First, let me know why you chose to get involved with coaching in the AAF?
Well, until Randy Mueller called me, I knew nothing about it really. I was in Green Bay for five years before this. Something happened to one of the coaches here – he had a health issue – and Randy called and asked me if I’d be interested in coming to Salt Lake and finish the season off here.
I’ve been impressed with the league – the players and organizations. It’s an exciting league and I think they are going to have some success.
What are some of the differences you’ve noticed between the AAF and NFL?
I don’t think there’s a lot that’s different. Coach Erickson runs things like a pro team. We meet and practice like s pro team.
It’s a first year startup, but when you look at the telecasts, they do a great job. It has a positive vibe. Everyone’s doing their best and seem to be making sure no one gets ahead of ourselves.
Do you find yourself focusing more on player development than you would in the NFL?
I’ve talked to some league officials, and the league is good for the players because the CBA rules in the NFL don’t give teams enough time to develop players. And what better way to do that than being here, playing games. Even for the officials, it gives them more experience. College officials who want to officiate NFL games get experience doing so at this level. The NFL game is much faster, and while the AAF isn’t quite as fast as the NFL, it’s pretty close.
As far as spending more time working with players, to me it’s one and the same. We keep score because there are winners and losers. It’s no different than when I was in Green Bay, Florida, or Pittsburgh. Here we get the chance to see if they can learn and handle change. The systems are not the same everywhere you go and you want to see if the players and learn quickly. The development comes from the games too.
Let’s talk about your time in Pittsburgh a bit. Why did you choose to sign with Pittsburgh as their special teams coach?
I had no intention of leaving Florida when I did. Donohoe and Cowher got me hooked, When I spoke to Cowher he sold me on coming. And it was a good step for me.
I’ve been fortunate – I’ve worked with some great organizations. Coaching in the NFL- really anywhere – is about working with people. That’s at all three levels – high school, college, and the pros. I knew Randy Mueller was a great evaluator and enjoyed working for him. I had the same type of people in Pittsburgh. Working with Coach Cowher, and meeting with and getting to know the Rooneys – that was a great experience for me.
Why coach special teams? It seems like the hardest coaching job in the NFL?
Well, thats why I left Pittsburgh – I was excited to get back to coaching the defense. That’s the reason I went to Kansas City. Coaching special teams is volatile. Coaching special teams means you’re working on technique with guys who didn’t play special teams before a lot of the time. You have to really know how to motivate guys. In fact, I think every NFL coach should have to coach special teams for a year!
How do you approach that motivation part? I spoke to some guys like Bailey and Hawthorne who said you approached them like more of a father figure…
It’s about care and form. In high school you want to go play at the the college level, in college you want to get to the NFL, and when you get to the NFL you want to stay in the NFL. Guys want to see that you care about them. You have to push them to do what they don’t want to do sometimes, but when they know you truly care about them and want to help them, that makes a big difference.
I was blessed to coach Hines Ward as a rookie, and guys like Jason Simmons who is a coach now in Green Bay. It’s fun watching those guys mature and do well. It’s fun watching guys I recruited go on to reach their goals.
Speaking of recruiting – what were the types of guys you looked for in the draft as a special teams coach?
You want to know – are they football players? Do they play hard and have a good football IQ. Lots of times these are guys as a special teams coach that are being asked to do things they don’t want to do. My job is to motivate them to play. And getting those guys – it’s a gut feeling. Usually if they can play a position they can play on special teams. But they have to really love being football players.
In Pittsburgh it was a great experience – we had some great players to work with like Lloyd, Dawson, and Kirkland. They were good guys too – good people. They all did a great job. There’s a reason they were as good as they were.
Lastly, before you go – any thoughts on all the rules changes occurring on special teams in the NFL? Like them?
I think when you make the game safer it’s a good thing. No matter what anyone thinks of them, the NFL is making those changes. Many special teams plays are bang-bang plays where guys get hurt, They’re trying to take those plays out of the game. Anything they can do to make it safer is good for the game.