December 20, 2023 • 53 mins
Matt is here! Or as Steve Raible lovingly calls him, Matthew. Either way, the Ring of Honor quarterback joins us for a fun conversation you won't want to miss. Today’s show: coaching high school ball with his son (2:30), coaching his son like Seneca Wallace (05:03), coaching style learned from Jim Zorn (07:44), precision passing needed to play QB (12:59), attitude coming into Seattle (17:08), relationship with Holmgren and Zorn (21:06), 2005 Super Bowl season (26:26), Matt’s transition into TV and the ESPN layoffs (33:13), Matt’s future in coaching (39:03), and Matt vs. Matthew (50:53).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Seahawks Stories, teaking you behind the scenes
with your favorite Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Set back to Bey and Zorn, who's back to pass
as time looks for the left sideline, throws a bomb
down there he's got.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
A man in front.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
He makes to grab a travel at a thirty down
of the twenty.
Speaker 4 (00:14):
Don't ever get him. He scores touched down.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Seahawks powered by Seahawks Dot Com.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And Zorn later in perfectly a Rabel who goes in
to score on an eighty yard pass and run play. Now,
here's your host, the voice of the Seahawks, Steve Raeball
and Seahawks legend Jim Zorn.
Speaker 5 (00:35):
Once again, what a great honor today here on Seahawks
Stories to be sitting across from one of the earliest
Ring of Honor members and one of the newest Ring
of Honor members joins us today Matt Hasselbeck, the great
quarterback for the Seahawks during those terrific Mike Holmgren years.
Speaker 6 (00:50):
Matthew, how you doing, Bud?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Oh, it's so guys, how are you?
Speaker 5 (00:54):
We're We're all. I don't know about you. I'm trying
to survive a cold for the last couple of weeks.
I think you meant when we were talking a minute ago,
your voice is a little bit shaky, but yours is
not from a cold, right.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Well, you know, I think it's a combination of things.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
It's cold up here. I live in Boston's but uh.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, I just I'm coaching high school football. We just
finished our season. We just uh uh had.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
A great year.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
But like, there's all these things in coaching I wasn't
aware of. Like, you know, you don't sleep as much,
you lose your voice, you're standing around all the time. Uh,
there's your your eyesight goes.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I mean, all kinds of things. So I'm learning the
hard way, but I'm loving it.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Matthew. Uh you you said that you got a great season.
I know where you ended. Uh just tell everybody how
you ended your season this year.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Well, we ended, We finished strong.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
We ended up winning the state championship at the Division
one level here, which is the top level. And uh
we also won our conference championship, which was great six
days earlier. So we played the same team in the
conference championship on Thanksgiving morning, and then six days later
we played that same exact team for the state championship.
And they're the defending state champs, so it was, uh,
(02:06):
you know, it was not a given that we were
gonna do it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
It was. It was great.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
The kids were awesome and we uh we knocked off
the top team and the head coach of the other
team was a guy that, uh that went to Boston
College like I did and played in the NFL like
I did.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
So it was uh, it was. It was fun. It
was a good matchup, but uh, I was psyched to
be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Matthew, did you have a decent qb?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Uh we got a good quarterback, my son Henry who
if you guys remember little little Henry in my last
home game with the Seahawks, he was on my shoulders. Yeah,
he's a senior and he played great. He played absolutely
fantastic for us this year and last year.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
But uh, I'm really proud of him.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
I got to be his quarterback coach, and uh it
was it was a dream come true. And and quite honestly, Jim,
like you.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Know, I was a lot of I was stealing.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I mean I was stealing all kinds of gyms orn
coaching points and uh pretending like they were my own.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
And it was pretty fun.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Well, that is good. That's uh, you honor me by
saying that, But your son really had to perform, and
I know that that he did. In fact, I just
showed Raves the picture of Henry with the bloody, buody
nose that he was sporting at the end of your
semi final game.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Yeah, so he broke his nose.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
And you know, like if you if you were to
watch Henry play, he's a great player, but he doesn't
play anything like me really, like I try to get
him to play time a little bit.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
But he's a great runner. He's fast. Like he won't
remind you of me, but but.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I think what he probably the part that does remind
uh that I see myself in a little bit is
just like a little bit of like I don't even
know you want to call it, but uh, the broken nose,
I've reminded me of something silly and stupid that I
would have done. You know, Like he's bleeding everywhere, like everywhere,
like for an hour after the game, like it just
(03:59):
it was was kind of fun, but his mom didn't
like the blood.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
It was great. He was so bloody though that when
we got to.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
The emergency room, we didn't break stride. They were like,
oh my gosh, were you shot. We're like, no, he
wasn't shot. Were you in a car accident. No, not
in a car accident, just got a fist to the
face through the face mask.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
That's one of those things that for those of us
who've had those broken noses and you play through them
and and you know, the opponents at first they think
that's great, and then you keep lining up across from
and there's more blood running out of your face and
down your jersey, and they look across the line and.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
They think, this guy's insane, this guy's nuts.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
And by the way, So so what you're saying is
Henry got Sarah's athletic ability.
Speaker 6 (04:39):
That's what you're saying, right, you.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Know, I don't know where he came from. I mean,
she's a great athlete, my wife. But his speed is
what really perplexes us, because he's like really really fast,
like indoor track nationals kind of fast. So I don't know,
I don't know where it came from. I'm not I'm
not complaining, though. I did have to coach him a
(05:02):
little bit different though, and so I'm glad I was
paying attention when Jim Zorn was coaching Seneca Wallace all
those years, because I remember things that Jim would say
to Seneca, and I was like, oh, yeah, you know,
like this would be a good thing because it you know,
and I worked next to Steve Young for a long
time too.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And and you know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Your athleticism as a quarterback can be a little bit
of a you know, it's a blessing obviously, but it
can be a little bit of a curse because you
can rely on that and at times it doesn't work
out and you put your offense in second and seventeen
or something like that.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
So it was it was.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
A fun challenge coaching someone so athletic.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Though.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Let me ask you a couple of questions. First of all,
why did you decide to get into coaching. Was it
strictly because of Henry or because you you really enjoyed
the thought of doing it. That's the first question. Second one,
tell me about Jim Zorn as you were coach. I've
known Zee since we were kids as players. As you
heard on that by the way, that highlight when you
have when you only have one play it over and
(06:01):
over and over again.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
Which I do.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
But tell me about that tell me about the decision
to get into coaching and then and then z Man
as your coach.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, well, first off, I had no intention of getting
into coaching because I know.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
How hard it is, or at least I thought I did.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
And there was a clinic in my high school and
the head coach of my high school was there when
I was there as a coach.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
So he said, hey, do.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
You know anybody that can coach offensive line for the
like three day clinic? And I said, I'll ask around
and if I don't find anybody, you know, I'll.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Coach a O line for three days.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
And he said, well, you know what, our our offensive
coordinator is actually kind of an O line guy by trade.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Why don't I see.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
If he'll coach the O line and he usually coaches
the quarterbacks, and then you can take the quarterbacks instead.
And that's kind of how it all started. And then
it was so much fun. My dad ended up coaching
tight ends with us for that clinic and then we
just stayed on for the year and and so that's
that's kind of.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
What went into it. But I do.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
I do coach very similar to how I was coached
by Jim and and Jim Zorn like when he was coaching,
like you.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Know and Steve.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
You know this, like Jim can't run very well, like
he's got a uh.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
What do you have, Jim? You got like a rod
in your ankle? What do you have you?
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well, now I've got a fake ankle. But when I
coached you, yeah, my I was hobbling around a little
bit because I had arthritis in my ankle. Football is
such a great game, and so yeah, I hobbled around.
Uh but I you know when you watched me, when
you watch me, when I played, I was I was explosive,
much like Henry's explosive.
