October 8, 2024 • 47 mins
Even though he was making tackles left and right at William & Mary, Jim Ryan never thought about going to the NFL after college. He was getting his Business Management degree and heading into the real world. That is until a scout from the Broncos contacted him.
The scout knew Jim wasn’t going to be drafted but saw his talent and wanted to be on the linebacker’s radar when he was picking out a team to sign with as an undrafted free agent. Turns out the Broncos were the only ones who called, and the kid from New Jersey went west for the first time.
That was 1979. The year before, the Broncos had played in their first Super Bowl and the Orange Crush Defense was in full force. Jim figured he had no shot of making the team, so he played relaxed and had fun. That method worked well as he made the team and stayed for 10 seasons.
After football, Jim tried a variety of jobs including stints with the media and coaching at the high school and NFL levels. After 3 firings in 5 years with coaching, Jim went into the business world. Today, he consults as a trainer for sales teams, spends time with his family and stays in touch with his former teammates.
Listen to Jim’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.
The scout knew Jim wasn’t going to be drafted but saw his talent and wanted to be on the linebacker’s radar when he was picking out a team to sign with as an undrafted free agent. Turns out the Broncos were the only ones who called, and the kid from New Jersey went west for the first time.
That was 1979. The year before, the Broncos had played in their first Super Bowl and the Orange Crush Defense was in full force. Jim figured he had no shot of making the team, so he played relaxed and had fun. That method worked well as he made the team and stayed for 10 seasons.
After football, Jim tried a variety of jobs including stints with the media and coaching at the high school and NFL levels. After 3 firings in 5 years with coaching, Jim went into the business world. Today, he consults as a trainer for sales teams, spends time with his family and stays in touch with his former teammates.
Listen to Jim’s story and conversation with Susie Wargin on the Cut Traded Fired Retired Podcast.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There were still eight linebackers in that room, and we
knew they were only keeping seven. We're about an hour
into that first meeting, and Red Miller, our head coach,
comes and opens the door. He says, Jimmy, come here. Well,
James Harrel and I are sitting next to each other.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
We both go by Jimmy, Oh good.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
We look at each other, you know, and Red's like,
James Harrel, come here, and he walks out of the
room and I'm like, I guess.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I made the team.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Welcome to cut, traded, fired, retired. This podcast features conversations
with professional athletes and coaches who are somehow tied to
Colorado and a face challenges just like you and I.
Not only do we hear about those challenges, we also
hear interesting and fun stories about working through them and
moving on. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. This episode's guest
(00:47):
was a three sport athlete growing up, yet the sport
he's best known for he didn't even start playing until
high school. Jim Ryan was a big freshman, and once
the football coach spotted him, he told him, you're coming
out for the tea. So he did, and Jim excelled
He had his choice of Ivy League schools after high school,
but he wanted to play football and opted for a
scholarship at William and Mary. He recorded a lot of tackles,
(01:11):
but had no thoughts of going into the NFL until
a scout from the Broncos reached out. That scout knew
Jim wouldn't be drafted and wanted to be first in
line when Jim was choosing his pro team, and since
they were the only ones who reached out, Jim headed
West and made the infamous Orange Crush defense as an
undrafted free agent in a room full of household name linebackers.
(01:33):
He made a ten year career with the Broncos and
went to two Super Bowls. After his playing days, he
dabbled in several fields, including the media and coaching, where
he basically got fired three times in five years. These days,
he's out of coaching and as a consultant as a
trainer for a sales company, Ladies and Gentlemen Number fifty.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Jimmy Ryan cut traded fired, retired podcast with Susie Wargen.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Jimmy Ryan, how.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You do it, Susie. I'm doing great, doing good.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
It is good to see you.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
You have come back to an old haunting ground of
yours by being at the ihear studios. I wondered if
you recognized it as you drove up today. But it's
been a long time, been a while.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It looked familiar, but lots of things have changed around here. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I haven't been here working here in twenty five twenty
for a years something like that.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So yeah, it's been a while.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
And I remember those days when you worked here. That's
how long I've been here too, I remember. Yeah, we're
not getting any younger, are we?
Speaker 4 (02:33):
No?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Oh my gosh. It's uh. Time goes so fast, doesn't
as you get older?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Right now? People tell you, well, that's because every day
is a smaller percentage of your whole life, so it
goes faster.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Right, So that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Well, we're going to go in the hot tub time
machine and relive their whole childhood right now, So get ready,
stand by, hold on it all right. So you're born
in Camden, New Jersey.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
That's where you are raised. You go to Bishop is
it you? Stacey?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Bishop Eustace High School?
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Eustace? Okay, very good?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, and you're a three sport athlete I was in football, Basketball,
and baseball. Were those kind of your three favorites? Did
you play other sports growing up?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Growing up? My first love was by far baseball, little league.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
As seven year old, you know, and I didn't come
from an athletic family or anything. My father was not athletic.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
He had a couple brothers that were rowers back in
the day.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
You know, so East coasting.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
But little league baseball was my thing. And I didn't
play football until I got to high school until ninth
grade really.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And I walked in.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I walked into like the orientation, and the football coach
was there. I was like this tall in ninth grade.
I was an early grower, right and stopped ninth grade
was I wasn't any I was this tall ninth grade.
But anyway, so I was taller and bigger than most kids.
And he just went up to me and said, you're
playing football. I said, okay, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So that I got.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You know, I played football in high school, played on
the freshman team, and then played varsity for three years.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Did you learn it very quickly or was there a
learning curve involved?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I think I learned it very quickly. You know, I
was a football fan. It wasn't like I was unfamiliar
with it or anything, but it was still a little
foreign for me for a little while.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
But I just liked anything athletic, because, as you mentioned,
I continued to play baseball in high school and in between.
Back in the day there, it was okay, football's over.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
What do you do now?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well, it's basketball scene. All right, let's go play basketball.
And so that's really what we did.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
And that high school had a good basketball team from
what they.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Were, they were actually a basketball powerhouse. And so in basketball,
I didn't really get to play very much a little bit,
you know, till my junior year and then my senior year,
and we won a state championship there too, and I
was the grunt with four really good players.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Oh wait, I read that you had some double digit
rebound games.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Oh yeah, because I was an enforcer, right, I was
just banging people out of the way, you know.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
But I did.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Score twenty in the state championship game, Wow, I did.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
So.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I was more of a seven to eight nine points
a game something like that most.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Of the time.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Oh so funny.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah, So I got just because they left me open
and they're not worried about me being a scorer, and
I hit a couple baseline jumpers and we.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Win the game.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Wait, we forgot to guard him? Yeah, exactly what did
you play in baseball? What was your position?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I was mostly a catcher.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I was a catcher growing up in Little league and
continued that in high school. And I liked being a
catcher because you're involved on every pitch and everything.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So I enjoyed that. I wasn't a very good pitcher.
They would, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I came in as a relief pitcher a couple of times,
just but I was. I was a catcher and hit
pretty well, especially my sophomore year. I hit really well
with the number of home runs and everything, until they
discovered that I couldn't hit a curveball very well.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
They're like throwing the deuce.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
My junior year, I didn't have a good year, but
I came back and had a good senior year.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Did you ever play on the offensive side for football
or where you're always played.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Tight end in high school? So yeah, I did.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
I played both ways in high school and and I
was the kicker in the.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Punter you were I was, yes, uh, interest I was.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
The kick with the big square toed shoe, right, and
so I was the kicker and the punter.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Did you have to change your shoe?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I did sometimes sometimes I just left it on for
a series because because it had a cleat in it
and everything.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
So, yeah, that's hilarious, it is, I know. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
There were a couple of games my senior year, I think,
where I never left the field. I played every play
in the game special teams, and.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You were one hundred percent of the snaps all across
the board. I was, yeah, wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Okay, So when it comes time for college, who besides
William and Mary comes knocking on your door?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Small smaller schools or you know, but they were all
divisional even back then. William Mary was Division one, right,
there was no one double A or anything like that.
So I was recruited by the Rutgers, I was recruited
by Duke was after me William and Mary. I was
recruited by the Michigans. I was recruited by Nebraska Penn
State at least enough where they came and talked to me.
(06:57):
And I was never offered a or a scholarship. But
I was recruited by Okay, and the reason is by
my senior year, a lot of people had passed me up.
I mentioned I stopped growing, and by my senior year
I was the South Jersey Player of the Year and everything. Right,
So I got a lot of accolades. But when they
came the guy from Penn State, the guy from Nebraska,
(07:19):
also the same thing. Love what I see on film,
but just looking at you in person, just a little
too small.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
They were honest with me. They're like, we're looking for
bigger guys. You know. I was like six ' one,
maybe one ninety five.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Okay, And they figured you'd stop growing and they were
going to get anything more out of you.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Right, I wasn't going to get any bigger in that
I'm always jealous of those guys. If you've seen Carl
or talk to Carl Mecenberg.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Yeah, he reached on THEOD game. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
He told me he grew like five inches in college.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me, mec
you know I was. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So I wasn't recruited by the big schools very much.
I got a lot of Ivy League. I went to
a parochial school, a college prep school, and I got
good grades. I graduated high in my class and everything.
So the Ivys were after me, and my father was like,
I'd love to see you go to Princeton.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
My dad wanted to get an Ivy League kid.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
You know, you know, and I'm like, yeah, sorry, dad. Well,
they didn't give scholarships either, but he was willing to
pay for that. They had kind of had some savings
and things. And but I went and visited Duke. I
visited a couple places, but I just felt most at
home at william and Mary.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
And that's what made you decide to go there.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
When I got down there, I discovered that from South
Jersey to Williamsburg Southeast Virginia about three hundred miles.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
But the culture couldn't be different.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Oh my gosh, it's very Southern down there, right, and
I'm growing up in a suburb of Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
So, and you are also right next to Colonial Williamsburg,
which is if you have not been there, go there
because it is a trip. We did a family trip.
At Thanksgiving. You go back in time, you really do,
and everything is as it was. We had a traditional
Thanksgiving meal, which My kids were like, what, where's the
turkey and mashed potatoes? Because this is not Thanksgiving. I'm like,
(09:07):
you gotta, we're in that time. And then we walk
around and I'm like, oh my gosh, there's a William
and Mary campus right here.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
What was that like?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Being kind of in that it's like you're in a
different space and time you step off the campus.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Even in the campus, there's a lot of tourists just
walking around. I bet because right there at the triangle
that begins the Duke of Gloster Street, which is the
kind of no traffic street you have in colonial Right,
there's the Christopher Wren Building, which is the oldest building
still in use in the United States academic building still
(09:41):
in use. William and Mary second oldest school in the nation.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
I read that sixteen ninety three is when it started.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yeah, that's crazy trivia question. Who we second too, who's first?
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (09:52):
I didn't look that one up. Oh I do do
a lot of research. Yeah, but that one I didn't
go with the one step farther like Harvard.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Oh, Harvard, Harvard was founded twenty five years earlier or
something like that.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Wow, Yeah, that's wild. So does like Ben Franklin walk
around campus.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Ever, because we went to some of his talks while
we were right.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
It was It was a good experience in most regards
for me, but there was actually almost friction between academics
and sports. There was a lot of As a matter
of fact, my senior year, there was a movement from
some wom and Mary boosters to expand our stadium. We
had a stadium and we sat like thirteen thousand people,
so we couldn't bring in some of the schools we
(10:34):
wanted to bring in. Right, we would play against Virginia
and Virginia Tech and Navy and all that, but not
at home. They were always away games where they wouldn't
come play us there, and they wanted to expand the stadium,
and there was a big movement from the academic part
of the school to say, no, no, we're an academic institution.
We don't want to become a big time footballs and
so there was a lot of that friction. So when
we felt that as players, sometimes sometimes our student section
(10:58):
was not very big on game day and things like that,
but we had a pretty good team other than my
freshman year. My freshman year we lose our first eight games, Now,
back then, you know, they had a ranking of the
worst teams.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
In the nation.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Right, we were number one, Right, we were number one.
