RMU's Super Bowl XLIII Connections ...

When the Arizona Cardinals square off with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII Sunday, Feb. 1, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., the game will have a distinct Robert Morris flavor.

Pittsburgh Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert, who is a 1979 graduate of Robert Morris with a Bachelor of Science degree in sport management, will search for his second Super Bowl ring in nine years with the organization.

On the other side of the field, three individuals with ties to the Colonial football program will look to help lead the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl title. Former coaches Mike Miller and Matt Raich each have RMU ties, as Raich spent five years as an assistant coach with the Colonials and Miller three years on the coaching staff. Raich served as the special teams and linebackers coach at Robert Morris from 1996 to 1998, positions he continued to coach in 2000 and 2001 while also serving as the program's recruiting coordinator.

Miller spent the 1997 and 1998 seasons at Robert Morris as a graduate assistant coach, tutoring the Colonial running backs. In 2006, Miller returned to Robert Morris and served as an assistant coach for the Colonial defense, specializing on the defense line. Miller earned a Master of Science degree in instructional leadership while serving as a graduate assistant coach with RMU.

In addition to Raich and Miller, former Robert Morris video coordinator Rob Brakel, a 1998 graduate of Robert Morris with a Bachelor of Science degree in sport management, serves in the same capacity with the Cardinals. Brakel was RMU's video coordinator during the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

From left to right, former strength & conditioning coach Tom Myslinski, former assistant coach Matt Raich, former offensive lineman Hank Fraley, former video coordinator Rob Brakel and former assistant coach Mike Miller pose for a group photo of RMU football alums in the National Football League (NFL) Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007, prior to a game between the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals. Fraley started at center for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, while Raich, Miller and Brakel look to help Arizona to victory in Super XLIII against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which features RMU alum Kevin Colbert as the organization's director of football operations. Colbert is pictured on the link that leads to this article.