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This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.
Levon Kirkland played 11 seasons in the NFL from 1992 to 2002, mostly with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He now works in the Clemson athletic department.
These are the three best leaders he played with:
Greg Lloyd, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker
He knew how to set the atmosphere for our defense. He was the guy we all followed because he set such a high standard physically for all of us.
We had some great guys on that defense: Rod Woodson, Carnell Lake, Darren Perry. But I thought Greg really set the temperature for all of us, and we played at his tone.
He was a third-degree black belt who came out of Fort Valley State, a small HBCU. He was one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen on the football field. He showed us what determination and hard work were all about.
When practice was over, we were pretty much done. There was nothing the coaches really wanted us to do. But Greg would lead us to this hill at training camp, and we would run hills.
We had two practices a day back then: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. That second practice was usually full pads, with a lot of thudding and hitting.
That’s when he would take us to the hill — and it was a steep hill. We all did it without complaining, and it was Greg who urged us to do that.
No supervision, no one telling us to do it but Greg. And we ran as many as he thought we should run.
The year we went to the Super Bowl in 1996, he really made it a point that we all got together. Offense, defense, Black, White. We all went to this bar across the street from the stadium and hung out.
I really felt the reason we went to the Super Bowl was that we had a better connection with each other.
Alan Page’s definition of “seeking excellence”
Elise Devlin
Dermontti Dawson, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman
He was such a great leader because he led by example.
He was really mild-mannered, but he was one of the best players I’ve ever seen in my life. I looked up to him: the way he worked, the way he carried himself.
I really feel like his identity was why he performed so well. He knew who he was, and he wasn’t going to change for anybody.
He just had purpose in what he did; he did it day in and day out, and I feel like that purpose gave him an advantage.
He led with his play and actions. I remember we played in the AFC Championship Game. At the time, it was almost unheard of to have a center who could snap the ball and still pull to one side or the other. I remember he snapped the ball to Kordell Stewart, pulled and clocked someone, and we scored on the play.
That was leadership because he set the tone.
Carnell Lake, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back
One of his leadership qualities was his unselfishness.
He was one of the most established safeties in the NFL at the time, but he ended up playing cornerback for us the same year we went to the Super Bowl.
Now, that’s a tough transition to move from safety to cornerback. Most guys would have said, “No, bring in another corner. I’m going to play my spot where I’m comfortable.”
So it really showed how much he cared about the team. It showed me that sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and sometimes you have to do what’s best for the team.
That’s what he did without any complaints, without any grumbling, without any noise.
To me, that was tremendous leadership.
— As told to Jayson Jenks
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