By the we were to eight. But it got better,
It did get better. We were one of the most improved.
We went from two to nine to seven and four.
Could have been nine and two because we lost by
one point to East Carolina and we got robbed at
Virginia Tech. Everybody says, all we got robbed. I get you,
(11:32):
you know, but it truly was one of the most
horrible officiating calls on one game.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Said so anyway, but we were proud of ourselves. We did.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
We kind of turned it around, and we had and
my class was a very strong class. We had a
good quarterback, Tom Roseance. We had a lot of players
that came in with me that kind of boosted William
and Mary football. And they're a good program. Now they
have been very good and have been in the playoffs
and been highly ranked in that the last many years.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Well, the Broncos had a long snapper, slash tight end
Mike Leach that came to William and Mary. Yeah, and
had a great career between here and the Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, So there's been some players that have come out
of there.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Absolutely. Here's another trivia question. You know a lot of great.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Coaches have come through William and Mary. Oh Lou Holtz
coach there early in his career.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Do not know that?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And other coaches that have been in the NFL even currently,
there are two.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Head coaches that went to William and Mryad.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
At William and Mary overlapped by a year or two,
and both of them I thinks started their coaching careers
as graduate assistants and things at William and Mary. I'm
not positive I know they played there there.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Steelers Mike Tomlin is played at William and Mary.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I did not know that, Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Buffalo Bills Sean McDermott played at William. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
There's a lot of coaches around the league that have
been through William and Mary.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
And that's that academic thing too. You got a lot
of people that have some smarts. You got your business
management degree there, I did, right. I bet the percentage
of student athletes to graduate is pretty darn high there.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It is, Yes, they were.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
They not a lot of guys leaving early.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, we earn it there too. It's not an easy place.
I'm sure to get through. I struggled a little bit
with academics my freshman year. Yeah, I got like three
season a B. But then I got better from there
and ended up graduating four years before the Broncos came Not.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Right, the nineteen seventy nine draft comes and goes. Did
you think you might get drafted? Did you have teams
that called you ahead of time and made you think that.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Or absolutely not, no expectations whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
So, Susie, I finished fall seventy eight. I think I'm
finished with football, and not till a few months later.
I think it was March of seventy nine or whenever.
I don't remember exactly when the draft was back then,
but it was probably a few weeks before the draft. Okay,
was the first time that a scout from the Broncos
came through. I got called down to the football office. Hey,
(13:55):
the scout from the Broncos wants to meet you. Right,
I'm finishing out. I'm in the spring semester of my
senior year in.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
College, right, thinking you're just going to go get a job,
right of course?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yeah, that I'm going to graduate and then then it's
on to something else. And he says, man, I've been
looking at tape on you. I like what I see,
you know, and I'm like, thanks, I appreciate that. His
name is Bernie Reid. And he says, I don't think
you're going to be drafted. I should have said thanks,
captain obvious.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
You know, so you know.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
But he says, I don't think you're going to be drafted.
But listen, after the draft, you're free to sign with anybody.
I hope that you'll give me a chance to sign you.
There might be other teams trying to sign you as
a college free agent.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I said, well, i'll see, and there's nobody.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Else played hard to get.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yeah, yeah, nobody else.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Was trying to play hard to get. But there was
no other team that called me.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
There was one team, right, nobody else called How did
he find you?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Do?
Speaker 4 (14:38):
You know?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
You know, scouts even today go through all even the
small schools, looking for asking the coaches there, because they
trust some of those coaches there to give them some
talent in that. And we did have a quarterback, Tom
Roseants who did get drafted in like the twelfth back
then it was the twelfth round. I think he was
drafted by the Saints and he was on and off
the team for a while, played in the Canadian League.
He carved out a little you know, in different football leagues,
(15:01):
like a seven six seven year career. So there was
a lot of scouts coming through to see Tom Rose
Ants and maybe a couple others. But so the coaches
there would say, hey, take a look at Jim Ryan,
you know that. And so that's how he found me,
and he was the only one. And then after the draft,
I wasn't drafted, of course, and he called me and
he said, hey, I'm going to come through Williamsburg here
in a few days. I hope you don't sign with
(15:22):
anybody else. I was saying, yeah, you better hurry up.
I can't hold out here.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
But he did schedule.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Oh wait, I'm open.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
He showed up a few and I'm still in a
dorm you know.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
It was actually our fraternity house, which was like a dorm,
and I signed a contract for the Broncos in my
dorm room.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Off what your signing bonus?
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, he offered me a one thousand dollars signing bonus
and I said, well, you know, we have a few
weeks before I got a fund my training You know
until the training. I said, what about two thousand? Okay,
he gave me two thousand. I talked to me. I
thought I was negotiator.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Oh my gosh, Jim.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I got to know Bernie a couple of years later
and he goes, yeah, my allowance for you is twenty
five one hundred. He said, you left five hundred on
the table. Oh, like, come on.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Ernie, that's funny. Yeah, so that has ever been west?
Had you ever been to Denver?
Speaker 2 (16:10):
No, never been to Denver. Oh. One other thing to add.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
We signed the contract and we're sitting there in the
dorm where he goes, Okay, in two weeks time, we're
going to have a rookie mini camp for all the rookies.
Back then, there was enough people on the roster. There
was no roster limits, right, We had enough players to
have just a rookie mini camp and then a veteran
mini camp.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Right. So he says, the rookie mini camp is this Saturday.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
So somebody from our travel department's going to be getting
in touch with you to get your travel arrangements. And
I said, I said I can't make it.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
And he said, what do you mean you can't make it?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
He's like, you realize it's the NFL, right, And I said, listen,
I'm graduating. That's graduation weekend for me. My parents are
all coming down. I have all my siblings. I spent
four years at William Hy And he looked at me
and he goes, you should graduate. You should graduate. So
that's okay. So I missed the rookie Mini camp. I
went the following weekend to the veteran mini camp. Because
(17:02):
I missed the rookie one. I went to the veteran one.
Oh my gosh, maybe it served me well because I
walked in and they thought I was a veteran.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
You know, people don't know you.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
They're just walking in. And what team did you? You know
you play with last or something?
Speaker 4 (17:12):
You know, Internet, social media at that time, nobody knows
anything about anybody. Yeah, oh my gosh, that's funny.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
So I also knew, what are my chances that I'm
going to make this team or you know, I had
a realistic viewpoint, yes, And so I thought, you know,
am I going to miss graduation for just this story
I can tell my kids and grandkids. I once tried
out for the Denver Broncos or something.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
You know, so anyway, but you do make the team,
do Yeah, So you get through training camp and you're
in a linebacking room that is stacked.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
So yeah, the four starters at the time, and this
was Joe Collier's defense that was kind of cutting edge
three to four defense that he was the architect of.
There's Bob Swinson, Joe Rizzo, Randy Gradish or Tommy Jackson.
They had been the starters for a couple of years
and they're still the starters.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
They had backups Larry Evans and Bob Nairn. Rob Nairn, Right,
so they had six guys there. One guy had retired
the year before Godwin Turk and back then it was
pretty set in stone, we're going to keep seven linebackers.
There was no practice squad, there's no taxi squad at
this point. And the roster was forty three. Your roster
was forty three and that's who you dressed. How many
(18:19):
of you dressed on game day? Right, So there is
an opening. There's one linebacker that retired, so there's an opening.
Who's going to get it? Well, they had drafted a
guy in the fifth round from Arizona State, Jeff McIntyre.
There's a couple of free agents, so there's a lot
of competition, a lot of competition, and I thought I
was bottom of the bottom of the barrel, and like
(18:39):
I said, a good, good attitude about it, and I
just kind of played without a lot of pressure on myself.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
That's the best way to do.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Think it served me well. I did, and I did.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
I did very well in the preseason games and the
first scrimmage we had because I was like, you know whatever,
And the first scrimmage we had, I'm playing against the starters, right,
this is about ten days into training camp, and I
beat the block of Paul Howard, one of our starts guards.
And I think it was rob Lytel that I tackled,
you know, for maybe a yard loss or something like that.
So I made a good play. And that's when it
(19:08):
first dawned on me. I'm like, wow, maybe I got
why do this?
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah? That wasn't that wasn't that bad, right?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
You know? Maybe because I'm coming from a small school,
the game is so much faster and everything. I felt
overwhelmed at first, but then it starts to slow down
a little bit for you. And then so then you
start to think maybe I can. And Joe Collier was
very encouraging to me, and we had some coaches. I
think that helped you not only with your skill set
but with your mindset, and so.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
That really helped. And they cut Jeff McIntyre, they cut
a fifth round.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Draft cut a pick.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Yeah, yeah wow.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
And so back then they had put everybody on waiver
wires or whatever that they were supposed to put on.
But they were always playing tricks with the roster of
putting some people and then trying to call.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Them back and things like that.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
They still do that.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
They still do that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
So there was sometimes they would cut a player or
put them on waivers and they wouldn't tell the player
because they were hoping to bring them back the next
day right after they're clearing waivers twenty four hours, right,
So they did that with a guy by the name
of James Harrell. James Harrell was a free agent like me,
played pretty well during preseas, so I knew it was
kind of coming down the two of us. We got
into the week, we had too many people in the room.
(20:14):
The first day of practice, right, it was the Wednesday
before our first game. We knew the cuts had been made,
but yet there was still eight linebackers in that room,
and we knew they were only keeping seven. We're about
an hour into that first meeting, and Red Miller, our
head coach, comes and opens the door. He says, Jimmy,
come here. Well, James Harrel and I are sitting next
to each other. We both go by, Jimmy, Oh God.
(20:38):
We look at each other, you know, and Red's like,
James Harrel, come here, and he walks out of the
room and I'm like, I guess I made the team, right.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Wow, jim it was that was That was a moment,
right elation.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah, that was a moment. It was.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Yeah, that was That was kind of crazy. And James
Harrell went on, played for a couple different teams, had
a nice little career for himself, right, he was he
was a good player.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Dang. And meanwhile, you stay with the Broncos for ten seasons.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I know that.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
You almost appreciate that more the longer you go.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
You're like, wow, I did that for ten years with
the same team, with the same team. Well, you had
to be which.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Is more common back than than it is now.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yeah, there was no free agency back, No, there was not.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, if you got cut, then you go to another team,
but you kept making the team. One hundred and fifty games,
two super Bowls, ten sas, seven fumble recoveries, five picks.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well I had more picks in that. I don't know how.
I think I had seven. Oh, I don't think they
counted the one in doesn't.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Matter season one the person star one.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Yes, exactly, Okay, Well, then playing in my career exactly.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
That is, and so I want to talk about that.
I mean that was huge.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
That was an AFC championship game in eighty six. Yeah,
and the Broncos win that one in overtime. Go through
that play, I mean, what was that?
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Like?
Speaker 4 (21:53):
That's like your marquee moment, right it was.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
It was a big play, and uh yeah, so something
I'm very proud of and something that was when you
think about the memories of your career and everything, it
certainly stands out. He had hit Ozzie Newsom on a
kind of an outplay a little bit earlier in the game. Right,
this is still the second quarter, So they tried to
run a similar play. He couldn't find anybody, and Bernie
Kozar has kind of a weird arm angle, and so
I kind of just adjusted myself because I thought he
(22:17):
was looking at said, I'm covering Ozzie Newsom, and he
throws the ball and we both kind of get our
hands on the ball, but I was in front of
him and was kind of able to kind of snatch
it away from him and spin around and get down
to the sideline.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
So rare because Ozzy had great hands.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
He had great.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Hands, And I spoke to him a couple of years
later and everything, and he's like, oh, I'm so mad
at you for taking it, you know, And I said,
I got lucky. But then I ride down the sideline
and I really did think I'm about to score, and
offensive lineman for the Browns just nails me out of
bounds and into a big mud puddle, right, And so
you know, a friend said, you got so mundy, you
(22:55):
looked like an NFL linebacker. That was kind of cool,
you know. I'm like, yeah, I got knocked out of
bounds on the nine yard line. Of course, all all
my teammates to this day still give me a hard time.
