Ike Taylor Retires
Ike Taylor.
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Steelers have experienced another casualty to retirement, Ike Taylor. After 12 seasons in the NFL the veteran cornerback announced his retirement from the game yesterday.
Taylor was drafted in 2003 out of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette College and played with the Steelers his entire career. Taylor developed a special relationship with the Rooney family. Art "The Chief" Rooney forged special relationships with his players. The Chief always made sure he knew how his players were doing on the field but most importantly, off the field. The players respected and loved Art Rooney. The Chief instilled the same values in his sons. “I've got to thank the Rooney family just for treating me as one of their own,” Taylor said. “Just think, I became a Steeler to darn well near become a Rooney," (http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/8168896-74/steelers-taylor-retirement#ixzz3XNyCjohu). Taylor would often stop by Dan Rooney's office just to have a conversation which harkens back to a time when Mean Joe Greene would have a cigar with The Chief.
One conversation stayed with Taylor. After talking with Dan Rooney for awhile and mentioning he was tired, which happens with a professional football player who consistently gives everything he has, Rooney told Taylor to lay down on the couch. Taylor fell asleep. Dan Rooney said later, "“I told him to lie down on the couch. He fell sound asleep. So I got up and closed the door and left. I told the (secretaries) not to bother him,” (http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/8168896-74/steelers-taylor-retirement#ixzz3XO7xSX7n). The ownership has always treated everyone in the organization as family. Art Rooney believed that if you want an organization to be successful your people have to believe in what they are doing and be passionate.
For his first two years in college Taylor was academically ineligible while he was majoring in psychology. He was a walk on in 2001 and was placed at tailback. The Steelers needed a cornerback to bolster their backfield in 2003 "and they got a human vapor trail. Young men who stand 6 feet and weigh 197 pounds are not supposed to run 40-yard sprints in 4.33 seconds. Not many of them do, which is why the Steelers ignored Ike Taylor's inexperience and inconsistent play at the position to choose him in the middle of the draft," (http://old.post-gazette.com/steelers/20030502steelers3.asp). The Steelers invested in Taylor which paid off to the tune of 2 Super Bowl Championships and the most prolific cornerback in the history of the franchise.
In his 12 year career Taylor has 636 tackles, 14 interceptions and 1 touchdown. Like any player who plays football for over a decade injuries begin to catch up with you. Taylor started having injuries in 2012 which halted his most consecutive games played record for a cornerback at 135. Taylor came out of college with significant inexperience but he was fast and physical and the Steelers knew the potential he had. Even though Taylor never appeared in a Pro Bowl he is a well respected and feared competitor in the NFL.
