Across his 13 NFL seasons, Jerome Bettis carved out a legendary career, mainly with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Hall-of-Famer became a Super Bowl champion, NFL Man of the Year, NFL Comeback Player of the Year, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, two-time All-Pro, and six-time Pro Bowler while rushing for 13,662 yards and totaling 94 touchdowns.
Ahead of the American Century Championship, which Bettis is competing in from July 10-12 on NBC and Peacock, PFN caught up with the NFL legend to discuss the new-look Steelers, Mike Tomlin’s resignation, Pittsburgh’s backfield, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price’s upside, his Mount Rushmore of NFL RBs, the evolution of the position, and more.
What was your reaction when Mike Tomlin decided to step down as the Steelers’ head coach?
Jerome Bettis: “I was surprised he stepped down, but I wasn’t shocked. I mean, after 19 years, a coach is considering and thinking about it. I mean, they’re not going to coach forever, so I knew that he was in that range. I was surprised that he did it when he did it, obviously, just because the admiration I have for him, and I’m a fan of him as a coach and all of that. And so it was surprising, but I wasn’t shocked. It was one of those. After 15, 16, 17 years, your mortality starts to come into focus and you realize, ‘If I’m not winning a championship, then maybe I need to move on.’ And that I think is what happened.”
With Aaron Rodgers back in Pittsburgh, the trade for Michael Pittman Jr., and Mike McCarthy replacing Tomlin as the new head coach, what are your expectations for the Steelers this year?
Bettis: “Obviously with this being Aaron’s last year, I think they’ll rally around that. I expect them to be competitively good and fight for the division, and the playoff goes through your division. So if they can win a division, then I think they got a great shot. But this year, the division’s going to be tough, tough, tough to win. But if they can win it, then I expect them to make a sizable dent in the playoffs.”
Looking at the Steelers’ backfield, they added Rico Dowdle after a strong year with the Carolina Panthers. Jaylen Warren is back as well, and Kaleb Johnson is trying to bounce back after a disappointing rookie year. Who do you think will be the RB1 in Pittsburgh, and what do you think of the backfield?
Bettis: “I think it’ll be Rico. I think he’s got the experience. But I do think the rookie, I mean, well, he’s not a rookie anymore, but I think Kaleb is going to make a strong push. Physically, he’s got all the tools. I think he just had to figure it out. And it just takes a little while sometimes for a running back to figure out; you learn the speed of the game, how it’s played.
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“It’s a much different game than college. So I think he’ll bounce back and I think he’ll be ready to fight for the starting job. Maybe not at the beginning of the season, but closer to the mid-latter part of the season, I think he’s going to come on strong.”
What advice would you give to Kaleb Johnson as he tries to put last year behind him and live up to his potential?
Bettis: “I would just tell ’em to stay committed to the process. Keep grinding, keep working your butt off, and don’t worry about the lack of playing time. If that’s the case, a lot of guys, they get down and then they get in their own heads about not playing. Don’t worry about it. It’s a reason why you’re there: because you’re talented. So understand that, remember that, and then go out there and put your best foot forward and just work your butt off.”
Last year, you told me that you enjoy watching Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Jacobs. Are there any young, up-and-coming running backs that you’re a fan of?
Bettis: “The number one guy is Bijan Robinson. He is the guy right now. I think he’s the best running back in football. He’s that spectacular. Running and catching, he can do it all.”
Jeremiyah Love was the No. 3 overall pick in the draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Your son, Jerome Bettis Jr., played with him at Notre Dame. What are your thoughts on his game and long-term upside?
Bettis: “I mean, his long-term upside is phenomenal. I think he’s got a chance to be the best running back in the NFL, but I do believe that the Arizona Cardinals have to support him. They’ve got to upgrade the offensive line. They’ve got to make a commitment to run the football because if they do, they have one of the best, most talented offensive players in the NFL. I mean, he can be dynamic. And so I think the only problem is the Cardinals have been known to underutilize a lot of their star players, and all you got to do is look at Marvin Harrison Jr., who was the No. 4 pick in the draft, and he hasn’t gotten the opportunity.
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“You look at that and say, hey, the team, the organization, they have to put their players in the best position to be successful, and they haven’t done that. So that’s my one concern with the Cardinals. They got a new coaching staff. I like that coaching staff. I believe they can make that change, but it’s got to be an organizational change.”
It reminds me of the Las Vegas Raiders selecting Ashton Jeanty while having one of the worst offensive lines in the league. How much of a running back’s success is dependent on their offensive line?
