The Steelers and Mike Tomlin really, really, really wanted Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with the number 32 pick. Tenessee was offering the #41, #72, and a 2024 3rd rounder and the Steelers decided it wasn't worth the risk of losing their guy. Porter Jr. was a Steelers ball boy as a kid back when his dad was an all-pro linebacker with the team that was then coached by Bill Cowher.
Interestingly, one of the Steelers' first personnel moves after Mike Tomlin was hired as Steelers head coach in 2007 was to cut Joey Porter Sr. rather than pay him a $1 million roster bonus. Porter Sr went on to have several more productive seasons with the Dolphins and Cardinals before returning to the Steelers as an assistant coach under Tomlin. Porter Sr was fired as an assistant coach after four years and several off the field DUI and disorderly conduct arrests. He and Tomlin have remained close friends as have their sons who attended high school together. Despite the obvious favoritism, Porter Jr. can play and was projected as a first round pick by some experts. He almost was.
Interestingly, one of the Steelers' first personnel moves after Mike Tomlin was hired as Steelers head coach in 2007 was to cut Joey Porter Sr. rather than pay him a $1 million roster bonus. Porter Sr went on to have several more productive seasons with the Dolphins and Cardinals before returning to the Steelers as an assistant coach under Tomlin. Porter Sr was fired as an assistant coach after four years and several off the field DUI and disorderly conduct arrests. He and Tomlin have remained close friends as have their sons who attended high school together. Despite the obvious favoritism, Porter Jr. can play and was projected as a first round pick by some experts. He almost was.
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