First, let us know what you’ve been doing since your time in the NFL?
Well, for over 20 years now I’ve been helping incarcerated young men here in Cincinnati – I started a program to teach them for six hours a week to help educate them.
How did you get started in that?
I was at a charter high school working with at-risk kids who were in danger of getting kicked out of school, and one was arrested there and taken to jail. I asked the superintendent if I could take their school work to jail, and he said sure, if you think you can get in. I went and they let me in, and when I was there the sheriff saw me and asked if I could start a program to help the kids there. That’s how it all got started.
How tough was that post-NFL adjustment for you then?
It was tough – we had a routine as player- up at 6:00 am, go to practice, dinner, then the same thing again the next day. .Once football was over with the automatic alarm clock still got me up – but I wasn’t going anywhere now. It was tough. I tried to find something to do then to make a difference in the community – to keep me active.
And you also coached…
I coached for a Christian high school and then started a program at a local college. I coached for seven years or so total. I still feel like I’m coaching now when I work with these kids.
Any coaches help mentor you and shape the way you approach working with kids?
My college defensive backs coach Willie Shaw gave me direction and helped show me how to play the game. And of course Dick LeBeau – he was the most influential person to me besides my dad. He never yelled or screamed at me. He just told me that if I followed his direction he could show me how to be a good football player.
In terms of those rivalry games with Pittsburgh and other teams – did you approach those games differently?
We didn’t approach them differently, no. Those conference games – Pittsburgh, Houston, Cleveland – they were always so influential because we played each team twice. We wanted to beat Pittsburgh badly because of how good they often were. But we treated them the same way we’d play, say, New England. We treated them all the same way. We just knew those games were for our conference bragging rights.
Were there guys you liked facing the most – or didn’t like facing?
For us, it was the Cleveland Browns who were our biggest rivals. They had Webster Slaughter, Langhorne, Dixon, Minnifield – they were all very vocal football players and they all played very well. That made it easy for us to want to play harder against them, playing against those guys.
To be honest, I don’t remember many of the Pittsburgh receivers then. To be honest we were more concerned about Cleveland and Houston’s run and shoot offense. I do remember Eric Green – he was a load to tackle. I had my hands full with that big guy.
What made you guys successful against those division teams then?
We had a complex offense – it was hard to stop. They averaged 25 points per game – that made it easy for our defense. We couldn’t wait for those rivalry games – we were very competitive. Even when the Steelers won their Super Bowls, often times you’d see they still lost to us those seasons.
Any plays against the Steelers that stand out to you?
One play – playing Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh – Brister was the quarterback and he was throwing a swing pass to Merril Hoge. I don’t think he saw me there and I intercepted it for a 40-yard touchdown. I also remember sacking Brister and I had my forearm on his neck – that would have cost me a game check today!
I also remember some big hits – hitting a wide receiver across the middle and jarring the ball loose and us jawing at one another afterwards. I also hit a running back on the sidelines and me and the Steelers players were all yelling at each other in front of their bench.
But, none of that is anything like the Browns – Steelers craziness that happened. I can’t believe that happened – but I guess if you let guys play that way it eventually can come to that. Back when we played we had fun and we were very competitive – but once the game was over we shook hands off the field.
Who were the leaders of those Bengals teams then?
Krumrie, Reggie Williams, Munoz was the spiritual leader – Eddie Brown and Collinsworth…We had a lot of talent and leadership on those teams. It’s shocking we didn’t make it to more playoffs and win some Super Bowls. We were a close team – many of us stayed in Cincinnati in the offseason to stay together and in the community -a lot of us didn’t go back home.
When you look back on your career, what stands out to you?
Sam Wyche really allowed Dick Lebeau to put in that 3-4 defense. That’s where the zone defense really got started. We had four good linebackers. I know Pittsburgh gets a lot of credit for the 3-4 and zone defense but before there was Troy Polamalu there was David Fulcher. We ran the same stuff – LeBeau just crafted it here in Cincinnati. Wyche just gave LeBeau the green light to do it.
That gave me an opportunity to showcase my talent. They used to call Sam Wyche Wicky Wacky Sam because of all of the crazy ideas he came up with. He ran the sugar huddle versus Seattle and no one knew how to handle it. Seattle players would fake getting hurt to slow us down and they’d penalize us! The NFL didn’t know how to handle us.
I think my career was really good. I had fun – I just wish I could have played longer. I was one of the first juniors to get drafted and go to the NFL. Back then you didn’t really want to get drafted and play for Cincinnati. I was shocked when they drafted me. But they gave me an opportunity and it worked out very well for me.