Episode 7: Ozzie Newsome, the Trailblazer

Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome and some of his closest friends, Calvin Hill, John Mitchell and Kevin Byrne, talk about Ozzie's path to becoming the first Black general manager in NFL history and his impact moving forward.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Shortly after my mother passed away thirteen years ago, I
received a phone call from an obituary writer with the
Philadelphia Inquirer. Marina Robinson Brown was the first African American
woman to graduate from Temple University School of Pharmacy in
nineteen forty three. The obituary writer called because she said
that my mom was a trailblazer. Of course, I don't disagree.

(00:27):
My mom didn't even want to attend Temple. She wanted
to attend Howard University to experience going to a historically
black school. She didn't want to deal with the racism
she might encounter at Temple. However, my grandfather didn't want
his quote baby girl going away to school, so she
stayed in Philly, lived at home, and went to Temple,

(00:51):
where she immediately encountered the racism she anticipated. This is
how my mom described her freshman experience when she was
honored on the anniversary of her graduating class. My mom said, quote,
I felt right away that there were some on the
faculty that wanted me to drop out. I had to
reach inside to find the courage to continue end quote.

(01:15):
My mom said she would often come home crying as
a college freshman seeing his daughter so distraught. My grandfather
told my mom that she could transfer to Howard after
her freshman year. But somewhere along the way, my mom
found the strength to forge your head. She didn't transfer,
She stayed at Temple, and she graduated in three years.

(01:40):
I don't have my mom's courage or academic achievements, but
her influence on me often manifests itself when I least expected.
Before I moved forward with this podcast, I debated whether
I should do it. Did I really want to share
my views regarding racism, equality and discrimination just among family

(02:01):
and friends, but in a public forum. Then I thought
about my mom. What would she say if I could
ask her whether or not I should do a podcast
to discuss racial issues in the NFL, hoping that listeners
would gain more understanding. I already knew what my mom
would say. So I'm doing this podcast for my favorite Trailblazer.

(02:26):
Welcome to Black in the NFL. I'm your host, Clifton Brown.
Today's episode features the Ravens foremost Trailblazer, Issie Newsom, the
NFL's first black general manager. Joining Newsom on the podcast
will be three of his closest friends, Kevin Byrne. The
Ravens recently retired executive vice president of Public and Community Relations,

(02:51):
Calvin Hill, Newsom's former teammate with the Cleveland Browns, who
presented him at his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction,
and Pittsburgh Steeler's assistant head coach John Mitchell, the first
black player at the University of Alabama, who recruited Newsom
when he was a high school senior. I was a

(03:11):
little surprised Ozzie agreed to be a guest on this podcast,
because I know doing interviews and drawing attention to himself
isn't his thing. But I sent Oasie an email telling
him that I thought people should hear his thoughts on
diversity in the NFL, in a league where seventy percent
of the players are black but just two of the
league's thirty two general managers are black. As the architect

(03:35):
of two Super Bowl winning teams, Ozzie's brilliants as a
general manager is undeniable, and in his current role as
a Ravens executive vice president, Newsom remains a key figure
in the organization. Born in Muscle Shows, Alabama, Newsom grew
up in the segregated South, making his journey to the

(03:56):
top of his profession even more legendary. Early on, he
had to figure out how to overcome racism, but it's
not something he often talks about. According to Kevin Byrne,
who worked closely with Newsom in both Baltimore and Cleveland,
you know, it's it's funny clip. Through the years, I've
had reporters authors say, Hey, could you talk to Ozzie.

(04:20):
Could you have Ozzie talk about being the first black
general manager. Can you have Ozzie talk about going to
separate water foulains when he was a kid, or separate bathrooms,
or being at one point the only black kid in
his junior high Could you have him talk about that?
Whenever I asked Ozzie, you know, he would kind of smile.

(04:41):
He says, I, you know, Kevin, I don't think the
world needs to hear what I think of all of that.
And I would go, Ozzie, you don't know your influence.
People want to hear people want to know your story.
And he would smile and say, maybe someday, but I'm
working now, and now's the time to work now. It's
not the time to go backwards. And I think it's

(05:04):
remarkable because, as you know, Cliff, it would be so
easy for him to say, yeah, I'll do that. Sure,
yeah I'll be that guy, because I am that guy.
But he's a reluctant hero. But what I see, and
you've seen it too, the players of any ages who
have come because now they have been any ages as
Ozzie as aged, they know maybe through their parents, maybe

(05:28):
through their grandparents, maybe because they study history themselves, they
know what that person means to that family or that community,
and they pay attention. And so it's a power that
the Ravens have had through the years that not every
team can have, because he eliminates a lot of headaches,

(05:50):
especially with maybe selfish players, where he'll just say, hey,
we don't do that here, and they'll respect that because
of Ozzie's history, what Newsom says carries weight. So let's
welcome him to Black in the NFL to discuss his

(06:13):
life in NFL legacy and his hopes for the league
regarding diversity moving forward. When I asked Ozzie about his
experiences growing up in the segregated South, he opened up,
I have to ask you about you know, your upbringing Alabama,
because I think it makes your journey even more fascinating.

