Exclusive with Aaron Lesher of Hogs Haven

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First, coming off a couple of wins, well-rested and Alex Smith playing good football, you feel good about Monday’s game – especially with the Steelers being less rested?

The rest is a good thing but I think it would be much different if the game were being played Sunday instead of Monday. I watched the Baltimore game Wednesday – I think the score made the game look closer than it was.

Pittsburgh is coached extremely well – they are a lot more talented than Washington in just about every area. So while the rest is one area you can look at and draw a conclusion that it’s a big advantage for Washington, I think the pedigree and leadership in Pittsburgh makes it less of a difference-maker. I would like to think it would – maybe if it were the Lions – but not with the Steelers. They do things right – Tomlin will have them ready for Washington.

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Exclusive with former Steelers Defensive Back Jason Simmons, 1998-2001

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First, you’ve been the defensive backs coach for Green Bay for a number of years now. Can you tell us how you got started there?

I played for Dom Capers in Houston and he told me then I should coach when I was done playing. After I retired I took a couple of years off then in 2011 I took advantage of an internship opportunity at Green Bay, The next year a new entry level position opened up and I got my feet wet there.

Now, I’m at Carolina, coaching their secondary.

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Exclusive with ESPN’s John Buccigross

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First off, what have you been working on lately – where can fans find you and your work and what;’s next?

My primary ESPN job is SportsCenter. 11 PM Eastern time. I went to ESPN  in September 2019 hoping to make the transition to a play-by-play broadcaster. I would like to still make that transition. But I love doing SportsCenter and doing the show and it is the highlight of my day.

I spoke to Vito Stellino recently who talked about how the fun of covering sports has diminished for him – it being so hard to really get one on one time to get to know athletes. Basically, that now it’s all about the press conference. Do you feel the same way? How do you cut through that to really get to know athletes today?

I can understand that sentiment. At least when it comes to hockey, I’ve been able to cultivate and maintain lots of relationships in the game so I can get plenty of on-on-one time with players and coaches. That’s probably the product of my position in the company I work for, I admit. Part of it is also income and class. There was a time athletes and journalists probably made similar money. Or at least in the same neighborhood. Now obviously that is not the case. Money and status has become the primary value in America. That is not a good thing.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Punter Mark Royals, 1992-1994

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First, can you let me know what you’ve been doing since your time in the NFL?

When you’re done with what you’ve been doing your whole life, it can be daunting finding out what’s next for you. Not everyone walks away from the game with gobs of cash.

Figuring that out was a bit of a challenge for me. It took four years for me to really make it in the NFL so I had some time to prepare for life after football early on. After football I did some interesting work on the TV and radio – everyone wants the next popular player who retires – they jump to the head of the train.

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Exclusive with former Ravens Wide Receiver Mark Clayton

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First, let me know what you’re up to these days?

I just started doing some part-time coaching for a high school here in Fort Worth, Texas.  Before that I was just hanging out with the kids, really.  A whole lot of nothing, really. I got involved with some businesses after a few years of taking it easy and resting – keeping the revenue stream going.

Any coaching influences form your playing days?

Brian Billick for sure. Steve Spurrier Jr. Danny Wyatt – my college receivers coach. Spurrier showed me how to have fun -just his approach to coaching. Wyatt was a technician – he showed me that every step mattered. And Brian Billick – he taught me how to be more responsible for my own development. He wasn’t a micro-manager. He expected you to do what you were supposed to do. He showed us what I meant to be responsible young men. That was huge for me.

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Exclusive with Dolphins Howard Twilley on the 1972 Undefeated Season

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First, can you tell us what you’ve done with yourself after football?

I started a business in 1974- while I was still playing. My wife’s uncle had a sporting goods business and he talked to me about how good of an opportunity it was and thought it would be good for me. So I had an Athlete’s Foot franchise store – I did that for 20-to-25 years before I sold it.

I got my MBA at Miami too – I tried to be prepared for things in life before they came up – I knew I couldn’t play forever. And no one made big money then – I made an average of $40,000 over my 11-year career.

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Exclusive with Former Ravens Quarterback Trent Dilfer

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First, can you talk about how you got into coaching and what you enjoy about it?

Oh wow – this can be the whole interview!

I turned down so many coaching opportunities when I retired. A lot of my former NFL coaches wanted me to fast-track to a coaching or GM position – they waned me to jump right into it. But I had three young girls at the time – it wasn’t a lifestyle I waned for me and my family.

I got college coaching job offers later too. They kept coming up but I never, ever even bit on those. My wife and I talked though. I was made to coach – I knew that. Heck, the back-half of my career I was coaching a lot – and I was around youth sports with my daughters who were on sports scholarships. High school coaching felt like a nice landing spot.

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Exclusive with Greg Jones, Linebacker, Jaguars

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First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your time n the NFL?

Now, I have a mouthguard company – Vane Mouthguards . The mouthguards have two sensors than can tell by the g-force of a hit whether a possible concussion occurred for kids playing contact sports.  It’s a cool technology we’ve implemented to help kids and parents of kids who play contact sports get a sense of things and to give them some ease of mind when they are worried about concussions.

I also do drug and alcohol talks for kids. I try to reach kids in the Michigan area from all backgrounds. I try y give them some positive outlooks on life. It’s surprising how many kids don’t have positive views on their outlook on life.

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Exclusive with Former Jaguars Receiver/Return Specialist Reggie Barlow

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First, can you let me know how you got into coaching?

Well it started as my career as a player was ending. It was something I knew I probably wanted to do  – but I figured it would end up being at the middle school level or something. I volunteered coaching at my old high school for a year or so, then I was blessed to be offered a coaching position at Alabama State and have been here since.

Who are some of the coaches that you patterned your coaching style after, and why?

Three coaches really impacted my style. Coach Markum at Alabama State – he had a hard mindset and liked to have guys do a lot of running – a lot of conditioning. And big on discipline.

Then Tom Coughlin.

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Exclusive: James Johnson of the The Jaguars Wire

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First, a close loss to Green Bay last week. Do you think they take a bit of a moral victory from the loss?

I think maybe from the fans perspective but not for the players and coaches. They are competitors and want to win. The guys are fighting for jobs now including maybe Doug Marrone, who could be on the hot seat now with a 1-8 record.

I think the fans are looking for a top two pick in this draft – they want one of those two top quarterbacks. They recognize the team needs a franchise quarterback. They just want to see the team be competitive and not get blown out.

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