First off, congratulations on being hired to start up a new football program at Chicago State – how do you go about starting up a program like that?
It starts in the community – creating stakeholders and positive energy and community engagement. It’s going well – the community has taken to the program. We’re getting a good vibe from Chicago. I’m enjoying it.
How about the team – how do you get that started and ready?
The first thing – you got to get the student athletes – you have to go and recruit and create the pipeline – the infrastructure. The first season is in 2026 – we’re recruiting now. We’re looking for kids who want to be part of something legendary – we’re looking for kids who want to be a part of it. We have 161 acres of land here – we feel like we have enough land to build facilities on. We’re not sure where we’re playing yet- we’re exploring what our best option is. To build now or to use a different facility for now. We’re talking to the city – and those talks are going well.
Are you recruiting nationally?
I’m starting right here in the Southside of Chicago, but we’ll expand beyond that. We want the best of the best – we don’t want a Chicago AAU team. We want the best – we want to recruit players all over the country.
How do you learn to manage this whole process?
I’ve done this before in Russia and helped re-started the program at UNC Chapel Hill and helped revamp the program at Florida International. That experience helped get me the job.
Are you hiring staff yet?
Not yet- but I’ve had 18 coaches that coached under me become successful coaches at the Division I level. I’m proud of that -I’ve developed coaches that are coaching all over the country.
Are there coaches you played for or coached under that have mentored you as a coach?
One guy I followed was Chris Beatty – he was a local coach and I played against him, when he had Percy Harvin. He also coached Tavon Austin at West Virginia – I learned a lot from him.
Curt Signetti – he’s the head coach at Indiana now and I learned a lot from him. Gary Tranquill was the offensive coordinator. I played under Jim Fassel as a pro and Butch Davis as well.
My philosophy as a coach is to create competition at every position and have a super defense with 11 guys going after the ball every play and creating turnovers and getting to the quarterback. Offensively, I like an up-tempo, run-heavy offense. I’ve coached some of the offenses using that approach.
As a former NFL player, do you think it’s important for a coach to have played?
I believe it can be a spark for people who imagine what it was like -who haven’t played at that level. I know the physicality of the game – I understand the game and it’s effect on you. I think I can relate to players a lot better because of it.
But, I don’t think not playing takes away from your ability to coach. A lot of my coaches didn’t play – if you have a passion for it and are willing to learn you can do it.
How do you feel the game has changed at the college level since you started coaching?
As a young man playing playing at the college level, I think it’s difficult for some of them to walk into a situation where they see guys driving $100,000 cars. Dealing with that for some is difficult. When I played we had good athletes like Hakeem Nicks and Tate – they were on billboards. You had to learn to be ok with it. You have to learn as a coach to be happy for them. I just hope it gets to the point where the main thing is the main thing. The college education and NFL are still there – sometimes the long-term things are more important than money.
What has changed schematically the most?
The elimination of the fullback is one thing. Now they’re using more tight ends, and the play at the point of contact is less physical. The lead blocking part is disappearing as teams use more zone blocking schemes. More teams are using RPOs and shotgun formations too. That’s changed the game dramatically.
Look at how many wide receivers teams have on their rosters now versus back in the day. No more three-and-a-half yards and a cloud of dust. And teams are using their athletes in more ways.
What does success look like for you year one?
Getting guys on the field to understand the culture and compete in every game. I’m not looking to turn the world over year one – but I want to see a tough, disciplined team. We’re making history – this hasn’t been done in Illinois in over 100 yards – it’s never been done in Chicago!
I’m really looking forward to doing great things and making history!