(06:33):
You grew up in the Deep South. You saw segregated schools,
water fountains for colored only. Can you talk a little
bit about some of the racism that you saw growing
up and how that kind of shaped your upbringing. I
grew up in the sixties in the state of Alabama,
and you know, assault, segregation and integration, you know, I
saw it all happened. And you know, so people always

(06:55):
say it like, I'm the first African American German. Yeah,
my brother and I were the first to play Little
League Baseball in my hometown, the first African Americans to
do that. So I grew up in a time of change.
I have a brother that's twelve years old of me
that didn't have these opportunities because they just wasn't there
for him, you know, as it was for me. So
I saw times change. But I did have some parents

(07:17):
that were willing to allow me to reach out, to
take an initial step like I did when I left
the predominantly all black school and went to a predominantly
white school. And I was in the sixth grade, And
was it tough that I have to bite my tongue something. Yeah,
But I was competing with everybody at that point, and
I think that helped me today within the job that

(07:39):
I had when I was a gym and then the
job that I have right now supporting Eric. Is it
true that you kind of asked to go to integrated school?
And yes, I did, Yes I did. We had what
we called freedom of choice back then, so I asked
my parents if I could go to the all white school,
and they allowed me to do it. You know, they
did it with with some trepidation, you know, with some fear,

(08:03):
but you know they felt like that, you know, at worst,
I would go there and then decide to come back
to the black school. And I'm thankful for that. Were
you ever insawt it going on the road there, you know,
by fans. Did you ever hear stuff or anything like that?
Either in high school or college? My junior year we
won a state championship. We went thirteen and old and
we were playing in the semifinals and I were playing

(08:25):
against this corner and he called me everything, I mean,
all of the words that you know, you and I
both have heard our lives, you know what, And I
just kept beating it, you know, and at the end
of the day. He did a lot of talking, but
I did a lot of score. You know how going

(08:47):
through those those things out of did you avoid becoming
a bitter about some things that were said or done
or that you saw, and be not being discouraged about
how far you could go in this world? Well, I
found out that you can't fight every fight. There are
some things sometimes you just have to bite your lip
and walk away. But I also find out that that

(09:10):
you can compete with people academically. You know, at the
end of the day, we're both learning the same histories,
the same math, the same English. And you know, if
you put in the time and study and didn't come
up with the grades, the same same grades that they
would get, then they would look at you different. But
also when it came to athletics, then we would go

(09:31):
out on the field. I ever remember the very first time,
I think I was the last person that was chosen,
you know, Now I would say probably a week later
or two weeks later, I was the first person that
was chosen, you know. But so you you understood that,
But then you allowed you your your abilities to speak
for you. You know, yeah, I had I was a

(09:52):
person of different color, but my abilities were the one
that did a lot of my talking. You grew up
loving Alabama fo ball, but there were people in the
state at that time who didn't want that school to integrate.
Can you talk about your decision to go there rather
than choose maybe an HBCU or another school to day
such a turbulent history regarding race. My mom eventually agreed

(10:16):
to allow me to go there. She wanted me to
go to Vanderbilt. And yeah, you know, Governor Wallace stood
at the at the front door, and I faced segregation now,
segregation the Mara and segregation forever. But you know, Coach Bryant,
they played against USC and the story goes, I mean

(10:37):
and I just saw it was another show that I
was a part of, showing what Sam the Bam did
in Birmingham on that day. You know. And at that point,
Coach Bryant went against the governor and went out and
decided to sign an African American and Wilbert Jackson, and
Wilbur had to be a special person to be that

(10:58):
first black person to go to the university. Well, but
when I came along, I was a third class or
the fourth class that were getting recruited at that time.
And you know, the opportunity to play for the University
of Alabama was special. And when Coach Brown offered me
that opportunity, not only was it great for me, but

(11:19):
you know, it also helped change the lives of my
parents because now you know when my mother, who you know,
was a private house worker, and you know, she would
go to those people's houses and they go, you know,
your son is playing at the University of Alabama. It
was a joy for my parents to have me be
at the University of Alabama, and they got the fruits

(11:41):
of their son playing at the University of Alabama. Newson
was such a star athlete at Coburg County High School
in Leaton, Alabama, that every SEC school wanted him when
he graduated in nineteen seventy four. The irity was that
many SEC schools I had just recently begun recruiting black players.

(12:03):
John Mitchell became the first black player at the University
of Alabama in nineteen seventy one, and by nineteen seventy four,
Mitchell had graduated and was a member of Brian's coaching staff.
It was Mitchell's job to convince Dewson to come to Alabama.
I walk in on a Friday, and I wanted to
forget his early Friday morning. Coach Bryant secretary at that time.

(12:25):
Her name was Rebecca Christenen, and she said, Coach, warning
to see you. So I walking in this office and
he said, Mitchell, I want you to go to Leading Alabama.
I don't know what Leading Alabama is, but we're recruiting
ozy Newson and we might lose him. He's leaning toward Auburn.
So I get him my car and I drive up there,
and before one left, he said, don't let him out

(12:47):
of your site. So I drive up there, and he
usually would meet with the player in the principal office
or the council's office, but they gave me permission to
go to his class, so I said in the back
of the class for the remaining of the day. He
had probably three more classes that day. And you know,
Oza was a great basketball player also, So after school,

(13:10):
they had a shoot around before they had a game
that night. So I go to practice and set behind
the coaches bench right there. And at that particular time,
coaches could transport the players to and from campus. So
I took him home and we came back to the
game with his mom. And after the game, when the

(13:30):
game was over, I took him and his mom back
home and I'm giving the speed up to Missus Newson
and it's about midnight down she said, coaches, time for
you to go. And I said, Missus Newson, out of
no disrespect, Coach Bryant told me to not let ours
out of my sight. And I'm going to sleep on
that sofa. And I slept on that sofa that night.