You let an offensive lineman catch you from behind, right,
And I said, he didn't catch me. He had the
angle he was you know, there was no way I
was going to score anyway.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
Yeah, Oh my gosh, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, there was a big moment and those well I
often joked that played in two super Bowls. That's kind
of my fun fact. But in reality, super Bowls are
a little overrated because we didn't do all.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
That well in those super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, so the highlights, you know, they were the super Bowls,
but the championship games that got us there. You know
that one goes back to back, the drive and then
the fumble or Yeah, the.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Road to both of those super Bowls was something else.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
It really was.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Yeah, and the whole city got behind us in such
a way, the whole state.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That was fun times.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
You know, that was before they were winning super Bowls
and hopefully we had something to do with the history
of the you know, leading up to.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
That and everything.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
So what you learn from losing super Bowls and now
that you consult and you do things in sales and
you're in a different mode in life, do you draw
on anything from what you learned during your football career,
especially with those big, big moments and it's all or nothing.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Well, disappointments happen.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
It's cliche to say it's not really what happens to you,
but how you react to it. But I think there's
truth to that. I really do it, you know, it's
just how you react to that. I know that, and
I say, the city got behind this. But every once
in a while I would hear it was so heartbreaking.
I wish you didn't go to the super Bowl. I'd
rather you not go to the super Bowl than lose
the super Bowl, you know. And I got to thinking
about that, and I'd say, I don't agree with that.
(24:30):
You're never going to win it unless you're in it. True,
it's heartbreaking, but it's not worth not getting it. I'd
rather have the heartbreak. But it also built jig.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
It makes you stronger, I think in some ways.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
And so do you look back and go, yeah, I
don't have a super Bowl ring, But that's all right.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
You got there twice.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Yeah, it's certainly not the most important thing in the world.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
No.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
No, I want to go back to right in the
middle of your career in eighty two, the strike year,
and before that you were a backup and on special teams.
After that you become a starter and you stay a starter.
You also meet your wife Sarah during that year, as well,
so that's a funky time and a weird year.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
What kind of went on for you that year? During
that strike year?
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Really strange because we go on strike after week two
of the eighty two season. Back then, I was just
trying to hang on to my career. Just to back
up just a little bit. When you think about what
motivates professional athletes often I sometimes ask this, you know,
what do you think motivates professional athletes? And some people
will say money, Money is so big and everything, and
(25:26):
I would say maybe, but I think it's even more
basic than that, because what I think motivates them is security.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Job security.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
You think of even now, only the top maybe forty
percent of the roster are ingrained into their jobs. The
bottom twenty percent of rosters turns over every year, you know,
a week sometimes sometimes, right, So everything else goes away,
whether it's money or prestige, all that all goes away
if you're not on the team. So all I was
doing was just working on my job security.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
You're right.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I didn't start any games my first three years in
the NFL as a special teams player. I got to
be a special teams captain, so I knew that I
could do that pretty well and that. But the strike,
I didn't really care that much about what we're striking for.
I was like, I just need to keep my job.
So what happened was the first two games Bob Swinson
(26:16):
was the starting linebacker. He was holding out for a
new contract, so he did not show up to training camp,
nor are the first two games of the regular season.
So that's why I got to start. I got to
start my first two games because Bob Swinson was holding out,
and just on aside, the Wednesday before my first start ever,
first game of the season, we're going to play the Chargers.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
I broke my hand in practice.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
And I thought, oh my gosh, now I'm going to
They wrapped it up and they just splinted it and
wrapped it up, and I played anyway.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
The club the.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Club I had a club.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
And so then we go on strike, we come back,
Bob ends his holdout, but when he comes back, he's
not in the best shape, and so we continue to
split some time the rest of that year. Okay, and
then when nineteen eighty three came, I think I've gotten
this right.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Things get foggy season.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Bob pretty much earns his starting job back, so he's starting,
but I'm getting a little bit of playing time, you know,
maybe on nickel or something like that. And you know,
I'm getting a little playing in time, but it doesn't
And then one or two games into the eighty three season,
Bob has a career ending injury.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
He tears his knee up.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
So that got me back in the lineup full time
and I started for the rest of my career. In
that I always felt bad for Bob, right, but these
things happen, we know, And because he was a great,
great player, I think would have had a lot of
the Ring of Fame, attention and things like that had
he been able to finish a career without those injuries.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
Absolutely. Yeah. So did you meet Sarah while you guys
were on strike?
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Okay, so, yeah, we're on strike and we have to
find a place to work out, you know, stay in
shape while we're on strike.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
The facilities closed and everything.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
So we went to the International Athletic Club right there
in Aurora on Parker and two twenty five, and that's
where I met Sarah. Started taking some aerobics class, you know,
not so much for the aerobics, but sure, the teacher,
the teacher, and you know, and listen, we're not done.
We're football players, but we're not dumb, you know. And
(28:05):
then they had a It was a very social place too,
because they had a bar in the place, so it
was very it was like a Friday night happy hour
gathering place and everything. So we went on a couple
of dates, and yeah, the strike helps us come together.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Well for you, because now it's been over thirty years
you've been married.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Uh, try forty forty. We just hit forty.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
That was eighty two.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
We just hit forty this year. As a matter of fact,
you did. Yeah, just in June.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Oh that's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah. Wow, she's still the sweetest.
Speaker 4 (28:33):
Yeah, she's great. I love Sarah. She's awesome.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Okay, So in nineteen eighty eight, you retire. What went
into that, did you?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
They retired me?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Okay, we can't sugarcoat that, you know. So nineteen eighty eight,
they had drafted Michael Brooks. I was still starting in
that Michael came in. I had had I started to
have some knee issues flare up. Michael started the last
two games I think of eighty eight, and I was
kind of thinking I'm might be done.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
But you know, you go kicking and screaming, you know.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Yeah, your mind thinks different than your body.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah it does. Right.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I had a little knee surgery, little procedure done. Everything
wasn't major or anything. And I talked to Dan Reeves
and I said, you know, it sounds like you like
Michael and he was, yeah, but we played four linebackers here,
and you know, He's like, I can't think of a
scenario where you're not going to be part of this
team and might start at a different position or something,
you know, And I said.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Well, all right.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
And the thing is back then, there was also, and
maybe it's still true today, there was actually more incentive
to be cut from a team than to retire for
a team. When you got cut, you had some things.
If I had retired right after the eighty eight season,
my insurance would have gone away and other and I
wouldn't have gotten my reporting bonus for nineteen eighty nine.
I think, so I stayed. I reported, I went to
(29:45):
training camp in eighty nine. It became pretty obvious early
on that I wasn't going to make the team. There
were some big changes happening in eighty nine. They had
fired Joe Collier, Wade Phillips, is now the defensive coordinator
in that.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
I still give Way a hard time.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
I can't believe you cut me, you know, because they
got to know Way we'd coached together down in Houston,
and I got to know, wait, yeah, so anyway, it's funny.
I came in with and went out with Steve Watson
and Dave Stuttered. The three of us all came in
together in seventy nine as free agents. Now Dave had
been out a year, but we all came in made
(30:21):
the Broncos as free agents seventy nine, all went out
in eighty nine getting cut on that day.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
Yeah, yeah, if you got cut that day.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Yeah, they cut like sixty years of experience off the
team that day. But you know they were going in
a different direction. Yeah, and I certainly understood that and then,
but that didn't make it easy.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
It was Dan bring you in to tell you, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Well not till cut down day. It was.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
It was two or three hours before cutdown day, and
it was a player's day off. I was just at
home until I finally I knew it was coming. I
got the call, coach.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Wants to see you, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Okay, so you know I should have said that Dan
couldn't think of a reason I wouldn't be on the team.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Huh, well, I guess you thought.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Of what not.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
The things you think of to say later on?
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Right?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
That would have been mean? Now?
Speaker 1 (31:04):
I like Dan, didn't. I thought Dan was a great coach.
I thought he was a good man. And I know
he's gone now and good good. I liked playing under Dan.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
And then you have to figure out what's next. So
you go through a myriad of things. Do you get
your MBA from du after that or did you get it.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
While I was playing?
Speaker 1 (31:21):
The du is on the quarter system, so you could
actually do two quarters of academics.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
So you got your NBA while you were playing football.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
I did in the off season.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I would go January through April or whatever it was,
but I would only take one or two classes and
they were in the evenings. So it took me three years,
three off seasons. So I think I went eighty two,
eighty three, eighty four. I think I got my degree
in eighty four, and I got an MBA, and I
just wanted to keep I didn't know what I wanted
to do after my career was over, but I was like,
let's do this. I have the time to do getting
(31:51):
an NBA maybe that'll help.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
And you do all kinds of things. You help with
the Broncos youth outreach.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
You do time.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
As we said at the very beginning of this, you're
on radio with David Treadwell and Bob Davidson.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
There you go.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
Yeah, we got to get those in here.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
You were the head coach at Regis High School for
a little while, and then you get back into coaching.
You start with Mike Shanahan staff, then you go down
and work on Kob Staff in Houston.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
What'd you like the most out of all of that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Well, you're describing somebody just couldn't decide what he wants
to do. Yeah, and that's probably a bit true. There's
lots of things I wanted to.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
Try, right, and you did did did a good job.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
You know. Talk radio was good.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
I tired a little bit of talk radio, although I
enjoyed most of it. I got to spend some time
with SeeU. I did see you football with Larry zimmerfoot
six or seven years, late nineties, early thousand, one year,
you know, And so you're exactly right. It was a
whole lot of different things. So full time media for
a number of years, and then in early two thousands,
(32:52):
this was two thousand and two. This is where I
was working with Mark Moser as my partner over to
other radio station, and so we were doing mornings. I
had my kids at Regis. They were starting football, and
so I went over and talked to the coach and
I volunteered as an assistant coach for a couple of years.
(33:12):
Then they fired that guy and I had the time
to be a coach, and I said, would you consider me?
And they did and they hired me as the head coach.
So I was the head coach at Regis for three years.
Really enjoyed that it was playing.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
At that point.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
My older two sons, they're only one year apart. So yeah,
Ben Ben was a senior. John was a junior, and
so I coached Ben for one year in John.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
For two years.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Okay, so yeah, I would have continued to do that,
but then I had contract talks that fell apart with
the radio station.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
I wanted to work less. They wanted me to work more.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
And weekends and stuff. No, I'm not giving them a
hard time. They needed to do what they had to do.
And so it's two thousand and four, I'm finishing up
my season at Regis And in two thousand and four,
Mike Shanahan's the head coach of the Broncos and in
the middle of the season, during their bye week of
that year, he fired a coach, which is pretty unusual
(34:09):
to fire a coach in the middle of the season.
He fired David Gibbs Alex Gibbson and I'm still working
at the radio station, but without a contract. So I
contacted Mike Shanney. I knew Mike pretty well. He was
on our staff when I was a player, he was
the wide receiver coach, and then as a head coach
and being in media, I was around Mike all the
time and everything, so I knew Mike pretty well. I
contacted him. I said, Mike, you fired a coach. I'm
(34:32):
thinking about getting.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Out of radio. You need some help for the rest
of the season, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Just and Gary Kubiak was there and Rick Dennison good
friends of mine, so they put a good word in
for me. But Mike immediately just said, you know what, Yeah,
he said, uh, why don't you come on in Monday.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
This was like a Friday, right wow.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And this was like November of four so I like
to say I accidentally got into coaching, right, I go
from no coaching our high school coaching is sperience, right,
So that next Friday, I'm on the.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Broncos staff, right, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
And and Mike is just paying me in cash each
week under the table, right, there's no So so that's
that's how I got started with the Broncos. And I
just helped Larry Coyer out with he was our defensive
coordinator with the.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
You're a defensive assistant, peah exactly.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
And I spent a couple of years doing that, and
then I got to coach the linebackers in that but
I was the accidental coach.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
And then it is so funny you went over to
the offensive side a little bit too, right, Yeah, it.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Was really funny.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Oh eight, I get promoted to the linebacker coach, right,
that's kind of the job. I'm like, Hey, I'm coaching
linebackers for the team I played for, living in the
same house for the last thirty years, right, that's just
unheard of, and coaching. You know, who has it better
than me to coach Jim Barlow? You know, so nobody, right,
And I'm coaching for Mike Shanahan untouchable right until after
(35:49):
that first year. Remember, oh eight, we're eight and five.
