Nov 20, 2016 5 min read

CLEVELAND – James Harrison got emotional following the Steelers’ 24-9 win over the Cleveland Browns Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Harrison choked up as teammates honored him for breaking the team’s all-time sack record with a third-quarter sack, one of eight recorded by the Steelers in this game, not because of what he had accomplished but because of who wasn’t there to see it.

James Harrison Sr., known as Jim to his family and friends, died earlier this year. Harrison posted a touching tribute on his social media site that included a collage of photos of his father soon after his passing and his tears Sunday were in thoughtful memory.

“I was thinking about my father and how he’s not here for it,” Harrison said as he stood in the locker room, a short trip up I-271 from where he grew up in Akron.

But while Jim Harrison didn’t get to see his son break Jason Gildon’s team record with his 77 ½ quarterback takedown as a member of the Steelers, teammates and fans did. And while that pales in comparison to the father-son relationship the Harrisons obviously had, the relationship James Harrison has with his teammates is a special one.

Ask any member of the Steelers about hard work, desire or perseverance, and to a man, they’ll talk about Harrison.

Cut more times than Rocky Balboa early in his career, the undrafted rookie out of Kent State kept coming back, refusing to quit on his dream of playing in the NFL.

Has he been a perfect person? No. His impetuousness early in his career was one reason why he was cut so often. He also had a domestic violence issue in which the charges eventually were dropped, and became the poster boy for the NFL’s crackdown on violent headshots that cost him more than $100,000 in fines and an eventual one-game suspension.

But those things are in the rearview mirror.

Now, in his 14th season, the 38-year-old was back in the starting lineup for this game, replacing an ineffective Jarvis Jones, because, as head coach Mike Tomlin said, “What are we preserving him for?”

Harrison continues to show, he’s not ready for the rocking chair, even though he did announce his retirement in 2014 before being coaxed back onto the field.

And he continues to be not only a good football player, but an inspiration for his teammates on and off the football field with the work he puts in to continue to play a game populated by much younger men.

“I feel like I’m sharing that with him,” said linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who has been with the team since 2007 and saw Harrison win NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. “But to see him do that, cut six or seven times and still have an accomplishment like that, that’s amazing.

“He’s an idol of mine. My first year, I didn’t do well. He took me under his wing the second year and showed me how he worked out, how he trained. I woke up with him every morning and worked out and again in the afternoon. He’s the reason I am the person I am today as far as getting on the field and how I carry myself.”

That was as much a reason for Tomlin to finally insert Harrison into the lineup as anything.

With defensive end Cameron Heyward, the team’s unquestioned leader on defense lost for the season in last weekend’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Steelers needed Harrison not only for what he could bring to the team on the field, and in the huddle.

“Anytime Cam has been out, James has definitely been more vocal,” said fellow outside linebacker Arthur Moats. “When we were about the go out on the field, he was the one bringing us out in the huddle, saying what he needs to say before we go onto the field. We feed off of that. This is a guy whose track record speaks for itself, so anytime he says something, we listen.”

In this case, with the Steelers mired in a four-game losing streak, the team needed a kick in the pants.

Harrison provided the foot with a message that was simple.

“Everybody just took responsibility to do their jobs, what I call unselfish,” Harrison said. “You know, do your job and let your teammates do your job. If you do your job and everybody else does their job, then everything goes the way you need it to.”

Jim Harrison had plenty to be proud about in regard to his son. He got to see him win Super Bowls, go to Pro Bowls and be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

But he might be especially proud to see what kind of leader of men that his son has become late in the twilight of his career.

“The guys got a little emotional in there because they have so much respect for him and how he goes about his business,” said Tomlin.

Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com