Speaker 6 (07:41):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
I can't run.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
So when you played, you were like, you know, Fran
Tarkington out there, you know, you were running around okay,
But but when you coached me, you couldn't run, Like
you could barely jog from drill to drill.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
But what Jim did do is he would outthrow all
of us.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I mean when we were having throwing competitions, like Jim
was throwing every bit as well as we were, Like
he was just humming it, just chucking it, like his
arm never went away. You know, if there was a
seven on seven tournament, he could still compete in.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
That, like maybe even now.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
So that is something that I also do, like I
can't like I can't run with these kids. I don't
even try, Like I just I'm like a peloton type
workout person now, you know, Like I don't even try
to run.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
But I do throw patent go I do throw routes.
I do throw one on ones.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
I do try to outrun them, I outthrow them. I
try to outcompete them the way that Jim sort of
tried to outcompete us with throws. And it's fun, you know,
it's fun. And Jim, like I don't know if he
did this on purpose, but he made it look so effortless,
like oh.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Yeah, here you go.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Zing was just like wow, you know, like you know,
I don't know, he kind of raised the bar for
us a little bit. So my coaching style is a
little bit like that. And and so that's just like
one of many many things I could tell you about
gyms aren't as a position.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Do you still use any or do you see yourself
using drills that that makes sense because I always tried
to use drills that would actually relate to the game
so that when the game, the game actually was videoed.
I could run it back and say, you know what,
look at this, this is exactly this is the drill
that we worked on two weeks ago or last week
(09:26):
or yesterday or whatever. That's the drill right there. But
it would be live in a game.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I think the difference, Like for you, like we always
had you know, maybe one or two equipment managers there
with us, and like four quarterbacks and you.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Know, helpers.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
When you're coaching high school football, you know, half it's
like you're you're the guy, like you're.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
The person doing it.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
You're the you're the coach, you're the equipment person. Sometimes
you're the athletic trainer. Sometimes you're the you know, you know,
you got to make sure the pylons are on the field,
like you do everything. And that's another reason, like I
have a tremendous amount of respect for coaches, but especially
high school coaches, and a lot of them are you know,
like high school teachers also, so it's I don't have
(10:09):
that luxury.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
But for sure, like Jim, there's a.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Play, you know, we used to call it, uh doubling
right X short seventy two x shell across and you
know we've run that at a zebra and we run
that play all the time at my high school that
you know that I'm coaching at. And there's one throw
in that progression. It's like the fifth read in the
progression that I remember missing one time. And sure enough,
last year, junior year, my son Henry misses the same
(10:34):
exact throw and I said, we're going to make this
a drill and it was. It was it was something
that you had done for me one off season.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
It was super helpful. And at the.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Time I was like, well, it wasn't my fault that
this ball wasn't completed. It was because I was thrown
it to Max Strong and he's just he's stiff.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
That's why I missed. But but that's not true.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
But the truth of it was is I needed uh,
I say, KYP. And that's like my term for the quarterbacks.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Know your personnel.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
If you're throwing to a full back that body type
is built to like he wants that football between the
three and the eight, you got to make it super
super convenient for him to catch that pass. You're not
throwing to Daryl Jackson on that kind of a throw, JYP.
Know your personnel and Jim, you use the analogy for
(11:22):
me with Steve Largin about a baseball pitcher and a catcher.
Do you remember, do you know what I'm talking about?
Can you explain that?
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, So Largent was a catcher in high school and
he told me, he said, when he threw the ball,
his coach told him, when he threw the ball back
to the pitcher, all he wanted was the pitcher just
to lift his glove and it had to be on
the side of his glove, so if it was right handed,
he would throw it to his left shoulder, and so
(11:52):
that the pitcher could only just lift his glove, catch
the ball, and he could make the next pitch. So
that's how accurate I wanted the quarterbacks. I wanted them
to make sure that they knew exactly where they were throwing,
you know, and if went in doubt, I'm going to
hit you in the face. But in this particular play
(12:13):
seventy two x shallow cross, Max Strong would run a
wide route or a swing if you will. Some teams
call it swing. It's a wide route. And I always say,
you know, you have to throw it to his front shoulder,
and it's got to be like Matt said, between the
three and the eight. As he as he turns up,
keep it in the core. Don't make him reach don't
(12:34):
make him reach up, don't make him reach down because
he's likely not max strong, but he's likely to drop
it well.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
And what's interesting here is we had Mike, your old boss,
Matthew on last week with us Homegrown. And I remember
NFL films going into like meetings and talking to Bill
Walsh when Bill was coaching those guys, and that's where
Mike came from obviously, and he talked about the need
(13:01):
for absolute precision on throwing the football, throwing it out
in front, you know, more than like six inches from
the body, No, and it's got to be right in
this certain spot and not on that certain spot. And
and a foot in any direction can make it, you know,
the not the throw that you want. And it's amazing
to me the demand needed and the skill needed by you,
(13:23):
Matt quarterbacks and that now you are teaching and Jim
Todd about where to put that ball so precisely, because man,
that's a that's that's tough to do.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Yeah, well, you know, I think I think to Jim's point,
you know, the other part he said, he's you know,
with the Steve Largent stories. He said, you know, respect
and understand the job that that pitcher has to do,
Like that picture has a job to do. One of
his jobs that we don't want him to have to
do is worry about catching at all, catching about the
(13:54):
throw from the catcher. And you know, so like that
that really hit me when Jim said it. You know,
we might have even been talking about a running play.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
At the time when it first came up.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
But like, understand and respect the job of the of
the person who's about to.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Catch the ball.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Once they catch it, now the play starts for them
in a way, like they have to go make people
miss run, someone over read blocks, like all that kind
of stuff. So do everything that you can do as
a quarterback in your power to help that person succeed,
much like the catcher and the Steve Largent story. But
for sure, like you know, Jim like was such an
(14:31):
amazing position coach and between you know, kind of the
teamwork of Mike Holmren with Jim as my position coach,
there were so many things that you know, I don't
even know if I understood them or really thought it
was possible the first time around. Like I remember Mike
Hongren just screaming, just screaming at us, like the ball
(14:54):
the football a practice, the football is not allowed to
touch the ground.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
It's not a lot to touch the ground.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
And it was like, you know, there were certain moments
it was like, what do you mean it's not allowed
touch the ground? Like this is football, it's kind of
touch the ground, you know. And he was just he
would like he would lose his mind on us a
little bit if the football ever touched the ground. But
what he did is he said a standard that was
so high, and it was like this is what we're
going for. And and I and I promise you there
there were probably numerous practices where the.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Ball did not touch the ground. Now the defense.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Probably wasn't allowed to break it up at times, but
but still like the for an offensive period, the ball
wouldn't touch the ground.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
And and you know that.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
That is something that I don't know, Like I think
as a coach, part of what your job is to
do is to you know, make take players and help
them become better than they even thought they could be.
Then they could even even imagine that they could be.
And and Mike and Jim certainly help help help me
do that.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Matthew. You know, I think that that was one of
the attitudes that you brought you obviously brought with you.
It was competitive because you came out with goals in mind.
You know, the ball's not going to hit the you know,
think about that, the ball's not going to hit the ground,
and you made you so you had to put in
(16:19):
more concentration. It was really a concentration type of situation
that you couldn't let go because if you just and
I used to really get bugged, if you just threw
vicinity passes, passes that were yeah I hit him, Yeah
it was close. That does not cut it, not not
at the NFL level, really not even at the college level.
(16:43):
But there's an acceptance, if you will, by by some
coaches thinking because they don't know, if you just concentrate
a little bit more, you can hit it. You can
throw the ball right where you want it to be,
and you can kind of came in with that. Tell
us the question that I have for you when you
got selected, you got traded to the Seahawks, how did
(17:06):
you because it amazed me, how did you come in
with such a great attitude of team, of knowing what
what just had, Like you were the one quarterback I coached.