We have three games left, and all we have to
do is win one of those final three games and
we're going to make the playoffs and everything. Mike's not
going to get fired. We make the playoffs, right, at
least we don't think. So we lose the final three games,
Mike Shanahan gets hired, and my dreams come tumbling down.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Well, but the whole staff, the whole staff.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Yeah, that's what happens.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
So I was pretty much out of football for a year.
Then I went and I spent a year with the
Omaha Nighthawks. I say a year, like eight weeks or
ten weeks.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Felt like a year.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Yeah, I did.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
I just drove out that Omaha Nebraska. I was coaching
special teams because I knew the Kirk Dahl was the
linebacker coach there, and he got me hired there. Anyway,
I just did that. That old United Football League was
there for about two years, and so I did that.
Came back wondering what I was going to do. Gary
Kubiak gives me a call. He says, hey, I need
an offensive assistant, you know, do you want to move
over the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
And I did that.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
I went down and started coaching at Houston and was
coaching offensive line down there for three years or assistant
offensive line and thinking, the first two years down there,
they have the best records, you know, yeah, in their history.
Thought that that butt a little good will. But then
we have a year we go two and fourteen, Yeah,
not enough good will.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
And then Gary got fired, got fired, Yeah, and the
whole staff's gone.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And the whole staff's gone.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
So that was a funky year because that was the
year he also collapsed. Yes, and then he gets fired
like a month later.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
Yeah, it was very difficult. That game was very difficult
because we lost in a very tight game at the
end of that game. And so yeah, that was pretty difficult.
Speaker 4 (37:23):
And then you're done with coaching after that, right or
did you still continue to well coaching?
Speaker 1 (37:27):
What I did was I basically had I feel like,
gotten fired three times in five years, right, so Denver,
Omaha Nighthawks. Although I wasn't fired, I wasn't going back there, right, So,
and then Houston, and so I was still pursuing a
coaching job didn't get hired after the Houston job, right,
still getting paid for another year.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
Oh you still your contract, still had my contract.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
So Carl Durrell had just gotten hired. He was on
our staff in Houston. He had gotten hired as the
offensive coordinator at Vanderbilt. We were living in Houston, had
sold our house, and then we weren't really sure what
we want to do. Didn't even own a house in
in Houston. We just lived in an apartment so we
could go anywhere. So we decided to go up to
Nashville for a year. Carl said, Hey, our staff is full.
You have financial security because you're still getting paid. Do
(38:09):
you want to volunteer on our staff. I'll talk to
the coach about it, and then next year we'll get
you on the staff, you know. And I said, let's
do that, right, So I went up there and we
bought a house in Nashville, and then after that season
was over.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Carl got fired.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
And that was your gig for the and hey.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Sarah and I were like, we're out, We're done. It
was one of the reasons right after my football career,
I didn't get into coaching because I knew the brutal
job and security of it. We didn't want to do
that with our kids. But now that our kids were
older and everything, so we ended up just staying in Nashville.
And that's why we live in Nashville. That's ten years.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Ago, I know.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
And then you start becoming a consultant and really kind
of writing your own ticket for the last nine years
since twenty fifteen.
Speaker 4 (38:51):
Explain what you do now.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
Well, I was spending a couple of years deciding what
I wanted to do and checking out a few things.
I got introduced to a company called Integrity Solutions. They're
a sales training, sales coaching organization. They have a methodology,
a curriculum, and it really fit with what I believed in.
You know, it's called integrity for a reason, right, And
(39:12):
so I got certified. I got to know the people
there and everything, and I started teaching their curriculum to
companies that they hire Integrity Solutions and they just bring
me into kind of do the training. Started doing that.
The very first company I ever took through the training,
just to five salespeople. I took them through the training,
which is eight weeks it's a workshop and then eight
(39:33):
follow up one hour follow up calls and you know,
and so the CEO said, listen, we need you. Why
don't you be our sales manager.
Speaker 4 (39:41):
Wow? So I did that.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
And I would say on a part time basis, but
I coached those five people for about three and a
half years, and which was great for me because then
I saw our curriculum in action and how it really works.
And then right during the pandemic in twenty twenty, I
left there and I said, I'm just going.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
To do the integrity stuff.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
I'm just you know, if you guys want to hire
me to do some integrity coaching and training and all that,
and that's what they do. I'm a ten ninety nine,
I'm a contractor. I don't work for them, but I
really like doing it.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
You know.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
There's busy enough, right it does, you know.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
But I have time to do other things.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
We go on vacations, and now we're split in time.
We still have our full time residents in Nashville.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
But as you know, right, but I got a place here.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
I've got a place here, a little town home here
over in the Inverness area. So I say we're split
in time. We're I don't know, I'm guessing we just
bought it a couple of months ago. So I'm guessing
we'll probably spend about twenty twenty five percent of our
time here for the next.
Speaker 4 (40:34):
I would like other way around. I think all the
grand kids are here.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Grand kids are here, you know, but uh, my company's
based out of Nashville and that, and so yeah, that's tough.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
There's thoughts of retirement.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
We could do that, but I kind of like what
I'm doing, and uh, I like to stay busy. I
like the challenge of it. I'm do it for a
few more years and then we'll see.
Speaker 4 (40:52):
That's fun. Yeah, well it's it's been fun.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I mean, how your career has gone throughout you know,
your time in Denver, and you're really good about coming
back act and staying connected with guys.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
Who do you keep in touch with the most?
Speaker 1 (41:04):
The guy that I probably keep in touch with the
most is Steve Steve Faulty. Steve and I will talk
every once in a while at text and things like that.
When we come back here, we'll hang out with them
if we can and that. And in the events, you know,
we we went down to Randy Gratish our day, you know,
when I was in a couple of months ago, and
a lot of guys. I don't necessarily keep in touch
with him, but I see them and they were always
very friendly. But Carl Mecklenberg, of course, he was my roommate,
(41:26):
Rich Carlos of course, Rico Rick Dennison, who I thought
was done, you.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
Know, Oh, I know. I thought.
Speaker 4 (41:32):
I was like, oh, he'll be back, and I'm like, wait, no,
he's on those coaching staff in the Saints now.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Is he was?
Speaker 1 (41:37):
I gave him a hard time, you know, you got
hired with the Saints. I'm like, because he was out
for two years. Yeah, his last job was up in
Minnesota and he and his wife stayed up there. They
had a high schooler, and so I thought they were
just going to ride it out up there and then
maybe eventually moved back to Denver. And all of a sudden,
he's hired by the Saints.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
I'm like, what are you doing? He said, yeah, I
missed it. I'm going back. Clint Kubiak is the offensive coordinati.
He said, Clinton needs me, you know, And I love that.
Speaker 4 (42:01):
Everybody.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
There's so much connection, there's a Denver connection between so
many of these people, and it's fathers and sons and
it's really kind of cool. And your son Sam has
worked for the Broncos for several years now, which.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Is seventh year. Yeah, yeah, his seventh year. And he's
in the video department there, and he has he has
a challenging job. You know, there's a lot of work
to do.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
And and I'll tell you something that happened this week.
You know that they had played Tampa the week before
and then they stayed on the road and went to the.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
Greenbrier and all that. The logistics that had to.
Speaker 4 (42:36):
Be arranged insane for.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
Them to go from Tampa to West Virginia and then
up to New York and everything.
Speaker 4 (42:44):
Else, and add in a hurricane and range exactly. Yeah,
it was a lot I think.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
To his credit, Sean Payton, did you hear this, he
gave a game ball to the operations video and you know,
the support staff.
Speaker 4 (42:56):
Yes, they got a game ball.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Sam got a game ball. I think he's very proud
of that because he said that was a lot of work.
That was a lot of stuff. But he loves it.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
He loves let me tell you, Sam takes the losses
heart and celebrates the wins.
Speaker 2 (43:11):
He has a team guy. He is a Bronco guy.
I love that about him.
Speaker 4 (43:14):
Yeah, and Sam and I have a fun connection.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
When I worked at nine News, right, you had contacted
me and said, hey, my son, and I can't remember.
Sam was probably just in middle school at that time. Yeah, said,
you know, he'd like to He thinks he wants to
be in you know, broadcasting or radio or TV.
Speaker 4 (43:28):
Can he come shadow you? And I was like, yeah, sure,
if he wants to come here at four in the morning,
he's more than welcome to it.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
Sure enough, he showed up and hung out with me
one morning and it was great, and I'd forgotten about
it till I was like, oh my gosh, that's right.
I forgot that he came in that one morning, and
here he is now. So it's really fun to see
everybody doing their thing, and it's cool that you still
have that connection there with the Broncos.
Speaker 2 (43:49):
It is.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
I liked having a little bit of a connection and
he does a great job. And he also, as you know,
doubles as my property manager. So yes, we bought this
condo his little town here, right, and we're not here
so Sam, I'm having something delivery.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
Can you go buy?
Speaker 4 (44:04):
Oh yeah, yeah, Well it's very close to the facility,
so it's easy for him to go over and just
hang out if he needs to. Y. Yeah, that is great.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
All right, So Jim, as we wrap this up, I
ask all of my guests the same question to kind
of finish things up. You mentioned you get fired three
times in five years. You've got ups and downs, you know,
lost super Bowls. What do you tell people, and you
probably do this with your consulting gig when things aren't great,
how do you get back up and push forward and
just keep going.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
There's a lot to that there, I think.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Yeah, I think the best word might be perspective. Keep
things in perspective. Always look for the perspective in things.
I go to baseball sometimes when I think about that.
There's a lot of baseball players in the Hall of Fame,
including Mickey Mantle. You know what Mickey Mantle's batting average
was to ninety eight?
Speaker 4 (44:50):
Yeah, not what you'd think.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Didn't even hit three hundred. A lot of people would
say that means he failed seventy percent of his at bets.
But yet he had to keep a perspective. How do
you go a double header? You've already gone oh for six,
zero for seven, and you know, what's your perspective coming up? Right,
trying to just keep that positivity going forward, and even
if it's not positive. You know, we talk a lot
in sales, you know, when I do training about positive
thinking and negative thinking, right, self defeating thinking, you know.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
That can really hold you back.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
I often say, it's not even positive thinking that lifts
you up. I think negative thinking just pulls you down,
maybe even faster than positive thinking pulls you up. Right,
So I like to say, can you at least keep
it in neutral. There's a lot of sentiment out there.
You tell your kids, hey, you can do anything you
put your mind to, and I like that sentiment. But
we all know that's not completely true. You can't do
(45:38):
anything right. But I think what is true is you're
not going to achieve anything that you.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
Doubt you can achieve.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
So I just think you don't have to be Tony
Robbins or Norman Vincent Peel right. Hate the power of
positive thinking, but let's try to keep away from being
e or right.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
Yes, and so so I love that, Jim, That's a
great way to let That's.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
What I just try to not be negative about things.
You know, and I've matured in that way a lot,
because I think earlier in my career and even playing football,
I would concentrate and think about the negative. You can
do ten things right, you do one thing wrong. That's
what you're thinking about, right. I would do that a lot.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
And once you get going in that direction, it's hard
to kind of get out of it, and it.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Just takes a little time. And I think it just takes.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
As everything in life, intentionality just takes being intentional about
doing that.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
That's what I try to do.
Speaker 4 (46:25):
I love it all.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
Right, Hey, this was a ton of fun. I know
we've been trying to do this for a long time.
So thank you for taking the time.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
Well, thank you for inviting me. I enjoyed it and
I always enjoy spending time with you, Susie, So thanks
very much.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Absolutely, Thanks Jim, Thank you Jim, and thank you for
checking out this episode of Cut, Traded, Fired, Retired. If
you like this episode, please share the podcast with someone.
