Get to know offensive line coach James Campen, including a special coaching moment he will always cherish.
What got you interested in coaching:
"It was when injured and Coach (Mike) Holmgren was gracious enough to have me come back and work training camp. It's something that kind of hits you. I went back after that and tried to rehab my legs, but it didn't work. I coached in my high school, and I had just terrific high school coaches and the impact they had on me, I wanted to share that with high school players. And I think the carryover is still the same, whether it's high school or professional football. Coaching is coaching."
Who was your coaching inspiration:
"I had many of them. For me to leave anyone out, it would be so hard. I think there are a couple you always remember. There are a couple people that you always remember like Coach (Jerry) Sullivan was my junior college coach. Had me switch positions from defensive end to center and offensive line at guard. Coach (Mike) Sherman for the opportunity gave me in Green Bay to coach at this level, Coach (Travis) Hatcher and (Lee) Attabit, Coach (Richard) Fox and Coach (Steve) Escobar. There are so many coaches that I just really, really admire.
"And one in particular was Coach (Tom) Lovat, (Steelers head strength and conditioning coach) Mark Lovat's father. He was my coach in Green Bay for two years. He had us do an exercise where he had us write down every coach you had and then write down the good and the bad. We all had about six or seven different line coaches up to that point. He said, just take 10 percent of all those and we're at 70 percent. You have so much more to learn, and I'm going to give you 10 of me. That just impacted me. You go back to when you were first competitive in high school all the way through. You take those percentages and you add them up. You're never going to be whole. It's never going to be good enough. But if you take 10%, you get seven or eight coaches. My goodness, you're really doing well. So, I always appreciated Coach Lovat for that."
What do you love about coaching:
"More than anything, the people. Coaching is an extension of being a player and it doesn't matter what level you play you get to experience the joy of it on game day, and you can almost put yourself into the player. You can live vicariously through their actions for 70 plays. So, that part is very serious. And winning and all that stuff is so important, obviously. But just to see the elation on their face, how good things are when things are working. And then also the struggles of it. That's what I love about coaching, being with the coaches upstairs and then you come downstairs and you're on the practice field with the players. And that transition is just always evolving. It's such a blessing to be able to do this. It truly is. It's second to parenting."
Describe your coaching style:
"I am approachable. I'm fair. I abide by what Coach (Mike) McCarthy has always told us way back in 2006. Our job was to teach and demand. But you have to be compassionate. You have to build relationships. You always have to tell the truth and be honest with players. It's so important at any level and so I've always abided by that. My high school coaches, all the way through college and pro, I've always had those types of coaches so I'm very grateful for that."
Favorite coaching moment:
"They come in different forms. There's no particular game that stands out. There's no season. Winning the Super Bowl was terrific.
"But truly, my favorite coaching moment, and it happened when 9-11 happened in 2001. It was special. I was the head coach of our team in California, the team I played for, Ponderosa Bruins. That day they said we weren't going to play the games that weekend. Then on Wednesday they said we we're going to play the games. So, we had a Friday game versus Rio Americano High School. I'll never forget it. The players have a Bruins flag that we'd go out and stick in the ground during our warmups. The players came to me, and they said, coach, we have a question. This was about five minutes before we went out for warmups. I thought something was wrong. The captain said we want to carry the American flag. And it just melted me. I mean, it was so special. I looked at him and I said we could put Ponderosa away. And they marched down the hill, and they went around the track. The JV team was still playing. And they carried that flag around the whole stadium. And everyone was just clapping. It was amazing. It was an amazing moment. One I'll never forget. It was the most special moment as a coach I ever had. I was never so proud. And the coolest thing was we had our littlest guy carry the flag. And he was a tough kid. And he said, coach, I won't drop it. And he didn't. The powers up above us, God had a plan that day. It was a non-league game, and we went into overtime, and you only do one overtime in California, and the score was 14-14. We tied."
More on James Campen:
James Campen brought a wealth of experience with him to the Steelers, including playing, coaching and scouting in the NFL.
Campen most recently was with the Green Bay Packers as a scouting consultant.
Prior to his time in that role, he spent two seasons (2022-23) with the Carolina Panthers as the team's offensive line coach.
Campen spent the 2021 season with the Houston Texans and the 2020 season with the Los Angeles Chargers as the offensive line coach. He also spent the 2019 season as the associate head coach/offensive line coach with the Cleveland Browns.
Campen spent 15 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, starting as an assistant offensive line coach/quality control coach in 2004-05, and assistant offensive line coach in 2006. He was promoted to offensive line coach in 2007 and then added the title of run game coordinator in 2018. He worked with Coach Mike McCarthy during his time with the Packers.
Under Campen, the Packers had seven Pro Bowl offensive linemen.
Campen played eight seasons in the NFL, three with the New Orleans Saints (1986-88) and five with the Packers (1989-93).