I think in my whole life who knew exactly why
you got traded, exactly what you wanted to accomplish, and
(17:29):
you just brought that whole aura with you when you
came to the Seahawks. How did you was that in
you or did you did you study.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Or you know? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Well, you know, I would say I had a lot
to learn when I got to Seattle.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
I had a lot.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
To learn, But I at that point I had learned
a lot of lessons.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I mean I I you know, grew up in a
football family.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
My dad played nine years in the NFL, played for
the Patriots, the LA Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings, the New
York Giants. I was around it. I was around you know.
I was around the Bill parcels Is. I was around
you know, some great some great players, some great coaches.
I chose to go to Boston College. Tom Coughlin was
my coach. That was my coach my first year. I
(18:14):
learned a ton from him. I had great position coaches
in college. Uh, you know, I learned a little bit
from everybody, from Dirk Cutter to Steve Kragthorpe to Gary
Croton to I mean.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Just all kinds of guys and so.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
And then I get to Green Bay and I'm there
for three years and I'm learning behind Brett Farr of
Our quarterback room included Doug Peterson, Rick Meyer, Andy Reid
was my position coach. Mike McCarthy came in year two,
Mike Sherman year three. Darryl Bevill was there, like Danny
Werfol was a backup, like like there was a There
were a lot of people that I think like planted
(18:50):
seeds or watered seeds in terms of like who I
was as a teammate, who I was as a leader
like some of those things. But but uh, but now
I I think, you know, truly, I think I think
I was young and still growing and learning, and Jim
you ran the quarterback room a certain way. Brock Heward
was was one of the guys in the room. I
(19:11):
thought he was a great teammate and he was a
great leader. Trent Dilfer came in, he was he was
a great leader. So I just I think I was
a work in progress there, but we had we were
building something special, and I know I was a part
of it, but like I kind of feel like I
was a small part of it, especially early on, and
(19:33):
and and I don't know, I don't I don't know
if I have an answer for you, but I'm really
appreciative for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Yeah, what I hear you say in your answer is
that you had a lot of influences that molded and
shaped you before you got there. But when you came in,
I noticed just how you wanted to function on the
team and that made a huge impact on me from
(20:03):
you a player, and I wanted to give you the
best I could. I always felt like I was one
maybe braves, I was one day ahead of these guys
because they were very quick and they would love to
waste time, and I had to keep I had to
stay focused because they knew they knew their stuff, but
I still wanted to bring them further than what they knew,
(20:27):
and that was a challenge in itself.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Hey man, Mike, Mike, I know, and he said this before.
He was tough on you as he is on you
know a lot of people, but especially his quarterbacks, because
he was one and he knows how to play the position,
he knows how to coach it. He learned from Bill
Walsh and all that stuff. Did the dynamic end up
being because Mike, I mean, he speaks in such glowing
(20:50):
terms of you, but I know you guys had gotten
sideways a few times. And in fact, he told us
the last time we talked to him here that Kathy,
after one of your discussions, said you've got to go
back and apologize to Matt, which I guess you guys
both did. You said, Okay, we both lost our heads
a little bit. But did z Man have to play
kind of that that middleman between you guys. Was Mike
(21:12):
maybe a little tougher on you than he was on
other guys, And was z Man the guy who was
kind of talking you down at times or two?
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I mean, there's so much, There's so much to the relationship.
But like I say, you know, I got to Seattle
kind of like Jim saying. I came from Green Bay
and we were running the same Mike Holmgrend offense, so
to speak, but we were running the Brett var version
of it. And when I was in Green Bay, it
was my job to run the green Bay version of it.
And there were so many tools and there was so
(21:43):
much freedom at the line of scrimmage and there was
all that's like, I don't know, it just felt like
a grown up offense. And when I first got to Seattle,
you know, I just felt like I was on.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Training wheels, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
It's like I was like, no, I have my driver's license.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
I don't need training wheels.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
And that was my first Like I literally remember we're
playing a game that year oh one down in Oakland.
We're playing the Raiders, and uh, I would call a
play and I audible and it's like a simple audible.
I was basically like same play other way, you know,
like opposite and and like I we snapped the ball
(22:20):
and I'm literally the only person who does the what
I thought.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Everyone was going to do. And I get.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Sacked like right around second base in the dirt, and
like Mike Clongrin.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Loses his mind on me, and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
But then I'm like, no, I'm right, everyone else is wrong.
Kind of like mindset. And Jim was like mind blown
because you know, he.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
Was like, who do you think you are?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
I mean, so I don't know, I yes, yes, but
I do remember one time, one time, it was kind
of a pivotal moment in my relationship with Mike Hongren
is like Mike was always hard on me, hard on everybody,
and Jim was sort of like, I don't know, like
the person I could trust the most, you know, Like
(23:07):
he was like he was my guy and I was
his guy. And there was a moment one time when
when Jim got mad at me at practice and I remember,
like Mike, we weren't like super like Buddy. Buddy was
like he was the head coach and I was a quarterback.
And Mike came over to me and was like, Hey,
if you have Jim like mad at.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
You, you're the problem. Like you're the problem.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Oh well, that's great, you know I remember I don't
necessarily remember that one play you audible to, But Mike
used to always say, what you don't like my play?
You don't like what I called? Uh do you have
a problem with what I called? And uh so, I
think that's probably what he would come up and tell
Matt what you didn't like what I called. But Matt
(23:56):
had a lot of influence as well, and maybe it
was after a few years, but he we had this
one play was called Past three twelve Double Quick Hitch,
and it was really designed a play to run versus
a three deep coverage. Well, when you had a two
deep pre snap or Matt would know, hey, it's going
(24:16):
to be cover two. He wanted audible out of it
because he wasn't going to have either side. They were
going to take both wide receivers away. So he would say,
I wanted just audible to a run and we had
you know, Steve Hutchison and Walter Jones on the left side.
Let me just audible to run, Max Strong leading the way.
Let me audible to that play versus a too deep shell.
(24:40):
And Mike would not budge for a while. And then
finally he trusted Matt Moore and more. And that was
really probably the key for the relationship between QB and coach.
For Mike Hongrin is, I want to be able to
trust you. And I think he began to trust Matt
(25:02):
with much more if like Matt put it the driver's
license instead of training wheels h and he allowed him
to be audibling to certain things, but no quarterback really
just just audibles because he wants to Really, you've planned
these things out, so they had to be planned for
(25:24):
Mike to agree to be able to do it.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
Matt the trust factor obviously took you guys ultimately to
the Super Bowl. That team just continued to get better
and better and better.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
So let's go to.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
That season, the Super Bowl year, actually maybe even the
year before that when you were inducted in the Ring
of Honor. In fact, let me go back to that
last last year, right or last season? And was it
last season two years ago?
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Last year?
Speaker 6 (25:50):
Well if it does for me too, And wait, are
my age?
Speaker 4 (25:53):
Money?
Speaker 5 (25:53):
Everything runs together when you're my age. And I remember
when we put together kind of the thing that I
was that I needed to say about you, and I said,
I've got to add this one thing. And we talked
about it that night on the great run by Marshawn,
which is still talked about, you know, the seismic activity
and all that stuff, how you were sprinting down the
(26:14):
field to make a block, and I just I always
thought about that that here's the quarterback who's there to
make help get this guy into the end z on
a really terrific run, maybe one of the most memorable
plays in Seayawk's history. But that team that you led
goes all the way to the Super Bowl game.
Speaker 6 (26:31):
Talk to me about.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
What that team had what it was that you found
in yourself and in your teammates that got you to
that moment in Detroit.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Well, for starters, I think we had no idea like oh,
five training camp. I see footage of that sometimes in
NFL films and it's like that that was the year.