(13:51):
And Missus Newson, you would tease me all the time
when she would come to the games and tussa lousers.
She would say, coaches still got that sofa, But I
never let Oza on my site for the entire day.
Did you get did you get the commitment from the
nuisance from that trip or did you have to wait?
I got it on that trip. I think Missus Newson

(14:12):
was tired of me, and she wanted Ozie to go
ahead and make his decision. And he made his decision
before I left that he was going to come to
the University of Alabama. And I got up that Saturday morning.
I can remember we were playing Tennessee in Birmingham, and
I drove back to Birmingham and told coach brand that day,
Ozzit made a commitment and he's coming to the university
and it was a great day for all of us. Now,

(14:32):
you didn't know Osy at that time, well, but obviously
you've gotten to know him his tray, Well, when did
you kind of figure out that, hey, this isn't just
a special player, but a special person. When Ozzie came
to the university, he was a little shye guy. And
you know, Osy started out as a split in when
he was at Leading High School. And you know, as
she mature and gained a little weight, Coach Bryant moved

(14:55):
him from a wide out in the tight end. And
you know, Ozzie, if you watched them practice and answered
this first year there, you knew this guy was special.
He was not a run of a male athlete. This
guy was really special. And I can say this. You know,
I was around Coach Bryan for a long time and
Coach Brian had really he loved all this ballplayer but

(15:15):
the three players that he had a lot of feeling
for was Leroyd Jordan, Joe Nam and Ozy Knwsom. He
gave him the nickname the Oz. So Coach Brian had
a lot of respect for Oars and Knwsom, and he
knew a type of player in person. He was he
seems to be a guy. I mean the Steelers and
Ravens arrivals. You know. You hear about Belichick talking about
Osay and said, do you know anyone doesn't like Ozzy K. Newsom? See,

(15:40):
I've been knowing Odsity since he's seventy five, one of recruited.
I can't think of anybody, you know. I mean, I
can say this, if Oddity ever decided to come back
to Alabama and full time, he could be elected governor
because that's how popular he is and other side the
people revere here him in the state Alabama, it would
be no question that he could win. Newsom had a

(16:04):
great career at Alabama, averaging twenty point three yards per catch,
which stood as an SEC record for over twenty years.
He was named the Crimson Tie Player of the Decade
for the nineteen seventies. The Cleveland Browns drafted Ozzie in
the first round as a twenty third overall pick in
nineteen seventy eight, and Bear Bryant had already told Newsom

(16:27):
that though he played wide receiver in college, tight end
would be his best position in the NFL. When he
arrived in Cleveland, Brown's head coach Sam Ratificuliano agreed with
Brian and put him at tight end, where he would
begin a playing career that landed him in the Pro
Football Hall of Fame. Calvin Hill became one of Newsom's

(16:48):
closest friends when they became teammates with the Browns. Hill
became like a big brother to Newsom, nine years older
and near the end of his distinguished NFL career as
a running back. It didn't take Hill long to realize
that Newson was going to be a special player. What
qualities about Ozzie made you want to take him under

(17:09):
your wing when he joined the Browns's rookie When I
got there, I got there four games into the seventy
eighth season, and he had moved from wide receiver to
tight end. And yeah, we had pretty good practices. They
didn't have all these limits like they do now, right,
And the thing at least I noticed about him is
he never got tired. You know, he could run a

(17:31):
long pattern. He's back back in the huddle. And I
remember remarking to Reggie Rucker, who I knew from the
cowboy days. I said, this guy doesn't sweat. He was
always there, he was dependable. And then as I got
to know him, I was struck by his humility. That
he's not a guy who who's boatful. He doesn't talk

(17:51):
about himself very often. I also got to know that
he's very curious. You know, he wants he's always learning
here all the time about people who are lifetime learners.
And you know, Ozzie has that sort of what I
would call intellectual curiosity. You know, he was always wanting
to know about things that he didn't know. And he

(18:14):
retains you know when he when he learned something, he
retains it. You know, he talks. I mean, if you
get to know him, he'll talk, and he'll talk smack
every now and then. But you know, he's not boastful.
And he's listening. You know a lot of people are
talking all the time, but they're not listening. You know.
The thing about him is he listens and filtering. You

(18:36):
know what's good and what's bad. And he just has
a way with people, doesn't matter who he meets. You know,
it can be somebody from the value of Mississippi or
you know, Alabama. What could be somebody up in New
York of Park Avenue. He's comfortable, very smart guy. I mean,
you know, he know I used to kill him. I'm

(18:57):
glad that he didn't go to Harvard or Princeton. You know,
he would have been tough for us to play against
it Yale, But I mean, he he has that kind
of intellectual power. Unless you knew him, you know, he's
not you know, he's not going to tell you how
smart he is or try to overwhelm you. He's just
gonna listen. And you know when he responds to something,
you say, Wow, this guy has tremendous intellectual firepower, right,

(19:20):
but he understands people. I think all of these qualities
have probably stood him in good stead in terms of
you know, both his first career as a player in
the NFL and probably even more so as an evaluator
of talent in the NFL. Now, some players, especially great players,

(19:41):
don't have the patience it takes to be great at
being a coach or great at being a general manager.
Where do you think Ozzy's patience comes from? You know,
it probably goes back to, you know, the way he
was raised. You know he was raised right, you know,
I mean yes, sir, No, sir. You know, his parents
did a heck of a job in raising him, and

(20:04):
those values, you know, those qualities that they instilled into
him have stood them in good stead. He didn't expect
to be given things. He had to earn things, you know.
Integrating a you know, an all white school in the
Jim Crow South, I mean, you know, during that same
period he was a young kid integrating in high school.

