From the last running back on Slippery Rock University's bench to two-time Super Bowl champion to assisting in the revival of an NFL franchise in a city ravaged by a natural disaster, it's been an interesting ride for Ricky Porter.

"Much of what I've enjoyed in life, I owe to (current SRU coach) George Mihalik," said Porter, a 1982 graduate. "He got me started in this direction."

Porter was a two-time 1,000-yard rusher and four-year starter for SRU from 1978-81. He is now director of player development for the New Orleans Saints.

He was also the first SRU player to be drafted by an NFL team when the Detroit Lions selected him in the 12th round in 1982. Two other Rock running backs, Chuck Sanders and Greg Paterra, were selected in the 11th round by San Diego and Atlanta in 1986 and 1989, respectively.

But it was Porter who put together a football career that's still going strong today. He spent eight years as a professional running back with Detroit and the Baltimore Colts in the NFL, the Memphis Showboats of the USFL, and he saw action in the Canadian Football League.

"When he retired from football, Ricky went to work for his father in the trucking industry in his hometown of Baltimore," Mihalik said. "We had an opening on our staff for a running backs coach and I thought of Ricky right away.

"I called him and told him he'd make an outstanding coach. He was stunned that I called and we had to sell him on the idea. But we convinced him."

And the second phase of Porter's football career was under way.

After two seasons at The Rock, Porter accepted an offer from Kent State University to coach running backs there. After three years at Kent, the entire coaching staff was let go.

Porter went to work for a national scouting service before meeting then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy at a combine.

"He had just gotten the head coaching job there and told me someone advised him to talk to Ricky Porter as a possible assistant coach," Porter said. "We were just talking and I didn't even realize I was being interviewed.

"He offered me a job, but not without calling my wife first to ask permission to offer me that job. That's the kind of guy Tony Dungy is."

Only he didn't work for him long. After only a year with the Bucs, Porter received a call from Denver coach Mike Shanahan and wound up joining the Broncos as an assistant coach.

Denver won two Super Bowls during Porter's three years there. He then joined the Saints as director of player development.

"Ricky's worn a lot of hats with New Orleans," Mihalik said. "He's in position now to advance his career either in the front office of an NFL team or on the field as a coach."

He's doing both with the Saints. Porter has worked with players on the field and evaluated talent in the board room.

"I'm 46 now and still participate in the same lifting and running program as our players do," he said. "I work out with them and get to know them.

"I'm also involved with the draft every year and with free agency. I evaluate personnel on other teams, do reports on who has quick feet, soft hands, etc., so we have information on guys when they do become free agents. "

Porter, who has a home in New Orleans as well as in Baltimore, endured the Saints' 3-13 2005 season, when they played without a home and with many players not knowing if they still had a home.

"It was horrible — a real-life nightmare," he said. "None of us could get into the city after Hurricane Katrina hit to see if we had anything left, yet we had to concentrate on football.

"We were training at Division III facilities with not enough room to accommodate everyone."

Weeks after the hurricane, Porter received a call from a neighbor who said their neighborhood "looked like a war zone. He said people had to cut through fallen trees on the highway just to get down the street."

The only hurricane damage to Porter's home was two shingles torn off his roof — and insurance provided him with a whole new roof.

"I was blessed," he said.

The Saints have been blessed this year as well, getting off to a 5-1 start that included an emotional Monday night win over Atlanta in New Orleans' return to the Superdome.

"Our team has changed 50 percent, personnel-wise, from last year," Porter said. "That Monday night was the closest thing to a Super Bowl you're ever gonna see in the regular season.

"Are we for real? Our games against Philadelphia and Baltimore back-to-back will determine that."

In the meantime, Porter's memories of The Rock make him appreciate where he is today.

The first time he touched the ball as a freshman in a preseason scrimmage against Westminster, he scooted 50 yards for a touchdown.

"Ricky and I didn't exactly hit it off when we first met," said then-Rock running backs coach Mihalik. "He kept bugging me to put him in, to give him a chance. He was this cocky little kid from Baltimore who I knew nothing about. He just showed up at camp ready to play.

"When we finally gave him the ball and he scored, he gave me this wink as if to say 'I've been trying to tell you I'm good.'"

Porter originally came to SRU intending to play football and baseball. But after a year of playing baseball for Wally Rose, he was forced to give it up.

"I was on a football scholarship and the coaches wanted me to concentrate on that,"Porter said. "Baseball offered to split the scholarship, but that wasn't worked out."

When his playing career ended in 1990, Porter got into a conversation with a friend, Baltimore Orioles slugger Eddie Murray, and Porter insisted he could still play baseball.

Murray laughed at him and dared Porter to try out for the Orioles.

The tryout was arranged and Porter made Baltimore's Class AAA team in Rochester (N.Y.) as an outfielder.

"I didn't pursue it after that. I just wanted to prove I could do it," Porter said.

"Ricky Porter could have had a long career in the major leagues had he opted for baseball," Mihalik said. "No doubt in my mind. He's one of the most remarkable human beings I've ever met."

Here is where New Orleans Saints director of player development Ricky Porter stands on Slippery Rock University football's career list:• <B>Scoring:</B> 22nd with 110 points• <B>All-purpose yardage:</B> fourth with 4,055 yards• <B>Rushing yardage:</B> seventh with 3,124 yards• <B>Single-season rushing yardage:</B> 11th with 1,179 yards in 1981; 20th with 1,034 yards in 1980• <B>Rushing attempts:</B> fourth with 663