Like that, we had no idea, Like was it wasn't
like we showed up to camp that year and said, oh,
this is definitely our year. It wasn't that it was
just stacking one practice on top of another. That year
(27:05):
was not without adversity. We had adversity. We lost I
think all our starting wide receivers going into a game
in Saint Louis and Jim gave me this coaching point.
He said, Hey, I know we're playing with a bunch
of receivers that are like not starters and you know
all this stuff.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Here's the coaching point I went for you.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
And like I had a pen out. I'm like, okay,
I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (27:26):
And he says and he goes throw it to where
the receivers are, not to where you know they should be.
You know, He's like, I'm not writing that down, Like
what I'm not writing I'm not even writing that down,
but by game time, I took the advice throw it
to where they are, not to where you know they
should be, and literally threw a touchdown pass to Joe Jaravishis.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Should have been looking for him, like twenty.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Five yards downfield, and I'm like, I don't see him anywhere,
and so I just kind of look everywhere and he's
way shallower than that.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
And I'm like, all right, we'll do what Jim said.
Threw it to him and he scored a touchdown.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
But but it's like it was stuff like that the
game when Mike Holmgren and I had our biggest flare
up and we really didn't have flare ups, but like
the one we did it, we had a major, major
like Kathy Holmgren needs to get.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
Involved flare up. That was That was five. That was five.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
You know, like there's a lot of stuff that happened
in five that It was like this team overcame adversity.
We went down to Jacksonville first first game, I think,
got spanked, got absolutely spanked, and then I hurt my
shoulder pretty bad throwing a hail mary down two scores
like a hail mary like further than I could throw
(28:43):
a hail Mary. Like I remember he calls, like we
called a two jet rebound path and I'm like, I
can't even reach from right here.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
This is a frustration call.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
And I'm like, all right, whatever, you know, someone's gonna
get hurt. I didn't think it was going to be me,
and it was me, and like so like that, that
year started out really tough, and uh, I think one
of the lessons in it is like, you know, just
just keep going, just keep going, one foot after another,
one step at a time, one.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
Play at a time.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
There's a Bill Watshs quote that we used in Seattle
quite a bit, you know, is, uh, you know, just
do everything right and the score will take care of
itself kind of thing. And and I don't know, I
think looking back, I don't remember ever saying that at
the time, but looking back, I think that's just what
we did.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
We we may.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Be sacrificed on on talent and and probably valued professionalism
a little bit more of that year in terms of
like just being accountable to each other as players.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
And stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
But no, it was a super special year and I
wish we would have finished it.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
But but starting out it was. It really just felt
like every other year.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I remember so many things about that about that season,
and one of them, uh was how well we did
have some seasoned veterans and the relationships between you are
O Line, Sean Alexander, Darryl Jackson, Bobby Ingram, all these
guys that were involved, they were so valuable. As we
(30:16):
got further into the season. As a coach, we coached hard,
but we didn't say to ourselves, oh my gosh, I
think we have a chance to go to the playoffs.
We coached the same, But then towards the end when
you're winning, you almost coach less because the players, they
are much more accountable to themselves and they kind of
(30:40):
take over. And I think that's what happened during that season.
They just they believed in them in themselves and the maturity.
They still cracked jokes, and they still were, you know,
playing a little bit of you know, they were playing
loose and free. But once they were concentrating on what
(31:00):
the job that they had to do was going to
be accomplished, how it was going to be accomplished, they
just went right to it and worked really hard to
get that done. They deserved all the accolades that they
got after that season for what the work that they
put in during the season, for sure.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
And you should have gotten the ring. I mean that's
just me.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Can I say one o the things that I think
is like somewhat relevant is like we lost on the
last play of the game and the three playoffs, and
then we lost on the last play of.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
The game and the four playoffs.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
And and I think like five, it was kind of
like we all just kind of knew we all had
to do a little bit more, a little bit different,
a little bit better, you know, like we couldn't just
do the same thing we do every year. And and
I don't know, I almost think like the losses in
three and o four, like even though they weren't like
Super Bowl losses or NFC Championship losses, like they they
(31:59):
mattered so much to the motivation going into five and
and just you know, I just think I think that was.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Like a major factor. Remember, my disappointment.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Would lose into the Rams for the third time, I'm
literally like pounding the turf as hard as I can, like,
you know, and just that disappointment just kind of turning
that into not gonna let this happen again. Not gonna,
not gonna lose to that team again. And you know
it was it was you know, I guess in those losses.
There's there's something good about the losses, I guess because
(32:30):
it propelled us to the you know, the kind of
team that we were in O five.
Speaker 5 (32:34):
Well, and the same thing happened a few years later
when we go down to Atlanta and lose a playoff
game there and literally Russ is talking to Pete on
the way back into the locker room and said, you know,
we're gonna We're gonna go to the super Bowl next year.
This is the team to do it. And in fact
it did happen. So playing days kind of passed. Matthew,
you go into television. That's something I know about little
(32:55):
something about after spending almost.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
Four decades in it. Do you is it now?
Speaker 5 (33:00):
I got to tell you, I've been around a lot
of you know, when they've had reduction in forced riffs
we call it in the business, and they say, oh,
we got to kind of cut the budget and all
that stuff, so they.
Speaker 6 (33:11):
Let people go.
Speaker 5 (33:12):
And I was so sorry to see that happen to you,
because you worked hard and you did such a terrific job,
and I'm not you know, I don't want you to
to speak bad, speak ill of people, even though I will,
but I thought they made a mistake. So do you
want to get back to that. What did you enjoy
about that opportunity.
Speaker 6 (33:33):
That you had?
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Yeah, I I absolutely loved it.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
I wasn't that really my intention to go into TV
or anything like that. I got offered an opportunity to
work with Chris Berman on the show that I grew
up watching, some NFL Countdown, and I was like, are
you kidding me? Chris Berman like yeah, I'm like yeah,
it's awesome.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Let's let's go.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
And I started with Randy Moss and Charles Woodson and
it was awesome. It was it was a great experience,
great seven years. I was super bummed, like super disappointed
when when I got the call this summer saying hey,
we're gonna we're gonna lay you off.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
You're part of the ESPN layoffs.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
And they were like, you know, I don't know, like
you know, spitting it positively, like hey, you know you
have two years left on your deal. You'll still get paid,
and you know you just can't work anywhere else for
two years and all this stuff.
Speaker 4 (34:24):
But I was devastated. I was like really upset. But
looking back, all that all.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
That has happened is like it freed me up to
coach Henry in the senior year of high school. And
quite honestly, I just told my wife this the other day,
I said, you know, ESPN laying me off like they
did for me what I never would have had the
courage to do myself, Like I would not have had
the courage to quit my job, invest in family time,
(34:51):
invest in this year my son's senior year, going back
to my own high school, and just pour everything I
have out for the kids that are at my school now, and.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
You know, and have missed.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
I would have missed out on like this state championship
and like all this stuff with my son, and I
don't think I would have had the courage to do it.
And you hear stories about people who quit their jobs
and choose family or whatever.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
And and it's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
Unbelievable because you know, I know how tough that would
have been for me to do, and I didn't have
the courage to do it.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
So they did it for me.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
And you know, this is like a you know, like
an unanswered prayer in a sense that I've had the
opportunity to do it. So looking back, I wouldn't change
a thing, and I don't.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
I don't honestly.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
I didn't miss it one time this year, maybe the
first week, but I think I was just so into
what I was doing at the high school level and
just loving it that it's all it's all good, and
it worked out better than I could have ever planned myself.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Hey, Matthew, so you talked about being able to coach
Henry in high school. A lot of dads want to
do that and maybe and you with all the knowledge
that you were bringing in, how did Henry respond to
you as a dad and now you're going to try
to be his coach and hey, you're the big time player.