(20:24):
I can remember driving through Alabama and I was on
my peace and Q and then going to the University
of Alabama. The school had only integrated maybe three or
four years before in terms of or at least the
Southeast Conference, So he was in the vanguard. You know,
he developed a sense of just understanding and being comfortable

(20:45):
around things that were different patients to learn and understand
how to fit in. But he was the right guy,
you know, in terms of his temperament, in terms of
his athletic ability, and in terms of his ability to
carry the lessons that his mother and father infused in
them forward. You know, they have stood him in good

(21:06):
stint throughout his life, singing some of the things that
I saw, you know, growing up in Alabama. As far
as you know, segregation, racism. What do you think captain
from becoming bitter about those things he had to go through.
I don't doubt for a moment that there are times
when you know he feels, you know, anger, or but

(21:27):
I just a guy that as you get to know
him and as he gets to know you, you know,
he is a way of transcending the superficial differences because
of his character and because of the kind of person
he is when people met him, whether it was in
Alabama or Cleveland or in Baltimore, He's a real deal
in terms of who he is, his character, his integrity.

(21:49):
I've never met anybody who dyslike CAUs and that's because
he knows how to treat people. And you know, if
you treat people, you know, the right way, they'll treat
you the right way. When he's looking, you know, to
hire people, or when he's looking to hire you know,
football players, you know, he goes beyond sort of the superficial.
You know, he goes beyond the speed, size and strength.

(22:13):
Is this the kind of person that's going to fit
into the culture that I wanted that we have built
in Baltimore. It's those kind of people that win games
for you. You know, that's because he's a people person.
He studies people, and I told him once, you know,
he would have been a great psychiatrist or psychologist, you know.
I mean I played thirteen years, and the last four

(22:35):
years that I played, I played as a teammate of his.
So I was very fortunate to have the pleasure of
his company. And it's been a thrill for me to
watch him go on to be successful beyond you know,
the playing field as a Baltimorean. You know, even though
I've lived a lot of other places, you know, I

(22:55):
still consider myself a Baltimorean. I'm doubly excited at the
fact that he's done it in my hometown and brought
successful football back to Baltimore. Newsom's life took an unexpected
turn in nineteen ninety six when the Browns relocated from

(23:17):
Cleveland to Baltimore and became the Ravens. Browns fans were
bitter about losing their team, and Newsom was leading Cleveland,
a place where he was revered and spent his entire
NFL career. It was an emotional time for Newsom, but
he remade somebody that others could lead it on. Let's
bring back Kevin Byrne, who made the move with Asai

(23:39):
from Cleveland to Baltimore. You guys had an unusual start
in Baltimore and that you came from Cleveland and you know,
left the broken hearted city behind. Can you talk a
little about the emotions that both of you guys had
at that time making that move. You know, the last

(24:00):
game at for the Browns and Cleveland Stadium was against Cincinnati.
Bill Belichick was our head coach. There was chaos at
that game. Was it was a Cleveland winter day too.
It was great, and it was cold, and it was windy,
and fans were mean spirited, and while they wanted to
embrace the players, they wanted to show their anger too,
so they were literally destroying the stadium and throwing things

(24:24):
onto the field. It was just a remarkable day. And
then we win the game and many of the players
ran out to the dog bound to embrace and shake
hands with the fans. I wandered out to the middle
of the field. You know, Cleveland is my hometown, right
and I was just like, my god, what have we done?

(24:45):
What's going on here? You know, We've broken the hearts
of a community, and I'm part of that and then
all of a sudden, I feel this right hand on
my shoulder, you know, from somebody standing to my left,
and I turned around and looked to look up, of course,
and it's AUSI I think, recognizing that for me, I mean,

(25:05):
he's the all time Cleveland Brown. But he was kind
enough to recognize that Kevin's the Cleveland Kevin's family is here,
Kevin's high school friends are here. And I thought, well,
that's a remarkable thing to do. Because he was sad,
and we both looked at each other and we had
tears in our eyes. It was it was a sad,
sad moment. Can you talk about when he made the

(25:28):
transition from player to executive and what you remember about
him going through that at that time? Well, almost every
memory I have of Ozzie includes humility, you know, by him.
So he's now one of the greatest players ever, a
Hall of Famer, right, yep. Absolutely. He decides his career

(25:50):
is over and he goes start model and he admits,
I'm not sure what I want to do art, and
Art said, well, why don't we let you try scouting,
Why don't let you try coach? You could do it
kind of choose what you want if you want to
be in this business, and if you don't want to
be in the business, I'll respect that. So Ozzie's first
year after his retirement from playing was to learn the

(26:14):
nuts and bolts of scouting, to learn the nuts and
bolts of coaching, which you would assume he would know.
But Ozzie never assumes he knows anything. He just works
at it. He started his post playing career as an
assistant coach on Bill Belichick's staff with the Browns, and
he also scouted. Belichick didn't give you some special treatment,

(26:34):
nor did Brown's general manager Earnie A. Corsi. He hit
the road as a scout, going to some places that
other scouts preferred not to go. He'd watched countless hours
of tape. All the while Ozzie was learning the ropes,
learning everything he could about the business of football. Now,

(26:56):
you mentioned something that I don't get here talking about
a lot you're coaching with Belich. You talked about that
experience and how that helped you as far as when
you became a general manager. When I retired Ernie of
COURSI uh, you know who was a great general manager
was the general manager of the Browns at that time
and they hired Bill Belichick. So I'm sitting in the

