to that run game and Hurts can run the ball behind that O-line, whether it’s getting out of the pocket or actual run plays, I think they’ll be just fine.
Did you have a particular favorite NFL stadium that you just relished to play in? What was your favorite one and why?
My favourite NFL stadium to play in? Green Bay. Green Bay was awesome. We’d pull up to a hotel. There’d be 500,000 Green Bay fans saying, “Hi, welcome.” You know, they were good. The people were amazing. You know, if you got a chance to go to the store, they treated all visitors like family. That was actually really nice.
Just seeing the fans, how much people were outside. It was just a great atmosphere. You got done with the game, whether you won or lost. You walked out of that stadium, everybody was, you know, hey, how you doing? Have a great trip home. That for me was always awesome. The stadium itself, you know, seeing, you know, all the Hall of Famers from back in the day, you know you’re in a good place with good people.
I loved it. And there was a little bit of presence when you see some of those names up around that stadium that you’re in a special place.
What was the most intimidating venue that you ever played in during your career?
The most intimidating venue of my career? The (Cleveland) Browns. There was a- now, you can kind of see a little bit of a sense of I’m not gonna say a sense of hate, but a sense of competition with the fans. They loved their Browns; they hated the Steelers, the drawing that went on with the dog pound. You knew there was gonna be conflict from the stands.
I was lucky to play in the last game Cleveland had played in Cleveland before they went to Baltimore. I remember the fans pulling all those bleachers. They’re ripping bleachers out, handing them down, throwing them all down to the field. The passion with the Cleveland Browns fans, you felt it. And it could get hostile.
What is something that you would say NFL fans might be surprised to learn about you, be it as a person or as an athlete?
What’s something that might surprise NFL fans about me? I just loved football. You know, it was great. I love competition, and I love the physical play. I love to compete, but I almost always did it with a smile. I don’t think I’ve ever yelled at a teammate. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten on a teammate. Other than effort and intent, I don’t think there was much to say. And so I was glad I got to play, and I was happy I got to play. I think I smiled almost the whole game. Except for a few seconds here and there, and I smiled at practice.
Do you have a favorite NFL defensive coach for whatever reason that you just hit it off with or you just loved their philosophy?
My favourite NFL defensive coach to work under? You know, there’s a I’m gonna add to that. I also played under Jim Johnson, who was amazing, and I don’t think anybody gives enough credit to Eric Mangini. You know, the time he spent with (Bill) Belichick and when he came to New York. I learned more about football with Eric than I did with anybody else when it came to defensive play.
Sean McDermott. From the day I walked into that office and watched Sean, I had no doubt he was gonna be one of the better coaches. He just had a specialness about him. He was a max-capacity guy. I’m glad he got there.
You just saw toughness with (John) Harbaugh. And then you got to see everything that backed it up. I’m gonna have to say Dick (LeBeau) is my favorite. I played under Dick for seven years.
I’m not sure I ever saw him yell, but maybe once or twice. And it was just to correct somebody. He had a way of getting things out of you because you just trusted him. He treated you like men. His knowledge and the trust that we had in him, the way he treated us, and every time we went to practice, Dick was special.
He just pulled it out of you. It was crazy. You did not want to disappoint him. You just knew he was always gonna get us ready to go. I know he was special. I wish I could have coached with him.
Of all the defensive coaches that you had, who did you think was gonna be a head coach very soon in the NFL?
The defensive coach I also knew was going to step up to become a head coach? Sean (McDermott). I’m glad he got to the head coach status. I hope he wins a Super Bowl. Just being around him, you could see something special.
If you were to pick one single highlight in your NFL career, what would it be?
The greatest highlight of my NFL career? All right, here’s what always comes to mind: Super Bowl week, Friday. We’re gonna play on Sunday. We’re done with practice. And 35 minutes after practice, in the weight room at that dome stadium, there are 35 guys working out, doing the same thing they did for the previous five years, the previous year, the previous week, when the expectations were so great.
Being a Friday in Detroit during Super Bowl week didn’t mean anything. Sunday meant everything, and the process to get there meant everything. And that memory that always comes to mind was walking into that weight room and seeing 35 guys, the guns club, you know, hitting their arms on Friday. I think at that point that’s when I knew we were gonna win a Super Bowl.
Are there some guys you see at Central Washington as potentials who might be able to get noticed and find their way into the NFL?
As far as coaching, one of my really good friends is the head coach. I just love the coach. Then we’ve got some great young men. We’ve got a young group, a young group of dogs, though.
These guys tell you what, everyone on my D-line; I’ve been lucky. The standard that they create, the way that they practice, you know, when they put their hand on the line, whether they’re gonna win or lose.
I’ve got four freshmen, one sophomore, and six true freshmen and one senior that hasn’t played very much. But my freshmen, they’re young. They had a great off-season. We spent the whole off-season developing. They’re gonna be great players. It always depends on what they do on a year-to-year basis.
You know, how they’re able to build and reach a max capacity every single year and then build on top of that and then build on top of that. We got the guys to do it. I have a couple of guys who are really special.
What has been the most rewarding part for you about serving as a defensive end coach for this program?
It’s always about developing these young men. Scott Power, our head coach, does a great job of building a standard, building a competitive spirit. The resolve is unwavering, but the kids are good. We got some good kids up here at Central. They’re well-meaning; they put in great effort.
These guys are working 20 hours a week. You know, they’re getting portions of their scholarships paid for, but they show up every day. The resolve that they hold and the capacity they gotta do with school and work. It’s as a coach. I admire every one of them.
Is there anything else that you wanna to add before I let you go here?
Nope, good luck to everybody in the NFL. Appreciate you asking me questions about some of our men here at Washington.
As far as the Steelers, I love the Rooneys; I love the organization. Everything I’ve heard about McCarthy has been amazing. Pittsburgh has a way of bringing out some special things in people.
Do you have a Super Bowl pick or contender for this season?
It’ll be the Eagles.
You know, you look at the offensive and defensive line. One, you know, building to be one of the best in the NFL. Championships are won with the offensive and defensive line and a quarterback. Always starts in the trenches. For some reason, Philly’s always had the best O linemen. They’ve always had the best D-linemen.
You win in the trenches.