PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have two safeties they feel pretty confident in moving forward, and with the signing of DeShon Elliott in free agency, the team may have their duo for years to come.

But it wasn’t always like that. Pittsburgh went through many attempts to find their secondary starters before acquiring Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Miami Dolphins and eventually landing Elliott in free agency. And along the way, they thought they landed a steal, selecting Gerod Holliman out of Louisville with their seventh-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Unfortunately, the label never turned into the result. Holliman never made it into his first season with the Steelers, and speaking out about it years later, told his side of the story about how Pittsburgh’s coaching staff hurt his career.

In an interview with 31 Vision Podcast, Holliman got very honest about his time in Pittsburgh and how he was never given a real opportunity.

“Unfortunately, that time there was mismanaged by the defensive backs coach,” Holliman said. “He never really gave me a chance. I never even started one preseason game. I pretty much, the playing time I had was equivalent to the first half of a game if I was a starter. That’s how bad it was.”

Holliman’s struggles as a tackler were what led to his slide in the NFL Draft, finding him in Pittsburgh as a seventh-round pick. Still, his key skills for locating the ball were attractive, and many thought that would turn into a turnover machine at the next level.

It never did, but Holliman said even the coaches knew they messed up when they were releasing him.

“The only thing the coach could tell me at the end of the day was ‘he’s sorry,'” Holliman said. “Sorry for mismanaging my playing time and stuff like that. I definitely don’t want to hear this. Because this is my life you’re playing with. You mismanaged the playing time. Bro, I’m your draft pick.”

The Steelers ended up keeping Will Allen, Mike Mitchell, Shamarko Thomas, Robert Golden, Jordan Dangerfield and Ross Vetrone at safety.

Holliman spent most of the season as a free agent before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He eventually signed a futures/reserve deal with them in the offseason, but did not make the 53-man roster. From there, his time as a professional came to an end, as he never played in the NFL afterward.

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