Hartings Makes Retirement Official

Jeff Hartings throws a block on Philadelphia's Nate Wayne in a game in the 2004 season.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

One year, you are watching with your wife and kids as the confetti falls on you and the Super Bowl trophy. The next, you are explaining how the pain in your knees has taken the fun out of the game and that it is time to retire,

Jeff Hartings, the Steelers' center since 2001, made it official yesterday after word leaked out last week that he had told his teammates he was done. After speaking with new coach Mike Tomlin on the phone, he told the Pittsburgh media by conference call that it is time to move on to a new calling in his life.

"I'm getting out at the right time because I felt I wasn't going to be able to go into the offseason to work out and be prepared," Hartings, 34, said. "I don't enjoy working very much anymore because it's painful. When it starts becoming painful, you'd rather not do it. Since I'd rather not do it, it's time for me to retire.

"I'll always love the game. But the injuries, and the playing with pain, and having to take medicine to practice and play, has taken away some of the joy."

Hartings, who took a pay cut to play last season, had a year left on his contract. Although he had never played center before signing as a free agent, Hartings was a fixture at a position that has become a legacy with the Steelers since 1964.

Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Hartings were the starting centers who initiated nearly every offensive play in 43 years. Hartings missed only six games in six seasons because of injuries. But it is a position and a profession that takes its toll on the body, and Hartings didn't want the deterioration in his achy knees to infringe on family moments like playing with his six kids.

"It would diminish my ability to play in the back yard with my kids," Hartings said. "[It's] literally not being able to run around and to catch them without doing all the things you do before a practice or a game because your knees are sore. That's been going for two or three years, and, this year, it finally got to the point where I decided I didn't want to sacrifice any of my joints in my body that would diminish my ability to be able to play with them for the next 15 or 20 years. For me, it definitely tipped the scales."

It was an injury to his left knee four years ago -- one that robbed him of most of his cartilage -- that got Hartings to think about life after football. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Salt Lake City and plan to open a non-denominational church. In his ministry with Luther Elliss, a former teammate when he was with the Detroit Lions, Hartings wants to work with kids because an 11-year career in the NFL has given him financial security. He'll be in action Sundays, but in a church, not butting heads with nose tackles and linebackers.

"I'll definitely be in some kind of ministry," said Hartings, a first-round draft choice out of Penn State who has done missionary work in Nicaragua.

"Just working with kids, doing something that could last for an eternity in some people's lives, making peoples' lives better."

Chukky Okobi has been groomed for the past six years to take over the position, but the Steelers also have Marvin Philip on the roster.

"The position has been very important to the Steelers, and I'm sure they're going to find a very good replacement for myself," Hartings said.

Hartings watched the Indianapolis Colts succeed the Steelers as NFL champions Sunday, a year after the Steelers went on an unprecedented run of winning three road playoffs games before beating Seattle in the Super Bowl.

Winning a championship was his greatest moment in the game, but he could not help but think about what might have been in an 8-8 season that fell short of the playoffs.

"Every year, you work hard and go into season with one goal, and that's to win a Super Bowl," Hartings said. "[On Sunday] I was thinking about the record we could have had. I think it was the most disappointing season I've had in the NFL. We didn't play well. Made too many mistakes. From a team standpoint, I think every guy on the team should be disappointed. I think it's just because our expectations are so high."

A new era begins next year with a new coach, a new offensive lineman and a new center. But Hartings thinks the future is still bright for the Steelers.

"They're definitely a Super Bowl contender. When you have that much talent that you can turn the ball over five times and still go into overtime, there's not very many teams in the NFL that can do that," he said, recalling losses to the Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos that could have made the difference in making the playoffs.

Dealing with success and disappointment is part of being a professional athlete, and Hartings figures he'll be able to use his experiences in his ministry.

Art Rooney II, president of the Steelers, wished him well.

"Jeff Hartings embraced switching to a new position when he joined the Steelers and continued our team's legacy of outstanding players at the center position," Rooney said. "He was highly respected throughout our entire organization for being a tremendous role model on and off the field."



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(Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959. )