You can keep up on podcast guests by following on
Twitter and Instagram at ctfur podcast and also on the
website ctfurpodcast dot com. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. To
learn more about me, visit Susiewargen dot com. Thanks again
(46:59):
for listening, and until next time, please be careful, be safe,
and be kind.
Speaker 4 (47:04):
Take care,
There were still eight linebackers in that room, and we
knew they were only keeping seven. We're about an hour
into that first meeting, and Red Miller, our head coach,
comes and opens the door. He says, Jimmy, come here. Well,
James Harrel and I are sitting next to each other.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
We both go by Jimmy, Oh good.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
We look at each other, you know, and Red's like,
James Harrel, come here, and he walks out of the
room and I'm like, I guess.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I made the team.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Welcome to cut, traded, fired, retired. This podcast features conversations
with professional athletes and coaches who are somehow tied to
Colorado and a face challenges just like you and I.
Not only do we hear about those challenges, we also
hear interesting and fun stories about working through them and
moving on. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. This episode's guest
(00:47):
was a three sport athlete growing up, yet the sport
he's best known for he didn't even start playing until
high school. Jim Ryan was a big freshman, and once
the football coach spotted him, he told him, you're coming
out for the tea. So he did, and Jim excelled
He had his choice of Ivy League schools after high school,
but he wanted to play football and opted for a
scholarship at William and Mary. He recorded a lot of tackles,
(01:11):
but had no thoughts of going into the NFL until
a scout from the Broncos reached out. That scout knew
Jim wouldn't be drafted and wanted to be first in
line when Jim was choosing his pro team, and since
they were the only ones who reached out, Jim headed
West and made the infamous Orange Crush defense as an
undrafted free agent in a room full of household name linebackers.
(01:33):
He made a ten year career with the Broncos and
went to two Super Bowls. After his playing days, he
dabbled in several fields, including the media and coaching, where
he basically got fired three times in five years. These days,
he's out of coaching and as a consultant as a
trainer for a sales company, Ladies and Gentlemen Number fifty.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Jimmy Ryan cut traded fired, retired podcast with Susie Wargen.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
Jimmy Ryan, how.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
You do it, Susie. I'm doing great, doing good.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
It is good to see you.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
You have come back to an old haunting ground of
yours by being at the ihear studios. I wondered if
you recognized it as you drove up today. But it's
been a long time, been a while.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It looked familiar, but lots of things have changed around here. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I haven't been here working here in twenty five twenty
for a years something like that.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So yeah, it's been a while.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
And I remember those days when you worked here. That's
how long I've been here too, I remember. Yeah, we're
not getting any younger, are we?
Speaker 4 (02:33):
No?
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Oh my gosh. It's uh. Time goes so fast, doesn't
as you get older?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Right now? People tell you, well, that's because every day
is a smaller percentage of your whole life, so it
goes faster.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Right, So that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Well, we're going to go in the hot tub time
machine and relive their whole childhood right now, So get ready,
stand by, hold on it all right. So you're born
in Camden, New Jersey.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
That's where you are raised. You go to Bishop is
it you? Stacey?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Bishop Eustace High School?
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Eustace? Okay, very good?
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yeah, and you're a three sport athlete I was in football, Basketball,
and baseball. Were those kind of your three favorites? Did
you play other sports growing up?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Growing up? My first love was by far baseball, little league.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
As seven year old, you know, and I didn't come
from an athletic family or anything. My father was not athletic.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
He had a couple brothers that were rowers back in
the day.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
You know, so East coasting.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
But little league baseball was my thing. And I didn't
play football until I got to high school until ninth
grade really.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
And I walked in.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I walked into like the orientation, and the football coach
was there. I was like this tall in ninth grade.
I was an early grower, right and stopped ninth grade
was I wasn't any I was this tall ninth grade.
But anyway, so I was taller and bigger than most kids.
And he just went up to me and said, you're
playing football. I said, okay, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So that I got.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You know, I played football in high school, played on
the freshman team, and then played varsity for three years.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Did you learn it very quickly or was there a
learning curve involved?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
I think I learned it very quickly. You know, I
was a football fan. It wasn't like I was unfamiliar
with it or anything, but it was still a little
foreign for me for a little while.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
But I just liked anything athletic, because, as you mentioned,
I continued to play baseball in high school and in between.
Back in the day there, it was okay, football's over.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
What do you do now?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Well, it's basketball scene. All right, let's go play basketball.
And so that's really what we did.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
And that high school had a good basketball team from
what they.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Were, they were actually a basketball powerhouse. And so in basketball,
I didn't really get to play very much a little bit,
you know, till my junior year and then my senior year,
and we won a state championship there too, and I
was the grunt with four really good players.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
You know.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Oh wait, I read that you had some double digit
rebound games.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Oh yeah, because I was an enforcer, right, I was
just banging people out of the way, you know.
Speaker 4 (04:47):
But I did.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Score twenty in the state championship game, Wow, I did.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
So.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I was more of a seven to eight nine points
a game something like that most.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Of the time.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Oh so funny.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yeah, So I got just because they left me open
and they're not worried about me being a scorer, and
I hit a couple baseline jumpers and we.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Win the game.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Wait, we forgot to guard him? Yeah, exactly what did
you play in baseball? What was your position?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I was mostly a catcher.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I was a catcher growing up in Little league and
continued that in high school. And I liked being a
catcher because you're involved on every pitch and everything.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
So I enjoyed that. I wasn't a very good pitcher.
They would, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
I came in as a relief pitcher a couple of times,
just but I was. I was a catcher and hit
pretty well, especially my sophomore year. I hit really well
with the number of home runs and everything, until they
discovered that I couldn't hit a curveball very well.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
They're like throwing the deuce.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
My junior year, I didn't have a good year, but
I came back and had a good senior year.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
Did you ever play on the offensive side for football
or where you're always played.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Tight end in high school? So yeah, I did.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
I played both ways in high school and and I
was the kicker in the.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Punter you were I was, yes, uh, interest I was.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
The kick with the big square toed shoe, right, and
so I was the kicker and the punter.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Did you have to change your shoe?
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I did sometimes sometimes I just left it on for
a series because because it had a cleat in it
and everything.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
So, yeah, that's hilarious, it is, I know. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
There were a couple of games my senior year, I think,
where I never left the field. I played every play
in the game special teams, and.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You were one hundred percent of the snaps all across
the board. I was, yeah, wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Okay, So when it comes time for college, who besides
William and Mary comes knocking on your door?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Small smaller schools or you know, but they were all
divisional even back then. William Mary was Division one, right,
there was no one double A or anything like that.
So I was recruited by the Rutgers, I was recruited
by Duke was after me William and Mary. I was
recruited by the Michigans. I was recruited by Nebraska Penn
State at least enough where they came and talked to me.
(06:57):
And I was never offered a or a scholarship. But
I was recruited by Okay, and the reason is by
my senior year, a lot of people had passed me up.
I mentioned I stopped growing, and by my senior year
I was the South Jersey Player of the Year and everything. Right,
So I got a lot of accolades. But when they
came the guy from Penn State, the guy from Nebraska,
(07:19):
also the same thing. Love what I see on film,
but just looking at you in person, just a little
too small.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
They were honest with me. They're like, we're looking for
bigger guys. You know. I was like six ' one,
maybe one ninety five.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Okay, And they figured you'd stop growing and they were
going to get anything more out of you.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Right, I wasn't going to get any bigger in that
I'm always jealous of those guys. If you've seen Carl
or talk to Carl Mecenberg.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Yeah, he reached on THEOD game. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
He told me he grew like five inches in college.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
Ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, And I'm like, you gotta be kidding me, mec
you know I was. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So I wasn't recruited by the big schools very much.
I got a lot of Ivy League. I went to
a parochial school, a college prep school, and I got
good grades. I graduated high in my class and everything.
So the Ivys were after me, and my father was like,
I'd love to see you go to Princeton.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
My dad wanted to get an Ivy League kid.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
You know, you know, and I'm like, yeah, sorry, dad. Well,
they didn't give scholarships either, but he was willing to
pay for that. They had kind of had some savings
and things. And but I went and visited Duke. I
visited a couple places, but I just felt most at
home at william and Mary.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
And that's what made you decide to go there.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
When I got down there, I discovered that from South
Jersey to Williamsburg Southeast Virginia about three hundred miles.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
But the culture couldn't be different.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Oh my gosh, it's very Southern down there, right, and
I'm growing up in a suburb of Philadelphia.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
So, and you are also right next to Colonial Williamsburg,
which is if you have not been there, go there
because it is a trip. We did a family trip.
At Thanksgiving. You go back in time, you really do,
and everything is as it was. We had a traditional
Thanksgiving meal, which My kids were like, what, where's the
turkey and mashed potatoes? Because this is not Thanksgiving. I'm like,
(09:07):
you gotta, we're in that time. And then we walk
around and I'm like, oh my gosh, there's a William
and Mary campus right here.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
What was that like?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Being kind of in that it's like you're in a
different space and time you step off the campus.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Even in the campus, there's a lot of tourists just
walking around. I bet because right there at the triangle
that begins the Duke of Gloster Street, which is the
kind of no traffic street you have in colonial Right,
there's the Christopher Wren Building, which is the oldest building
still in use in the United States academic building still
(09:41):
in use. William and Mary second oldest school in the nation.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
I read that sixteen ninety three is when it started.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yeah, that's crazy trivia question. Who we second too, who's first?
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (09:52):
I didn't look that one up. Oh I do do
a lot of research. Yeah, but that one I didn't
go with the one step farther like Harvard.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Oh, Harvard, Harvard was founded twenty five years earlier or
something like that.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Wow, Yeah, that's wild. So does like Ben Franklin walk
around campus.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
Ever, because we went to some of his talks while
we were right.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
It was It was a good experience in most regards
for me, but there was actually almost friction between academics
and sports. There was a lot of As a matter
of fact, my senior year, there was a movement from
some wom and Mary boosters to expand our stadium. We
had a stadium and we sat like thirteen thousand people,
so we couldn't bring in some of the schools we
(10:34):
wanted to bring in. Right, we would play against Virginia
and Virginia Tech and Navy and all that, but not
at home. They were always away games where they wouldn't
come play us there, and they wanted to expand the stadium,
and there was a big movement from the academic part
of the school to say, no, no, we're an academic institution.
We don't want to become a big time footballs and
so there was a lot of that friction. So when
we felt that as players, sometimes sometimes our student section
(10:58):
was not very big on game day and things like that,
but we had a pretty good team other than my
freshman year. My freshman year we lose our first eight games, Now,
back then, you know, they had a ranking of the
worst teams.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
In the nation.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Right, we were number one, Right, we were number one.
By the we were to eight. But it got better,
It did get better. We were one of the most improved.
We went from two to nine to seven and four.
Could have been nine and two because we lost by
one point to East Carolina and we got robbed at
Virginia Tech. Everybody says, all we got robbed. I get you,
(11:32):
you know, but it truly was one of the most
horrible officiating calls on one game.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Said so anyway, but we were proud of ourselves. We did.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
We kind of turned it around, and we had and
my class was a very strong class. We had a
good quarterback, Tom Roseance. We had a lot of players
that came in with me that kind of boosted William
and Mary football. And they're a good program. Now they
have been very good and have been in the playoffs
and been highly ranked in that the last many years.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Well, the Broncos had a long snapper, slash tight end
Mike Leach that came to William and Mary. Yeah, and
had a great career between here and the Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
Yeah, So there's been some players that have come out
of there.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Absolutely. Here's another trivia question. You know a lot of great.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Coaches have come through William and Mary. Oh Lou Holtz
coach there early in his career.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Do not know that?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And other coaches that have been in the NFL even currently,
there are two.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Head coaches that went to William and Mryad.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
At William and Mary overlapped by a year or two,
and both of them I thinks started their coaching careers
as graduate assistants and things at William and Mary. I'm
not positive I know they played there there.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Steelers Mike Tomlin is played at William and Mary.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I did not know that, Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Buffalo Bills Sean McDermott played at William. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
There's a lot of coaches around the league that have
been through William and Mary.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
And that's that academic thing too. You got a lot
of people that have some smarts. You got your business
management degree there, I did, right. I bet the percentage
of student athletes to graduate is pretty darn high there.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
It is, Yes, they were.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
They not a lot of guys leaving early.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah, we earn it there too. It's not an easy place.
