Jack Lambert

College career He played football at Kent State University (1970–73), winning two first-team All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) linebacker honors. Don James was his head coach. Lambert was originally a quarterback, then moved to defensive end, and in 1972 James moved him to middle linebacker. He captained the 1973 team. During his college career, he was originally going to study to become a veterinarian.

In 1981, Lambert was inducted into the Kent State Hall of Fame. Kent State awards the Jack Lambert Cup annually to the most improved player on defense.

Professional career

Lambert was selected 46th overall by the Steelers in the second round of the 1974 NFL draft, he measured and as a rookie. As a high school senior, he was 6 ft 3½ in and 170 pounds (77 kg), In Carson's "Double-Rotating Zone"/Cover-2 defense, the safeties played back in a two-deep zone and the cornerbacks played in two shallow zones, or in bump-and-run coverage. Along with that, the middle linebacker dropped back into a middle zone to cover the space between the safeties. Middle linebackers had not been positioned in such a way previously (Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke were the epitomes of the run-support middle linebacker playing close to the line). But Lambert's size, speed, and talents facilitated the new role. Early on, Carson had Lambert covering tight ends and the first back out of the backfield (unique at the time for a middle linebacker), and calling defensive play changes to match what the offense would call. That Steelers team included five rookies who would be future Hall of Fame players (including Lambert). He would lead the Steelers in tackles every season but his last, and would be voted team MVP twice. Lambert was first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Pro that year. Greene was unable to play in the AFC divisional playoff game against the Baltimore Colts or in the AFC Championship Game against the Oakland Raiders. Yet, the Steelers defeated both the Colts and the Raiders. In the championship game, Lambert compensated for Greene's absence by moving all over the field, recovering a record three fumbles in the Steelers' victory. Lambert had 14 tackles in the game.

Even in the 3–4, Lambert retained the "Mike" role as the team's signal-caller on defense. According to Steelers media guides, Lambert averaged 146 tackles per season through his 10th year. He recorded only 19 in his 11th and final season because of an injury. Before that final year, Lambert missed only six games in the previous ten years. In a nine-year span, Jack Lambert was named to nine straight Pro Bowls and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year once. Display at Acrisure Stadium commemorating the careers of four Hall of Fame inductees, including Lambert's on the far right sideIn 1976, after quarterback Terry Bradshaw, receiver Lynn Swann and several other starters went down with injuries, the Steelers struggled to a 1–4 record early in the season. (Other sources state that Bradshaw was injured in game 5 against the Cleveland Browns when hit by Joe "Turkey" Jones, and missed games after that fifth game, with only three starts the rest of the season. )

At a "players only" meeting, Lambert made it clear that "the only way we are going to the playoffs to defend our title is to win them all from here out." In a remarkable nine-game span, the Steelers defense allowed only two touchdowns and a total of 28 points, including five shutouts. The Steelers won all of these games and finished at 10–4. The defense gave up only a league leading 138 points for the entire season, and allowed the fewest yards. This was the least points allowed per game in AFC history at that time (9.9), and third least in NFL history, behind the 1969 Minnesota Vikings (9.5) and the 1975 Los Angeles Rams (9.6). Eight of the eleven defensive starters on the Steelers made the Pro Bowl that year. In a first, all three of the Steelers starting linebackers (Lambert, Jack Ham and Andy Russell), were named Pro Bowl starters.

In 1976, however, the Steelers lost in the AFC championship game to Oakland, and in 1977, they lost in the divisional playoff round to the Denver Broncos. In 1978 and 1979, they returned to the Super Bowl, winning again over Dallas in Super Bowl XIII and defeating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV. Lambert had a key interception in securing the victory over the Rams.

Broadcasting career Lambert was a member of the NFL on Westwood One as an analyst from 1986 until 1994. He has also been a guest commentator on the NFL Network from 1995 until 2002 and has served as a contributor for the Sports Broadcasting Network since 2003.

Personal life Lambert wore the jersey number 00 while playing at Crestwood High School, which retired the number and named its football field Jack Lambert Stadium on October 10, 1980.

Lambert is very private. Once, when asked by a sports reporter if he thought his parents' divorce as a small child affected him, Lambert replied, "'I'm sure it did ... but I don't think it's the business of readers of The Pittsburgh Press.'" and the final Steelers game at Three Rivers Stadium. He currently lives in Worthington, Pennsylvania with his family. In 2021, The Athletic named him the 37th greatest player of all time. Lambert was named to both the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team and NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.

He was an inaugural member of the Steelers Hall of Honor in 2017.

In 2004, the Fox Sports Net series The Sports List named Lambert as the toughest football player of all time.

Lambert's number, 58, is one of many jersey numbers "unofficially retired" by the team. The Steelers have only retired three jersey numbers: 70, 75 and 32, worn by Ernie Stautner, Joe Greene and Franco Harris respectively. Lambert’s jersey number has perhaps gotten the most attention out of all jersey numbers not officially retired. When Lambert retired, he reportedly told the equipment manager that he was not to issue number 58 again. Lambert later fought with the equipment manager outside of the facility because of a misunderstanding about his number.

Lambert remains popular among Steeler fans and was named in one poll as the most feared Steeler ever. Legendary Steeler outside linebacker Jack Ham considers Lambert the greatest linebacker ever.

Adding to Lambert's mystique has been his reclusiveness in retirement; aside from his Hall of Fame induction and the Steelers last game at Three Rivers Stadium, Lambert has rarely made any public appearances related to football, preferring to live a private life.