The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Terry Bradshaw with the first pick in the 1970 NFL Draft. The Hall of Fame quarterback supplied a lifetime of memories for Steeler Nation as a player. Bradshaw threw the Immaculate Reception and won an NFL MVP, two Super Bowl MVPs and four Lombardi Trophies. Calling his own plays for most of his career, he was the best big-game quarterback of his generation.
Dinner Drive With Kyle Petty
Terry Bradshaw sits down to dinner with one of his biggest fans, Kyle Petty.
Bradshaw sustained a career-threatening elbow injury and decided to have it surgically repaired before the 1983 season. Bradshaw recently related how much the injury cost him in an interview on the Circle Network program Dinner Drive With Kyle Petty. During 1983 against the New York Jets, he re-injured the elbow, but returned to the field and secured one last AFC Central Title for the Steelers. A decision that ended his playing career and propelled him into broadcasting, where he has worked since 1984.
Fox NFL Sunday
Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw poses to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Fox NFL Sunday.
Bradshaw demonstrated emphatically that he still is a brilliant NFL analyst in his 30th season on Fox. After enduring heavy criticism in 2022 for his performance on Fox NFL Sunday, he unleashed a sharply pointed critique of the Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach, Brandon Staley, during The OT segment after a dubious Week 3 decision that gained national attention.
“[Staley's] butt could have got fired,” Bradshaw said. He just does some dumb things, and as a head coach, you can’t do dumb things that cost your team a victory. I just thought it was ridiculous what he did.”
Bradshaw played for one of the most intelligent men who ever walked an NFL sideline, Chuck Noll. Despite the outside criticism, Noll believed in Bradshaw's keen intellect on the football field and let him run the gameday offense. He wasn’t always happy with the result, but the Hall of Fame Head Coach filled a trophy case for Art Rooney Sr., relying on Bradshaw’s ability to think on the gridiron.
“What was it, 24-yard line and going for it on fourth down? I’ll tell you, I made C’s in college, and I’m smart enough to know you don’t do that. That Brandon Staley guy, he can’t coach for me.”
Staley might not have been paying attention to Bradshaw's critiques of his fourth down call against the Minnesota Vikings. Just one week later, he set social media on fire by making a similar call against the Las Vegas Raiders that nearly cost the Chargers a victory.
Brandon Staley's entire reasoning for being aggressive (that I agree with) is that he trusts his elite quarterback.
— Bolt Beat (@BB_Chargers) January 10, 2022
It's just WILD to make such a risky fourth-down decision and then NOT use the guy that makes you make these decisions.
Bad coaching. That's bad coaching.
The Chargers Head Coach seems intent on setting the season on fire, but he has avoided getting burned at this point. Not because of superior strategy or lack of trying. It has just been pure dumb luck that the Vikings and Raiders could not capitalize on the erratic decisions that Bradshaw rightly ripped on the national stage. It is good to see the Steelers' former quarterback as sharp as ever.
Early in the 2022 season, after struggling to breathe in a segment, Bradshaw revealed the worst for long-time fans of the popular broadcaster. He was struggling with his recovery from cancer treatment, and suddenly, an entire generation was forced to face their mortality.
NFL Fans Were Concerned For Steelers Great Terry Bradshaw
It did not stop the social media mob from calling for his job. Fox NFL Sunday and Bradshaw are enjoying their 30th anniversary of broadcasting NFL games. The number one NFL studio show is once again dominating in the ratings.
The legendary broadcaster has come under fire all too often for his intelligence. Over the years, opponents, smarmy actors and clueless broadcasters have taken potshots at Bradshaw’s intellect. They have mistaken a Southern accent for a lack of IQ points. To his credit, Bradshaw smiled and has parlayed the insults into 50-plus years of relevancy in America’s hearts and living rooms.
JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer
Steelers legendary quarterback Terry Bradshaw stares at his new statue that LA Tech unveiled on September 21st.
Bradshaw is so beloved that his alma mater, on September 21st, unveiled a statue of the former Louisiana Tech star. The University revealed six statues in all. Karl Malone, Kim Mulkey, Willie Roaf, Teresa Weatherspoon and the late Fred Dean were honored in the ceremony.
According to Doug Ireland, who covered the event for The Lincoln Parish Journal, Bradshaw took the opportunity to share the spotlight and needle his Fox Sports colleagues Howie Long and Michael Strahan.
“Michael and Howie, unfortunately, never started college, apparently. They don’t have degrees, and now I’m the only one with a statue.”
Bradshaw is a Steelers icon and a national treasure who helped Fox establish itself as a serious broadcast partner for the NFL. He is witty, self-deprecating, and, as Staley and Chargers fans can attest, still very much on his game. Bradshaw is back on top for those who reside in the social media mobs that doubted him.
WALLY FONG / ap photo
Steelers legends Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, and Gerry "Moon" Mullins share a light moment while traveling.
True fans of the 75-year-old who grew up rooting for the Pittsburgh signal-caller never had a doubt. It isn't fair to say that his pointed criticism is surprising. There is a half-century of evidence of how smart Bradshaw is, if anyone cares to look. It is good to see Bradshaw thriving and making headlines for all the right reasons again.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you happy to see Bradshaw silencing the mob that called for his job last season? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq.
#SteelerNation
