A native of the Cincinnati suburb of Milford, Strief attended Milford High School and earned All-Midwest Region honors with the Eaglesfootball team. Besides football he also earned varsity letters in basketball and track and field. He was also an honor student. In January 2009 Milford High announced to it would retire Strief's number 63 jersey, only the second jersey to be retired by Milford. Strief attended Northwestern University in Evanston and redshirted his first year. By his junior season he became starting right tackle for Wildcats and started in 40 straight games under Mike Dunbar, who was the Wildcats' offensive coordinator. He earned consensus Second-team All-Big Ten honors twice and was named an All-American by the FWAA during his senior season, becoming the Wildcats' first offensive lineman to win national recognition since Chris Hinton. NFLDraftScout.com described him as a "hard worker who has no problems digesting a complicated playbook." He graduated with a degree in communication studies and sociology in 2005.
Professional career
He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. After backing upJon Stinchcomb for five years, in the 2011 season he became the team's starting right tackle with Stinchcomb's retirement and part of the Saints' offensive line that won the Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award as the best offensive line in the NFL. Strief was a 2013 Pro Bowl alternate but was not selected to the game. Strief re-signed with the Saints on a five-year extension during free agency in 2014. This is the second time he re-signed in free agency. Strief was elected as the Saints' representative to the National Football League Players Association Board of Player Representatives for the 2014 season. He has also served as an offensive team captain since the 2012 season. In 2017, Strief suffered a knee injury in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings and missed the next two weeks. He returned in Week 4, only to re-injure the knee and was placed on injured reserve on October 3, 2017. On March 12, 2018, Strief announced his retirement from the NFL.
Broadcasting career
On July 25, 2018, Strief was named as the play-by-play voice announcer for Saints radio broadcasts, replacing the retired Jim Henderson. Strief works with color analyst and former teammate Deuce McAllister on the broadcasts.
Personal life
Strief was previously married to former Saintsation Mandy Schexnaydre. Since moving to New Orleans, Strief has set up a foundation which organizes youth camps and aids Milford student-athletes. In 2009, he produced a cookbook for charity entitled When You're the Biggest Guy on the Team! Strief also spearheads the POB initiative along with other former and current Saints players. This initiative provides groceries to COVID-19 survivors, meals for healthcare workers and for those in the artist communities who may be facing food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. After retiring from the NFL, Strief has opened the brewery Port Orleans in New Orleans.
