Steelers Icon Mel Blount Admits He Never Wanted To Play In Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers hit home run after home run in the draft before they went on their incredible run winning four Super Bowls in the 1970s. Mel Blount was drafted by the team in the third round of the 1970 NFL Draft. He would go on to be a major part in the Steelers dynasty and reason for their success. Blount became a Hall of Famer, earned five Pro Bowl invites, two All-Pro honors and many other accolades all while the Steelers were dominating the NFL. However, Blount wasn’t happy he was drafted to Pittsburgh at first. While speaking on Ben Roethlisberger’s Footbahlin podcast on Tuesday, Blount shared his initial reaction to being picked by the Steelers.

Blount admitted he was angry when Pittsburgh selected him. He felt he should have been a first-round pick and wanted to play for the New Orleans Saints. Growing up in Louisiana, the Saints were his comfort zone, and he had no desire to leave the South. Instead, he was forced to head north to a place he knew nothing about and had no connection to.

Blount described the culture shock he experienced arriving in Pittsburgh, from seeing snow for the first time to adjusting to an entirely new lifestyle. He admitted it took him nearly a decade to finally feel at home in the city. But after spending his early offseasons heading straight back to the South, Blount eventually embraced Pittsburgh — thanks to connections and opportunities off the field — and ultimately fell in love with the place he once wanted nothing to do with.

"In the third round, they picked me from Southern University, and I am pi**ed because I am thinking I should have been a first-round pick, and I didn’t want to go to Pittsburgh," Blount said. "I wanted to go to the Saints. Now, the Saints weren’t a world-class football team, but that was my comfort zone because I was in Louisiana."

Blount’s story is a classic example of being pushed out of a comfort zone. He never wanted to end up in Pittsburgh and was already frustrated that he wasn’t a first-round pick. 

Despite those feelings, he arrived in the Steel City with a determination to help the team win, even while struggling for years to truly feel at home.

"I come to Pittsburgh, and I am telling you, it was a culture shock," Blount said. "All my life I had spent in the South. I had never seen snow and tunnels — I mean, all of this stuff I was experiencing up here was crazy… It took me 10 years to adjust to Pittsburgh because after all those Super Bowls we won and all the experiences, I was one of the first people, when the season was over, my clothes were packed and I was heading south. In 1980, I decided to stay in Pittsburgh, and Joe Gordon was a PR guy who kept me busy, and I actually made a lot of money that offseason, and so I fell in love with Pittsburgh. That was in 1980."

Blount explained that he finally decided to give Pittsburgh a real chance 10 seasons into his career with the Steelers. In 1980, he stayed in the city for the offseason for the first time, and his PR representative, Joe Gordon, helped him land endorsements and other opportunities that allowed him to make significant money locally. That success off the field opened his eyes to what Pittsburgh had to offer. Combined with a decade of building relationships and becoming more comfortable with the city’s culture, Blount eventually grew to love the place he once never wanted to call home.

Steelers' Mel Blount On The Current State Of The Team

Blount also shared his thoughts on the current state of the Steelers — a topic that has become a heated debate among fans as frustration continues to build. The Steelers, under Head Coach Mike Tomlin, haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season, and that drought has caused serious concern within the fan base. Many are growing impatient with the lack of postseason success and questioning the team’s direction.

Blount was candid in his assessment, saying he believes the Steelers are far from competing for Super Bowls. He pointed out several glaring holes on the roster, including cornerback, offensive line, quarterback, and even the pass rush. In his eyes, the defense leans heavily on TJ Watt, and without him, the unit is nothing special.

He made it clear that Pittsburgh has a lot of work to do if they want to turn things around. With so many areas needing improvement, Blount feels the Steelers face an uphill battle heading into the 2025 season and must make major strides to return to true contender status.

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