Oh, the HUMANITY!!!

[Whiplash4ever]

Porter's back, and all I can ask is... why? What can he do? You can't teach someone swag. They either have it or they don't. Can he coach? Hell, I don't know. I guess we'll find out. My experience tells me that guys who excel on the field, seldom make good coaches. The rule does not hold true 100% of the time, but when a player who was special on the field moves on to the coaching ranks and turns out to be special there too, it's the exception that prooves the rule, not the other way around. People need to let go of the idea that, because you loved them as a player, they will automatically make great coaches too. Tick through the NFL's greatest and ask yourself how many of t hem moved on to be successful coaches.

I know that's some kind of treachery, disloyalty, betrayal, faithlessness, sedition, subversion, mutiny, rebellion and high treason but that's just the way I see it.

Let us hope that I am wrong.

[Butch]

I understand your concern. I think Joey was a helluva presence in the locker room when he was here. Can he turn things around for this team...I certainly hope so. There are Great players who have become Great coaches so there is hope and at this point that is better than just staying with the status quo.

[Dwinsgames]

Jarvis Jones needs more moves , Joey can teach him those moves ....

if he achieves nothing else as a def assistant here that in itself will make it a worthwhile hire IMO

[LLT]

Might be that he is a better "motivator" than a coach....and I'll take that with this group of players who often seemed less than enthuisiastic at times this last season.

[X-Terminator]

I would consider Mike Munchak and Dick LeBeau exceptions to that rule.

[Hawkman]

I would consider Mike Munchak and Dick LeBeau exceptions to that rule.

Mike Ditka was pretty good at both also.

[LLT]

I would consider Mike Munchak and Dick LeBeau exceptions to that rule.

Mike Ditka...Raymond Berry....Joe Schmidt

[Devilsdancefloor]

all i can is who ride!!!! I think he is going to light a fire under some OLBers, Jones has swag, so he is going to help him with a few moves and how to talk some serious smack

[Mojouw]

Well since he is a defensive assistant and not even a position coach, I doubt it matters if he can coach or not.

He is being hired at the level that most in the NFL consider on the job training. Butler, Lebeau, Tomlin, etc can teach Porter how to coach if he is willing to learn. What he can bring to the table is enthusiasm, energy and the hard won knowledge he gained banging in to offensive tackles at 250 lbs for 13 years.

Like others have alluded to, Porter (6'2" 250) was likely brought in to serve as the personal mentor to Jarvis Jones (6'2" 245). This is what NBA teams do when they draft a young center that needs to develop, hire a former center to be there to impart experience.

Now if we really want to get all speculative and what-not; the retention of Olsavsky as a Defensive Assistant and the hiring of Porter as an Defensive Assistant is a sign that the Steelers are expecting massive turnover at the LB'er position. I am predicting that only Jones, Williams, and Timmons will return and the rest of the LB corps will be cut. They will start a foursome of Jones and a rookie on the outside and Timmons and a rookie on the inside with Williams and another rookie on the outside. With all this youth, that is why the Steelers hired two former players as assistant coaches.

Is the draft here yet?

[Texasteel]

I would consider Mike Munchak and Dick LeBeau exceptions to that rule.

It may be a little early to label him a huge success, but I would give Lake a mention as well.

[Craic]

I don't think Lebeau, Lake, etc., fit the bill of the "Great player" that was talked about in the OP. I don't even think Jerome Bettis or Hines Ward fits that bill. As the argument goes, those players are the type that have so much natural talent and skill that they are able to see and do things that other players just can't see and do. It's the Wayne Gretzkys, Michael Jordans, and Jerry Rices of the world that fit that bill.

Joey Porter wasn't even close to that level, so I'm not worried about that. I do wonder, however, how much of a technical vs. talent player he was, because the latter has a harder switch than the former. That's also the reason why I wanted to see Jerome Bettis and Ward as coaches, because both of them were better technical than talent players. Of course, there's someone here that's going to read that as me saying Bettis and Ward weren't talented, which is absolutely not what I said. Instead, both Ward and Bettis got every last drop of talent used by focusing on the technical side of their game. They were known as hard workers and focused on their profession. It's the same category I'd put Peyton Manning. Like him or hate him, he's supremely talented, but it's his technical focus—mechanics, film, etc—that makes him a first ballot HOFer IMO. And yes, I do believe he is a first ballot HOFer.