Joe Greene ( American football ) Charles Edward Greene , known as “ Mean Joe ” Greene , ( born September 24 , 1946 ) is a former all - pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL . Throughout the early 1970s , Greene was one of the most dominant defensive players in the National Football League . Winning two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards , as well as earning five first - team All - Pro selections , Greene is widely considered one of the greatest defensive linemen to ever play in the NFL . He was the cornerstone of the legendary “ Steel Curtain ” defense , and as of the passing of L . C . Greenwood on September 29 , 2013 , is its last surviving member . He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a four - time Super Bowl champion . Greene is also well known for his appearance in the " Hey Kid , Catch ! " Coca - Cola commercial in 1979 , widely considered to be one of the best television commercials of all time . College career . Before his NFL career Greene had an outstanding college football career at North Texas State University ( now the University of North Texas ) ( 1966 – 68 ) , leading the team to a 23 - 5 - 1 record during his three seasons . In his 29 games at defensive tackle , North Texas State held the opposition to 2 , 507 yards gained on 1 , 276 rushes , a per carry average of less than two yards per attempt . His collegiate coach , Rod Rust , said of the 1968 consensus All - America , " There are two factors behind Joe ' s success . First , he has the ability to make the big defensive play and turn the tempo of a game around . Second , he has the speed to be an excellent pursuit player . " A pro scout said , " He ' s tough and mean and comes to hit people . He has good killer instincts . He ' s mobile and hostile . " He got his nickname when the Pittsburgh fan base mistakenly assumed that the North Texas team nickname of " Mean Green " was " Joe Greene ' s " nickname ; however , it was actually Coach Rust ' s wife who wanted to give a nickname to the team ' s outstanding defense who laid down the description which stuck in two instances . Since green is the school ' s main color , she gave the defense the name " Mean Green " . In 1984 , he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame . In 2006 , Greene was voted to the East - West Shrine Game Hall of Fame . Pro football career . In 1969 , he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the fourth pick of the NFL draft and spent his entire career with them until his retirement in 1981 . When Greene was drafted , a newspaper headline asked , " Who ' s Joe Greene ? " The question was quickly answered as Greene became so good that teams double - teamed , and even triple - teamed , him throughout his entire career . In addition to his skills , other teams saw Greene as a threat because of his size . After he was drafted , Greene quickly established himself as a dominant defensive player . He was strong , quick and intense . He was the NFL ' s Rookie of the Year in 1969 , even though he played on a Steelers team that went 1 - 13 in Chuck Noll ' s first year as its head coach . The Steelers quickly improved over the next few seasons . Greene later admitted that he was upset with being drafted by the Steelers due to their long history of losing . He often showed his displeasure on the field , including an incident during a game with the Chicago Bears in which he spat in the face of Dick Butkus and challenged Butkus , long considered to have been the NFL ' s meanest player , to a fight . In his early years with the Steelers , Greene was at times uncontrollable , and often let his temper get the best of him . On one occasion during a 1975 game against the rival Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in which the Steelers won 42 - 6 , Greene repeatedly kicked Browns lineman Bob McKay in the groin while McKay was lying on the ground . Another incident had Greene snap the ball away from the center while the opposing team was lining up for a play . He had no tolerance for losing , and the team veterans quickly took notice . His intense desire to win rallied the veterans around him , and with great drafts as well as superb coaching , the Steelers franchise soon began to undergo a dramatic makeover . Joe Greene was credited as the cornerstone of the great Steelers dynasty and the most important player in Steeler ' s history . Greene was the leader and the anchor of the " Steel Curtain " defense that won four Super Bowl s in the 1970s . He was recognized as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in both 1972 and 1974 . He , along with other members of the Steelers ' front four ( L . C . Greenwood , Dwight White and Ernie Holmes ) even appeared on the cover of Time magazine . In Super Bowl IX , Greene became the first player ever to record an interception , a forced fumble , and fumble recovery in a single Super Bowl . He went to the Pro Bowl 10 times during his career . Greene is also well known for the " stunt 4 - 3 " defense , in which he would line up at an angle , between the center and guard , and would explode into the line taking up 2 - 3 blockers . He started doing this sometime in the 1974 season , and while it cut down on the number of sacks he racked up , it freed up his other defensive teammates like middle linebacker Jack Lambert to make tackles with ease . After leading the Steelers to another Super Bowl win after the 1975 season over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X , Greene missed the first several games of the 1976 season with a back injury . The Steelers started off the season 1 - 4 and looked like they would not make the playoffs . Quarterback Terry Bradshaw was also injured and was replaced by rookie Mike Kruczek . The season looked lost . But Greene and the Steelers defense carried the Steelers to nine straight wins and the playoffs . With a defense considered one of the best in NFL history , the 1976 Steelers held opponents to an average of less than 10 points per game ( 138 points over 14 games ) . During their nine - game winning streak , the Steelers defense recorded five shutouts , another modern record , and gave up a total of just 28 points ( roughly 3 points per game ) . The defense allowed only two touchdowns over nine games . Ten of the eleven starters on that 1976 Steelers team were players who made the Pro Bowl at least once in their career ( eight starters made the Pro Bowl after the 1976 season ) . Middle linebacker Jack Lambert along with Greene , became the emotional leaders of the defensive squad . Greene continued to perform at an all - pro level , becoming a 5 - time All - Pro ( 1972 – 74 , 77 , 79 ) and in 1969 receiving the first of his 10 Pro Bowl invitations . Greene retired after the 1981 season after 13 years in the league . His spot on the team was technically not replaced : the Steelers switched to a 3 - 4 defensive alignment for the 1982 season , which has only one nose tackle as opposed to two defensive tackles , giving the extra spot to a second middle linebacker . The team has used the 3 - 4 alignment since Greene ' s retirement . His end stats were 181 games , 78 . 5 sacks ( unofficially , as sacks were not an official statistic until 1982 ) and 16 fumble recoveries . Joe Greene had 190 tackles in 1978 . Retirement . After retiring from the NFL , Greene spent one year ( 1982 ) as a color analyst for CBS ' NFL coverage before becoming an assistant coach under Steelers ' head coach Chuck Noll in 1987 . He spent the next 16 years as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers , Miami Dolphins , and Arizona Cardinals . In 2004 , he retired from coaching and was named the special assistant for player personnel for the Steelers . In this position he earned his 5th Super Bowl ring after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL , and a sixth from Super Bowl XLIII . Greene is one of four people outside the Rooney family to have Super Bowl rings from the first six championship teams . Greene retired from his position in the Steelers ' front office in 2013 . It was Greene , in fact , who coined the phrase " One for the Thumb in ' 81 " after the Steelers won Super Bowl XIV . After the Steelers missed the playoffs in 1980 , the saying was shortened to " One for the Thumb " and became the unofficial rally cry for the Steelers ' search for the elusive fifth Vince Lombardi Trophy until the team finally won it in 2005 . Although the Steelers do not officially retire jersey numbers , Greene ' s number 75 has not been issued since his retirement and is understood to be " unofficially retired " . Greene also briefly wore number 72 during his rookie season before switching to his more familiar 75 midseason . Greene was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1987 . Greene now resides in Flower Mound , Texas . Film and television . Greene made a number of television and film appearances : Coca - Cola commercial . Joe Greene appeared in a famous commercial for Coca - Cola that debuted on October 1 , 1979 and was aired again during the 1980 Super Bowl . The ad won a Clio Award in 1980 for being one of the best commercials of 1979 .