Seeing Players As Whole People

SPEAKER_02 0:13

So why have the elements of the whole player as a person been so important?

SPEAKER_04 0:19

Yeah, well, the best part about my job is that it's not tied to the win and loss column. Like my role is tied to the player and the player making sure he's the most holistic version of themselves. Another thing that I got from Caleb, we're here to make sure that they're the best. Yes, football is what we're here for, but outside of being a football player, you're a father, a brother, a son, an uncle, a nephew, a partner, a community organizer, community member, philanthropist. You have all these other identities that you can help grow and transition into outside of football. But oftentimes players don't have the right people or the opportunities to tap into those other identities, right? And so for me, when a player comes into a dolphins as a rookie and whether they stay or get cut or whatever, like I'm always going to continue to connect with them because once they're brought into this room, whether if they leave, I'm still reach out because I care for that person. I want them to grow and I want them to succeed. But I also know how hard transition is. We all experience transition in different ways. Um some of us go from transitioning into singlehood to it or from childhood to adulthood, from a college athletic player to a professional league player, um, from practice squad to active, from active to cut, um, from you know playing an active player to retirement. We all have these different transitions in life, but again, we're not taught how to handle these transitions because we don't know when it happens. Sometimes you can go from being uh an active player to on IR because you get an injury. You didn't expect to plan for that injury. But while I'm in this role, I can help the player prepare for these, uh prepare for these transitions based on not only my experience, but what I know about the player. Again, we can't be in these roles in player development and not know our locker room. We can't just clock in at eight and leave at five. That'd be doing us a disservice, players a disservice, our organization a disservice. Um, this isn't a role where you can just check the box and leave. Like I would be doing our locker room a disservice if I never went in there and connected with who the players are outside of football. Hey, how's the wife? You know, hey, how's the partner? How's the dog? How's mom? How's the new house? How's the holidays? Like, the more I know about the players, the more I can develop relationships with them and then help them with that transition because I know who they are outside of football. If a player is battling through injury, okay, well, let's not talk about football because that's a direct correlation to the injury. How's the family? Have we had a chance to talk to the wife and kids? Have you had a chance to, you know, just break away from everything? That transition piece is huge because I know that can make or break a player. You know, if they handle it right, it's great. If they don't know how to handle it, it can go off the deep end. You know, so for me, transition is really key to helping the player get to that next step in their life, or like we talked about today, the new chapter in their life. Because that next chapter could be going from practice squad to getting elevated for the next game, or going from practice squad to the active roster. Like for that, some guys it can go to their head. You know, they get they get that first check, that first real check, and now all of a sudden they're not playing the same because they got the bag already and now they're just good. Um, or if you're coming in as an undrafted player and you and and you end up making the active roster, huge life change, huge life change for anybody. How do you handle that? You know, so for me, transition is key, and that's where I kind of hone in in my role is helping guys through that transition into the NFL, through the NFL, and eventually retirement out of the NFL. But again, it all to me, it all comes down to the relationship that you establish with the player because the more they trust you, you know, I think it betters the conversation to help them handle whatever that transition may be to the next stage in their life.

Building Your Fire Through Transitions

SPEAKER_02 3:33

But what are you built on? What is your burn? What is your where does that discipline come from for you?

