Troy Polamalu joins Sports Illustrated from Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl 58. The Steelers hall of fame safety spoke about the impact of safeties and humbly crowned Ed Reed the greatest safety ever because of his ability to force turnovers.
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00:00 Okay, ladies and gentlemen, okay, matter of fact, the camera guy's a big Pittsburgh fan,
00:04 so he's just raving right now.
00:06 Ladies and gentlemen, I have Troy Palomalu here.
00:08 We are going to talk a little bit of football.
00:11 Let's first start talking about Pittsburgh Steelers.
00:13 We got Mike Tomlin.
00:16 What makes him so good, man?
00:17 I feel like every year he just finds a way.
00:20 He just finds a way.
00:21 Talk to me about Mike Tomlin.
00:22 Well, I think he has a, first and foremost, he has the respect of the team.
00:27 It's just the way that he deals with guys.
00:29 I think he's very honest and he's very direct.
00:34 He doesn't really sugarcoat things, but he's also a man that carries himself that way,
00:39 so it's not like there's any hypocrisy with him.
00:42 I think he has a lot of respect from guys in that way.
00:45 Obviously, from the football standpoint, he checks all the boxes too.
00:50 There's so many things I learned from him late in my career of how to see offenses and
00:55 stuff.
00:56 He's a person that knows guys.
00:57 He knows everything pretty much from every position.
01:00 He's got it all.
01:01 He really does.
01:02 Obviously, you're one of the best safeties ever, if not the best safety ever.
01:08 Talk to us about Minka Fitzpatrick and what makes him a really good safety out there.
01:12 Man, I appreciate you saying that about me, but I don't think that because here's what
01:16 I ... I always put Ed in that category.
01:18 Yeah, Ed was a dog too.
01:19 The reason why I put Ed in that category is the same reason why I put Minka is they get
01:23 the ball.
01:25 These guys get the ball.
01:27 Hits are really important.
01:28 They're a big part of the game, absolutely, but man, it's really all about that ball.
01:32 It's something that I think Minka does a really great job of.
01:36 It's obviously shown to be the best in the league, if not the best in the league for
01:41 over the last decade.
01:44 To me, that's really what this game is about, is getting that ball, and Minka does a great
01:47 job of doing that.
01:48 Okay, let's talk a little bit about the Super Bowl, man.
01:51 What's your predictions and what defense do you think has a more ... They're more at a
01:56 disadvantage against the offense that they're playing against?
02:00 I think it will give my perspective something ... A really interesting perspective because
02:05 I've never seen these guys play.
02:07 I love it.
02:09 I love it.
02:10 I'm just guessing.
02:11 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:12 Honestly, I haven't watched a lot of the Kansas City, but everybody knows what you're going
02:20 to get from Patrick.
02:23 It's funny because when I look at the records throughout the year, it's not like I watch
02:26 football every day.
02:27 I'm not that close of a fan of the game, but if you see Kansas City and teams like that
02:35 that are at 10 and 6, their record doesn't matter in the regular season.
02:42 There's a certain confidence that Pittsburgh had.
02:44 It's like, "Dude, if you just give us a ticket to the show, which is getting into the playoffs,
02:47 we're going to perform when we get there."
02:49 I think that's where Kansas City is.
02:51 Kansas City is like, "Listen, man.
02:53 Let's get through this regular season.
02:54 Let's just get to the playoffs so that we can perform and do that."
02:58 They have that level of confidence the same way that New England had that confidence through
03:02 Tom Brady era.
03:06 One thing that I think is tough for San Francisco to deal with is, man, Patrick isn't rattled
03:15 by any defense.
03:16 He wasn't rattled by this defense last year when he played against them.
03:20 I think it'll be really interesting, this matchup, because it really comes down to,
03:25 I think, how Brock Purdy performs on offense.
03:28 Let me bring you back a little bit.
03:31 We both went to USC, USC alums.
03:34 Pete Carroll was your coach.
03:35 Pete Carroll was my coach.
03:37 Pete Carroll just got fired from the Seahawks.
03:40 Talk to us a little bit about what you remember from your time with Pete Carroll at USC and
03:45 what he meant to you.
03:46 First of all, Pete Carroll and I have been around, honestly, four Hall of Fame coaches.
03:54 Dick LeBeau is my defensive coordinator.
03:55 I was also a Hall of Fame player.
03:58 Mike Tomlin, Bill Cowher, and Coach Carroll.
04:01 Coach Carroll is just as good as all of them.
04:04 I almost want to say better, but I don't want to disrespect the other coaches because I
04:09 had coaching college.
04:11 You can get away with a lot more in college in terms of being looser.
04:18 Coach Carroll, we'd go to the beach and watch the AVP Tour during training camp.
04:22 You know what I'm saying?
04:23 We'd do stuff like that to take a break.
04:25 You know what I'm saying?
04:26 He'd have an In-N-Out Burger truck.
04:27 These are a lot of really cool things that you can do in college that pro coaches don't
04:30 normally do.
04:32 There's also quite a few personal stories that Coach Carroll has, that I have with Coach
04:38 Carroll where he's actually staying on the table for me.
04:42 There's a special experience I have with him.
04:46 Right now, it's a really interesting time in our game.
04:48 We've lost a couple of patriarchs, Coach Carroll and Bill Belichick.
04:54 Doesn't look like they're going to be back in the NFL.
04:58 It's a young man's game.
04:59 In coaching, it's a young man's game.
05:01 In playing.
05:02 In a lot of these new, innovative ideas that coaches from the Niners are having and coaches
05:09 that Miami are having.
05:12 It's an exciting time to be part of this game.
05:16 Coach Carroll, Bill Belichick, these guys, the game is where it's at because it's been
05:20 built on guys like that's back.
05:22 All right, let's talk a little bit about the partnership.
05:25 We've got Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheese.
05:28 Everybody knows, man.
05:29 Cool Ranch all day.
05:30 All day.
05:31 All day.
05:32 Cool Ranch.
05:33 Seeds.
05:34 Cool Ranch.
05:35 Steak seasoning.
05:36 That's what I'm talking about.
05:37 That's the type of fan I am.
05:39 Hey, ladies and gentlemen, the man with the best hair is still flowing.
05:45 Troy Palamado, man.
05:47 Thank you, man.
05:48 Thank you, brother.
05:49 Thank you.
05:49 (whooshing)