I'm sure to get through. I struggled a little bit
with academics my freshman year. Yeah, I got like three
season a B. But then I got better from there
and ended up graduating four years before the Broncos came Not.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Right, the nineteen seventy nine draft comes and goes. Did
you think you might get drafted? Did you have teams
that called you ahead of time and made you think that.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Or absolutely not, no expectations whatsoever.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
So, Susie, I finished fall seventy eight. I think I'm
finished with football, and not till a few months later.
I think it was March of seventy nine or whenever.
I don't remember exactly when the draft was back then,
but it was probably a few weeks before the draft. Okay,
was the first time that a scout from the Broncos
came through. I got called down to the football office. Hey,
(13:55):
the scout from the Broncos wants to meet you. Right,
I'm finishing out. I'm in the spring semester of my
senior year in.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
College, right, thinking you're just going to go get a job,
right of course?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Yeah, that I'm going to graduate and then then it's
on to something else. And he says, man, I've been
looking at tape on you. I like what I see,
you know, and I'm like, thanks, I appreciate that. His
name is Bernie Reid. And he says, I don't think
you're going to be drafted. I should have said thanks,
captain obvious.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
You know, so you know.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
But he says, I don't think you're going to be drafted.
But listen, after the draft, you're free to sign with anybody.
I hope that you'll give me a chance to sign you.
There might be other teams trying to sign you as
a college free agent.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I said, well, i'll see, and there's nobody.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Else played hard to get.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Yeah, yeah, nobody else.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Was trying to play hard to get. But there was
no other team that called me.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
There was one team, right, nobody else called How did
he find you?
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Do?
Speaker 4 (14:38):
You know?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
You know, scouts even today go through all even the
small schools, looking for asking the coaches there, because they
trust some of those coaches there to give them some
talent in that. And we did have a quarterback, Tom
Roseants who did get drafted in like the twelfth back
then it was the twelfth round. I think he was
drafted by the Saints and he was on and off
the team for a while, played in the Canadian League.
He carved out a little you know, in different football leagues,
(15:01):
like a seven six seven year career. So there was
a lot of scouts coming through to see Tom Rose
Ants and maybe a couple others. But so the coaches
there would say, hey, take a look at Jim Ryan,
you know that. And so that's how he found me,
and he was the only one. And then after the draft,
I wasn't drafted, of course, and he called me and
he said, hey, I'm going to come through Williamsburg here
in a few days. I hope you don't sign with
(15:22):
anybody else. I was saying, yeah, you better hurry up.
I can't hold out here.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
But he did schedule.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Oh wait, I'm open.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
He showed up a few and I'm still in a
dorm you know.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
It was actually our fraternity house, which was like a dorm,
and I signed a contract for the Broncos in my
dorm room.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Off what your signing bonus?
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, he offered me a one thousand dollars signing bonus
and I said, well, you know, we have a few
weeks before I got a fund my training You know
until the training. I said, what about two thousand? Okay,
he gave me two thousand. I talked to me. I
thought I was negotiator.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Oh my gosh, Jim.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I got to know Bernie a couple of years later
and he goes, yeah, my allowance for you is twenty
five one hundred. He said, you left five hundred on
the table. Oh, like, come on.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Ernie, that's funny. Yeah, so that has ever been west?
Had you ever been to Denver?
Speaker 2 (16:10):
No, never been to Denver. Oh. One other thing to add.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
We signed the contract and we're sitting there in the
dorm where he goes, Okay, in two weeks time, we're
going to have a rookie mini camp for all the rookies.
Back then, there was enough people on the roster. There
was no roster limits, right, We had enough players to
have just a rookie mini camp and then a veteran
mini camp.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Right. So he says, the rookie mini camp is this Saturday.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
So somebody from our travel department's going to be getting
in touch with you to get your travel arrangements. And
I said, I said I can't make it.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
And he said, what do you mean you can't make it?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
He's like, you realize it's the NFL, right, And I said, listen,
I'm graduating. That's graduation weekend for me. My parents are
all coming down. I have all my siblings. I spent
four years at William Hy And he looked at me
and he goes, you should graduate. You should graduate. So
that's okay. So I missed the rookie Mini camp. I
went the following weekend to the veteran mini camp. Because
(17:02):
I missed the rookie one. I went to the veteran one.
Oh my gosh, maybe it served me well because I
walked in and they thought I was a veteran.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
You know, people don't know you.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
They're just walking in. And what team did you? You know
you play with last or something?
Speaker 4 (17:12):
You know, Internet, social media at that time, nobody knows
anything about anybody. Yeah, oh my gosh, that's funny.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
So I also knew, what are my chances that I'm
going to make this team or you know, I had
a realistic viewpoint, yes, And so I thought, you know,
am I going to miss graduation for just this story
I can tell my kids and grandkids. I once tried
out for the Denver Broncos or something.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
You know, so anyway, but you do make the team,
do Yeah, So you get through training camp and you're
in a linebacking room that is stacked.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
So yeah, the four starters at the time, and this
was Joe Collier's defense that was kind of cutting edge
three to four defense that he was the architect of.
There's Bob Swinson, Joe Rizzo, Randy Gradish or Tommy Jackson.
They had been the starters for a couple of years
and they're still the starters.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Right.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
They had backups Larry Evans and Bob Nairn. Rob Nairn, Right,
so they had six guys there. One guy had retired
the year before Godwin Turk and back then it was
pretty set in stone, we're going to keep seven linebackers.
There was no practice squad, there's no taxi squad at
this point. And the roster was forty three. Your roster
was forty three and that's who you dressed. How many
(18:19):
of you dressed on game day? Right, So there is
an opening. There's one linebacker that retired, so there's an opening.
Who's going to get it? Well, they had drafted a
guy in the fifth round from Arizona State, Jeff McIntyre.
There's a couple of free agents, so there's a lot
of competition, a lot of competition, and I thought I
was bottom of the bottom of the barrel, and like
(18:39):
I said, a good, good attitude about it, and I
just kind of played without a lot of pressure on myself.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
That's the best way to do.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Think it served me well. I did, and I did.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
I did very well in the preseason games and the
first scrimmage we had because I was like, you know whatever,
And the first scrimmage we had, I'm playing against the starters, right,
this is about ten days into training camp, and I
beat the block of Paul Howard, one of our starts guards.
And I think it was rob Lytel that I tackled,
you know, for maybe a yard loss or something like that.
So I made a good play. And that's when it
(19:08):
first dawned on me. I'm like, wow, maybe I got
why do this?
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Yeah? That wasn't that wasn't that bad, right?
Speaker 1 (19:14):
You know? Maybe because I'm coming from a small school,
the game is so much faster and everything. I felt
overwhelmed at first, but then it starts to slow down
a little bit for you. And then so then you
start to think maybe I can. And Joe Collier was
very encouraging to me, and we had some coaches. I
think that helped you not only with your skill set
but with your mindset, and so.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
That really helped. And they cut Jeff McIntyre, they cut
a fifth round.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Draft cut a pick.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Yeah, yeah wow.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
And so back then they had put everybody on waiver
wires or whatever that they were supposed to put on.
But they were always playing tricks with the roster of
putting some people and then trying to call.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
Them back and things like that.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
They still do that.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
They still do that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
So there was sometimes they would cut a player or
put them on waivers and they wouldn't tell the player
because they were hoping to bring them back the next
day right after they're clearing waivers twenty four hours, right,
So they did that with a guy by the name
of James Harrell. James Harrell was a free agent like me,
played pretty well during preseas, so I knew it was
kind of coming down the two of us. We got
into the week, we had too many people in the room.
(20:14):
The first day of practice, right, it was the Wednesday
before our first game. We knew the cuts had been made,
but yet there was still eight linebackers in that room,
and we knew they were only keeping seven. We're about
an hour into that first meeting, and Red Miller, our
head coach, comes and opens the door. He says, Jimmy,
come here. Well, James Harrel and I are sitting next
to each other. We both go by, Jimmy, Oh God.
(20:38):
We look at each other, you know, and Red's like,
James Harrel, come here, and he walks out of the
room and I'm like, I guess I made the team, right.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Wow, jim it was that was That was a moment,
right elation.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Yeah, that was a moment. It was.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Yeah, that was That was kind of crazy. And James
Harrell went on, played for a couple different teams, had
a nice little career for himself, right, he was he
was a good player.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Dang. And meanwhile, you stay with the Broncos for ten seasons.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I know that.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
You almost appreciate that more the longer you go.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
You're like, wow, I did that for ten years with
the same team, with the same team. Well, you had
to be which.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Is more common back than than it is now.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yeah, there was no free agency back, No, there was not.
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, if you got cut, then you go to another team,
but you kept making the team. One hundred and fifty games,
two super Bowls, ten sas, seven fumble recoveries, five picks.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Well I had more picks in that. I don't know how.
I think I had seven. Oh, I don't think they
counted the one in doesn't.
Speaker 4 (21:35):
Matter season one the person star one.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Yes, exactly, Okay, Well, then playing in my career exactly.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
That is, and so I want to talk about that.
I mean that was huge.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
That was an AFC championship game in eighty six. Yeah,
and the Broncos win that one in overtime. Go through
that play, I mean, what was that?
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Like?
Speaker 4 (21:53):
That's like your marquee moment, right it was.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
It was a big play, and uh yeah, so something
I'm very proud of and something that was when you
think about the memories of your career and everything, it
certainly stands out. He had hit Ozzie Newsom on a
kind of an outplay a little bit earlier in the game. Right,
this is still the second quarter, So they tried to
run a similar play. He couldn't find anybody, and Bernie
Kozar has kind of a weird arm angle, and so
I kind of just adjusted myself because I thought he
(22:17):
was looking at said, I'm covering Ozzie Newsom, and he
throws the ball and we both kind of get our
hands on the ball, but I was in front of
him and was kind of able to kind of snatch
it away from him and spin around and get down
to the sideline.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
So rare because Ozzy had great hands.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
He had great.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Hands, And I spoke to him a couple of years
later and everything, and he's like, oh, I'm so mad
at you for taking it, you know, And I said,
I got lucky. But then I ride down the sideline
and I really did think I'm about to score, and
offensive lineman for the Browns just nails me out of
bounds and into a big mud puddle, right, And so
you know, a friend said, you got so mundy, you
(22:55):
looked like an NFL linebacker. That was kind of cool,
you know. I'm like, yeah, I got knocked out of
bounds on the nine yard line. Of course, all all
my teammates to this day still give me a hard time.
You let an offensive lineman catch you from behind, right,
And I said, he didn't catch me. He had the
angle he was you know, there was no way I
was going to score anyway.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
Yeah, Oh my gosh, that's crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Yeah, there was a big moment and those well I
often joked that played in two super Bowls. That's kind
of my fun fact. But in reality, super Bowls are
a little overrated because we didn't do all.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
That well in those super Bowls.
Speaker 1 (23:28):
Yeah, so the highlights, you know, they were the super Bowls,
but the championship games that got us there. You know
that one goes back to back, the drive and then
the fumble or Yeah, the.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Road to both of those super Bowls was something else.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
It really was.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Yeah, and the whole city got behind us in such
a way, the whole state.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That was fun times.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
You know, that was before they were winning super Bowls
and hopefully we had something to do with the history
of the you know, leading up to.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
That and everything.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
So what you learn from losing super Bowls and now
that you consult and you do things in sales and
you're in a different mode in life, do you draw
on anything from what you learned during your football career,
especially with those big, big moments and it's all or nothing.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Well, disappointments happen.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
It's cliche to say it's not really what happens to you,
but how you react to it. But I think there's
truth to that. I really do it, you know, it's
just how you react to that. I know that, and
I say, the city got behind this. But every once
in a while I would hear it was so heartbreaking.
