For those who listen to my podcast, 'The Drive,' on Steelers Nation Radio, I've been doing the show for a long time with Matt Williamson.
A former scout with the Browns, longtime writer at ESPN.com and Assistant Recruiting Coordinator at Pitt, Matt knows football. But for the longest time, we just didn't have a spot on staff here that was right for Matt's talents.
Now, we do. That's why I'm pleased to announce that Matt will be joining us here as part of our Steelers coverage team with a weekly piece breaking down the team.
Matt, a native of Mt. Lebanon and current resident of Upper St. Clair, is a Pitt-Johnstown graduate like me -- though we didn't cross paths there. Both of us met our wives there, as well. But we didn't know each other until we started doing shows together on SNR a while back. We found out we had more in common than just our colleges and where we met our wives. We shared many of the same beliefs and understandings of football.
That doesn't mean we always agree. But there's nobody else in the business who can make me change my mind on something quite like Matt when he breaks it down.
Matt began his career as a volunteer at Duquesne, then moved on to become Assistant Recruiting Coordinator at Pitt in 2001, helping in the recruiting of players such as Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis and Joe Flacco. Maybe you've heard of them. He then moved on to Akron as Director of Football Operations before accepting a job with the Browns as a scout in 2004.
One year after he was hired, the Browns cleaned house -- surprisingly enough -- making Matt a free agent again. This time, he put his creative writing degree from UPJ to work, spending a decade working for ESPN.com.
Currently, Matt is a host of the flagship show on the 'Locked On' Network, the "Peacock and Williamson Podcast," as well as doing a show with me on Steelers Nation Radio and some various work for Steelers.com.
We're more than happy to have him.
But, as often is the case with a new addition, there is a departure, as well. Longtime contributor Chris Carter is joining another outlet. Chris has been a valuable member of the team here for a long time, one of just two people -- now one -- who is not named Kovacevic who predates me. We appreciate all of Chris' hard work here and wish him the best moving forward.
I know a lot of you listen to our show on SNR -- I see it in the comments every day -- so I'm sure you'll join me in welcoming Matt to the team.