(36:12):
You're going to a big time Did you get a
lot of eye rolling or did he you know? What
was that relationship?
Speaker 4 (36:17):
Like?
Speaker 1 (36:18):
And matt do you still have a relationship with Henry?
Speaker 3 (36:22):
So it's funny, like I put into practice a lot
of the things that sort of Taffy Homegren had recommended
that Mike and I do, And because it is a
thing like dad's coaching their sons and stuff like that,
and so in fifth grade, I did. I kind of
sort of coached a little.
Speaker 4 (36:41):
Bit, like during the week.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
I was never able to go to games, but I
coached during the week. When Henry was in fifth grade,
that was the first year that I was done playing
with a teammate of mine that played in the NFL.
I'm a high school teamate of mine that played in
the NFL. We coached our sons, and it was just funny,
like he was hardest on his son and I was
hardest on my son, and so we kind of made
an agreement. I'm like, hey, listen, I'll coach your son.
(37:04):
You coach my son, you know, like like specifically, and
but they're on the same team. So I kind of
understood that I was going to be a thing. But no,
I basically to your question, I was intentional about how
I would coach him, Like if when he would come
off the sideline after a play, I would give him space.
I would let him talk to his teammates. I would
(37:26):
let him talk to other coaches. I would let him
get a drink. I would not be there even if
I had something to say, I would I would I
would move move. And then this year for his senior year,
maybe like two games into the season, I decided to
go up to the booth and be on the headset
up in the booth too. Again, I think just sort
(37:47):
of let his leadership style kind of fleurus a little
bit and let him not have me on the sideline, like, hey,
I'm not there. Like, you know, he grew up playing hockey,
and I just remember and the goalie equipments a lot,
and I remember there was a time in the goalie
hockey life where it was like tie your own skates,
(38:07):
put are on your own leg pads, like you're old enough,
now it's your turn. And I sort of did something
similar this year with him as a quarterback, like hey,
you go break the team down. You got the offense,
you know, like let let him have Let him have that,
you know, Mike, Mike and Jim there was a saying
that we said in our quarterback room. Think Mike started it,
(38:30):
and it was they would say to the quarterbacks, you're
an artist, not a blacksmith. You're an artist, not a mathematician.
You know, there's an art to playing quarterback, and you know,
and then Jim would say like, hey, you know, go
ahead and paint your canvas.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
You're an artist, and.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
That's something those guys said, and I repeat that to him,
you know, like, hey, what should the cadence be here?
Speaker 4 (38:50):
I'm like, hey, you got it.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
Like there are things that are like non negotiables, and
I'll let you know what those are, but other.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Than that, you got it.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
And so I tried to give him the free them
that I would have wanted if I was the player.
Speaker 6 (39:02):
Do you want to continue? Do you want to keep coaching?
You want to move up? Do more?
Speaker 3 (39:07):
I really do want to keep coaching. I don't know
if I need to move up in a weird way.
I think like if I was in a weird way,
coaching an NFL quarterback would be easier for me.
Speaker 4 (39:19):
That's like I don't know a.
Speaker 3 (39:20):
Lot, because that's the one thing I feel like I
really do know. Well, you know, high school is it's different,
you know, and it's a lot of work and you
don't have to support, you know, you're trying to scout
an opponent.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
You're looking at the film. You're like, I can't this
film is so bad? Are there ten people out on
this film? I have no idea, you know, Like I
don't even know.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
The rules all the way like the hash marks are
you know, befuddling to me.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
I don't the thing I would say about it.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
And I was telling one of my friends this the
other day, like, like, one of the things I love
about coaching these kids is that, you know, a lot
of them are going to go on to play college football,
and I really, I know I can help them, but
there's there's a lot of them that aren't gonna go
play college football.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
You know, the majority ei they're not. But they're all
going to grow up to be adults.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
You know, They're all going to grow up to be
probably husbands and dads.
Speaker 4 (40:13):
And leaders somewhere.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
And I think that's probably the most rewarding part about this.
It's like, yeah, we're.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
Using football like to you know, as a tool to
kind of be around them and teach them and all
that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
But you know, it's it's it's so much bigger than that,
so much bigger than seventy two X shallo across. Now,
seventy two x shall Across teaches you how to be
like precise, imperfect and like and like you strive to
be the best, et cetera. But it's not about that.
It's about things much much bigger than that.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
Yeah, well, I think with Matt, you can You and
I are sitting here listening to him, and we're nodding
our heads. This is right on, and you can see
that Matt is built for more about life through football,
but football is just a small part of things in
(41:09):
the bigger picture for him, right well.
Speaker 5 (41:11):
And I think any of us, or many of us,
let me put it that way, who played this game
to the level that we played. Certainly me, not to
the level of you guys, but we all played at
this at the NFL level. But we had to come
up through the ranks, and we had to come up somewhere,
and high school was in my estimation. And I just
saw my high school coach I went back to Louisville,
Kentucky when we played in Cincinnati, where I'm from. He's
(41:33):
ninety seven, Oh my god, and he's still sharp as attack.
He's smarter than I'll ever be, and he's forgotten more
football than I'll ever know. And we sat and talked
to me myself in a former teammate, high school teammate
and my coach. And every time I do that, and
it's been like five or six years since I saw him.
I just remember that, aside from my father, he was
(41:54):
the man who had the most influence on my life
growing up because he taught me things about discipline, achieving things,
and about pride, but not a false pride, but a
pride in doing the right thing the right way. And
so I always remember that. And you're right, matt You
can have a bigger impact on a young man at
that point in his life than ever in any other
(42:16):
point in a young man's life. So I applaud you,
and I hope that that continues.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Yeah, hey, Matthew, let me say one more thing to
the audience, to you too, Steve, about matt because one
of the things that I remember as we were building,
he talked about the three season, four season, and then
in five we end up being able to win it
and go to the Super Bowl. But one of the
things that I always remember about Matthew is his tempo.
(42:45):
We always talked about tempo, creating tempo on the football field,
and we did not have an everybody was talking about
no huddle offenses and oh Peyton Manning. Watch him on
the line of scrimmage, and when you look at his
on the line of scrimam antics, he'd snap the ball
with less than ten seconds to go on the clock.
But Matt. I say all that to say Matt had
(43:08):
this ability to get in and out of the huddle
so fast with the play he'd call it, he'd get
up on the line of scrimmage and then we would go.
He would not sit there and let's study the line
of scrimmage and slow things down. He just went fast,
so fast that the defensive coordinators and the head coaches
(43:32):
were all complaining all year long. That's one of the
things that we would hear from them is we were cheating,
especially because when you see it on video, you can't
tell when you're preparing for. When you were preparing for
Matt Hasselbeck on the field, you could not tell how
fast we were really going because the video starts when
(43:55):
he gets up to the line of scrimmage, and man,
it was fast. And those tea teams, I think, just
were always on their heels with what we were doing
because it was in and out, audible here, quick pass here,
and he had a great rhythm and timing to how
he played. And I try to coach that into players
(44:18):
today because the tempo is an offensive weapon and I'm
not talking about no huddle. I'm just because we huddled,
we called every play and we got a fillin of
scrimmage and went Matthew did it as good as anybody
I've said. I don't think anybody has done it as
well as he's done.
Speaker 6 (44:35):
It, matt Is it a weapon that you choose that
you teach today.
Speaker 4 (44:40):
It's funny you say that.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
I was doing a Matthew Stafford interview down with Sean
McVay last summer and I just showed up at practice
or whatever, and Sean McVay was like, no way, so cool.
