Former Steelers Assistant Coach Dies

PITTSBURGH, PA - Former Steelers assistant coach and Duquesne native Dan Radakovich died Thursday. He was 84.

A Penn State State graduate, Mr. Radakovich joined the Steelers in 1971 before leaving for a coaching position at the University of Colorado. He returned to Pittsburgh in 1974 and was with the team for the first two of their four Super Bowl teams of the '70s.

"During his second stint on Chuck Noll'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," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. "In the process, Coach Rad helped the
Steelers win two Super Bowl championships. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Radakovich family."

Mr. Radakovich's NFL stops included stints with the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Rams and New York Jets. At the collegiate level, his stops included Cincinnati, North Carolina State and Westminster.

He also spent spent 13 years on the sidelines at Robert Morris University, serving as both defensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Colonials.

"Dan, as much as anybody, is responsible for the building of the Robert Morris football program," former Colonials coach Joe Walton said at the time of Radakovich's retirement from RMU in 2008. "Any success we had goes equally to him. He was the best on-the-field coach I've ever seen."