‘I love you mom’: Mother of Steelers’ 1st-round pick Derrick Harmon dies hours after 2025 NFL Draft, reports say

(Gray News) - The mother of Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-round pick Derrick Harmon died hours after he was drafted in the NFL, according to multiple reports.

In a news conference after his selection, he told reporters that his mother, Tiffany Saine, was on life support and that he was heading to the hospital to tell her the good news, People reported.

“That was a little bittersweet because she worked as hard just as me to get to this moment,” Harmon said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m very excited.”

Soon after visiting her, she died in the hospital, according to The Oregonian.

According to a video posted on ESPN, Saine suffered a stroke during her son’s freshman year, when he played for Michigan State before his transfer to Oregon.

She was hospitalized and paralyzed on her left side.

The 21-year-old had been debating whether he should stay at Michigan State, where he could be closer to his mom, or transfer to Oregon.

In a conversation with his mother, she told him that “every decision” he had made up until that point was for her, and that it was time for him to make one for himself."

“She’s the reason why I’m here,” he continued. “She’s the one that did everything for me to get to that point. I love you mom, everything I do is for you. I’m forever grateful.”