Speaker 4 (44:52):
That you're here today.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Takes me into the quarterback room and he's like, this
is a video we showed of your first drive against
Caroline in the NFC Championship game, talking about tempo, how
you guys just go fast and like don't give the
defense a chance to breathe and you know you're snapping
it with like, however many seconds on the play clock,
Like a lot of time left on the play clock.
(45:15):
The funny thing about it, and I told Sean mcvaythis
how that kind of started is I was sick and
tired of getting minus grades on my quarterback Grete sheet
from Jim's orn, and I determined because I had to decide, Okay,
is the safety down or is the safety back? And
I just I kind of watched Trent Tilford do this.
(45:36):
If you just go really really fast, you don't give
the safety a chance to come down or even make
a decision, so you can't be wrong.
Speaker 4 (45:42):
So it was really just born out.
Speaker 3 (45:44):
Of like, all right, you know, I'm tired of getting minuses.
Speaker 4 (45:48):
I'm just gonna go as fast as I can here.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
Yeah, you did a good job. And I remember talking
to you a couple of games about how did you
know he was going to come down? Because I you know,
you either had to go opposite rotation or you knew
the guy was going to come down. You even changed
the protection, uh, based we would change protections based on
a safety coming down to cover the back while the
(46:11):
linebacker blitzed, And you would change the protection to get
that taken care of and the guy and and what
Matthew said, this is what he said to me, as
I remember he just I saw him take a step.
I said, one step. You did it because of one step? Yes,
as we were watching video, I could tell if that
guy took one step forward he was coming up.
Speaker 6 (46:33):
And more times than that he was right.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
Yeah, oh he was right.
Speaker 4 (46:35):
All you know, I learned to believe it or not.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
I mean, Walter Jones did not talk when we were
talks all the time. I used to change my cadence
up a lot and acts like I was going to
snap the.
Speaker 4 (46:46):
Ball and or go on a quick count or all
this stuff.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
And I remember talking to Walt one time and I said, Hey,
I'm going to try to get that guy a jump,
and Walt was like, it don't matter. What do you mean.
Speaker 4 (46:59):
I'm like, I'm trying to a job. He goes na,
it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he jumps.
Speaker 3 (47:04):
All I need to do is see him lean, just
his flinch, and I know which way he was going.
And I got him, and I thought like, dang, that's crazy,
like and I wonder if that's true for me, and
so the same thing. If I could just get the
safety to like just just lean, then I know what
he was gonna do if I had snapped snapped the ball,
(47:24):
and you know, it's it was a nice little, nice
little tool weapon whatever.
Speaker 4 (47:31):
You know. Trick I learned from uh from Wall and.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
Again, I think most of it is just I didn't
want to mind us onims on.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
One of the main one of the main things I
had to do with Matthew when we first were together,
you know, I was. I would watch him. He was
and you could tell probably still is an excitable boy
and pregame he would just be wired up. So what
is it was different? You know, you think about, okay,
(48:01):
he's on some kind of drug. Matthew, how many cups
of coffee did you drink today? I only drank six
six cups of coffee. Yeah, So I said, okay, here's
the new rule. This is a Matthew Hasselbeck rule. There
is no caffeine at all. You're already high enough. I mean,
you're already excited about playing. You're the excitable boy. No caffeine.
(48:25):
And so that was that was a rule. Now I
don't know if he obeyed that or not. He'll tell
us here in just a second.
Speaker 4 (48:31):
But newborns oh, I know.
Speaker 1 (48:37):
But what he did is I would always remember he
needed to eat at halftime. So at halftime, you know,
we're going to talk, and now he'd beaten a hot dog,
or we're going to talk and he's eating a pizza,
pizza or we're going to talk, and now he's got
a Deli sandwich.
Speaker 4 (48:56):
You know, he ate hey for the record. For the record, I.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
Would have eaten something, but like so in the NFL.
In the NFL, you eat four hours before kickoff, right, okay, and.
Speaker 4 (49:07):
So there's no food and everyone's like, oh, you know,
I'm just hungry. But so there was nothing.
Speaker 3 (49:13):
So I would get people to go into the concession
stand and get me something because.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
There was nothing.
Speaker 4 (49:19):
Now we got that fixed. Eventually it went from a
hot dog to a piece of pizza to it.
Speaker 3 (49:25):
Literally, you're right, it went to it like a turkey sandwich,
and you know, we improved it.
Speaker 4 (49:31):
But other than that, the only thing that.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
They were serving at halftime was orange slice. Like you
did you know, you played soccer as a kid, and
you can only have so many orange slices.
Speaker 6 (49:42):
So yeah, what a difference.
Speaker 5 (49:46):
Because I remember the halftime when we were playing, like
my rookie was guys going in the bathroom and smoking,
you know, have a couple of cigarettes and then come
back out into the locker room. And I remember you
talk about coffee. I one of the games we played,
Mike Curtis was one of our linebackers, our rookie year,
the great outside linebacker, and he used to eat no
(50:07):
pregame meal and he just drink coffee, drink like a
pot of coffee before the game. So I said, if
it's good enough for him and he's playing like in
his thirteenth year at linebacker, I said, I'm gonna try this.
So I tried it, and all it did was make
me have to pee like ten times during the game.
I had to, and Jack wouldn't let us run inside,
so you know, you're kind of back there by the
(50:27):
garbage can and hoping that nobody sees you.
Speaker 6 (50:29):
But that was the dumbest thing I ever did.
Speaker 5 (50:32):
You know, you have the jitters, you can't hold your
hands in front of your face, and now you've got
to go to the bathroom about fifteen times.
Speaker 6 (50:37):
So I learned a lot.
Speaker 5 (50:38):
I learned a lot there before we go and we
were getting gonna be wrapping up here, Matt, I know
you got things to do, like rest your voice.
Speaker 6 (50:45):
For one.
Speaker 5 (50:46):
We have both Jim and I have done this now
this entire interview, we've gone back and forth between Matt
and Matthew.
Speaker 6 (50:53):
When you were playing.
Speaker 5 (50:55):
I can't tell you how many people would either write
me a note or say something to meal.
Speaker 6 (51:00):
Why do you call him Matthew? His name is Matt,
It's Matt Hasselbeck.
Speaker 5 (51:04):
And I always remember saying, because I heard that his
mom called him Matthew, and I just thought it sounded great,
And so I called you Matthew.
Speaker 6 (51:13):
I know you know this. I called you Matthew for
your entire.
Speaker 5 (51:15):
Career, and I just felt like that was I felt
like it was a little piece of the family. And
I got to meet your mom and dad one day
after a game, and I knew I think Don and
I actually played against each other at time.
Speaker 6 (51:26):
Or two, sure, but U and they were they said that,
you know, they like that. They thought that was really
nice that we called you Matthew.
Speaker 5 (51:33):
So anyway, for those of you out there who are listening,
who remember back in the good old days, that's why
we called him.
Speaker 6 (51:38):
That's why we call Matt Matthew.
Speaker 4 (51:40):
All Steve, and I'll tell you, like I say, Matt, I.
Speaker 3 (51:44):
Signed Matt like you know, I introduced myself as Matt.
But like there's never been a time in my life
ever or anyone in my family, my mom, my dad,
my brothers, my wife, my kids, my you know, cousins.
Anybody has ever called me matt ever, really it's always
Matthew always, But yeah, it's both. I guess I don't
(52:07):
really care either way, but I will say this, I
know my mom appreciates it. And when someone doesn't call
me Matthew and they call me matt she will correct them.
Speaker 4 (52:16):
So she's a big Steve Rabel fan for that reason.
Speaker 5 (52:19):
Right now, well, listen, Matthew, this has been just a slice.
Speaker 6 (52:27):
Of heaven here.
