Modern Family’s Ed O’Neill reveals he turned down major NFC East move after Steelers pushed him out
Ed O'Neill is known by generations of TV audiences due to his work on two superhit sitcoms, namely ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Married with Children’. However, the NFL fans are aware of O’Neill’s tryst with football long before his character ‘Al Bundy’ ever appeared on TV screens. Now, O’Neill reveals he turned down an opportunity to link up with NFC East icons the Philadelphia Eagles on the "Games with Names" podcast,
O’Neill famously played defensive linemen for the Youngstown State and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers after going undrafted at the 1969 NFL Draft. He was later released by legendary Steelers head coach Chuck Noll in the training camp.
On the podcast, host Julian Edelman and O’Neill discussed the actor’s exit from the Steelers’ training camp. Ed O’Neill said:
“With me, it was, well, ‘You never played outside linebacker, and you're trying to make the team and learn the position at the same time. That's hard to do’. I said, ‘Yeah’.” [00:09:48 – 00:09:57]
However, after sharing the intricate details of his firing from 55 years ago. Ed O’Neill shared the opportunity that was given to him by HC Noll. O’Neill continued:
“He said, ‘Well I think, you can go to the Eagles if you want to and they’ll give you a good look. We'll rent a car for you. You can drive down the PA Pike. But I need to know right now’."
“And I don't know what happened to my thinking ... ‘No’, I said, ‘I'm done. I'm finished. Thanks a lot’.” [00:09:58 – 00:10:22]
Life for Ed O’Neill could have been very different if had taken up the chance to drive down to the Eagles. However, in such a scenario, the TV industry would’ve missed one of its biggest stars.
Ed O’Neill finally gets over his recurring dream of being cut by the Steelers
Ed O'Neill had always dreamt of playing football. However, he couldn’t take the pressure off himself after being cut by the Steelers, even after earning millions of dollars and fans. During his appearance on ESPN last month, O’Neill described the recurring nightmare that he had for over 50 years, beginning when he was released by the Steelers.
“When I got cut, every year after that, I would have a recurring dream, at least once or twice a year, and the dream was I'm back in Latrobe, St. Vincent's College, on the sidelines, in uniform, scrimmage going on, and the assistant coach comes out and says, ‘You're in the next series,’ O’Neill said.
In this dream, Ed O’Neill relived the exact day of being cut by the Steelers again and again, with the only difference being his age in the dream being his actual age.
“I said, ‘Hey, coach, do you know I'm 75 years old?’ ‘You'll be all right. You look fine. Go on in.’ ‘I said, 'No, I don't think so.’ And I walked off the field, and I never had the dream again.”
The dream finally stopped as O’Neill turned 75 years old, and he hasn't experienced it in the last three years.