Greg Lloyd, Sr.

Gregory Lenard Lloyd (born May 26, 1965) is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was named to five Pro Bowls and 3 NFL All-Pro teams during this time.

College career
Lloyd attended Fort Valley State University, where he was a three time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, a three time team Defensive MVP, and as a senior, he was the SIAC Player of the Year, and a first team Sheridan All-American selection.

National Football League career
Lloyd was injured his first year (1987), and most of the 1988 season, but became a starter during the 1989 season at outside linebacker where he excelled. He became the emotional and fiery leader of the Steelers defense after the retirement of inside linebacker David Little. Lloyd teamed with cornerback Rod Woodson to give the Steelers two of the most dynamic and dominating defensive players in the game. Both Lloyd and Woodson were drafted in 1987 by then Steelers coach Chuck Noll.

Later career
Lloyd remained the starter through the 1997 season, missing almost the entire 1996 season with a knee injury and several games in 1997 due to a staph infection. He was named to five Pro Bowls and 3 NFL All-Pro teams during this time. Lloyd left the Steelers in 1998 and played for the Carolina Panthers before retiring. A true leader and student of the game, Lloyd continued to impact the Steelers defense while injured from the sideline by teaching young linebackers Chad Brown and Jason Gildon the finer points of Steelers linebacking tradition.

Notoriety beyond football
Lloyd has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, which he currently teaches. Lloyd is 6'2" and weighs 234 pounds. He played in Super Bowl XXX. He is also well-known for using an expletive in a nationally televised interview with NBC's Jim Gray after Pittsburgh defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the 1995 AFC Championship.

Lloyd's son, Greg Lloyd, Jr., is a linebacker for the University of Connecticut football team, and he wears #95 like his father, but the two do not have any contact with each other. In 2001, Lloyd was accused of sticking a gun in his son's mouth due to the 12-year old's bad grades in school, but two trials in 2004 ended in hung juries and a third was not pursued. In 2002, Lloyd pointed a gun at ex-wife Rhonda Lloyd's head, and he pleaded no contest to simple battery in 2004.

Relationship with the media and popularity with fans
Lloyd never got along with the media; he was impatient and intolerant with them. This, along with his career-ending injuries, led many to believe that he lost votes for the NFL 1990s Team of the Decade selection in which other Steelers linebackers like Levon Kirkland and Kevin Greene were selected even though Lloyd was always considered the top linebacker and defensive leader of the team.

In 1991, Joe Namath then an analyst of NBC accused Lloyd of playing dirty, Lloyd responded by saying "Who is Joe Namath? This is a guy who, if he played in the league today, I'd probably just go hit him late and see what he did, just for the hell of it. Joe Namath can go to hell; he can kiss my ass."

In January 1996, following their victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the 1995 AFC championship game. NBC reporter Jim Gray interviewed Lloyd and he gathered attention of the rest of the team and said "Let's see if we bring this damn trophy here next year along with the fucking Super Bowl."

Nonetheless, Lloyd was voted by Steeler fans to the prestigious Pittsburgh Steeler 75th Anniversary Team—a team that included only 5 linebackers and put him next to the company of dynasty players like Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, and Andy Russell. (Joey Porter was the other linebacker.) Thus, while he may not have been popular with the press, the fans who saw him play recognized his place in Steeler lore. Indeed, the Steeler fans and front office considered Lloyd a throwback player. Lloyd's number 95 jersey was one of the top-selling jerseys among Steeler fans. Steelers President Dan Rooney once said of Greg Lloyd, "He was one of the Best, not just one of the Steelers' best but one of the best in the league. Greg could play in any era. He has the makeup, whether it's in 1998 or 1938. He's just a football player."

Lloyd's number 95 remains in circulation with the Steelers despite his accomplishments, although no significant Steeler of note has worn it in a regular season game since his playing days ended. Lloyd remains so respected by fans in Steeler Nation that Joey Porter felt the need to acknowledge Lloyd's enduring presence when the team drafted him in 1999 and issued him number 95 in training camp, the first time since Lloyd left that the team assigned the number. However, although his playing style and team leadership were comparable to Lloyd's, Porter switched to his more familiar #55 by the time the regular season started, stating that he wanted to establish his own identity with the team as opposed to being a clone of Lloyd. Ironically, after Porter was cut by the Steelers and signed by the Miami Dolphins in the 2007 offseason, rookie linebacker LaMarr Woodley would be issued Porter's number 55 but would switch to number 56 just before the start of the regular season after center Chukky Okobi was released on the final cutdown.

Lloyd was notorious for wearing a ratty, old t-shirt at practice and under his game jersey which read, "I Wasn't Hired For My Disposition."

As Steeler fans recognized by voting him to their 75th anniversary team, Lloyd was indeed the most feared player in the league for his time. Jim Harbaugh claims he wasn't afraid of anything until he played against Greg Lloyd, the man he respected and feared on the gridiron more than anyone.