Former Steelers' GM Candidate Doug Whaley Tries To Clarify Ridiculous Jack Ham Take 1 Year Later

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a proud history filled with great players. The fans are extremely protective of the team, past and present who have played for the Steelers. Last year, the Steelers were conducting interviews to replace Kevin Colbert as the general manager of the organization. Ultimately, they chose Omar Khan, but one of the other candidates for the position was Doug Whaley.

Whaley was a pro personnel coordinator for the Steelers in 2000 and remained with the team until 2010 when he was hired as the assistant general manager for the Buffalo Bills. He was instrumental in the scouting and evaluation of LaMarr Woodley, Lawrence Timmons, and Hall of Fame safety, Troy Polamalu.

Steelers GM Candidate Doug Whaley Gets Pointed Response After Disparaging Jack Ham

In May of 2022, Whaley appeared on 93.7 The Fan Morning Show and dropped an outrageous take about a Pittsburgh legend, Hall of Fame linebacker, Jack Ham. The general manager candidate inserted his foot squarely in his mouth with a horrendous assessment that smacked of recency bias.

“Jack Ham would be a special team’s backup,” Whaley spouted. “He was 215 pounds. Give me his physical dimensions. He was 6’ 2”, 210-215. In today’s game, I didn’t say when he played.”

The incredulous reaction of Colin Dunlap and Chris Mack who were hosting the show was just the beginning of the backlash against Whaley. The Steelers would never reveal if the appearance disparaging Ham ultimately cost him the general manager position, but it likely didn’t help. Ham’s response to Whaley was measured and professional.

“I was a little upset about it. I would take advantage of all the things that are out there in 2022 and use them to my advantage. I don’t think [Whaley] knows what kind of player I would be in this era. If you froze me in time in the 1970s and [I] tried to play today, of course, you can’t do that. But I would adapt very easily to this game.”

It is a little over a year since the controversy and Whaley joined Scott Sirverts on The Berm Pit podcast on Friday to discuss the incident. Sirverts is an ex-marine and covers a wide range of topics on his podcast and he allowed Whaley to clarify his position.

“First of all, be very careful when you start talking about Steeler greats,” Whaley began. “The topic of the conversation was comparing eras. I said if you take Jack Ham from the Steelers in the '70s and put him on a roster today, he would not just because of the performance aspect of it.”

Whaley is attempting to clarify that if you took the 1970s version of the man many considered to be the best linebacker of the decade and dropped him into 2022 football, he would struggle. He is making the mistake that many modern debate shows make when comparing eras. Physical attributes have evolved, but a Hall of Fame player who moves forward in time has to get the benefit of the doubt that his physical attributes will be enhanced by the move.

“These guys have trainers and they’ve had trainers since high school,” Whaley continued. "When Jack Ham played, they had six weeks of training camp to get in shape. They smoked cigarettes at halftime, sometimes. It’s the physical aspect and I should have explained it.”

The former Buffalo Bills director of pro personnel did not get much chance to expand on his point last year when he made it. The reaction was visceral for Steelers fans. Ham was a six-time First Team All-Pro player and an eight-time Pro Bowl selection during his 12-year career.

“Now if Jack Ham comes up with his skill set and his football ability today and he has access to all of those training, no doubt. It’s a Steeler great, you hear that headline and people don’t want to hear what else you say. They don’t want an explanation.”

It is not exactly a Mea Culpa from Whaley, but it at least expounds on why he felt the way he did about Ham. The curious thing is as a man who is paid to evaluate football players, is why he ignored the fact that the Steelers linebacker was clocked at 4.6 in 1971 in the 40-yard dash? If Whaley means what he said, Ham’s speed and size were comparable to many of the linebackers that were drafted over the last two seasons.

Ham had 37 interceptions as a linebacker during his playing career including the postseason. That is more than the current career leaders playing in the NFL today. Patrick Peterson and Harrison Smith lead active players with 34 interceptions. Whaley’s admission that Ham would be great with modern training is meaningful, but it still undersells the phenomenal ability he already possessed during his playing career.

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Did Whaley clarify his position enough, or is he still shortchanging Ham? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.

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