SPEAKER_04 3:38

Yeah, well, it's interesting because again, I didn't know prior to this, I was at UM doing Cynthia development. I didn't know that existed until I got to UM. I didn't know player engagement in the NFL existed until Caleb called me. Um and I remember it to this day. He called me like noon on a Tuesday and was like, you know, we chopped it up for a couple minutes. Like, can you are you free at two o'clock for an interview? Um, I wasn't, but I made myself free for the interview, um, which was that same day. And then at the end of that interview, he was like, We'll come up to the facility on Thursday and spent the entire day there doing interviewing in person. Called me the following Tuesday, let me know that they were going to make a decision. Called the following Thursday with an offer and time of contract Friday. So it took eight days, you know, to it's the fastest job at like job prize I've ever been a part of. But I say that because every new transition that I've had in my life was I was transitioning into a place that I was never familiar with, that I didn't know existed. Again, student active development didn't know that was a thing until I got to UM. Player engagement didn't know this existed until Caleb called me. You know, so the fire that I have is I wake up every day thinking something new could happen today. Whether if it's a new conversation, somebody new that I meet, a new idea that could help me help somebody else. Um, I'm born, thrive, and bred to be built for whatever comes next. And the fact that I never I never know what it is, that's what excites me. Again, like I got a random phone call from Caleb one day. It was 12 o'clock, like random. Now I had known him before that. Him and my former supervisor, Sherelle, they were cool because they have the same job in two different areas, college and pros. So we had met before, we've had lunch before, but like I didn't know him intimately like I know him now. Um, but again, that phone call came out of nowhere and it changed my life. Um, the day that Sherelle had called me and asked for you know breakfast, I didn't know that was gonna be another job description. Like I didn't know that. But every opportunity that I've been blessed to have, I feel like God has put me in a position to not only be prepared for it, but exceed to where it then leads me to wherever he wants me to be next. And that's where my fire comes from is knowing that I don't know how long God has me in this space, but as long as I'm here, I'm gonna maximize it because whatever I'm doing now is what's gonna help propel me, prepare me for whatever's next. And so I love it, man. Like again, no, I have every year is a new rookie class, every year is a new locker room, every year is a new season, um, every year is a new schedule. Like that there's nothing is ever the same with football. Nothing is ever the same with player engagement. I have 90 players in a locker room right now. That's 90 different personalities with 180 different issues that could pop up at any moment. That's you know, 90 phone calls between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. that I have to deal with. But I love it because every phone call that I get to me is a sign of trust that that player, that you know, coach, that staff member, they called me because out of their entire phone book, they chose me because they trust with what they trust me with what whatever's gonna happen next. And you don't get that often. You don't get that often. I feel like what we do in player engagement, like, yeah, we don't go around, yeah, yeah, this is what I do, blah, blah, blah, because that that's not where our heart is. Our heart is in the service and support of that locker room. And if a player has to call me at four o'clock in the morning and needs my help, of course I'm gonna be there for that player. Like, yes, I signed up to do this job, but for me, what can I do to help this player get to tomorrow? Like, we talk all the time, like, you know, life is short, uh, career in football can be even shorter, and you never know when your last down is gonna be. And me knowing that and knowing just how the business side of the NFL works, whether you're a rookie or a veteran, you're not guaranteed another down. You're not guaranteed another season, you're not guaranteed another contract. So, me keeping that in mind, I'm like, this player needs me right now, whether it's four o'clock in the afternoon or four o'clock in the morning, this player needs me. Um and sometimes, you know, there's there's things where a guy will call me and I'm like, hey, bro, you don't have to handle that. Like, take the L this time. Like, this is a life lesson for you because we've talked about this. But then there's other times we're like, all right, you know, stay there, I'm on my way, we'll talk about it later. Um, it's just, you know, it's it's a unique position that, like you mentioned, not everyone knows what happens in the work that we do. But for me, it's it's also like, I love this work because of that aspect. You know, no one really knows how deep we go into it in the work that we do in player engagement, but I like that because for me it all comes full circle on game day when I'm behind the team, running out the tunnel in the smoke. And whether it was a phone call or a player needed to come in my office and have a closed door conversation, sit in on a couch, have a cry, have an event session, I see that same player running out and make them play Sunday. That's when I know it was worth

Sponsor Message From Q Logics

SPEAKER_04 8:05

it.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

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SPEAKER_03 9:27

You're

Rookie Adversity And Earning Respect

SPEAKER_03 9:28

right about that. A lot of adversity, guys, because when I got to the San Francisco 49ers, they handed me this big playbook. So all of a sudden, I got to try to learn this playbook. And it took away from my uh my ability to focus in on catching the football. So I was dropping footballs. And when you are drafted in the first round, and I was drafted, I was number 16 uh taken in the first round, Al Toon, Eddie Brown, they went before me. Uh, you know, when you're going through adversity like that, the media, uh, everybody is gonna get down on you. You know, they're gonna they're gonna say, well, you know, why did you go draft this guy from a small HBCU, small school like that in the first round? Because, you know, he's gonna be a bust or something like that. So I had to fight through that adversity. I had Joe Montana, I had Dwight Clark, I had Ronnie Lott, I had the greatest coach ever, Bill Walster, say to me, he said, look, he said, you're gonna be one of the greatest players ever to play the game. Think about that. I'm dropping footballs, and my, you know, my head coach is saying that to me. But what I had to do, what I was doing during practice, I had to transfer that into games. And I always wanted to catch that first ball from Joe Montana, score that first touchdown. So I put pressure on myself. After I was able to comprehend that big old book and just relax and have fun on that football field, uh, that's when I, you know, I really got going and I was able to do some incredible things on the football field.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

I think now when people look back on all the incredible things that you did, it's fitting that those two words would be behind us because people know that's you are the standard.

Consistency When You Get Knocked Down

SPEAKER_02 11:24

What would you say to individuals who maybe struggle with consistency, or they go small periods of time where they exemplify what the standard is and then they stop?

