Former outside linebacker Kevin Greene started his football career as a walk-on at Auburn. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft, and thus began the storied career of the dynamic pass rusher, one that culminated in his induction into the Hall of Fame Saturday.
Kevin Greene Hall of Fame speech: ‘I didn’t play this game for any other reason than love and passion’
Greene recalled his playing days and thanked his family, former teammates and coaches for helping him achieve so much in his career.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Greene began by congratulating the rest of the 2016 Hall of Fame class. Greene noted that in the Hall of Fame, Brett Favre is number 298 and he’s number 299.
“I am side by side with Brett Favre for eternity, right where a linebacker needs to be.”
He thanked Dom Capers, who presented him for induction, and recognized the impact Capers had on his career as a coach by putting him in positions to affect games. Later, when Greene became Green Bay’s linebackers coach, Capers put him in a position to teach others how to affect games.
Greene noted what an honor this is for him, but acknowledged that it’s not an individual accomplishment.
“I’m standing on the shoulders of many players, many coaches, many people,” Greene said.
Greene acknowledged his father, a “true soldier and man of honor,” for his impact on his life. His dad always served as a coach for Greene’s teams and was active in his and his brother’s lives.
“He passed on to us Army values -- be men of honor. Have integrity. Be respectful, and have an attitude of selfless service. Dad, I don’t have enough time up here to thank you enough. I love you so much.”
Keith Greene, Greene’s brother, was “the best older brother for a younger brother like me,” according to Greene.
“He was a great older brother to look up to and to live up to,” Greene said.
Greene talked about getting to practice against Steve Wallace at Auburn and the impact it had on his career.
“This man, in practice, he beat me down,” Greene said.
He also practiced against Bo Jackson at Auburn, which made him better.
Greene thanked his former teammates, like Jackie Slater, who had “a Bible in one hand and a switchblade in the other,” according to Green, and Eric Dickerson, who made Greene reconsider whether football was for him.
“Thank you to all my Rams brothers,” Greene said. “Thank you for everything.”
His next stop was “Blitzburg,” and it was a great fit for his talent.
"I believed in my heart that I was unblockable, and it was a phenomenal experience," Greene said of his time with the Steelers.
Greene said he was “in football heaven” with the Steelers. “It was the pinnacle of my football life,” he said.
His stops in Carolina and San Francisco were also marked by teammates who made him better as a player. He saw some irony in his 49ers experience.
“The football gods have really got to be laughing at this one, because I had been beaten so many times by Steve Young and Jerry Rice,” Greene said, “and now they’re actually my teammates and I’ve got to say hi to them every day in the locker room.”
Looking back on his football career, one thing was clear to Greene.
“I didn’t play this game for any other reason than love and passion,” he said.
He thanked his wife, Tara, calling her “a blessing that put me on the path to greatness.” Greene said that being a father to their children, Gavin and Gabby, is by far his greatest accomplishment.
Greene left the Rams in free agency after Los Angeles switched from the 3-4 front that he’d flourished in, racking up 72.5 sacks in eight seasons. He spent his next three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where coach Bill Cowher said Greene “left his mark” despite only being in Pittsburgh for a brief time. Over those three seasons, Greene added another 35.5 sacks to his career stat line.
From Pittsburgh, Greene headed to Carolina for one season, then to the San Francisco 49ers for a season, and spent the last two years of his playing career back in Carolina with the Panthers. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he had amassed a total of 160 sacks, three safeties, five interceptions, and 26 fumble recoveries.
Greene was often praised by coaches and teammates for his work ethic and determination to get to the quarterback. His former Steelers teammate Jerry Oslavsky said Greene never let his teammates forget that getting to the quarterback was his primary objective.
“He would always say, ‘I have to get to the quarterback,’” Oslavsky said. “He would remind you, ‘I have to get to the quarterback.’ It was a running play and he would still say, ‘I have to get to the quarterback,’ and we would tell him it’s a running play.”
It was that determination that led Greene to end up ranked fifth all-time for career sacks. Greene was named to the Pro Bowl five times in his career, and he was named an All-Pro three different times in his career. Greene led the league in sacks in the 1994 and 1996 seasons.
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