College career

Before his NFL career, Greene had an outstanding college football career at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) (1966-68), leading the team to a 23-5-1 record during his three seasons. In his 29 games at defensive tackle, North Texas State held the opposition to 2,507 yards gained on 1,276 rushes, a per carry average of less than two yards per attempt. His collegiate coach, Rod Rust, said of Greene, "There are two factors behind Joe's success. First, he has the ability to make the big defensive play and turn the tempo of a game around. Second, he has the speed to be an excellent pursuit player." A pro scout said, "He's tough and mean and comes to hit people. He has good killer instincts. He's mobile and hostile."

He got his nickname when the Pittsburgh fan base mistakenly assumed that the North Texas team nickname of "Mean Green" was Joe Greene's nickname; however, it was actually Coach Rust's wife who wanted to give a nickname to the team's outstanding defense who laid down the description which stuck in two instances. Since green is the school's main color, she gave the defense the name "Mean Green".

In 1984, he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2006, Greene was voted to the East-West Shrine Game Hall of Fame.

Pro football career

In 1969, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the fourth pick of the NFL draft and spent his entire career with the team until his retirement in 1981. After he was drafted, Greene quickly established himself as a dominant defensive player. He was the NFL's Rookie of the Year in 1969, even though he played on a Steelers team that went 1-13 in Chuck Noll's first year as its head coach. The Steelers quickly improved over the next few seasons.

In his early years with the Steelers, Greene was at times uncontrollable, and often let his temper get the best of him. On one occasion during a 1975 game against the rival Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in which the Steelers won 42-6, Greene repeatedly kicked Browns lineman Bob McKay in the groin while McKay was lying on the ground.

Greene was part of the "Steel Curtain" defense that won four Super Bowls in the 1970s. He was recognized as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in both 1972 and 1974. He, along with other members of the Steelers' front four (L. C. Greenwood, Dwight White and Ernie Holmes) appeared on the cover of Time magazine. In Super Bowl IX, Greene became the first player ever to record an interception, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery in a single Super Bowl. He went to the Pro Bowl 10 times during his career.

After leading the Steelers to another Super Bowl win after the 1975 season over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X, Greene missed the first several games of the 1976 season with a back injury. The Steelers started off the season 1-4 and looked like they would not make the playoffs. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw was also injured and was replaced by rookie Mike Kruczek. Greene returned and the Steelers defense carried the Steelers to nine straight wins and the playoffs. With a defense considered one of the best in NFL history, the 1976 Steelers held opponents to an average of less than 10 points per game (138 points over 14 games). During their nine-game winning streak, the Steelers defense recorded five shutouts, another modern record, and gave up a total of 28 points (roughly 3 points per game). The defense allowed only two touchdowns over nine games.

Ten of the eleven starters on that 1976 Steelers team were players who made the Pro Bowl at least once in their career (eight starters made the Pro Bowl after the 1976 season). Middle linebacker Jack Lambert along with Greene, became the emotional leaders of the defensive squad. Greene continued to perform at an all-pro level, becoming a 5-time All-Pro (1972-74, 77, 79) and in 1969 receiving the first of his 10 Pro Bowl invitations. Greene retired after the 1981 season after 13 years in the league.

His spot in the lineup was technically not replaced; the Steelers switched to a 3-4 defensive alignment for the 1982 season, which has only one nose tackle as opposed to two defensive tackles, giving the extra spot to a second middle linebacker. The team has used the 3-4 as its base alignment continuously in the years since Greene's retirement.

His end stats were 181 games, 78.5 sacks (unofficially, as sacks were not an official statistic until 1982) and 16 fumble recoveries.

Retirement

After retiring from the NFL, Greene spent one year (1982) as a color analyst for NFL on CBS before becoming an assistant coach under Steelers' head coach Chuck Noll in 1987. He spent the next 16 years as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, and Arizona Cardinals. In 2004, he retired from coaching and was named the special assistant for player personnel for the Steelers. In this position he earned his 5th Super Bowl ring after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, and a sixth from Super Bowl XLIII. Greene is one of four people outside the Rooney family to have Super Bowl rings from the first six championship teams. Greene retired from his position in the Steelers' front office in 2013.

Greene's number 75 jersey was officially retired at halftime during the Steelers game against archrival Baltimore Ravens on November 2, 2014, a game the Steelers won 43-23. Greene also briefly wore number 72 during his rookie season before switching to his more familiar 75 midseason. He was the second Steeler to have his jersey formally retired, the first being Ernie Stautner. However, the Steelers had not reissued No. 75 since Greene's retirement, and it had been understood long before 2014 that no Steeler would ever wear it again. Greene was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

Coaching career

• 1987-1991 Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line coach
• 1991-1995 Miami Dolphins defensive line coach
• 1996-2003 Arizona Cardinals assistant coach

Film and television

Coca-Cola commercial

Main article: Hey Kid, Catch!

Joe Greene appeared in a famous commercial for Coca-Cola that debuted on October 1, 1979, was aired again during the 1980 Super Bowl, and again in 2015 during the NASCAR Southern 500 at Darlington. The ad won a Clio Award in 1980 for being one of the best commercials of 1979.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]