TWO DAYS CHANGED MY LIFE
I first got into this job by answering a newspaper ad to coach with the Westside Warriors in Vancouver. It was community football and the opening was to coach at the Pee Wee level.
My first reaction when I heard it was an opportunity to coach the Pee Wees was ‘Pee Wees? I wanted to coach the older kids.’
But the Warriors’ representative on the other end of the phone said that coaching the Pee Wees was the only opening they had and that I should come out and try it.
That day was July 1, 1990 and it changed my life.
I went out for that first practice and loved it. I thought I knew a lot about the game of football but found out very quickly how little I knew. That motivated me to learn about the game that I loved. I couldn’t get enough information on coaching. I attended clinics all over the United States, joined the American Football Coaches Association, went to their convention and attended all their clinics.
I went to the University of Washington, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State – all over – and obtained my Level 3 Football Coaching Certification in Canada.
After five years with Westside, I coached one year of high school, five years with the University of British Columba and one year with the B.C. Lions under offensive coordinator Joe Paopao.
I went from the Pee Wees to the pros in 11 years and believe this gave me a strong background in the game, and it helped me with what was to come.
The second day that changed my life was when Lions GM Adam Rita gave me a job in player personnel.
The move came right after the Lions’ Grey Cup victory in 2000 and I fought the notion for a few years until my crusty old friend Cal Murphy set me straight. Cal told me I was crazy to want to get back to coaching and that player personnel was the place to be.
After a while I agreed with a man I considered a mentor and a man that helped me so much along the way. I miss Cal a great deal.
PLANES, TRAINS, & AUTOMOBILES
Remember the old John Candy/Steve Martin movie from the 80’s? This is essentially my life while scouting the NFL camps.
Fly to an airport. Get a rental car. Drive to the hotel. Drive to practice and scout the practice. Watch film if they allow it. Drive to the airport. Hop on a flight or drive to the next destination and do it all over again.
I get on a train occasionally in a big city to travel to a stadium to attend a pre-season game. It’s actually pretty convenient and alleviates the headache of traffic and parking.
My next stop after visiting the Green Bay Packers was Bourbonnais, Illinois and Olivet Nazarene University to scout the Chicago Bears.
Bourbonnais is a town of under 20,000, but it certainly grows during camp. I was talking to one of the security guys and he said one practice a few years back had 20,000 fans. It might be a tad exaggerated, but there’s no question they love their Bears around here.
The Bears are great hosts. The access to practice is great. You can pretty much go anywhere as long as you don’t get too close and don’t get hurt. That is something I definitely don’t want to do – take a hit while watching practice from the sidelines. The older I get, the tougher it is.
The Bears allow us to watch film and it’s critical for CFL scouts to accumulate as much information on a player as possible. At practice you essentially focus on one thing, but while viewing the film you can constantly rewind to see every single player that you need to eyeball.
One thing I always deal with on my NFL scouting trip is traffic, and I had an extra two hours on my drive from Green Bay to Bourbonnais. The combination of traffic volume, thunder, lightning, and downpours all added to my time listening to the tunes in the vehicle. But I got there safe and sound.
After finishing with the Bears and after an hour or so drive where I saw the beautiful skyline of Chicago, it was back to O’Hare Airport and on a plane to Missouri to see the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have their camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, MO.
The Chiefs used to be in the ‘Cheese League’ along with several other NFL teams who held their training camps in Wisconsin. K.C. used to be in River Falls, Wisconsin but now they have moved to St. Joseph – about 45 minutes North of Kansas City – because it is so much more convenient for the team and their fans. The Chiefs also allow CFL scouts to watch film and allow excellent access to practice which, again, makes our life a lot easier.
Life travelling from camp to camp is not all football. A guy’s got to eat. Kansas City is a place known for BBQ and I certainly made sure I checked it out. I went to a place called Smokehouse Barbecue. It didn’t disappoint. Brisket, turkey, and sausage did the trick, along with the best beans around, as well as coleslaw and corn. That’s a cool part about scouting the NFL. You get to try some pretty cool stuff while on the road.
Next up: The Minnesota Vikings!
