The Pittsburgh Steelers said goodbye to Chuck Noll after the 1991 season. The Steelers had finished 7-9 and, except for a 1989 Wild Card appearance, had only made the playoffs twice in the last eight years. Dan Rooney searched for the second head coach in the Super Bowl Era in Pittsburgh and decided upon Bill Cowher. It was the perfect mesh between an intense homegrown coach and an organization.
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Steelers Bill Cowher and Art Rooney II at his Hall of Fame Induction.
Cowher would go on to a Hall of Fame career and become the second consecutive head coach of the Steelers enshrined in Canton, OH. The emotional head coach immediately returned the Steelers to the playoffs in 1992 delivering the first division title since 1984. It was a great rookie season for the head coach and the organization, but it started with a sneaky move in the 1992 NFL Draft.
The Steelers entered the '92 draft with the 11th pick overall in the first round. The Steelers decided to draft Leon Searcy from the Miami Hurricanes. Searcy was a three-time National Champion and First Team All-American in 1991. Tunch Ilkin was aging and 1992 would be his last year as a starter for the Steelers. Cowher made the decision to go with Searcy and he became a fixture at right tackle and helped the Steelers to get to Super Bowl XXX.
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Steelers' Leon Searcy.
On draft day, Searcy elected to stay at home with his family. In 1992, the NFL Draft was becoming popular, but it was not the spectacle it is today. The local NBC affiliate had sent out an up-and-coming name in sports journalism and asked for and was granted the first interview with the soon-to-be first-round draft pick. That reporter was none other than Stuart Scott, who went on to become a star at ESPN, until his tragic passing in 2015.
The Steelers are famous for keeping their draft plans quiet. Pittsburgh has had a lot of success in the draft historically and part of the reason is that the Steelers draft room is impenetrable to outsiders. They were so good at keeping their intentions secret in Cowher’s first draft as a head coach, that even Searcy was not aware he was on their radar. In his book 4th Down and Damn: A Lineman’s Story, the future All-Pro related just how unprepared he was for the call from Pittsburgh.
“The only people I let in my house that day were my family and my agent,” Searcy describes. “I didn’t want a lot of people around in case things went south. The call from Jimmy Johnson set my mind at ease. Shortly before lunchtime, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and a big, burly bald guy with a 10-gallon hat and worn-out boots moseyed in. He had a Dallas Cowboys jersey with my name 'Searcy' on it.”
The Dallas Cowboys in 1992 were preparing to make the first of three Super Bowl runs in five seasons with a star-studded cast and a superior offensive line. Jimmy Johnson had coached at the University of Miami and was intimately familiar with how good a player Searcy was for the Hurricanes and was perfectly content at getting Searcy with the 17th pick in the NFL Draft.
“This gentleman made himself at home, walking straight to the kitchen to get a beer,” Searcy continues. “Then [he] pulled my agent into the back room to negotiate my contract. The draft started and I was watching and waiting. Each pick dragged on forever. ‘With the eighth pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons select Bob Whitfield.’ Around that time, I got another phone call.”
“Leon Searcy?” The voice asked. “This is Bill Cowher with the Pittsburgh Steelers. How do you feel about being a Steeler? We have the 11th pick, and we want you.”
Searcy and his agent had no inkling that the Steelers intended to take him at pick 11. Cowher was intent on a no-nonsense physical style of football that included power running. The choice to bring a top right tackle opposite John Jackson made sense to everybody but the unsuspecting youngster and his agent.
Going through a box of old sports cards and came across this! When you want a dominant LT AND someone to pitch Aqua Velva, Leon’s your guy. @MattHayesCFB @1010xljoec @RyanGreen1010XL @searcy_leon pic.twitter.com/RxrAI4UBDK
— Michael DiRocco (@ESPNdirocco) February 15, 2021
“I didn’t know what to do or say,” Searcy said. “I can’t even remember exactly what I mumbled at the time. All I knew was that my agent was in the room down the hall negotiating my contract to become a Cowboy! After the 10th pick, I got another phone call. It was the Steelers again. ‘Get ready, you’re next!'”
"While I was on the phone with Coach Cowher, I heard Paul Tagliabue announce to the world. ‘With the 11th pick in the draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Ed Searcy.’ This was my big moment, and the commissioner can’t even get my name right."
There is always a little doubt in any draft pick’s mind if they are going to slip and be selected later than they believed. This was well before the draft day debacle of Aaron Rodgers, but it was still a very real concern for players waiting to hear their name called. Searcy went earlier than he expected which was a fortuitous turn of events for the incoming rookie. However, not everyone in the house was in a celebratory mood after the Steelers’ phone call.
“I was relaxed and at peace,” Searcy concludes. “The Cowboys representative was pissed off, to say the least. He ripped up the contract and marched to the front door. As he was about to leave, I asked him if I could keep the Dallas jersey with his name on it as memorabilia for the day.”
“Son, you’re a Steeler now,” he drawled. “Cowboys would never give anything to a Steeler!”
Steelers Former 1st Round Pick Blames Drew Rosenhaus For His Exit In Pittsburgh
Searcy got his own jersey in Pittsburgh with a big number 72 on it. He spent four years in the black and gold as a starter, but left in 1996 with a record contract in hand to join the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars were making a concerted effort to poach Pittsburgh free agents, bringing in Searcy and Carnell Lake to anchor a successful run in the AFC Central. Searcy paired with Tony Boselli to form the best tackle duo in football while he was in Jacksonville.
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Steelers former 1st round pick, Leon Searcy.
During training camp in Jacksonville in July of 2000, Searcy tore his right quadriceps tendon and never played another down of football in the regular season. He did sign with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 and spent the entire season on injured reserve. He moved to guard with the Miami Dolphins in 2002, but tore his right tricep in the last preseason game and after missing three consecutive seasons with injury his career was over.
Searcy now appears on a popular sports radio talk show in his adopted home of Jacksonville, FL. XL Primetime with co-host Joel Cowart, Mia O’Brien, and Matt Hayes is broadcast Monday through Friday on 1010 XL. Searcy made his only Pro Bowl in Jacksonville in 1999, which was his final year as a player. He has stayed involved in football with a short stint coaching for Florida International University and through his role in sports media including a fantastic interview with Greg Lloyd last year.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you surprised that Cowher started his tenure by snaking Searcy from the Cowboys on draft day? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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