How Steelers Dermontti Dawson Changed the Center Position Forever

Earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers continued their "Time Machine" series on their YouTube channel with Steeler Nation Radio host, Stan Savran. This time, Savran sat down to interview the iconic Hall of Famer, Steelers center and 6x First Team All-Pro, Dermontti Dawson. Dawson is considered one of the best centers in Steelers history.

In the interview, Dawson discussed his relationship with 7x First Team All-Pro center, Mike Webster, being coached by both Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher, and how the introduction of the pulling lineman for the Steelers helped revolutionize the center position across the entire league.

"Just kind of watching Mike [Webster] in practice and the way he kind of prepared in the weight room, in the film room. I would ask Mike, you know, 'why would you write down every word that the coach is saying?' Because Mike was in his 15th year, my rookie year. So, he said he 'wanted to make sure' he had it 'engrained' in his brain so he 'didn't have to think about it.' So just looking at Mike as an example and watching the way he prepared -- I tried to do the same thing when they named me the starting center my second year. And it paid off."

Dermontti Dawson's Influence

Dawson spent his entire NFL career, from 1988 to 2000, all with the Steelers. He played in a total of 184 games, and started 181 of them. His experience and effectiveness to pull and block at the next level, paved the way for numerous Steelers' running backs such as Merril Hoge, Barry Foster, and Jerome "The Bus" Bettis.

"[Pulling] wasn't done on a regular basis [in the NFL]. It wasn't incorporated into many offenses. So when we started doing that in '92, we started preparing for a regular season game every Monday in training camp. And I can't remember if it was Philly or something, whatever team it was but, I told coach and those guys, I said, 'we're having a problem getting to the second level.' So I told coach, I said, 'I was a pulling guard. We can try. I can snap the ball, pull, make a false call to the guard." Dawson continued. "He would take my responsibility, or I would block the down guy. And we started to fool around with it in practice, and the next thing you know, Ron Erhardt said, 'I think this is going to be good.'"

Dawson would go onto also become a 7x Pro Bowler, and a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team. In today's NFL, you can see pulling linemen for almost every franchise. It's a quality most scouts look for at the collegiate level before players are drafted, and the game's very best are able to do so with even more athleticism than the hogs of the '90's could ever dream of before. Players like Philadelphia Eagles' center, Jason Kelce (4x First Team All-Pro), and Arizona Cardinals' center, Rodney Hudson (1x Second Team All-Pro and PFF's previously #1 ranked center), are two great examples. Although the NFL has turned more into a "pass-happy" league, the way most teams run the ball wouldn't be as successful without the influence of Dawson and the Steelers of the '90's.

Dawson currently resides in San Diego, CA, and is also a part owner of the Washington Wild Things, an independent league baseball team in Washington, Pennsylvania.

Do yinz think Dermontti Dawson and the Steelers of the 1990's changed the center position forever in the NFL? Click to comment below! To watch the full interview on YouTube with Savran, click here.

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