HOF Kevin Greene

The last place we saw retired NFL linebacker Kevin Greene was on the sidelines for the Green Bay Packers, serving as outside linebackers’ coach in 2013. The five-time Pro Bowler and sack aficionado will make his next hit in Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.

Greene had an enduring career, playing 15 seasons with four different franchises; the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers. He played with the great Bo Jackson during his college years at Auburn, and was also a teammate to All-American linebacker Gregg Carr. He was selected in the fifth round by the Rams in the 1984 NFL Draft. Greene will join only three other players from that draft class when inducted into the Hall of Fame – the others’ were all 1st round picks. This wait is one that’s been long and puzzling for Greene. He ranks third on the all-time sacks list with 160 sacks (first among linebackers), and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 1990’s.

“I will say I don’t understand the process, I think,” said Greene during an appearance on KDKA-FM in Pittsburgh. “I scratch my head, knowing how I played and playing the same position as Lawrence Taylor and playing longer than the great L.T. and actually being more productive as far as quarterback sacks, and he was known as the sack master, the guy that revolutionized the position. I know I came after Lawrence Taylor, but I’d like to think I did it longer and did it better.”

Football wasn’t the only sport Greene took part in, though. During the offseason of his later years in football career, he wrestled professionally for the WCW, aka the World Championship Wrestling. Greene ran into some NFL alums during his brief wrestling stint, including Steve McMichael and Bill Goldberg, but ultimately retired due to NFL teams’ introducing a “no wrestling” clause into his contracts.

Since Greene’s playing days ended in 1999, he’s remained heavily involved in football. In 2008, he acted as an intern for the Steelers as an assistant. The following January he was hired as the outside linebackers coach in Green Bay. Dom Capers, who Greene played for in Pittsburgh and Carolina, was the defensive coordinator in Green Bay and wanted to give his former player a shot at coaching. Greene never achieved success while competing for a Lombardi trophy as a player, but was finally victorious as an assistant when the Packers won in Super Bowl XLV.

Greene rekindled another past relationship when he worked with former coach Marvin Lewis. Lewis was the defensive coordinator during Greene’s stint in Pittsburgh and helped Lewis with a project player of his own; Margus Hunt. On his first takeaway from working with Greene, this is what Hunt had to say.

“Passionate. Detailed,” said Hunt. “He helped me simplify things overall with my pass rush and the game itself.”
Clay Matthews is one player Greene has always had his developmental eye on. Greene, as an assistant for the Packers, desperately wanted the walk-on linebacker from USC out of college. Greene understood what it took to be a walk-on, as he walked on at Auburn. Other than them both being walk-ons, Greene and Matthews both sported the flowing gold locks during their playing days. Greene was asked about Matthews’ development and potential moving forward and this is what he had to say.

“He comes from a football family,” says Greene in an interview with NFL Network. “A great-grandfather, the dad, the brothers & sisters played in the NFL, so he has it in his jeans…He listened and implemented techniques..He’s the most fluid linebacker I’ve ever seen.”

Not only has he mentored young NFL talent during his coaching days, he also helped many young players – mainly his own teammates – while he was still chasing down quarterbacks. Jim Webster was a quarterback in Pittsburgh while Greene was there, and Webster enjoyed practice because of the preparation commanded by the veteran.
“We had Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd as outside linebackers on that team,” said Jim Webster. “I always felt like games were easier than practice after having to block those two guys all week.”

Very few players will have the opportunity to eclipse what Kevin Greene achieved on the gridiron. But finally, after many years wondering how 160 sacks wasn’t Canton-worthy, it’s time to carve out a spot in the Hall of Fame for #91, Kevin Greene.