SPEAKER_03 11:32

You always you're not gonna be at the top. I mean, there's gonna be adversity. So you're gonna have to be able to fight through that. You're gonna get knocked down, but are you willing to get back up? So, you know, I went through that adversity. I took the criticism and I worked through it. And you got to have that supporting cast around you, too. Because, you know, without that supporting cast, there's no way I could win, you know, so many Super Bowls. I mean, think about Joe Montana. That's God. The greatest quarterback to ever play the game, uh Dwight Clark. Not one of the fastest guys, but ran very, very, you know, uh cris routes. And I and I I would sit back and I would watch those guys running a lot, being that enforcer on the football field. So we all go through adversity. It's just how you're gonna, you know, get back up and start swinging. And I was in Jackson, Mississippi, a three-bedroom apartment. I had one camera guy to come out and film the draft. And I had no idea I was gonna get drafted by the greatest franchise ever. I get the call from the greatest coach Bill Wall said, we're gonna make you the 16th player in the first round to the San Francisco 49ers. They had just won the Super Bowl at Stanford against the Miami Dolphins. And I thought about, oh my God, I just, you know, I'm gonna get a chance to uh mingle with Montana, Dwight Clark, all of these great players, you know, uh Eddie DeBarlow, the owner of the San Francisco 49ers, uh, all of that. And it was a standard with the San Francisco 49ers. That's the first thing they told me when I got, you know, got to the Niners. The way we practice, the way we prepare, do all of those things, the way we travel, a professional on the football field, off the football field. You had to conduct yourself in a very professional way. So I go into that locker room and I'm sitting and I'm like a little kid in a candy store, guys. I'm serious because I'm looking at some of the greatest players to ever play the game. Hall of Famers. And I said to myself, I I remembered the second I went into the locker room, I said, I got to prove myself. I got to earn it. So during practice, I would catch a five-yard slant, 95 yards. Every ball that I caught, I finished to the end zone. So these veterans, they're looking at me like, what is up with this rookie? We're gonna be out here forever if he continues to win run to the end zone. But all of a sudden, everybody else started doing the same thing. That's how you build a team, a championship team. Because now you got guys in position downfield that could help a Roger Craig or, you know, help a Dwight Clark uh score a touchdown. So, you know, that was just that was major for me. Because I don't think you're always gonna be the best. But it is if you're willing to accept that and and and you lean on someone else, you know, because I never thought I was the best receiver. I'm gonna be honest with you. I I never thought uh that I would get a chance to play in so many Super Bowls and all of those things. And but I had teammates that I could always rely on. It's just like you guys and your team. I'm sure you guys got people that you can rely on. And uh you always got to be able to adapt, man. And and sometimes you're gonna win and sometimes you're gonna lose. But it's how you uh, you know, Bill Walsh used to always talk about there's gonna be uh beneath flow during a football game. There's gonna be highs, there's gonna be lows. It's how you deal with those lows and to get back up there. And that was something I was always good at. Dealing with the highs and the lows. Yeah, dealing with it and and and just continuing to work, man. That's that's the only way you're gonna work yourself out of it is to stay focused and continue to work and push hard every day.

Practicing Like You Plan To Play

SPEAKER_02 15:51

But you used to run every ball back in practice. Right. And I think so many individuals show up and you know, say, I got a big meeting Thursday of next week. So you kind of go through the motions till you get to the big meeting. Why was it so important for you to literally run through, and why is it so important for everybody and everything that you do, whether it's practic to run, you'd catch it on the 15-yard line, you'd run 85 yards, and they're going, Jerry, we're tired of waiting for you.

SPEAKER_03 16:20

Yeah, I'll prepare myself for the game. Because I didn't want to have a situation in the game where I made a catch and I'm like so surprised I made the catch and I don't run with the football. So when you used to doing this, you know, uh over and over doing practice, uh, you expect to make that play and you expect to score. So uh that was, you know, that was that was the reason, and behind that, it I was just preparing myself for that moment. Because if you don't prepare yourself, you're gonna be shocked, or you're gonna drop the ball, or if you catch the ball, you're gonna be like, oh, I caught it. What do I do? I always look that like once I catch the ball, it's my little playground now. It's all about my creativity and how I want to get to the end zone. If I got a straight lead to the end zone, it's no way, and I was not the fastest, there's no way you were gonna catch me because I had football speed. So some of the fastest guys in the NFL, they're like, how can this guy, like he ran a 4-6, you know, uh 4-5, 4-6 at the combine? How can he run away from from some of the fastest football players ever? I was the fastest to the end zone. And that's that was because how I conditioned myself and uh and how I use no wasted motion or anything to get to