I wish you didn't go to the super Bowl. I'd
rather you not go to the super Bowl than lose
the super Bowl, you know. And I got to thinking
about that, and I'd say, I don't agree with that.
(24:30):
You're never going to win it unless you're in it. True,
it's heartbreaking, but it's not worth not getting it. I'd
rather have the heartbreak. But it also built jig.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
It makes you stronger, I think in some ways.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
And so do you look back and go, yeah, I
don't have a super Bowl ring, But that's all right.
Speaker 4 (24:43):
You got there twice.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Yeah, it's certainly not the most important thing in the world.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
No.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
No, I want to go back to right in the
middle of your career in eighty two, the strike year,
and before that you were a backup and on special teams.
After that you become a starter and you stay a starter.
You also meet your wife Sarah during that year, as well,
so that's a funky time and a weird year.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
What kind of went on for you that year? During
that strike year?
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Really strange because we go on strike after week two
of the eighty two season. Back then, I was just
trying to hang on to my career. Just to back
up just a little bit. When you think about what
motivates professional athletes often I sometimes ask this, you know,
what do you think motivates professional athletes? And some people
will say money, Money is so big and everything, and
(25:26):
I would say maybe, but I think it's even more
basic than that, because what I think motivates them is security.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Job security.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
You think of even now, only the top maybe forty
percent of the roster are ingrained into their jobs. The
bottom twenty percent of rosters turns over every year, you know,
a week sometimes sometimes, right, So everything else goes away,
whether it's money or prestige, all that all goes away
if you're not on the team. So all I was
doing was just working on my job security.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
You're right.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
I didn't start any games my first three years in
the NFL as a special teams player. I got to
be a special teams captain, so I knew that I
could do that pretty well and that. But the strike,
I didn't really care that much about what we're striking for.
I was like, I just need to keep my job.
So what happened was the first two games Bob Swinson
(26:16):
was the starting linebacker. He was holding out for a
new contract, so he did not show up to training camp,
nor are the first two games of the regular season.
So that's why I got to start. I got to
start my first two games because Bob Swinson was holding out,
and just on aside, the Wednesday before my first start ever,
first game of the season, we're going to play the Chargers.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
I broke my hand in practice.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
And I thought, oh my gosh, now I'm going to
They wrapped it up and they just splinted it and
wrapped it up, and I played anyway.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
The club the.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Club I had a club.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
And so then we go on strike, we come back,
Bob ends his holdout, but when he comes back, he's
not in the best shape, and so we continue to
split some time the rest of that year. Okay, and
then when nineteen eighty three came, I think I've gotten
this right.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Things get foggy season.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
Bob pretty much earns his starting job back, so he's starting,
but I'm getting a little bit of playing time, you know,
maybe on nickel or something like that. And you know,
I'm getting a little playing in time, but it doesn't
And then one or two games into the eighty three season,
Bob has a career ending injury.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
He tears his knee up.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
So that got me back in the lineup full time
and I started for the rest of my career. In
that I always felt bad for Bob, right, but these
things happen, we know, And because he was a great,
great player, I think would have had a lot of
the Ring of Fame, attention and things like that had
he been able to finish a career without those injuries.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
Absolutely. Yeah. So did you meet Sarah while you guys
were on strike?
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Okay, so, yeah, we're on strike and we have to
find a place to work out, you know, stay in
shape while we're on strike.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
The facilities closed and everything.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
So we went to the International Athletic Club right there
in Aurora on Parker and two twenty five, and that's
where I met Sarah. Started taking some aerobics class, you know,
not so much for the aerobics, but sure, the teacher,
the teacher, and you know, and listen, we're not done.
We're football players, but we're not dumb, you know. And
(28:05):
then they had a It was a very social place too,
because they had a bar in the place, so it
was very it was like a Friday night happy hour
gathering place and everything. So we went on a couple
of dates, and yeah, the strike helps us come together.
Speaker 4 (28:18):
Well for you, because now it's been over thirty years
you've been married.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Uh, try forty forty. We just hit forty.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
That was eighty two.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
We just hit forty this year. As a matter of fact,
you did. Yeah, just in June.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Oh that's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
Yeah. Wow, she's still the sweetest.
Speaker 4 (28:33):
Yeah, she's great. I love Sarah. She's awesome.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Okay, So in nineteen eighty eight, you retire. What went
into that, did you?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
They retired me?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Okay, we can't sugarcoat that, you know. So nineteen eighty eight,
they had drafted Michael Brooks. I was still starting in
that Michael came in. I had had I started to
have some knee issues flare up. Michael started the last
two games I think of eighty eight, and I was
kind of thinking I'm might be done.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
But you know, you go kicking and screaming, you know.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
Yeah, your mind thinks different than your body.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah it does. Right.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
I had a little knee surgery, little procedure done. Everything
wasn't major or anything. And I talked to Dan Reeves
and I said, you know, it sounds like you like
Michael and he was, yeah, but we played four linebackers here,
and you know, He's like, I can't think of a
scenario where you're not going to be part of this
team and might start at a different position or something,
you know, And I said.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Well, all right.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
And the thing is back then, there was also, and
maybe it's still true today, there was actually more incentive
to be cut from a team than to retire for
a team. When you got cut, you had some things.
If I had retired right after the eighty eight season,
my insurance would have gone away and other and I
wouldn't have gotten my reporting bonus for nineteen eighty nine.
I think, so I stayed. I reported, I went to
(29:45):
training camp in eighty nine. It became pretty obvious early
on that I wasn't going to make the team. There
were some big changes happening in eighty nine. They had
fired Joe Collier, Wade Phillips, is now the defensive coordinator
in that.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
I still give Way a hard time.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
I can't believe you cut me, you know, because they
got to know Way we'd coached together down in Houston,
and I got to know, wait, yeah, so anyway, it's funny.
I came in with and went out with Steve Watson
and Dave Stuttered. The three of us all came in
together in seventy nine as free agents. Now Dave had
been out a year, but we all came in made
(30:21):
the Broncos as free agents seventy nine, all went out
in eighty nine getting cut on that day.
Speaker 4 (30:26):
Yeah, yeah, if you got cut that day.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
Yeah, they cut like sixty years of experience off the
team that day. But you know they were going in
a different direction. Yeah, and I certainly understood that and then,
but that didn't make it easy.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
It was Dan bring you in to tell you, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Well not till cut down day. It was.
Speaker 1 (30:43):
It was two or three hours before cutdown day, and
it was a player's day off. I was just at
home until I finally I knew it was coming. I
got the call, coach.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Wants to see you, you know.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Okay, so you know I should have said that Dan
couldn't think of a reason I wouldn't be on the team.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Huh, well, I guess you thought.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Of what not.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
The things you think of to say later on?
Speaker 1 (31:02):
Right?
Speaker 2 (31:02):
That would have been mean? Now?
Speaker 1 (31:04):
I like Dan, didn't. I thought Dan was a great coach.
I thought he was a good man. And I know
he's gone now and good good. I liked playing under Dan.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
And then you have to figure out what's next. So
you go through a myriad of things. Do you get
your MBA from du after that or did you get it.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
While I was playing?
Speaker 1 (31:21):
The du is on the quarter system, so you could
actually do two quarters of academics.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
So you got your NBA while you were playing football.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
I did in the off season.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I would go January through April or whatever it was,
but I would only take one or two classes and
they were in the evenings. So it took me three years,
three off seasons. So I think I went eighty two,
eighty three, eighty four. I think I got my degree
in eighty four, and I got an MBA, and I
just wanted to keep I didn't know what I wanted
to do after my career was over, but I was like,
let's do this. I have the time to do getting
(31:51):
an NBA maybe that'll help.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
And you do all kinds of things. You help with
the Broncos youth outreach.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
You do time.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
As we said at the very beginning of this, you're
on radio with David Treadwell and Bob Davidson.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
There you go.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
Yeah, we got to get those in here.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
You were the head coach at Regis High School for
a little while, and then you get back into coaching.
You start with Mike Shanahan staff, then you go down
and work on Kob Staff in Houston.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
What'd you like the most out of all of that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Well, you're describing somebody just couldn't decide what he wants
to do. Yeah, and that's probably a bit true. There's
lots of things I wanted to.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
Try, right, and you did did did a good job.
Speaker 2 (32:28):
You know. Talk radio was good.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
I tired a little bit of talk radio, although I
enjoyed most of it. I got to spend some time
with SeeU. I did see you football with Larry zimmerfoot
six or seven years, late nineties, early thousand, one year,
you know, And so you're exactly right. It was a
whole lot of different things. So full time media for
a number of years, and then in early two thousands,
(32:52):
this was two thousand and two. This is where I
was working with Mark Moser as my partner over to
other radio station, and so we were doing mornings. I
had my kids at Regis. They were starting football, and
so I went over and talked to the coach and
I volunteered as an assistant coach for a couple of years.
(33:12):
Then they fired that guy and I had the time
to be a coach, and I said, would you consider me?
And they did and they hired me as the head coach.
So I was the head coach at Regis for three years.
Really enjoyed that it was playing.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
At that point.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
My older two sons, they're only one year apart. So yeah,
Ben Ben was a senior. John was a junior, and
so I coached Ben for one year in John.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
For two years.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Okay, so yeah, I would have continued to do that,
but then I had contract talks that fell apart with
the radio station.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
I wanted to work less. They wanted me to work more.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
And weekends and stuff. No, I'm not giving them a
hard time. They needed to do what they had to do.
And so it's two thousand and four, I'm finishing up
my season at Regis And in two thousand and four,
Mike Shanahan's the head coach of the Broncos and in
the middle of the season, during their bye week of
that year, he fired a coach, which is pretty unusual
(34:09):
to fire a coach in the middle of the season.
He fired David Gibbs Alex Gibbson and I'm still working
at the radio station, but without a contract. So I
contacted Mike Shanney. I knew Mike pretty well. He was
on our staff when I was a player, he was
the wide receiver coach, and then as a head coach
and being in media, I was around Mike all the
time and everything, so I knew Mike pretty well. I
contacted him. I said, Mike, you fired a coach. I'm
(34:32):
thinking about getting.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Out of radio. You need some help for the rest
of the season, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Just and Gary Kubiak was there and Rick Dennison good
friends of mine, so they put a good word in
for me. But Mike immediately just said, you know what, Yeah,
he said, uh, why don't you come on in Monday.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
This was like a Friday, right wow.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And this was like November of four so I like
to say I accidentally got into coaching, right, I go
from no coaching our high school coaching is sperience, right,
So that next Friday, I'm on the.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Broncos staff, right, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
And and Mike is just paying me in cash each
week under the table, right, there's no So so that's
that's how I got started with the Broncos. And I
just helped Larry Coyer out with he was our defensive
coordinator with the.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
You're a defensive assistant, peah exactly.
Speaker 1 (35:18):
And I spent a couple of years doing that, and
then I got to coach the linebackers in that but
I was the accidental coach.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
And then it is so funny you went over to
the offensive side a little bit too, right, Yeah, it.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Was really funny.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Oh eight, I get promoted to the linebacker coach, right,
that's kind of the job. I'm like, Hey, I'm coaching
linebackers for the team I played for, living in the
same house for the last thirty years, right, that's just
unheard of, and coaching. You know, who has it better
than me to coach Jim Barlow? You know, so nobody, right,
And I'm coaching for Mike Shanahan untouchable right until after
(35:49):
that first year. Remember, oh eight, we're eight and five.
We have three games left, and all we have to
do is win one of those final three games and
we're going to make the playoffs and everything. Mike's not
going to get fired. We make the playoffs, right, at
least we don't think. So we lose the final three games,
Mike Shanahan gets hired, and my dreams come tumbling down.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Well, but the whole staff, the whole staff.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Yeah, that's what happens.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
So I was pretty much out of football for a year.
