PITTSBURGH — Todd Haley guessed he was 13 or 14 when he answered the phone in his family's Upper St. Clair home. The caller identified himself as a Sports Illustrated writer and asked to talk to Haley's father about the Steelers' historic 1974 draft, which produced Hall of Famers Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth and Mike Webster. Dick Haley was the team's director of player personnel at the time.
"I was so excited," Todd Haley said this week. "I remember thinking, 'This is great! My dad is going to be in Sports Illustrated!' "
Haley's excitement didn't last long because of his father's exchange with the reporter.
"I appreciate you thinking about me, but call Art Rooney Jr. and Bill Nunn. They'll give you everything you need."
"That was my dad," Haley said. "He never wanted credit for anything. I mean, never. He was the most humble person I've ever been around. I think he should be in the Hall of Fame because of his four Super Bowl wins and drafting 13 Hall of Famers, but being so humble probably hurt him. He never liked the attention."
Dick Haley is getting plenty here today because of his fabulous work in helping to construct the Steelers' dynasty of the 1970s. He died March 7 at 85 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease and dementia.
"The outpouring of love and respect for him has been a beautiful thing, overwhelming, actually," Todd Haley said. "I've heard from so many players he drafted, scouts he groomed and coaches he worked with. Mike Vrabel sent a note. Brian Daboll. Dick Vermeil. Bill Parcells ... Too many to mention all of them."
This text came from Michael Davis, the Jacksonville Jaguars' director of college scouting:
"He is a special person, who changed my life. I am where I am today because of him. The Lord put an angel in my life. God bless, Mr. Haley. He will be Mr. Haley to me forever."
"Notes like that," an emotional Todd Haley said, "makes this sad time a little easier for me and my family."
Todd Haley, 56, has had a nice career in football. Currently head coach of the Memphis Showboats of the USFL — Carnell Lake is his defensive coordinator — Haley is best known here for his time as Steelers offensive coordinator from 2012-17. He was Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator and coached against the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. He was head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009-11.
But none of it would have happened for Haley if not for his dad's influence, which started for him at an early age when he was a ball boy at Steelers training camp in the 1970s.
"When I got the Chiefs job, he did an interview and said I had a big advantage because I knew what greatness was," Haley said. "He always said great is a word that is used a lot and probably is overused, but he pointed out that I saw true greatness on a daily basis with those Steelers teams. I saw some of the greatest players of all time."
Haley's football education with his father continued when the two would watch film in a spare room in the family's split-level home on Old Meadow Road. There was no screen, just an old projector rolling images on a bare wall.
"I just wanted to follow the ball, but he taught me what to look for," Haley said. "He would point out little subtleties. I remember him saying, 'Everyone can see the obvious. You have to see what other people can't.' Maybe it was how a player landed on his vertical jump because he said that showed his athleticism. Or maybe it was the way a player flexed his knees and dipped and ducked his shoulders on a pass rush. My father had an ability to evaluate. He always had a vision when it came to players."
Haley said his dad saw something special in Lambert, an undersized linebacker from Kent State. He said his dad pushed Chuck Noll hard to draft Lambert in the second round.
"I can remember a conversation my father had one day with Lambert on that dirt path leading up the hill at Saint Vincent College," Haley said. "He asked Lambert what he was weighing. Lambert glared at him and said, 'It doesn't [bleeping] matter. ' We both loved that."
Haley's memories of his dad go beyond football. He said his father always put his family first despite a job that required considerable travel. Dick Haley and his wife, Caroline, were married for 60 years. They also had a daughter, Callie.
"After the '79 Super Bowl, he bought a cottage on Chautauqua Lake," Haley said. "After Saturday's practice at training camp, we would drive four hours so he could spend part of Saturday night and most of Sunday with the family. Then, we'd drive the four hours back. He made a lot of sacrifices like that. He would sneak back into town to watch my baseball games. I wouldn't know he was there, but there he was after the game with a notepad, pointing out what I did right and wrong. He cared about his family first. He cared about his players and the people he worked with."
Haley said the past decade was difficult for his father. He said his father struggled after his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2010.
"It's been hard, but I want to keep the vision of what he used to be in my mind," Haley said.
A great football man.
A great father.
And, no, in this case, the word is not overused.
