Former Steelers' OL Leon Searcy Detailed Being A Pawn Of Drew Rosenhaus During Contract Dispute With Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their first draft under General Manager Omar Khan, and it will be interesting to see how he will approach the NFL Draft differently than his predecessors Kevin Colbert and Tom Donahoe. Khan has a lot to measure up to, as the Steelers were able to win Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII, due in large part to Colbert’s aggressive approach. What remains to be seen is who Khan will select with his first ever selection in the first round, and if that player is as both talented and enigmatic as the players were in the initial selections of his predecessors as we review in Part I of this comparison series.

Entering the 1992 NFL Draft, new coach Bill Cowher and then newly promoted to Director of Football Operations, Tom Donahoe were working with the 11th overall pick (tied for the 4th highest of the Steelers from 1972-2023), and set their sights on a physically gifted offensive lineman in Leon Searcy. However, they weren’t the only team that was targeting Searcy.  

The Dallas Cowboys were selecting 13th overall, and head coach, Jimmy Johnson called his former University of Miami star to tell him the Cowboys were trading up for him. A Cowboys rep allegedly even came to his home in Orlando, Florida with a contract and jersey. But right after he left, a phone call came in from Cowher to inform Searcy that the Steelers were selecting him.

Searcy was a three-time national champion at the University of Miami who the Steelers saw as an ideal fit to eventually replace the 35-year-old two-time Pro Bowler, Tunch Ilkin at offensive tackle. And while Searcy would take over for the veteran in 1993, he was not part of the starting offensive line unit that created the holes which enabled Barry Foster to attain the Steelers single-season rushing record of 1,690 yards. Searcy spent the season as a backup to Ilkin, and upon reflection, Searcy felt he approached his first training camp with the wrong attitude as he was strongly influenced by his agent.

I learned on the fly. I didn’t want anyone to disrupt my game. I came from the University of Miami – we won three championships and lost four games in four years when I was there. I didn’t want anyone to take away my edge and tell me how to approach the game – I came from a winning program. I wanted my own swagger.

I would get myself in trouble though sometimes – maybe I was too arrogant. I think the only reason I didn’t start was because I held out. My agent said Pittsburgh was notorious for underpaying players. The agent said I needed to hold out to make a statement, so I missed training camp and was behind everyone else. The newspapers said I was a bust that rookie season – it was a tough first year. I thought they intentionally didn’t want to play me – to teach me a lesson. It all rubbed me the wrong way.

It would not be the last time Searcy got bad advice from his agent. Searcy would start in 1993 and he continued to improve as he was anchoring the line with Dermontti Dawson through the Steelers Super Bowl XXX run. Although he did not receive Pro Bowl recognition, Searcy was on the verge of becoming an elite offensive lineman with the Steelers, but his free agency departure after that season was a massive loss to the team. And it turned out, perhaps for all the wrong reasons, thanks to another shady move by his agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

We’d drafted him, developed him, and looked forward to watching him reach his potential with us. But Jacksonville, in its second year of existence, signed him to a record contract for an offensive lineman.

The Searcy departure turned out to be a perfect example of why players should not take personally what is said in contract negotiations. Cowher called Searcy to let him know how much the Steelers wanted him back and to warn him not to listen to what his agent was telling him management was saying. But Rosenhaus was determined to procure the largest offer he could for his client and thus had Searcy listen in on another line as the Steelers negotiated his flaws.

Leon Searcy per Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades by Ron Lippock:

Well, I was visiting my family when Drew called me and said Pittsburgh was dogging me out. Saying I wasn’t even their best offensive tackle. Now, I remember what Cowher told me and I told Drew that. So he told me he’d call Pittsburgh and put me on a three-way call, without Pittsburgh knowing I was on the line. So I’m not sure who it was on the Steelers line, but he just blasted me. Saying I had only started for two seasons, that my first year was horrible, that I was much too young to be asking for that kind of money, especially as a two-year starter with just one good season. 

Now, I was young and didn’t understand anything about negotiating. It all rubbed me the wrong way. I hung up the phone after 15-20 minutes of assault. My agent called me back and I told him I wanted to prove I could have success elsewhere. I thought the Steelers was the right place and system for me, but now the hell with that. I told him to find me a new team. I overreacted. I was angry and made a decision emotionally. Two days later, my agent came back with a contract from Jacksonville – that made me the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL. Now, did my agent set me up? He probably did looking back on it. Maybe he used me… but that’s the kind of lesson I want to teach others about now.

Searcy would go on to state that he regretted his decision to leave the Steelers and its evident that his career never reached the heights that he potentially could have. Comparing with Colbert and the career of Plaxico Burress, it’s a legitimate question as to who the better Steeler was and who turned out to be the bigger disappointment.

#SteelerNation