How the late Dan Radakovich, father of Linebacker U, impacted Jack Ham, PSU & the Steelers
Jack Ham’s introduction to the late Dan Radakovich, the father of Linebacker U, was as important as it was unforgettable.
Back when Ham — a member of the college and pro football halls of fame — was still a bright-eyed teenager, he met “Bad Rad” Radakovich, Penn State’s linebackers coach. On the practice field in the spring of 1968, Ham could still recall with great detail how the coach with his trademark hat, whistle and clipboard calmly told him before a play that his only job as the outside linebacker was not to allow the tight end inside.
And then he allowed the tight end inside.
“He took the clipboard and threw it at me,” Ham recalled with a slight laugh. “Then he took the whistle off his neck and threw it at me. And then his he took his cap and threw it at me — in my first experience with him.”
Radakovich saw something in Ham, and Ham knew from the start that nothing short of perfection would satisfy the coach. The two would spend 30 minutes before every practice going over blocked punts, discussing angles and techniques, and Ham finished that season with three such blocks. It was the perfect on-field marriage, so much that Ham wrote the foreword to his 2012 biography, titled “Bad Rad Football Nomad.”
“Rad was the best coach I ever had,” Ham said, stressing that he wasn’t just saying that as a result of Radakovich’s death Thursday at the age of 84. “He was the best technique coach I ever had, and having him as a freshman was just a blessing.”
Radakovich, Penn State’s first-ever linebackers coach, set the foundation for what fans now call Linebacker U from 1957-1969. The former PSU linebacker also helped guide the Pittsburgh Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl wins in the 1970s and built up Robert Morris’ football program starting in the 1990s. In all, he had more than a dozen football stops during a career that spanned about half a century.
But it was those three stops where he arguably made the biggest impact. And few saw that more clearly than Ham, who was a rookie linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers when Radakovich joined the NFL staff in 1971 as the defensive line coach.
Radakovich quickly made an impact, benching the entire right side of the defensive line. They had been experienced, sure — but were too old and too slow. Other vets, such as DT Lloyd Voss, also saw their playing time dwindle. And Radakovich, known for his unflinching honesty, didn’t much care who knew.
When Voss — an intimidating 6-foot-4 man with plenty of toughness but limited mobility — approached Radakovich one day to ask about his playing time, Radakovich didn’t flinch. According to Ham, his old coach replied matter-of-factly: “You just can’t play. You can’t run; you can’t play. There’s no way in the world I’m going to play you.”
“There was no filter with Rad,” Ham said with a laugh. “You never had to wonder what you thought he meant. He’d tell you to your face. ... Being tactful was not in his vocabulary.”
Added Penn State historian Lou Prato, who co-wrote Radakovich’s biography: “He was an unpredictable guy but honest and humble. He didn’t take himself seriously; the only thing he took seriously was being a linebacker coach.”
Radakovich was an eccentric character, a man so focused on coaching that sometimes there was little focus elsewhere. In his biography, Radakovich recounted one story where he returned to his Ohio home one day, sat down and sipped a coffee — before realizing he was in the wrong house. Another time, during an impromptu 1970s bar conversation with Ray Bolger, the actor who played the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, Radakovich captured the actor’s interest with diagrams of football plays, using beer glasses and salt shakers.
The two eventually practiced a few plays in the bar room, with Bolger trying to sneak past Radakovich for the pretend score. And Radakovich tackled him.
But it was Radakovich’s coaching on the field, not his exploits off, that made headlines and helped create a number of rich legacies wherever he went — and “Bad Rad the Nomad” went to a lot of places. He coached seven NFL teams, six college programs and even a team in what became NFL Europe.
He never wanted to stay at one place too long, a characteristic some of his friends chalked up to his honesty wearing on those who didn’t know him. But there was no denying his talent and desire to teach players.
He coached the Steelers’ defensive line in 1971, then went back to college to coach Colorado for two seasons before returning to Pittsburgh as the offensive line coach from 1974-1977. Steelers head coach Chuck Noll welcomed him back in spite of his initial departure, Ham said, because of just how good he was.
Although few position coaches earned acclaim in the 1970s, famed sportscaster Howard Cosell made it a point to highlight Radakovich’s success with the Steelers. During a broadcast on Dec. 30, 1974, which his biography discusses, Cosell praised Radakovich for his overall ability and how his offensive line blew up the Oakland Raiders the day before in a 24-13 victory in the AFC championship.
“He was a man who turned out all those great linebackers who now seem to inhabit the National Football League,” Cosell bellowed.
At Penn State, the versatile coach taught All-Americans such as Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Dave Robinson and Bob Mitinger. And he coached even more NFL successes, such as Ralph Baker, a sixth-round pick who played for 11 seasons and 141 games for the New York Jets.
“Bad Rad” helped the Steelers to Super Bowl wins in 1975 and 1976, contributing so much that Team President Art Rooney II released a statement shortly after Radakovich’s death, to which the cause was not immediately made known.
“We are saddened to learn of the passing of Dan Radakovich,” Rooney II wrote. “During his time in Pittsburgh under Chuck Noll, Dan began as a defensive line coach in 1971, but then after a couple of years at the University of Colorado, Dan returned to the Steelers in 1974.
“During his second stint on Chuck’s staff, Coach Rad became affectionately known as ‘Bad Rad,’ as he also became known as the offensive line coach of one of the best offensive lines of all time. In the process, Coach Rad helped the Steelers win two Super Bowl Championships. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Radakovich family.”
Radakovich’s coaching career started shortly after his Penn State playing days. He served as a graduate assistant in 1957 while earning his business degree and then figured he’d try out for the Washington Redskins. He was cut and, while in town and walking through the football offices one day, some of the staff called him into a team meeting to get his opinion on linebacker play.
Some of the coaches disagreed with Rad. “If you’re so smart,” one shot back, according to his biography, “why don’t you come out this spring and coach the linebackers?” Radakovich asked for how much. Eventually, they would settle on $2,060. “OK, I’ll do it,” Radakovich told them.
He never stopped coaching. He spent 13 seasons at Robert Morris and spent this past season, at the age of 83, with Division III Westminster College as the offensive line coach. He once accepted a head coaching job but then changed his mind; he just wanted to teach players.
He was the last surviving member of Joe Paterno’s first coaching staff. And he was an integral part of the Nittany Lions’ rise to Linebacker U, the Steelers’ dominance in the 1970s and Robert Morris’ development as an FCS program.
“I would hope most fans realize how important Dan Radakovich was to our program and what he made at our program,” Ham said, referring to Penn State. “But, if I know ‘Bad Rad,’ I don’t think he cares about his legacy.
“Coaching was in his blood. It didn’t matter whether it was the Steelers going to the Super Bowl or coaching Robert Morris. He just wanted to make players better. And I’m thinking maybe that’s how he’d always want to be remembered.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 4:47 PM.
