Former Pitt LB Lands Position with Pittsburgh Steelers

A former Pitt Panthers linebacker landed a position with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a front office role with the franchise.

Sep 25, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Pittsburgh Panthers helmet sits on the sidelines against the New Hampshire Wildcats during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers both share the same facility on the South Side, UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, where they practice, work out, eat and more.

They now share another connection as former Pitt linebacker Max Gruder just took a position with the Steelers as the assistant director of player scouting.

Gruder came to Pitt in the Class of 2007 after playing for Country Day School in Charlotte, N.C. He picked Pitt over offers from Rice and Western Michigan.

Despite only holding a two-star rating from Rivals, Gruder had a solid career with the Panthers, playing all 52 games for the team from 2008-11.

He would redshirt in 2007 and played special teams in 2008, making just five tackles. He saw much more time in 2009, starting at Will linebacker, leading the team with 91 tackles (56 solo).

Gruder continued to start in the middle of the field at linebacker for Pitt the next two seasons. He made 84 tackles (43 solo) as a redshirt junior in 2010 and then a career-high 116 tackles (58 solo) as a redshirt senior in 2011, as well as 8.5 tackles for loss.

No NFL team selected him in the 2011 draft, but the Atlanta Falcons brought him in for training camp for a period of time. He graduated from Pitt with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and General Management, which benefitted him heading into the next stage of his life.

Gruder joined the Miami Dolphins in 2013 as a scouting assistant, a positon he would stay in for a year. He then earned a promotion to pro scout, where he spent the next five years with the franchise.

He left the Dolphins for the Philadelphia Eagles, joining as an assistant director of pro scouting in 2019. He would earn another promotion in 2022 to take over as director of pro scouting for the next two years before he joined the Steelers.

Gruder is reunited with Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl, who worked as the vice president of player personnel with the Eagles during the time Gruder was there.

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