PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Steelers did draft Joey Porter, but make no mistake, they drafted only Joey Porter, Junior. They didn't' draft a dad looking to reclaim his glory days.
"It's going to be my flavor to it," Porter, Junior said. "It's me. It's not him. He understands that it's my time to shine. He did what he had to do. It's my time right now and I'm going to get the fans' attention with that, and I'm going to play hardball."
You don't have to search the internet long to see his father as a Steelers coach drawing a penalty against the Bengals because he was out on the field. Heard the story of Porter going onto the Ravens bus ticked off after a game. Porter, Senior wasn't the greatest high school parent with stories of his behavior at times disturbing.
Former NFL GM Doug Whaley is now an executive in the XFL where Porter, Senior is an assistant coach. Whaley said he recently had a conversation with the former Steelers linebacker and father. This is what he said about how he will treat Joey, Junior and his career.
"When he calls me and asks me for advice, I give it to him," Whaley said of what Porter told him. "Other than that, I've lived my life. I've had my career. This is on him. I will be here as a sounding board whenever he wants, but he's not going to be that helicopter pops that everyone thinks he will be."
"He won't be in building. He won't be in Tomlin's ear. He won't be in TA's (defensive coordinator Teryl Austin) ear. He's going to let Joey Porter, Junior forge his own way."
Isn't that the concern, that Porter, Senior will show up on the South Side where he was once let go as an assistant coach.
That Senior will use his friendship with Mike Tomlin to try and impact how much or where his son is playing. Whaley said essentially that the Steelers fifth all-time leading sacker as matured.
"He might portray himself as a very emotional guy that reacts before he thinks," Whaley told Colin Dunlap, Chris Mack, Dorin Dickerson and Adam Crowley on 93.7 The Fan. "That might have been him before, what I've seen and talked to him about since this last six or seven months being around him in the XFL. He's a very astute mind. The thing that I really was wrong about, he doesn't make things about him unless you make it about him."
It's not about him.
If fact it's more benefit to the young Porter than issue to be the son of a 13-year NFL linebacker.
"Nothing will be too big for him because this is what he's grown up knowing," Whaley told the Fan Morning Show. "He's grown up being in a professional setting. Nothing is going to surprise him or catch him off guard."
Plus, Whaley sees benefit of him not only being the son of a former Steeler, but being a star at North Allegheny HS and at Penn State will set him up for life after football. Whether that's working in media, as Whaley is, local business offers, coaching or other interests.
Having attended the NFL Draft on Thursday and ending up dropping to the second-round as also given Porter, Junior added motivation. This is where he used his father again to his advantage.
"He just said use that as fuel," Porter, Junior said of his dad's thoughts. "He knows me, he knows how it gets, so he understands how I'm coming for the season. I've got something to prove. This just gives me an even greater reason (to prove it).
Porter, Senior was exactly what the Steelers needed in 1999, now his son could be the same thing at a different position.
