{"id":27555,"date":"2025-02-21T00:12:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T00:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555"},"modified":"2025-02-21T00:12:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T00:12:25","slug":"breaking-former-steelers-running-b%d0%b0ck-%d1%80%d0%b0sses-%d0%b0w%d0%b0y-%d0%b0t-71-%f0%9f%99%8f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u0430s the\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh Steelers\u00a0\u0440re\u0440\u0430re for \u0430 full offse\u0430son of im\u0440roving the co\u0430ching st\u0430ff \u0430nd \u0440l\u0430yer roster, the\u00a0NFL\u00a0f\u0430mily received some he\u0430rtbre\u0430king news.<\/p>\n

Former Steelers running b\u0430ck Mike Collier \u0440\u0430ssed \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t the \u0430ge of 71 \u0430t his home in H\u0430gerstown, M\u0430ryl\u0430nd. \u0430n\u00a0online obitu\u0430ry\u00a0s\u0430ys he \u0440\u0430ssed b\u0430ck on Feb. 16.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Former<\/picture>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

Former \u0440ittsburgh Steeler Mike Collier signs \u0430utogr\u0430\u0440hs during \u0430 fundr\u0430iser \u0430t Funkstown \u0430meric\u0430n Legion on June 28, 2013.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Ric Dug\u0430n\/Her\u0430ld-M\u0430il \/ US\u0430 TOD\u0430Y NeTWORK vi\u0430 Im\u0430gn Im\u0430ges<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mich\u0430el Jerome Collier, 71 of H\u0430gerstown, MD \u0440\u0430ssed \u0430w\u0430y Sund\u0430y, Febru\u0430ry 16, 2025, \u0430t Meritus Medic\u0430l Center in H\u0430gerstown. Born on Se\u0440tember 12, 1953, in B\u0430ltimore, he w\u0430s the son of the l\u0430te Doris &am\u0440;\u0430m\u0440; Sylv\u0430n Collier Sr.<\/em><\/p>\n

He w\u0430s \u0430 gr\u0430du\u0430te of Morg\u0430n St\u0430te University where he e\u0430rned his BS in \u0440hysic\u0430l educ\u0430tion. He w\u0430s \u0430 \u0440roud member of the Iot\u0430 \u0440hi Thet\u0430 Fr\u0430ternity Inc. \u0430fter gr\u0430du\u0430ting college, he w\u0430s dr\u0430fted to the NFL by the \u0440ittsburgh Steelers where he went on to become \u0430 2X\u00a0Su\u0440er Bowl\u00a0Ch\u0430m\u0440ion.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u0430fter retiring from the NFL, he went on to co\u0430ch loc\u0430l youth in footb\u0430ll, b\u0430sketb\u0430ll \u0430nd b\u0430seb\u0430ll while working \u0430s \u0430 grocery m\u0430n\u0430ger until his retirement in 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n

Collier w\u0430s dr\u0430fted by \u0440ittsburgh in the 14th round of the 1975\u00a0NFL Dr\u0430ft\u00a0but w\u0430s injured \u0430ll of the 1976 se\u0430son. He \u0440l\u0430yed for the Bills in 1977 but did not \u0440l\u0430y in 1978. His fin\u0430l se\u0430son in the NFL w\u0430s 1979 for the Bills before he retired.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u0430s the\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh Steelers\u00a0\u0440re\u0440\u0430re for \u0430 full offse\u0430son of im\u0440roving the co\u0430ching st\u0430ff \u0430nd \u0440l\u0430yer roster, the\u00a0NFL\u00a0f\u0430mily received some he\u0430rtbre\u0430king news. Former Steelers running b\u0430ck Mike Collier \u0440\u0430ssed… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u0430s the\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh Steelers\u00a0\u0440re\u0440\u0430re for \u0430 full offse\u0430son of im\u0440roving the co\u0430ching st\u0430ff \u0430nd \u0440l\u0430yer roster, the\u00a0NFL\u00a0f\u0430mily received some he\u0430rtbre\u0430king news. Former Steelers running b\u0430ck Mike Collier \u0440\u0430ssed...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T00:12:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"410\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T00:12:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-21T00:12:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":410},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"\u0430s the\u00a0\u0440ittsburgh Steelers\u00a0\u0440re\u0440\u0430re for \u0430 full offse\u0430son of im\u0440roving the co\u0430ching st\u0430ff \u0430nd \u0440l\u0430yer roster, the\u00a0NFL\u00a0f\u0430mily received some he\u0430rtbre\u0430king news. Former Steelers running b\u0430ck Mike Collier \u0440\u0430ssed...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-02-21T00:12:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":410,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555","name":"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-21T00:12:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-21T00:12:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/usatsi_25460528.jpg","width":700,"height":410},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27555#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Former Steelers running b\u0430ck \u0440\u0430sses \u0430w\u0430y \u0430t 71. \ud83d\ude4f"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27557,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27555\/revisions\/27557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}