Steelers Nearly Ended Up Missing Out On Troy Polamalu Because Of Super Bowl MVP

When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted safety Troy Polamalu, it was viewed as a rare risky gamble that the organization was not accustomed to making. Former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and former Head Coach Bill Cowher were trying to shore up the safety position when they believed they had a deal done with Super Bowl XXXVII MVP safety Dexter Jackson. With Pittsburgh holding the 27th pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and Jackson essentially agreeing to come, the Steelers initially felt their biggest need was already addressed.

Because of that, Cowher and Colbert saw little reason to target a safety in the first round. Their focus had shifted elsewhere until they received a major update from Omar Khan, who was handling the financial side of the negotiations. Khan informed them that Jackson and his agent had backed out of the agreement, suddenly putting Pittsburgh right back in the market for a safety.

That last-minute twist ended up changing Steelers history forever. While appearing on The Larry & Big Man Show, Colbert explained to Steelers fans just how close the organization came to never drafting one of the greatest players to ever step on a football field. Had Jackson finalized the deal, there is a very real chance Polamalu never would have ended up in Pittsburgh. 

"Troy [Polamalu] almost wasn’t a Steeler, and I’ll tell this story," Colbert said. "We had come to an agreement with free agent Dexter Jackson, who was a Super Bowl MVP, and we were looking for a safety. We agreed with Dexter, and Coach Cowher and I didn’t go to Troy’s Pro Day because we agreed we were going to have an agreement with a safety, and a safety wasn’t going to be drafted by us probably. We flew out to Colorado for a Pro Day for a running back… we stopped in Nebraska for fuel. We get a message from Omar, who was doing the salary contract stuff. He said, 'Hey, Dexter and his agent didn’t sign the contract, they backed out.' We were like, alright, what’s next?"

In fact, Polamalu would not have ended up in the Steel City had Jackson signed the deal like he was supposed to. In the NFL, sometimes deals can seem done until they are not, and that is exactly what happened with Jackson. 

Luckily for Cowher, Colbert, and Pittsburgh, the draft process was still going on and they had people watching Polamalu’s Pro Day. That ended up forcing them to start getting creative about moving up in the draft to try and land him.

"Then Troy’s Pro Day was that same day we were traveling, and when we got to Colorado, we checked, Doug Whaley was out there for us, Timmy Lewis was there," Colbert said. "He said Troy had a great Pro Day. Coach Cowher and I looked at each other. We said, great, now we know what we have to do because we are not going to be able to get him at 27. We are now going to work up to get him."

In his first year, many Steelers fans thought Polamalu might be a bust because he struggled to learn the playbook, did not start as a rookie, and dealt with his own doubts early on. However, it is not how you start, it is how you finish, and Polamalu ultimately became arguably one of the greatest safeties to ever play the game.

Steelers' Legendary 2003 Trade That Landed An Iconic Player

For the Steelers to be able to select Polamalu, they traded their 27th pick, 92nd pick, and 200th pick to the Kansas City Chiefs. That move allowed Pittsburgh to move up to the 16th overall selection and secure him in the first round.

Looking back, the decision proved to be franchise-defining. What once looked like a risky gamble turned into one of the best draft-day moves in Steelers history, as Polamalu went on to become a cornerstone of championship defenses and a future Hall of Famer in Pittsburgh.

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