Then I went and I spent a year with the
Omaha Nighthawks. I say a year, like eight weeks or
ten weeks.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
Felt like a year.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Yeah, I did.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
I just drove out that Omaha Nebraska. I was coaching
special teams because I knew the Kirk Dahl was the
linebacker coach there, and he got me hired there. Anyway,
I just did that. That old United Football League was
there for about two years, and so I did that.
Came back wondering what I was going to do. Gary
Kubiak gives me a call. He says, hey, I need
an offensive assistant, you know, do you want to move
over the offensive side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (36:45):
And I did that.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
I went down and started coaching at Houston and was
coaching offensive line down there for three years or assistant
offensive line and thinking, the first two years down there,
they have the best records, you know, yeah, in their history.
Thought that that butt a little good will. But then
we have a year we go two and fourteen, Yeah,
not enough good will.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
And then Gary got fired, got fired, Yeah, and the
whole staff's gone.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
And the whole staff's gone.
Speaker 3 (37:07):
So that was a funky year because that was the
year he also collapsed. Yes, and then he gets fired
like a month later.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
Yeah, it was very difficult. That game was very difficult
because we lost in a very tight game at the
end of that game. And so yeah, that was pretty difficult.
Speaker 4 (37:23):
And then you're done with coaching after that, right or
did you still continue to well coaching?
Speaker 1 (37:27):
What I did was I basically had I feel like,
gotten fired three times in five years, right, so Denver,
Omaha Nighthawks. Although I wasn't fired, I wasn't going back there, right, So,
and then Houston, and so I was still pursuing a
coaching job didn't get hired after the Houston job, right,
still getting paid for another year.
Speaker 4 (37:46):
Oh you still your contract, still had my contract.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
So Carl Durrell had just gotten hired. He was on
our staff in Houston. He had gotten hired as the
offensive coordinator at Vanderbilt. We were living in Houston, had
sold our house, and then we weren't really sure what
we want to do. Didn't even own a house in
in Houston. We just lived in an apartment so we
could go anywhere. So we decided to go up to
Nashville for a year. Carl said, Hey, our staff is full.
You have financial security because you're still getting paid. Do
(38:09):
you want to volunteer on our staff. I'll talk to
the coach about it, and then next year we'll get
you on the staff, you know. And I said, let's
do that, right, So I went up there and we
bought a house in Nashville, and then after that season
was over.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Carl got fired.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
And that was your gig for the and hey.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Sarah and I were like, we're out, We're done. It
was one of the reasons right after my football career,
I didn't get into coaching because I knew the brutal
job and security of it. We didn't want to do
that with our kids. But now that our kids were
older and everything, so we ended up just staying in Nashville.
And that's why we live in Nashville. That's ten years.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
Ago, I know.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
And then you start becoming a consultant and really kind
of writing your own ticket for the last nine years
since twenty fifteen.
Speaker 4 (38:51):
Explain what you do now.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
Well, I was spending a couple of years deciding what
I wanted to do and checking out a few things.
I got introduced to a company called Integrity Solutions. They're
a sales training, sales coaching organization. They have a methodology,
a curriculum, and it really fit with what I believed in.
You know, it's called integrity for a reason, right, And
(39:12):
so I got certified. I got to know the people
there and everything, and I started teaching their curriculum to
companies that they hire Integrity Solutions and they just bring
me into kind of do the training. Started doing that.
The very first company I ever took through the training,
just to five salespeople. I took them through the training,
which is eight weeks it's a workshop and then eight
(39:33):
follow up one hour follow up calls and you know,
and so the CEO said, listen, we need you. Why
don't you be our sales manager.
Speaker 4 (39:41):
Wow? So I did that.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
And I would say on a part time basis, but
I coached those five people for about three and a
half years, and which was great for me because then
I saw our curriculum in action and how it really works.
And then right during the pandemic in twenty twenty, I
left there and I said, I'm just going.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
To do the integrity stuff.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
I'm just you know, if you guys want to hire
me to do some integrity coaching and training and all that,
and that's what they do. I'm a ten ninety nine,
I'm a contractor. I don't work for them, but I
really like doing it.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
You know.
Speaker 4 (40:09):
There's busy enough, right it does, you know.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
But I have time to do other things.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
We go on vacations, and now we're split in time.
We still have our full time residents in Nashville.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
But as you know, right, but I got a place here.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
I've got a place here, a little town home here
over in the Inverness area. So I say we're split
in time. We're I don't know, I'm guessing we just
bought it a couple of months ago. So I'm guessing
we'll probably spend about twenty twenty five percent of our
time here for the next.
Speaker 4 (40:34):
I would like other way around. I think all the
grand kids are here.
Speaker 1 (40:37):
Grand kids are here, you know, but uh, my company's
based out of Nashville and that, and so yeah, that's tough.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
There's thoughts of retirement.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
We could do that, but I kind of like what
I'm doing, and uh, I like to stay busy. I
like the challenge of it. I'm do it for a
few more years and then we'll see.
Speaker 4 (40:52):
That's fun. Yeah, well it's it's been fun.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I mean, how your career has gone throughout you know,
your time in Denver, and you're really good about coming
back act and staying connected with guys.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
Who do you keep in touch with the most?
Speaker 1 (41:04):
The guy that I probably keep in touch with the
most is Steve Steve Faulty. Steve and I will talk
every once in a while at text and things like that.
When we come back here, we'll hang out with them
if we can and that. And in the events, you know,
we we went down to Randy Gratish our day, you know,
when I was in a couple of months ago, and
a lot of guys. I don't necessarily keep in touch
with him, but I see them and they were always
very friendly. But Carl Mecklenberg, of course, he was my roommate,
(41:26):
Rich Carlos of course, Rico Rick Dennison, who I thought
was done, you.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
Know, Oh, I know. I thought.
Speaker 4 (41:32):
I was like, oh, he'll be back, and I'm like, wait, no,
he's on those coaching staff in the Saints now.
Speaker 2 (41:36):
Is he was?
Speaker 1 (41:37):
I gave him a hard time, you know, you got
hired with the Saints. I'm like, because he was out
for two years. Yeah, his last job was up in
Minnesota and he and his wife stayed up there. They
had a high schooler, and so I thought they were
just going to ride it out up there and then
maybe eventually moved back to Denver. And all of a sudden,
he's hired by the Saints.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
I'm like, what are you doing? He said, yeah, I
missed it. I'm going back. Clint Kubiak is the offensive coordinati.
He said, Clinton needs me, you know, And I love that.
Speaker 4 (42:01):
Everybody.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
There's so much connection, there's a Denver connection between so
many of these people, and it's fathers and sons and
it's really kind of cool. And your son Sam has
worked for the Broncos for several years now, which.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
Is seventh year. Yeah, yeah, his seventh year. And he's
in the video department there, and he has he has
a challenging job. You know, there's a lot of work
to do.
Speaker 1 (42:23):
And and I'll tell you something that happened this week.
You know that they had played Tampa the week before
and then they stayed on the road and went to the.
Speaker 2 (42:33):
Greenbrier and all that. The logistics that had to.
Speaker 4 (42:36):
Be arranged insane for.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
Them to go from Tampa to West Virginia and then
up to New York and everything.
Speaker 4 (42:44):
Else, and add in a hurricane and range exactly. Yeah,
it was a lot I think.
Speaker 1 (42:48):
To his credit, Sean Payton, did you hear this, he
gave a game ball to the operations video and you know,
the support staff.
Speaker 4 (42:56):
Yes, they got a game ball.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Sam got a game ball. I think he's very proud
of that because he said that was a lot of work.
That was a lot of stuff. But he loves it.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
He loves let me tell you, Sam takes the losses
heart and celebrates the wins.
Speaker 2 (43:11):
He has a team guy. He is a Bronco guy.
I love that about him.
Speaker 4 (43:14):
Yeah, and Sam and I have a fun connection.
Speaker 3 (43:16):
When I worked at nine News, right, you had contacted
me and said, hey, my son, and I can't remember.
Sam was probably just in middle school at that time. Yeah, said,
you know, he'd like to He thinks he wants to
be in you know, broadcasting or radio or TV.
Speaker 4 (43:28):
Can he come shadow you? And I was like, yeah, sure,
if he wants to come here at four in the morning,
he's more than welcome to it.
Speaker 3 (43:33):
Sure enough, he showed up and hung out with me
one morning and it was great, and I'd forgotten about
it till I was like, oh my gosh, that's right.
I forgot that he came in that one morning, and
here he is now. So it's really fun to see
everybody doing their thing, and it's cool that you still
have that connection there with the Broncos.
Speaker 2 (43:49):
It is.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
I liked having a little bit of a connection and
he does a great job. And he also, as you know,
doubles as my property manager. So yes, we bought this
condo his little town here, right, and we're not here
so Sam, I'm having something delivery.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
Can you go buy?
Speaker 4 (44:04):
Oh yeah, yeah, Well it's very close to the facility,
so it's easy for him to go over and just
hang out if he needs to. Y. Yeah, that is great.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
All right, So Jim, as we wrap this up, I
ask all of my guests the same question to kind
of finish things up. You mentioned you get fired three
times in five years. You've got ups and downs, you know,
lost super Bowls. What do you tell people, and you
probably do this with your consulting gig when things aren't great,
how do you get back up and push forward and
just keep going.
Speaker 2 (44:30):
There's a lot to that there, I think.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
Yeah, I think the best word might be perspective. Keep
things in perspective. Always look for the perspective in things.
I go to baseball sometimes when I think about that.
There's a lot of baseball players in the Hall of Fame,
including Mickey Mantle. You know what Mickey Mantle's batting average
was to ninety eight?
Speaker 4 (44:50):
Yeah, not what you'd think.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Didn't even hit three hundred. A lot of people would
say that means he failed seventy percent of his at bets.
But yet he had to keep a perspective. How do
you go a double header? You've already gone oh for six,
zero for seven, and you know, what's your perspective coming up? Right,
trying to just keep that positivity going forward, and even
if it's not positive. You know, we talk a lot
in sales, you know, when I do training about positive
thinking and negative thinking, right, self defeating thinking, you know.
Speaker 2 (45:14):
That can really hold you back.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
I often say, it's not even positive thinking that lifts
you up. I think negative thinking just pulls you down,
maybe even faster than positive thinking pulls you up. Right,
So I like to say, can you at least keep
it in neutral. There's a lot of sentiment out there.
You tell your kids, hey, you can do anything you
put your mind to, and I like that sentiment. But
we all know that's not completely true. You can't do
(45:38):
anything right. But I think what is true is you're
not going to achieve anything that you.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
Doubt you can achieve.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
So I just think you don't have to be Tony
Robbins or Norman Vincent Peel right. Hate the power of
positive thinking, but let's try to keep away from being
e or right.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
Yes, and so so I love that, Jim, That's a
great way to let That's.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
What I just try to not be negative about things.
You know, and I've matured in that way a lot,
because I think earlier in my career and even playing football,
I would concentrate and think about the negative. You can
do ten things right, you do one thing wrong. That's
what you're thinking about, right. I would do that a lot.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
And once you get going in that direction, it's hard
to kind of get out of it, and it.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
Just takes a little time. And I think it just takes.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
As everything in life, intentionality just takes being intentional about
doing that.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
That's what I try to do.
Speaker 4 (46:25):
I love it all.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
Right, Hey, this was a ton of fun. I know
we've been trying to do this for a long time.
So thank you for taking the time.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
Well, thank you for inviting me. I enjoyed it and
I always enjoy spending time with you, Susie, So thanks
very much.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Absolutely, Thanks Jim, Thank you Jim, and thank you for
checking out this episode of Cut, Traded, Fired, Retired. If
you like this episode, please share the podcast with someone.
You can keep up on podcast guests by following on
Twitter and Instagram at ctfur podcast and also on the
website ctfurpodcast dot com. I'm your host, Susie Wargen. To
learn more about me, visit Susiewargen dot com. Thanks again
(46:59):
for listening, and until next time, please be careful, be safe,
and be kind.
Speaker 4 (47:04):
Take care,
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