(27:17):
room with two guys that were monsters in the business,
and so I became a sponge and I did a
lot of listening. But you know, both of them they
just took me and just threw me out there and say, hey,
you know, if you want to learn the business, to
understand the business, then you know you need to get
out there and do it. So you know, I was

(27:38):
on the road scouting and learning the trade, and I
just can't appreciate those times of being out there that
was put forth by both Bill and h and Ernie.
And of course you know what Bill has done, you
know as a head coach with the Patriots is you know,
unthought of. But you know, just the way that he

(27:58):
his discipline in his meetings, the way he always listened
to everybody. But you know what, you know, he was
always he had a structure in place, and he believed
in that structure and that structure what won. So that
helped me to say, hey, you know what, when you
have something, you build through that structure and you stay
with it. You know, it's not you don't change every

(28:21):
time something happening. You change you try to stay the course.
Ozzy officially became the Ravens general manager and the first
black general manager in NFL history or November twenty second,
two thousand and two. The late art model who owed

(28:41):
the Ravens at the time, made the decision with strong conviction.
He is the architect of this team. He's the architect
of the super Bowl team and his architect on this
version of the Baltimore Ravens. We are in the transitional stage.
And I like to compare the relationship I have with
Ozzie and Brian to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Ozzie is

(29:04):
a composer and Brian as a conductor, and together they
work well together and have had nothing but success. It's
been a very wonderful relationship. The case of Ozzie, We've
been threw a lot together over the years. His loyalty
to me and to my family is, without the question,
the greatest ever exhibited he was. He's been another, as

(29:28):
I said, another son to me. And I love him
deily and and I'm proud to do this for him,
not because he asked me, did you know think about it?
But because I think he deserves it. He's without a question,
in my opinion, the best, most most proficient personal man
in the NFL. When you first became the first black

(29:50):
jail manager in league history, did you feel the historical
importance of that? Not really, you know, just trying to
get the job done. I was focused on that. But
I had the opportunity to do a radio show with
the late John Thompson, Okay, and we went in conversation

(30:12):
and he made the statement that, hey, do you realize
that now that you have this position, that other you know,
African American males can grow up wanting that opportunity. So
at that point I did understand the significance of it that,
you know, I had opened a door for other African

(30:35):
Americans to be able to ascend to the position of Jim.
You talked about finishing and doing the job. Your first draft,
you have Jonathan Oger and ray Lewis. Your last draft,
you have an MVP and three Pro Bowlers. Do you
take pride in the fact that, hey, when I did
the job, you know, I started draw, I finished this draw. Well,

(30:57):
you know, I think that goes to the p that
I work with. I believe in empowering people to do
their job and you know, we had a great scouting staff,
you know, and that first draft, that staff was the
same guys that I worked with. You know, I broke
bread with those guys every day, and you know, I
just ended up having to be the guy that had

(31:19):
the title. And then and then the last draft. But
that I think the scouts in the last draft and
the scouts in the first draft, they got different names,
different phases, but they all the same by any measure.
Newsom was one of the most successful general managers in
NFL history. Let's bring back Calvin Hill, who says Ravens

(31:41):
fans were lucky to have a man like Newsome building
their franchise from the beginning. How important do you think
it was for Ozzie to have success as the league's
first black general manager. I think it was very important.
I mean it was important for him because you know,
he wants to win, and you know, if you look

(32:02):
at what he's accomplished, I mean, you know, think about it.
He came to a new city and although he was
not the general manager initially, you know, he was the
personnel guy. He was, you know, the acting the de
facto general manager. And you know, he came with Art
from Cleveland. He was a Connecticut Yankee and King Authur's court,
so to speak, and he was given that responsibility in

(32:26):
a new city. The first draft, you know, had he
fumbled that, you know, it wasn't like you know, he
had established any sort of credibility in Baltimore except as
a player. That's how most people knew him. And they
knew him as a player who played for the Cleveland Browns.
He was coming into a city that was still a
Baltimore Colt city. I mean, there were memories of those

(32:49):
great teams and you know, people were still suffering from
what they saw was the Colts moving out of town
in the middle of the night, etc. And here comes this,
this team from Cleveland. You know, for him to come
in as a black general manager and his first draft,
you know, draft two Hall of famers, you know, that

(33:09):
was unbelievable, you know, and they have teams that were
competitive right away. They weren't you know, they weren't necessarily winning,
but they were competitive. You know, he just started putting
the pieces together and I think, you know, the fans
in Baltimore, who were die hard Coat fans, you know,
really began to appreciate. They like to say, the people

(33:30):
in Baltimore like seafood. Well, he was putting together a
bisk a football bisk that help had all kinds of
ingredients and it was tasting pretty good to all the fans.
I'm from Baltimore, I'm from Turner Station. You know, I
have friends who were die hard Coat fans and thought
they'd never watched an NFL game again. And when I

(33:51):
go over to turn the station, and when I go
to Bottomore, when I see them, they know, they all
have Ravens stuff for he has won them over. He
had a different call job, and he did it with
flying callers. I mean, you know, you look at the
draft for two years ago, I guess it was his
last draft. He trades back into the first round. Lamar
Jackson's getting ready to fall out of the first round

(34:15):
even though he's a high school trophy winner. Ozzie trades
back into the first round and draft, and two years
later the guys an MVP. How many guys could pull
that off? Ozzie Knews built two Super Bowl winners in
two different eras sixteen years apart. His impact stood the

(34:39):
test of time. He couldn't have started any better. With
Hall of Famers Jonathan Ogden and Raggy Lewis as his
first two draft picks in nineteen ninety six, and he
couldn't have ended better either with MVP Lamar Jackson and
two more Pro bowlers Orlando Brown Junior and Mark Andrews
with his last draft as g him in twenty eighteen.

