Polamalu, Cowher, Shell make for night to remember in Canton

CANTON, Ohio -- It was a great night for one of the NFL's most storied franchises.

Actually, make that a great weekend.

Steelers Nation was the theme of the evening as Donnie Shell, Troy Polamalu and Bill Cowher were officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame here Saturday night as part of the NFL's 2020 Centennial class.

The ceremony was a year in the making, postponed from a year ago due to the pandemic. That made for an even more special event, as Cowher not only got to be inducted into the Hall of Fame the same night as Polamalu -- making them the first coach and player whom he drafted to enter the Hall on the same night -- but also part of a star-studded weekend that will see two more members of the franchise inducted Sunday, Alan Faneca and the late Bill Nunn. Faneca and Nunn are part of the 2021 Hall of Fame Class.

"The first thing I’d like to do is say congratulations to all my fellow enshrinees and all of the gold jackets tonight. It’s an honor to go in with each and every one of you. … But what a weekend for the Pittsburgh Steelers," Cowher said as thousands of Terrible Towels swirled at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. "It is unbelievable for me to go into the Hall of Fame on the same weekend with two guys you drafted, Troy Polamalu and Alan Faneca. Also Donnie Shell and the late, great Bill Nunn."

Unbelievable, indeed.

But here it was. And while Cowher finished up the evening's events with his speech, the last of 12 on this evening -- the hall previously inducted eight members of the Centennial Class who are now deceased -- it was clearly the soft-spoken Polamalu that many of the fans had come to see, particularly since it was in question up until Friday afternoon that he would be able to attend.

BEN LIEBENBERG / NFL

Troy Polamalu shows his new jacket Saturday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020 enshrinement Saturday in Canton, Ohio.

Polamalu tested positive for COVID-19 last week, but was cleared by doctors to attend the induction ceremony and flew in from California. Wearing a face mask when he walked on stage, a teary eyed Polamalu along with presenter, former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, unveiled his bronze bust, which included his trademark flowing long hair.

"The first time I saw Troy move, I said, ‘Wow. He’s got everything, size, speed, quickness, personality, intelligence.’ He was really a coach’s dream," LeBeau said. "I said early on, this guy is going to go into the Hall of Fame, and he’s going to go in on the first opportunity."

Polamalu had his hair tied up behind his head when his speech began, but he reached back and let his hair down when he proudly began speaking about his Samoan culture, much to the delight of Steelers fans in attendance.

"I come from a culture where discipline, humility and respect are not only the foundations of our survival, but the key to our existence," Polamalu said. "I am a first-generation Samoan and proudly represent my family's dreams from America to the NFL."

The soft-spoken Polamalu has shied away from the public spotlight since his retirement following the 2014 season after 12 years with the Steelers. But he did take the time to stump for one of his former teammates to someday join him on the Hall of Fame stage.

"My first real introduction into the NFL was at our first padded practice when Hines Ward and I hit," Polamalu said. "It was my legs that subsequently buckled and he held me up like a toddler and said, ‘I’m not like any other wide receiver.’ No doubt Hines. I look forward to sharing the stage with you one day."

This night, however, it was Polamalu's stage to command. And command it he did especially when talking glowingly of former Steelers safety Mike Logan, the man he replaced in the starting lineup in 2004 after a rookie season in which he didn't play much.

"Like many other teammates, his selflessness paved a greater opportunity for others at his own expense. It is unnatural to do in the most competitive environment to train your replacement, yet this is our culture, Steelers culture," Polamalu said.

"These virtues that I learned while playing for the Steelers are something that make the black and gold timeless. They are passed along in that locker room from the Steel Curtain to anyone who valiantly wears the black and gold, creating something that is deeper than money, business and winning. 

"To be a Steeler is to consider others before you consider yourself, protect your brother even before yourself. To give support at your own expense, to wear a black and gold suit of armor and make sure nobody desecrates it, disrespects it. Most importantly, we ourselves don’t dishonor it. The only approval any Steeler should seek is to earn the approval from previous legends who have donned the black and gold. And if you’ve really earned their respect, they’ll say, ‘You could have played with us.’ "

Polamalu thanked his very extended family and LeBeau and many of the other coaches that touched his life over the course of his playing days. But he saved his final thanks for what he called his "biggest family."

"I’m a follower, everyone’s little brother, nephew, son," Polamalu said. "I love and thank God for my life because I have all of you, my family, the biggest family in the world, Steelers nation."

He also had kind words for Cowher and Mike Tomlin, noting that Cowher, "would teach us to deal with misery by making us practice outside no matter the weather. He taught us to love the bitter hot camp days and bask in the bitter cold frost of game days. He taught us to embody the Yinzer spirt of hard work, humility, coupled with loyalty so that we could accurately represent the city of Pittsburgh."

AARON DOSTER / NFL

Donnie Shell dons his yellow jacket, with David Baker and Roger Goodell watching.

Shell was one of the more brief speakers on this evening, which was ironic since he had one of the longest waits of any of the players here.

