Jordan DeFigio, @fidgenewton
SteelerNation.com
Not many kickers in Pittsburgh Steelers history are surrounded by the same level of intrigue, emotion, and spectacle as Jeff Reed. Coming into the league in 2002 as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints, Reed made his way to the Steelers shortly after, all thanks to a midseason tryout at Heinz Field. And the rest was, well, you know how the saying goes.
Steeler Nation's own, G. Stryker sat down for a chat with Reed and talked about how he found his way in the NFL, his career, what it was like to play regular season games vs. playing in the Super Bowl, and even about the infamous blonde hair.
"Well, a lot of people don't know this, but as a teenager I worked for Ric Flair," Reed said.
He mentioned watching pro-wrestling and that he remains a huge fan, even tweeting about Ric Flair's retirement.
Miss seein you brother! Always a champ! https://t.co/bseNNoRd6x
— Jeff Reed (@TheRealJeffReed) June 7, 2020
He went into greater detail on the blonde by saying,
"I told my teammates, 'As soon as we make the playoffs (cause we were doing well and I knew we were going to), I'm gonna die my hair like Ric Flair,' and James Farrior was the first one to say 'Whatever you're not gonna do that.' So we made the playoffs about week 11, and so I came back to the facility a day or two later and had my hair like that. And Coach Tomlin said 'What are you doing?' and I said 'Man, you know I'm unpredictable man, all you need to worry about is me making field goals. Don't worry about my hair.'"
Reed went on to comment on both Coach Tomlin and Coach Cowher, saying,
"[Tomlin] was fun to play for, and Coach Cowher was also too, so I can't really say anything bad about those guys."
Though Reed was most commonly known for his boisterous personality, he also found great success in the NFL, playing with the Steelers from 2002-2009 and finishing out his career with the San Francisco 49ers in 2010. He left the league with an 82.2% field goal percentage, a career-long 53-yard field goal, and two Super Bowl rings. He remains beloved by Pittsburgh and himself still loves the city and its fans.
You can listen to the full podcast right here:
What's your fondest memory of Jeff Reed? Sound off in the comments below!
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