Jerome Bettis is a retired NFL running back. Bettis was drafted from Notre Dame by the Los Angeles Rams in 1993 and made an immediate impact in the Rams offense. He racked up 1,429 rushing yards in his rookie season and was awarded the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. By 2005 the Rams had moved to St. Louis and changed head coaches, it was clear that new coach Rich Brooks wanted to take the offense in a different direction and on draft day in 1996 Bettis was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers who needed a replacement for Bam Morris. He was a perfect fit for the physical run oriented style offense of Bill Cowher. He rushed for 1,431 yards his first year with the Steelers and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year for 1996. He managed to gain at least 1,000 yards in the following 5 seasons. In 2002 he was unable to play for a large part of the season due to injury and he lost his starting spot to Amos Zeroue in 2003 which he regained midway through the season. In 2004, he again began the season as a back up until starter Duce Staley was injured. In his final season he did not start but was used heavily in short yardage situations, he scored up 9 touchdowns by the end of the regular season as the Steelers cruised through the final part of the season and eventually won Super Bowl XL in Bettis' hometown of Detroit.