(35:02):
After his final pick, scouts and coaches poured into the
Ravens draft room to congratulate him. It spoke to the
respect that they have for Ozazi and a man that
Harley shows emotion. Teared up and hugged John Harball, Dick Cass,
Steve and Shoddy and Eric da Costa. I've been doing
this for twenty two years. You are my last pick.

(35:25):
You're gonna make me proud. All right, That's all I
need to hear. Okay, here's coach Harball. Even though Ozzie
was a trailblazer, he never operated like he was working
on his own talking to people who worked with him.

(35:48):
It was his ability to build consensus that made him
so special, and that's pretty remarkable for a man who
grew up in a deeply divided world. Ozzie was always
willing to listen. What are some of the things that
make Ozzie such a great leader. Well, Number one, he listens.
You know, I've been in two head coaching searches with Ozzie.

(36:11):
When when the Ravens, when we hired Brian Billick, and
we hired John Harbaugh, and you know, there were a
number of us involved. But the reality is Ozzie was
going to make the decision, you know, because art model
would listen to Ozzie, and so would Steve Bischottiu. But

(36:31):
I marveled, and I assume he runs his draft meeting similarly,
is that he kept inviting everybody else to say their piece,
say their piece and kind of let the group come
to the decision together. Now, it might have been the
guys Ozzie wanted in the first place, but he never,

(36:52):
despite his influence, despite his power, put his foot down
or a fist on the table, says, look, let's I
don't care what you guys think. Let's not talk about
it anymore. We're gonna hire Brian Billick, all right, guys,
or we're gonna hire John Harbor just so everybody knows.
We can all say this stuff. But he listens and

(37:12):
listens that he has a sincerity about it. It's impressive.
He has you remarkable listing ability and humility for a
guy who's achieved the highest levels he can both on
and off the field. At the same time, Ossie had
the courage to stand up for what he knew was right.

(37:35):
Utter any draft night or trade stories involving Ozzie that
come to mind that are kind of esch in your memory, Well,
the one was Brian Billick's first draft with US. We
had a second round pick and there were teams interested
in the second round, and he was shopping it, and
so Brian Billick, as Ozzie is accepting phone calls for

(37:57):
this second round, Cook says art model and to Ozzie
in the draft room, and this is one of Ozzie's
first draft. He goes, hey, hey, you know what, we
shouldn't be trading the way draft choices. We need players,
you know, we don't need players next year. We need
players this year. And so Asie just kind of nodded,

(38:19):
you know, yeah, okay, I understand, I hear you, brun
And then all of a sudden he's making a trade
with the Atlanta Falcons for next year's Falcon number one.
He's going to give up our number two and he's
gonna get in return the Falcons pick next year. Ozzie goes,
we have a deal unless my players there in the

(38:42):
second round. Now that was just trying to get a
little bit more because he really didn't have a guy
targeted at that point, as best I could tell. So
now it gets to be we're on the clock, and
Art Model says to Ozzie, well, what are you gonna do?
And he goes, why I think I'm gonna make the
trade with Atlanta. Are we're gonna give up this second

(39:03):
round pick and we're gonna get Atlanta's first round pick. Now,
Atlanta had just been in the Super Bowl. They had
just lost the Super Bowl, so it was going to
be a low number one maybe. So Brian Billick stands
up and he goes, hey, oz I, I don't mean
to be disrespectful here, but you know the reason I'm

(39:25):
here is because you don't have enough good players. We
can get a good player right now. In fact, I
love that tight end, Ozzy. You like that tight end.
Let's go get that tight end. Ozzie says, I hear you.
I hear you, Brian, I hear you. You know, And
then and then there's six minutes left in Atlantic calls
and says, you know, Ozzie, you're still wanting to do
the deal. And Ozzie says, yes, I want to do

(39:48):
the deal. So he makes the trade and Brian storms
out of the room, and so does Phil Savage is
college director because the college guy, he wants draft pick.
Of course, as it turns out, by the way, the
Falcons fall apart the following season, and it ends up
being the fifth pick in the first round that next year.
And guess what we take Jamal Lewis. Oh my goodness.

(40:12):
He becomes a starter for the following year by mid season,
replacing Priests Holmes, and we ride Jamal and our defense
to a Super Bowl championship. Ozzie's right again, What a surprise, right?
And Brian learned. Brian lasts about it today. He goes,
you know, I thought I could use my employer, thought

(40:32):
I could get Art to say you don't let Brian
make the choice. But he was writing letting Nazi do it.
Ozzie's unique background gives him insight into dealing with a
wide variety of people. Ozzie doesn't just relate to football
people or old schoolers. He relates to people period. Just

(40:55):
listen to his conversation with Barack Obama, the first black
president of the United State's history. A couple of days
after the Ravens won Super Bowl forty seven, he and
John Harball sat in a small office at M ANDT
Bank Stadium following the Ravens Super Bowl parade when the
President called to congratulate them for as mine as his

(41:15):
Ossie is. He does a trailblazer when he sees one.
Mister President, this is Ozzie, And I just want you
to know it's really an honor. And I'm looking forward
to coming up there and shaking your hand and uh
and I know you'd be shaking hands with Nick Saban
pretty soon too, so that's also an honor for me,
and I'll be happy about that one. So so you're

