Rookie Derrick Harmon lived the biggest moment of his professional career with a heavy heart. The night he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft also marked the farewell of the person who inspired him the most: his mother.
Hours after the Steelers selected him with the 21st overall pick, Harmon received the devastating news. His mother, Tiffany Saine, passed away in a hospital after a long battle with her health. The former Oregon defensive lineman managed to make it to her bedside to share the news that he had made it to the NFL. Shortly afterwards, she was gone.
After being selected, Harmon planned to visit his mother, who he said was on life support in a hospital outside Detroit. Saine had undergone several brain surgeries and a stroke in recent years.
“It was a little bittersweet,” he confessed through tears on draft night. “She worked just as hard as I did to get to this moment.”
Harmon played inspired by his mother
For Harmon, Tiffany Saine was not just a mother figure, but the silent engine behind every step he took. From his freshman year at Michigan State, when a stroke left his mother paralyzed on her left side, she fought adversity with a bravery that shaped her son both on and off the field. In total, she faced at least eight brain surgeries and years of intensive care.
Harmon called his mother an inspiration to keep going as he traveled from Michigan State to Oregon.
“She’s my inspiration,” Harmon said. “Every day, every play, it’s all for her.”
Saine was an example of strength for Harmon even in the worst moments. With some of the money he received for his name, image and likeness (NIL), he bought her an adapted van to make it easier for her to get around, a small gesture to give back some of what she had given him.
Steelers back Derrick Harmon
Steelers president Art Rooney II expressed the team’s condolences to their new defensive lineman Derrick Harmon.
“While we are excited to have selected Derrick in the first round of the NFL Draft, we are deeply saddened by the passing of his mother, Tiffany Saine,” Rooney said. “We will support Derrick and his family in any way possible as they go through this time of grief. At times like this, we hope that Derrick finds comfort in the love and support of the organisation and Steelers fans around the world.”
Read the full article here