Bettis: “It never gets talked about. The central factor of any great running back is how great was the offensive line? If you look at the careers of the greatest running backs that ever played, they had really good offensive lines and they weren’t talked about. So I think that’s part of the equation; that’s always going to be a part of running back’s success. Unfortunately, it may not get talked about, but it’s significant.”
Jadarian Price also went in the first round to the Seattle Seahawks. What do you expect from Price now that he’s out of Love’s shadow?
Bettis: “I think he went to the right team, and I believe he’s going be spectacular as well in terms of what he does. He’s a downhill runner and he’s got a lot of juice, so he’ll be really good for them. And that’s exactly what they need. They’ve got a dynamic passing game. They just need to make sure that the running game can match… He’ll be really good.
“My son was a freshman [at Notre Dame], so I watched them both closely. Both of them were awesome. It was a treat to be able to see both of these guys handle themselves. And Jadarian Price had to do more because he didn’t get the same opportunity, so he ran back kickoff returns and did so much stuff. You watch both of these guys impact the game and it was spectacular the way they were able to dominate.”
When you look at how the running-back position has evolved, most teams use a committee and things have changed. What are your thoughts on how the position has evolved?
Bettis: “I think the position has changed because the college game has changed, and they don’t need a 220-pound running back anymore. The problem is the NFL still wants that 220-pound running back, so it’s hard to find. It’s rare. That’s why the NFL has gone to committees because they don’t have them. But when I was coming out, you had every college team running a pro-style offense, so a 250-, 225-pound running back was standard. Well, now it’s an exception.
“Now you’ve got smaller guys. And so that’s why Notre Dame having these two big running backs like this that were fast and big, it was out of the ordinary. Because you look at any other team, nobody has a 6’1”, 215-pound running back, right? Now, it’s a rarity. So when you find them, you got to snatch ’em up because you just can’t find them out there.
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“And that’s part of the evolution and [how the position] has changed because you don’t see ’em out there anymore. So now, you have to do more with less in that you get multiple running backs — you get one guy who can catch it, one guy who can run it, and you do that because you can’t find one guy who can do it all because they’re so rare! But here’s what I will say: when you find them, you got to draft them. So for instance, you look at Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jonathan Taylor; when you find them, you draft them. These guys are top-10 running backs. So that notion that, oh, you don’t draft him high. If he’s special, you get him because you can’t [easily] find him, you know what I mean?
“Think about this: those two running backs (Love and Price), the only two that went in the first round, they’re the only ones that kind of look like that. Everybody else looks different. So if you are an NFL team, if you find one like that, you better get ’em because he’s rare to find. And these first-round picks, they have hit. But guess what? Most of them, they were the only one in the first round [in their draft]. But I’m going to tell you, the boy [Omarion] Hampton for the Chargers, oh my goodness, he’s a stud. I’m a fan of him as well. But again, it was only a couple guys in the [first round] that year (Hampton and Jeanty). So when you find one, you better draft him.”
Who would be on your Mount Rushmore of NFL running backs?
Bettis: “Oh my goodness. Jim Brown. Barry Sanders. Walter Payton. Hmm, that’s a tough one. Because I was a big back, I got to put Earl Campbell. [For an honorable mention], I would probably have to put Marshall Faulk in there. He was dynamic receiving as well as rushing; he could do it all.”
You are competing in the American Century Championship from July 10-12 on NBC and Peacock. Who are you most excited to compete against and catch up with this year?
Bettis: Well, the one guy I always have a bet with, and I always make sure that I beat him, is Larry Fitzgerald. We go at it every year, so this year won’t be any different.”
How did you first get involved with the American Century Championship, and why is it important to you?
Bettis: “When I retired from the NFL, I started working for NBC on Sunday Night Football, and they had the tournament and I was a very, very poor golfer at the time. They kept trying to convince me to come and play and I said, ‘Ah, my game’s not ready yet.’ It took me two or three years and I said, ‘Okay, I’m coming,’ and I decided to go and play, and the rest is history. So it took some convincing, but once I got out there and saw how beautiful it is and how the fans are, it’s just an incredible tournament that I’m just fortunate to be a part of.”
It must be scary to play a sport that’s out of your comfort zone on national TV. How far has your golf game come from back then to now?
Bettis: “Oh my goodness, light years. Light years. I’m telling you, my first time, I was so nervous about hitting somebody. I was so worried that I was going to kill somebody out there. Because my driver, I didn’t know where the ball was going. Now, it’s to the point where I feel really good about my game and it’s not about keeping it in play, it’s about can I score? That was the last thing I was thinking about when I first started playing. I just wanted to find the next shot and not kill somebody. Keep it in play and don’t kill anybody. (laughs).”