(41:37):
gonna take credit for for as well as mister President.
He always does winter time, I worked for two teams.
Mister President, do you feel as any aspect of being
a black general manager that helped you do your job better,

(41:58):
whether it be life experience you had, um that maybe
at some point your background helped you in some ways,
just the fact that you well, I mean, if you
take me you know I grew up in the locker room,
so I understand the locker room. But I guess what
you're getting at that the majority, I guess seven percent
of the league is African Americans, correct, And so yeah,

(42:20):
we are able to identify, you know, with with some
of the issues that our young men are dealing with today.
But also I can identify with the white player also,
So you know, I think there is some benefit there,
But I don't think you can just fall on that. Well,
you know, I knew how to deal with an African man. No,
you got to be a coach, number one. You got
to a deal with an owner, and you know, and

(42:42):
we don't have any African American owners, and so you
got better set across the table from some some very
powerful men and be able to talk with them and
to be able to demonstrate to them that you can
make a qualified decision today as of you made is
a key member of the organization. As a general manager.

(43:03):
Newson was really apsent for Raven's practices. That remains true,
and as Kevin Byrd describes Ozzie's persona still carries weight.
Usually Ozzie was at practice, he wasn't out on the
road much he was always around the team. How much
do you think that helped him? Bill bonds with players
and coaches and also have a pulse on the team.

(43:26):
He still does it today in his semi resort. So
he goes to every practice, and not only goes every practice,
he then goes back to his office and watches video
of the practice. He watches the coaches video, and then
he'll give a report to Coach Harbaugh and the coordinators,

(43:46):
just as he's always done. In the meantime, he's the one,
and he sits with Eric, and he's given Eric credibility.
And Eric recognizes that where you know, you'll have the player.
You know, Let's take Matt jud On for example, and
you know where Matt will walk by and say, hey,
when are you guys gonna pay me? You know? And
I was it because he's there. He says, you know what,

(44:07):
we want to pay you, and we'll pay you fairly.
You know, it's just can you get more from somebody else?
And if you do, what's that work? Wouldn't you rather
be here? So he constantly churns a rapport. I've seen
him with players going into last year as a contract
walk off to him after practice, and say, hey, Oz,

(44:28):
when are you're going to pay me? And Oz will go,
when you play better than you're playing right now, that's
what I'll pay you. Now, how many people can get
away with saying that not hurt or fracture a team,
But because it's Ozzy's saying that, they respect him so much,
players do, but they said, Okay, I got it, I
need to bring my level up. Or that player will

(44:49):
come to Ozzie's office and he'll say, how do I
get my level to a higher level? What do I
need to be doing? And so he's a great leader
that way. Well, Mitchell spent the night on Business Newsom's
couch trying to recruit Osi. Mitchell didn't know he was
refruiting a legendary player who would also become a legendary GM.

(45:10):
But Mitchell clearly understands Newsom's impact. Now, I'm sure you're
not surprised he's had so much success. Why do you
think he's been one of the few guys who's not
only been such a great player but also a great executive. Well,
when I was at Cleveland with Ozzie and I coached
the defensive line, you know, Ozzie at one time thought

(45:32):
he might want to be a coach, and for a
year he did work with Richard Mann, who was the
receiver coach at Cleveland at that time. I think what
really got Osie was those long hours that the coaches cant.
I hate to do something else. Hey, coaching is fun,
but hey, I can go to the front office and
have a lot more time with my family and do

(45:52):
other things. But I had a keen eye for talent,
and he related to the players really well. If you
asked me what the attribute us that he had was
that he could recognize talent and he was good with players.
How would you describe the legacy he's had as a
first the black general manager. You obviously know he's a player,
but what do you think about the legacy that he's

(46:15):
left as far as being, you know, so so important
in the NFL. First of all, it's how you conduct yourself.
And if you ever been around Odsy, he's a gentleman.
He conducts himself in a professional way. He makes people
feel easy around him. He doesn't have to be the
league dog. He will fit in in any situation. And

(46:37):
I think a lot of young guys who expire be
head coaches or general managers or in the upper exelon
in the NFL, and whatever capacity they choose, the first
person that I would go to would be Ossey Newsoon,

(46:58):
with Newsom at his midstes and the lack of minority
GM still an issue in the NFL, I wanted to
get his thoughts on the NFL's hiring practices at the
executive level. What do you think are the biggest vision
I mean, you were the first black general manager and
today in twenty twenty, we have just two black general
managers the current time. What do you think are the

(47:21):
biggest reasons why those numbers are almost the same as
when you became the first black general manager. We are
not doing a good job of getting African Americans in
front of the decision makers. I think if we can
get the great candidates, and we got a very good
pool of candidates, as you know, I work on the
Diversity committee in the world, I am on the Competition committee.

(47:42):
We got a great pool of candidates, and what we
need to do is get those candidates in front of
the decision makers. And I think if they get that
those opportunities, then those guys will also come away with
some jobs. Are you perplexed at all when you see
guys like two guys you know very well. You know
Rick Smith Jared Reis, who had success when they were gentleman.

