Among those who were closest to Darryl Drake in recent years were those who came to know him during his last long-term stop: the Arizona Cardinals, where he coached for five seasons prior to Bruce Arians’ retirement. That lined up perfectly with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver coach Richard Mann’s own retirement, which made it easy for Mike Tomlin to bring him into Pittsburgh.
Drake was heading into his second season with the Steelers when he passed away suddenly at the age of 62 yesterday morning. But before he did, he got the opportunity to catch up with some of those he knew in Arizona, who had followed along with Arians when he unretired and became the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh’s opponent for its preseason opener.