Coaching Culture And Intentional Focus

SPEAKER_03 17:51

the end zone. You have to train your body that way.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Yeah, I mean, for sure, the messaging is crucial, but also it's we're teaching more than just the game of football, right? We are teaching, like Coach Saban's model is if you walk through the doors through Alabama, you're gonna be when you walk out, you're gonna have a degree, you're gonna be a better person. You're gonna be able to be a great member of society, raise a family, be a good husband, like all these things were huge importance. And in order to do that, you gotta show up every day and be you, be consistent with who you are, and knowing that you've got to find that internal motivation, right? Of course, I'm a strength coach, I mean, yeah, I'm gonna get you juiced, I'm gonna get you cranked, I'm gonna turn the jock rock up, I'm gonna do all that. But the messaging was so valuable so that they understood like there's only one way to skin this thing. This is the standard of Alabama, this is the standard at uh Georgia, right? Like this is the standard, and we are going to keep directing the message, right, towards that standard. And you know, every every coach has their disciplines, you know. And I just worked for two that share the same exact disciplines. Um, so it was easy to continue to go down that line because every day you can find the struggle, and every day you've got to push through it, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the issues you got going on outside. It's so important that you push through that moment so that you can achieve what you're looking for. So staying on target, and you know, it's your bit, it's a business too, right? These kids don't want to merry-go-round, they the real ones want to know what do I need to do today to become the next Julio Jones? What do I need to do today to become the next Minka Fitzpatrick? Um, those are the things that they're looking for. And so I think you're it's it's like playtime's in the locker room. When you step into the weight room, you kind of gotta have that over the top. Turn that hat back and let's get to work, right? It's also the same way when you walk into the film room, right? They gotta have that same mentality, like this is okay, I gotta put my thinking cap on, really, you know.

SPEAKER_02 20:30

Um, but there, you know, what one of the things, you know, because once again, I've been in enough weight rooms, I've been to enough programs where they want to do what Alabama does, they want to try these things. And these are videos you can find online. So I'm not sharing anything private, but it was a blessing for me to be able to see and learn from you and and to be able to do the things that we did at the program. But everybody listening, if you can imagine this, there was a there was a line, right? So there's like a big door that goes into the weight room. And like, guys didn't just walk into the weight room and then we'll get started. I mean, everything had a purpose and a reason. It was like we're gonna jam in together so tight that it's like you are one heartbeat before you get in. And if there is one toe over that line, stepping on the floor of my weight room, we're gonna do this all over. I mean, I watched every detail of this, and you'd be screaming and you'd be yelling, and then all of a sudden, Coach Cochrane would put that whistle in his mouth, and then he'd get up close and he'd put his head down to that line, he'd be looking at that line. There's a toe over that line, you're going back to the locker room, but everybody's in there. The juice is going, and then bang, that whistle goes and bang, they just go. There's a level of intentionality and detail to understanding how people are wired. And if you're not operating that way in your life, you guys hear me talk all the time about the difference between focus and intentional focus. Coach Cochrane, Coach Saban, they drove intentional focus in everything they did. Because focus does not win championships. But one of the areas where you drove intentional focus at just an unbelievable level was how much forget football, forget touchdowns, forget wins, forget rings, forget championships. You drove such a deep level of intentional focus and how much you cared about the lives of every single player. Why was that so important to you?

Caring For Players And Families

SPEAKER_00 22:25

I felt like it was a responsibility. Um you know when you meet the families that come through and they're like here is my 17 or 18 year old son and I am and they are live somewhere else obviously sometimes really far away sometimes close but here is my son and I am going to entrust in you that he is going to come out better or achieve his goals or have all the things that y'all been recruiting him to do. Who is going to be in charge of that and working for coach Saban that position coach that was recruiting him wasn't going to be there long. You know it's it was just the the way it was right he's hard on coaches coaches can handle it. But if they can then if they're a position coach they're going to take a coordinator position somewhere. If they're a coordinator they're going to take a head coach position somewhere. So that kid is depending on someone to be their uncle their dad in place and I've took a lot of pride in the fact that I cared about these kids. And I just wanted them to have success because it doesn't take long for a cycle to go through and you get the phone calls of hey something bad happened to this guy. And after I got one of those it just reiterated how important my time with them was. And so if I saw a guy with his head down or just who's normally an extrovert and he's all over the place and all of a sudden this day he looks like he just woke up and he's just not all in like I can pull him from the workout throw put him in my office and be like what's what's really going on like and sometimes it was like I got this I got that and I need to just work out right I need to just go sweat this stuff out. Let's talk after the workout right and then there was times after a workout like I'd be like hey come step in the office because man they get pulled in so many different directions and now with the NIL situation they're really getting pulled but they're getting pulled by family which is worse. Oh so they're getting pulled here there and to have somebody with sound reason to say hey I've seen this before this is what I found really works. I felt the same way you felt this is what I found really works. You know the feel felt found method you know I feel where you're coming from I felt that way before this is what I did that didn't work I found that if I did this it really worked. And a lot of times I had to talk to parents on the phone like my wife is a saint because it was long hours and all that but I chose the career you know um I'd be on the phone with parents trying to coach them up you know like hey leave your son alone he's doing great I know I know it was his sophomore year and he's supposed to do A, B, and C. But you know what? He's right where he's supposed to be all he needs is a mom and dad not another agent another coach infiltrating him thinking he's not good enough.