(48:06):
I mean, Jered Rich won two super bowl The gigs
still haven't gotten a second opportunity. I think Rick is
going to get an opportunity. You know, Rick, he walked
away from the game to take care of his wife.
You know, that was a very noble thing that he did.
I've been in conversation with Rick on several occasions here
over the last two or three months, and I think

(48:26):
he's going to get an opportunity. And I think you
if he gets in front of people to Rick Smith
that I know it's going to be hard for them
not to hire them. And the same thing with Jared.
I mean a guy that's got two super Bowls on
his resume. So it's getting those two guys in front
of the decision makers and with the wealth of knowledge
that they have, then I think they both could come

(48:48):
away with opportunities. You have a close relationship with those
guys and others. Have you embraced this role osy at
this stage of being a mentor for other black gems
or potential black gems. Well, yeah, you know, I get
calls from the up and commerce and they want some advice,
and you know, and what I try to do is listen.

(49:10):
And what I always tell them is, you know, play
to your strength. If you're a good scout and you
came up with the scouting, didn't play to that, you
know what. You know, always play to your strength. If
you came up on the administrative side and then you're
very good with the salary cap and doing contract, didn't
play to that, you know what. Always play to your strength,

(49:31):
and then you can go out and hire people to
be able to hip you with your weaknesses. Now I
know your modest guy, Ozzy. But even as recently is
a few months ago, Jason Wright, who became the first
black team president in the NFL with the Washington team,
mentioned you as somebody that he modeled his career after.

(49:52):
How does that make you feel when you hear somebody
say that it's about the job that you do. You know,
as a football player, whether I was in high school,
college or in the NFL, I got just about my
performance on the field, and people would talk about, you know,
how prepared, how played on Sunday, but also how prepared

(50:13):
during the week. So I took those same things into
personnel and coaching, which I was doing the first four
years with Belichick. Is you know what, I just took
pride in my craft and you know, the opportunity to
be able to work well with other people, but also
to be able to take that responsibility that I had

(50:33):
to be able to make a decision based on all
of the information that I could get. Even though you're
very involved still Isasie, Was there any part that was
hard for you to walk away from the gym job?
And did you think about when I leave this position,
there won't be many African American gym managers like that
were when I started. That's where I can now take

(50:55):
some time to spend time talking with some of the
young guys. And I had two conversations today with some
young gms, and I got a conversation after this podcast
with another one. So I can take the time now
to talk with those guys and to help guide them,
but to be there to listen to them and then
provide some insights for those guys. So I think I'm

(51:19):
in a place now where I am trusted by those
guys and I can try to just give them some
little insights as to what they need to do when
they get in front of the decision maker and how
hopefully they could come away with the opportunity to decide
whether they want a job or not want it. Do
you think we're going to see more players make the transition,

(51:41):
particularly black players? You know, ten tways are now that
you have from the field to the front office. Yes,
you know, I am seeing that, you know. And what
used to happen is a player, especially an accomplished player,
would have a tough time starting at the bottom and
working their way back up to the top. But I

(52:03):
think now especially and I always talk to two players
when they call me get it out of your system,
that you if you want to be in TV or
whatever else, you want to be an entrepreneur, you need
to get all of that out of your system. And
once you get that out of your system and you
decide you want to come into in the personel in
the coach and didn't realize in order for you to

(52:23):
be the success, you need to start at the bottom
and work your way up. And you know, and they
are at that point right now. You know. They they've
got out there and they decided, hey, I can't be
an entrepreneur. I love football, I love what I could
bring to the game, and so they want to they
come back to it. So we're having more of that
right now that you know. Guys are coming back to it.

(52:45):
And I always tell them, but on the way you're
gonna be a success, you need to start at the
bottom and work your way up as you've been terrific.
Is any other message you want to leave be guarding?
You know, a diversity in the NFL. You know this
has been a turbulent year twenty twenty. You know you
have so much wisdom just encurigs about your thoughts about
what you see for the league going forward. I will

(53:06):
say this and because I worked hand in hand with him,
our commissioner, Roger Goodell, it's important to him that we
change the landscape of the amount of diversity that we
have at the coaching level, head coach coordinators, whatever, at
the GM levels, assistant gms and other positions within the organization,

(53:29):
like you know, Jason's just got the job in the
first African American president that there are other positions, but
our commissioner is committed to that task. And I think
when you have the leader committed, then everybody else will follow.
People have been following ozy Duson's lead for decades and

(53:50):
they will continue to do so for decades more. Just
out of curiosity, I recently googled the staff directory of
Temple University School of Pharmacy. I saw smiling faces of
different ages and ethnic backgrounds, and many women. I saw

(54:14):
a faculty and staff that looked a lot different than
it did when my mom was the first black female
pharmacy student to graduate from Temple. What I saw was
progress when it comes to diversity and inclusion. When it
comes to Temple School of Pharmacy, my mom played a
role in starting that. When it comes to NFL general managers,

(54:37):
I know Isai Knewsom did? I really hope you've been
enjoying this podcast. I want to ask you again to
please subscribe if you haven't already, leave a a review,

(55:01):
and spread the word to your friends and family. A
lot of the topics we've talked about recently, from diversity,
hiring and off the field banners are in the news
right now. This is important stuff and I hope you
will give it a listen and share with others. Thank you.

(55:26):
Black in the NFL is powered by Blue Wire. This
show is produced and edited by Noah Eberhard and executive
produced by Michelle Andres, Ryan Mink, John Yales, and Peter Moses.
Tuned to the Ravens Podcast Network for two other podcasts,

(55:46):
The Lounge hosted by Garrett Downing and Ryan Mink, and
What Happened to That Guy? Hosted by John Isenberg. Thanks
so all my guests, and join us for the next
episode of Black in the NFL. Until then, be blessed
and thanks for listening.