Speaker 5 (52:28):
We have enjoyed talking to you. We've been zee and I,
you know, kind of put a list together of all
the people we wanted to have on and you're right
there at the top of the list for many, many reasons,
and a lot of it doesn't have to.
Speaker 6 (52:39):
Do with football.
Speaker 5 (52:40):
A lot of it has to do with just the
person that you are and the person that you kind
of grew into here in Seattle, and we watched you
grow up in front of our eyes, and now you're
doing all these great things. Really many thanks to you.
I hope what you decide to do in the future
continues to help those young people that you helped the
last couple of years, because you're the kind of guy
(53:01):
that can do just that. Matt Thank you very much,
hate us, Sarah and the family. Hey to the folks,
and we can't wait till you come out here and
visit with us again.
Speaker 3 (53:09):
All Right, I'm coming out for a cracking game, I
think New Year's Day and that's kind of my goal.
Speaker 4 (53:14):
So we'll see if it happens. Busy, busy kid.
Speaker 1 (53:17):
We'll see see you later, man, all right, buddy, that's
thanks guys, enjoying it, okay, man.
Speaker 6 (53:22):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (53:23):
Matthew Hasselbeck joining us here on Seahawks Stories along with
Jim z Ord and yours truly, Steve Rabel. That was
That was a treat I enjoyed. That can't wait till
we find out who we're going to talk to next
week with us, as it's always somebody great from this organization.
Thanks for being with us, Thanks for listening in everybody
till next time.
Speaker 6 (53:40):
We'll see you then.
You're listening to Seahawks Stories, teaking you behind the scenes
with your favorite Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Set back to Bey and Zorn, who's back to pass
as time looks for the left sideline, throws a bomb
down there he's got.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
A man in front.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
He makes to grab a travel at a thirty down
of the twenty.
Speaker 4 (00:14):
Don't ever get him. He scores touched down.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Seahawks powered by Seahawks Dot Com.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And Zorn later in perfectly a Rabel who goes in
to score on an eighty yard pass and run play. Now,
here's your host, the voice of the Seahawks, Steve Raeball
and Seahawks legend Jim Zorn.
Speaker 5 (00:35):
Once again, what a great honor today here on Seahawks
Stories to be sitting across from one of the earliest
Ring of Honor members and one of the newest Ring
of Honor members joins us today Matt Hasselbeck, the great
quarterback for the Seahawks during those terrific Mike Holmgren years.
Speaker 6 (00:50):
Matthew, how you doing, Bud?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
Oh, it's so guys, how are you?
Speaker 5 (00:54):
We're We're all. I don't know about you. I'm trying
to survive a cold for the last couple of weeks.
I think you meant when we were talking a minute ago,
your voice is a little bit shaky, but yours is
not from a cold, right.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Well, you know, I think it's a combination of things.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
It's cold up here. I live in Boston's but uh.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, I just I'm coaching high school football. We just
finished our season. We just uh uh had.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
A great year.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
But like, there's all these things in coaching I wasn't
aware of. Like, you know, you don't sleep as much,
you lose your voice, you're standing around all the time. Uh,
there's your your eyesight goes.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
I mean, all kinds of things. So I'm learning the
hard way, but I'm loving it.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Matthew. Uh you you said that you got a great season.
I know where you ended. Uh just tell everybody how
you ended your season this year.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
Well, we ended, We finished strong.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
We ended up winning the state championship at the Division
one level here, which is the top level. And uh
we also won our conference championship, which was great six
days earlier. So we played the same team in the
conference championship on Thanksgiving morning, and then six days later
we played that same exact team for the state championship.
And they're the defending state champs, so it was, uh,
(02:06):
you know, it was not a given that we were
gonna do it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
It was. It was great.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
The kids were awesome and we uh we knocked off
the top team and the head coach of the other
team was a guy that, uh that went to Boston
College like I did and played in the NFL like
I did.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
So it was uh, it was. It was fun. It
was a good matchup, but uh, I was psyched to
be a part of it.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Matthew, did you have a decent qb?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Uh we got a good quarterback, my son Henry who
if you guys remember little little Henry in my last
home game with the Seahawks, he was on my shoulders. Yeah,
he's a senior and he played great. He played absolutely
fantastic for us this year and last year.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
But uh, I'm really proud of him.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
I got to be his quarterback coach, and uh it
was it was a dream come true. And and quite honestly, Jim,
like you.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Know, I was a lot of I was stealing.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I mean I was stealing all kinds of gyms orn
coaching points and uh pretending like they were my own.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
And it was pretty fun.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Well, that is good. That's uh, you honor me by
saying that, But your son really had to perform, and
I know that that he did. In fact, I just
showed Raves the picture of Henry with the bloody, buody
nose that he was sporting at the end of your
semi final game.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Yeah, so he broke his nose.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
And you know, like if you if you were to
watch Henry play, he's a great player, but he doesn't
play anything like me really, like I try to get
him to play time a little bit.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
But he's a great runner. He's fast. Like he won't
remind you of me, but but.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
I think what he probably the part that does remind
uh that I see myself in a little bit is
just like a little bit of like I don't even
know you want to call it, but uh, the broken nose,
I've reminded me of something silly and stupid that I
would have done. You know, Like he's bleeding everywhere, like everywhere,
like for an hour after the game, like it just
(03:59):
it was was kind of fun, but his mom didn't
like the blood.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
It was great. He was so bloody though that when
we got to.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
The emergency room, we didn't break stride. They were like,
oh my gosh, were you shot. We're like, no, he
wasn't shot. Were you in a car accident. No, not
in a car accident, just got a fist to the
face through the face mask.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
That's one of those things that for those of us
who've had those broken noses and you play through them
and and you know, the opponents at first they think
that's great, and then you keep lining up across from
and there's more blood running out of your face and
down your jersey, and they look across the line and.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
They think, this guy's insane, this guy's nuts.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
And by the way, So so what you're saying is
Henry got Sarah's athletic ability.
Speaker 6 (04:39):
That's what you're saying, right, you.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Know, I don't know where he came from. I mean,
she's a great athlete, my wife. But his speed is
what really perplexes us, because he's like really really fast,
like indoor track nationals kind of fast. So I don't know,
I don't know where it came from. I'm not I'm
not complaining, though. I did have to coach him a
(05:02):
little bit different though, and so I'm glad I was
paying attention when Jim Zorn was coaching Seneca Wallace all
those years, because I remember things that Jim would say
to Seneca, and I was like, oh, yeah, you know,
like this would be a good thing because it you know,
and I worked next to Steve Young for a long
time too.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And and you know.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Your athleticism as a quarterback can be a little bit
of a you know, it's a blessing obviously, but it
can be a little bit of a curse because you
can rely on that and at times it doesn't work
out and you put your offense in second and seventeen
or something like that.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
So it was it was.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
A fun challenge coaching someone so athletic.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
Though.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
Let me ask you a couple of questions. First of all,
why did you decide to get into coaching. Was it
strictly because of Henry or because you you really enjoyed
the thought of doing it. That's the first question. Second one,
tell me about Jim Zorn as you were coach. I've
known Zee since we were kids as players. As you
heard on that by the way, that highlight when you
have when you only have one play it over and
(06:01):
over and over again.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
Which I do.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
But tell me about that tell me about the decision
to get into coaching and then and then z Man
as your coach.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yeah, well, first off, I had no intention of getting
into coaching because I know.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
How hard it is, or at least I thought I did.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
And there was a clinic in my high school and
the head coach of my high school was there when
I was there as a coach.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
So he said, hey, do.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
You know anybody that can coach offensive line for the
like three day clinic? And I said, I'll ask around
and if I don't find anybody, you know, I'll.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Coach a O line for three days.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
And he said, well, you know what, our our offensive
coordinator is actually kind of an O line guy by trade.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Why don't I see.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
If he'll coach the O line and he usually coaches
the quarterbacks, and then you can take the quarterbacks instead.
