Checking In With Defensive Assistant Jerry Olsavsky

SB Nation’s Pittsburgh Steelers site, Behind the Steel Curtain, just posted an interview with new defensive assistant coach Jerry Olsavsky. A former player for the black and gold, Olsavsky was named a defensive quality control coach this past offseason. What that means, I’m not sure. But Olsavsky always was a scrapper on the field, a player who got more out of his talent than he probably should have. He’ll now get a chance to learn from defensive guru Dick LeBeau. Great stuff and congratulations to him on this new chapter in his football life.

Below are a few snippets of the interesting conversation.

BTSC: Jerry, the Steelers’ administration has undergone many changes since you were here as a player. There’s a new Rooney in charge and now there are several investors in the picture. How have things changed from your perspective?

Olsavsky: Nothing whatsoever has changed. The organization has refined itself, but the management style has remained the same. This is still very much a family-style organization. Mr. Rooney (Art II) was a great lawyer before taking over the team, so he knows what he is doing. He hasn’t changed what his grandfather and father built.

BTSC: The Steelers have two all-world players at outside linebacker, yet they drafted that position in both the second and fourth rounds. Did that surprise you?

Olsavsky: Not at all. Woodley and Harrison practically played every snap last year. You need depth. You need to give those a guys a break so they will be stronger at the ends of games. In addition, both Worilds and Gibson are really superb athletes. They are light on their feet and have tremendous skill-sets. That translates into special teams contributors as well. We’ve upgraded our special teams significantly during this offseason.