First, let me know how your experience coaching at Dartmouth has been going?
It’s been terrific. It’s not something I was looking to do. I stayed close to Dartmouth. Me, my wife and son all went to Dartmouth – my son played quarterback when he was there. When I was there in ’78 we had a good team – Buddy Teevens was the quarterback then and I was the receiver.
A short while ago I was running Shula’s Steak House — my restaurants – and just hired someone to manage those when they called with the coaching opportunity. I spoke to my wife, and she said “OK”. As long as we kept the Florida house we’re good! Now Buddy’s the head coach and I’m the receivers coach at Dartmouth – I’ve been there for three years now.
We have a great staff – they built a great culture and there are great kids here at Dartmouth. I liked to joke with the kids that I felt intimidated being the dumbest guy in the room around these guys, but one just said to me that I’m the only guy in the room that graduated from Dartmouth!
We recruited well before I got here so my timing was good. We were 9-1 my first season but lost to Princeton and they went 10-0 and won the championship. Last year we beat Princeton and won the Ivy League championship.
How do the college versus NFL coaching experiences differ for you?
The best way to describe it is to say that at my first Spring college game I met more parents of my players than I did in 15 years of NFL coaching. We are very involved in their lives – it ‘s very rewarding. I never coached in college before but I really enjoy that part of it.
Also – the recruiting is a big part of it. In the NFL you sort of recruit free agents but it’s not close to the same thing. When we do recruiting, because we are not a scholarship school we talk a lot with parents about finances. We learn what the parents do for a living – it gets intimate. It’s a big responsibility we’re given for their kids. I become a big influence in their lives. All my sons went through it and I did too. I think about it all the time. I use the way others treated me when I went through it as my way now.
Obviously your dad had a big impact on you as a coach and person – can you describe how so?
My dad was an amazing example of doing things the right way, He paid attention to every detail and was relentless in his pursuit of perfection. He was upright, honest and trustworthy – he did things with dignity and morals. He was a great example as a coach and as a father – as a human being. I was blessed to be raised by him and my mother,
Hopefully, what I learned from him – what I stand for now can have the same meaning to my sons too.
Any other mentors that helped shape your approach to coaching today?
My high school coaches were very instrumental in me going to Dartmouth. I signed a letter of intent to go to Florida State, but my coach exposed me to Dartmouth. That changed my life and I am ever-thankful to him for that. That opened my eyes to so many opportunities and to people from all over the world I met because I went to school there.
You were hired by the Bengals as their head coach, bypassing Bill Cowher as one of their choices. What was your relationship with the Steelers and Bill then?
That’s the first I heard of that! Ha – maybe some people would say the Bengals made the wrong choice! We played each other seven times I think and I beat them just once.
I always had great respect for the Steelers. Kevin Colbert and I worked together when he was a scout and I also worked with Richard Mann too. So I knew some of those guys.
I remember at an owners meeting, Leslie and I challenged Bill and Kaye to a tennis match, Bill just got new shoes and he was bleeding – you could see his socks. But he wouldn’t quit – he was so competitive. Leslie and I were deeply saddened when we heard of Kaye’s passing.
Any memories of those Steelers games stand out to you now?
Two do. The first is a negative one. The Steelers were beating us pretty badly, and in the fourth quarter they could have just kneeled on the ball but instead went and kicked a field goal. I was a bit shaken by that. After the game we shook hands and he apologized to me and told me that the division points were important to them. But that stung.
My best memory was the one time we beat then – it was in the Steelers’ stadium and was a late night game. We were beating them soundly and I looked up and saw that the upper deck was empty – the fans all left. I forget who I said it to but I remember saying that “Isn’t that great! All the fans left!”
What made the Bengals a tougher place to coach?
It’s hard to say. Coach Lewis recently had success there – he didn’t win playoff games but he got them there. People learn to appreciate when someone like that leaves what they brought to them.
The Brown family had their beliefs in how they did things. They’ve adapted their approach and hired scouts and personnel people and became active in free agency. I wish them all well.
What are your thoughts on the way the game has changed now?
I think it continues to be as strong as ever. Goodell is doing a great job keeping the NFL an elite sport – in attendance and ratings.
They are starting to do what it takes to make the game safer. It goes back to coaching now though. Coach Teevens was one of the first to stop tackling in practice and using robotic process automation – for example the robotic tackling dummies. I know the Steelers use those now. It has to be a paradigm shift in the way the game is taught. We know repeated concussive hits are so detrimental to players’ health long-term. I’m on the board for robotic process automation for football now. I believe strongly in being a part of that coaching shift to change the game.