Elected as part of the 15-person Centennial Class to help take care of some of the veteran's committee backlog, Shell had waited nearly 30 years for his enshrinement following his retirement in 1987 after 14 seasons with the Steelers.

One of the last members of the four-time Super Bowl champion teams of the 1970s to retire, Shell was a rookie in 1974. There were 13 rookies who made the Steelers' roster that season, five of which who are now members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert, Mike Webster and John Stallworth are already in the hall. The only difference was that Shell made the team and a career, which ended with 51 interceptions, the most in NFL history for a strong safety, despite being undrafted.

"When I first arrived in training camp, a reporter mentioned to me that, ‘I want to interview you after lunch.’ I said sure," said Shell, a former star linebacker at South Carolina State.

"He began the interview with a statement, ‘Don’t you know you’re a long shot to make this Steelers team because you’re undrafted and a free agent? You’re not going to get many reps or many chances in practice to show what you can do on the field.’ Obviously, he’s not familiar with coach Willie Jeffries of South Carolina State University and the South Carolina State Bulldogs tenacity. 

"Factually, he was correct. But when the facts go against your goals, you must go against the grain to achieve your goal. I looked him in the eye and said, ‘Mister, I’m from South Carolina State University. Willie Jeffries says I can do anything I set my mind to.’"

Shell displayed that tenacity throughout his career as a hard-hitting safety.

He was presented by his daughter, April Shell, who reminded the audience of her father's nickname during his playing days.

"He could see what an opponent was going to do before they did it," April Shell said. "He was very quick on his feet, thus the name ‘Torpedo.’"

Shell never forgot his roots, thanking Nunn for helping talk him into joining the Steelers as an undrafted rookie and then into making the move to safety.

"It’s been a long journey, but a good one. I traveled to Pittsburgh in 1974 as an undrafted free agent, and now I’m in the Pro Football Hall of Fame," said Shell, the 10th player from the Super Steelers of the '70s to enter the Hall. "Only God can do that."

AARON DOSTER / NFL

Bill Cowher gets help from Art Rooney II with his new jacket Saturday in Canton, Ohio.

Cowher had a similar route to the NFL as that of Shell, making the roster of the Browns as an undrafted free agent linebacker. But when his playing career -- mostly as a special teams player -- ended with the Eagles in 1974, he was immediately contacted by his former head coach Marty Schottenheimer to join his staff in Cleveland in 1985 as special teams coordinator.

 Eight years later, the Crafton native was replacing Chuck Noll as head coach of his hometown Steelers.

It wouldn't have been possible had Schottenheimer, himself a native of nearby McDonald, hadn't seen something in Cowher.

"Marty Schottenheimer, the only head I ever coached under, he taught me to coach when I had never coached before," Cowher said of Schottenheimer, who died earlier this year, but whose wife, Pat, was in the audience with her daughter, Kristen. "He gave me the opportunity to be a defensive coordinator when I had never done it before. As a head coach, he won over 200 games in over 20 seasons. 

"He had 14 assistant coaches go on and before head coaches, four of which who have won Super Bowls. He was a master motivator, a stickler to detail and for him it all started with preparation. This man has not only influenced the game, he influenced who ever played for him, coached for him or against him. I speak on behalf of the man. Thank you coach, you did so much for so many for so long. One day you will be in the Hall of Fame."

But Cowher, who compiled a 149-90-1 record in 15 seasons with the Steelers, winning one Super Bowl and taking the team to another, saved his final praise for the man who hired him, former Steelers president Dan Rooney.

Rooney's name also came up earlier in the evening when former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was making his acceptance speech, crediting Rooney for helping pave the way to his position and then shepherding the NFL through labor strife.

Cowher had seen those kind of things happening from afar. But got a unique look inside the inner workings of the franchise for which he grew up rooting when he was hired to replace Noll in 1992 at the tender age of 34.

"I came to Pittsburgh at 34. I knew the tradition and expectation of the Steelers," Cowher said. "Hell, I grew up there with Chuck Noll in the ‘70s and the Steelers revitalized the Pittsburgh area. What I didn’t know was how it worked on the inside, who were the Rooneys. During my time as head coach, I grew in every aspect of life. Dan was a visionary leader. He never missed a teaching moment and inspired those around him. The Rooney family core values were always about family, community and just do the right thing. Isn’t that what this Hall of Fame family is all about?"

He finished off the evening by sharing a story about Rooney from the team's Super Bowl run in 2005, when the Steelers went from 7-5 to winning the Super Bowl, becoming the first No. 6 seed in NFL history to do so.

The Steelers won a record nine games on the road that season and needed every bit of help they could get.

"In 2005, prior to our historic run as the first 6 seed to ever win a championship, that Monday he came into (talk) to me and he gave me these, rosary beads. I said, ‘Dan, I’m not Catholic.’ Dan looked at me and said, ‘Coach, it doesn’t matter. Every little bit helps.’ Dan, I still have those today," Cowher said looking to the sky while pulling them out to show everyone.

Then the fireworks began, a fitting end to what was a perfect night here for Steelers fans.