And that's kind of how it all started. And then
it was so much fun. My dad ended up coaching
tight ends with us for that clinic and then we
just stayed on for the year and and so that's
that's kind of.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
What went into it. But I do.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
I do coach very similar to how I was coached
by Jim and and Jim Zorn like when he was coaching,
like you.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Know and Steve.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
You know this, like Jim can't run very well, like
he's got a uh.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
What do you have, Jim? You got like a rod
in your ankle? What do you have you?
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Well, now I've got a fake ankle. But when I
coached you, yeah, my I was hobbling around a little
bit because I had arthritis in my ankle. Football is
such a great game, and so yeah, I hobbled around.
Uh but I you know when you watched me, when
you watch me, when I played, I was I was explosive,
much like Henry's explosive.
Speaker 6 (07:41):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
I can't run.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
So when you played, you were like, you know, Fran
Tarkington out there, you know, you were running around okay,
But but when you coached me, you couldn't run, Like
you could barely jog from drill to drill.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
But what Jim did do is he would outthrow all
of us.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
I mean when we were having throwing competitions, like Jim
was throwing every bit as well as we were, Like
he was just humming it, just chucking it, like his
arm never went away. You know, if there was a
seven on seven tournament, he could still compete in.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
That, like maybe even now.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
So that is something that I also do, like I
can't like I can't run with these kids. I don't
even try, Like I just I'm like a peloton type
workout person now, you know, Like I don't even try
to run.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
But I do throw patent go I do throw routes.
I do throw one on ones.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
I do try to outrun them, I outthrow them. I
try to outcompete them the way that Jim sort of
tried to outcompete us with throws. And it's fun, you know,
it's fun. And Jim, like I don't know if he
did this on purpose, but he made it look so effortless,
like oh.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
Yeah, here you go.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Zing was just like wow, you know, like you know,
I don't know, he kind of raised the bar for
us a little bit. So my coaching style is a
little bit like that. And and so that's just like
one of many many things I could tell you about
gyms aren't as a position.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Do you still use any or do you see yourself
using drills that that makes sense because I always tried
to use drills that would actually relate to the game
so that when the game, the game actually was videoed.
I could run it back and say, you know what,
look at this, this is exactly this is the drill
that we worked on two weeks ago or last week
(09:26):
or yesterday or whatever. That's the drill right there. But
it would be live in a game.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
I think the difference, Like for you, like we always
had you know, maybe one or two equipment managers there
with us, and like four quarterbacks and you.
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Know, helpers.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
When you're coaching high school football, you know, half it's
like you're you're the guy, like you're.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
The person doing it.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
You're the you're the coach, you're the equipment person. Sometimes
you're the athletic trainer. Sometimes you're the you know, you know,
you got to make sure the pylons are on the field,
like you do everything. And that's another reason, like I
have a tremendous amount of respect for coaches, but especially
high school coaches, and a lot of them are you know,
like high school teachers also, so it's I don't have
(10:09):
that luxury.
Speaker 4 (10:10):
But for sure, like Jim, there's a.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Play, you know, we used to call it, uh doubling
right X short seventy two x shell across and you
know we've run that at a zebra and we run
that play all the time at my high school that
you know that I'm coaching at. And there's one throw
in that progression. It's like the fifth read in the
progression that I remember missing one time. And sure enough,
last year, junior year, my son Henry misses the same
(10:34):
exact throw and I said, we're going to make this
a drill and it was. It was it was something
that you had done for me one off season.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
It was super helpful. And at the.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
Time I was like, well, it wasn't my fault that
this ball wasn't completed. It was because I was thrown
it to Max Strong and he's just he's stiff.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
That's why I missed. But but that's not true.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
But the truth of it was is I needed uh,
I say, KYP. And that's like my term for the quarterbacks.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Know your personnel.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
If you're throwing to a full back that body type
is built to like he wants that football between the
three and the eight, you got to make it super
super convenient for him to catch that pass. You're not
throwing to Daryl Jackson on that kind of a throw, JYP.
Know your personnel and Jim, you use the analogy for
(11:22):
me with Steve Largin about a baseball pitcher and a catcher.
Do you remember, do you know what I'm talking about?
Can you explain that?
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah, So Largent was a catcher in high school and
he told me, he said, when he threw the ball,
his coach told him, when he threw the ball back
to the pitcher, all he wanted was the pitcher just
to lift his glove and it had to be on
the side of his glove, so if it was right handed,
he would throw it to his left shoulder, and so
(11:52):
that the pitcher could only just lift his glove, catch
the ball, and he could make the next pitch. So
that's how accurate I wanted the quarterbacks. I wanted them
to make sure that they knew exactly where they were throwing,
you know, and if went in doubt, I'm going to
hit you in the face. But in this particular play
(12:13):
seventy two x shallow cross, Max Strong would run a
wide route or a swing if you will. Some teams
call it swing. It's a wide route. And I always say,
you know, you have to throw it to his front shoulder,
and it's got to be like Matt said, between the
three and the eight. As he as he turns up,
keep it in the core. Don't make him reach don't
(12:34):
make him reach up, don't make him reach down because
he's likely not max strong, but he's likely to drop
it well.
Speaker 5 (12:40):
And what's interesting here is we had Mike, your old boss,
Matthew on last week with us Homegrown. And I remember
NFL films going into like meetings and talking to Bill
Walsh when Bill was coaching those guys, and that's where
Mike came from obviously, and he talked about the need
(13:01):
for absolute precision on throwing the football, throwing it out
in front, you know, more than like six inches from
the body, No, and it's got to be right in
this certain spot and not on that certain spot. And
and a foot in any direction can make it, you know,
the not the throw that you want. And it's amazing
to me the demand needed and the skill needed by you,
(13:23):
Matt quarterbacks and that now you are teaching and Jim
Todd about where to put that ball so precisely, because man,
that's a that's that's tough to do.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
Yeah, well, you know, I think I think to Jim's point,
you know, the other part he said, he's you know,
with the Steve Largent stories. He said, you know, respect
and understand the job that that pitcher has to do,
Like that picture has a job to do. One of
his jobs that we don't want him to have to
do is worry about catching at all, catching about the
(13:54):
throw from the catcher. And you know, so like that
that really hit me when Jim said it. You know,
we might have even been talking about a running play.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
At the time when it first came up.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
But like, understand and respect the job of the of
the person who's about to.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Catch the ball.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Once they catch it, now the play starts for them
in a way, like they have to go make people
miss run, someone over read blocks, like all that kind
of stuff. So do everything that you can do as
a quarterback in your power to help that person succeed,
much like the catcher and the Steve Largent story. But
for sure, like you know, Jim like was such an
(14:31):
amazing position coach and between you know, kind of the
teamwork of Mike Holmren with Jim as my position coach,
there were so many things that you know, I don't
even know if I understood them or really thought it
was possible the first time around. Like I remember Mike
Hongren just screaming, just screaming at us, like the ball
(14:54):
the football a practice, the football is not allowed to
touch the ground.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
It's not a lot to touch the ground.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
And it was like, you know, there were certain moments
it was like, what do you mean it's not allowed
touch the ground? Like this is football, it's kind of
touch the ground, you know. And he was just he
would like he would lose his mind on us a
little bit if the football ever touched the ground. But
what he did is he said a standard that was
so high, and it was like this is what we're
going for. And and I and I promise you there
there were probably numerous practices where the.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Ball did not touch the ground. Now the defense.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Probably wasn't allowed to break it up at times, but
but still like the for an offensive period, the ball
wouldn't touch the ground.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
And and you know that.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
That is something that I don't know, Like I think
as a coach, part of what your job is to
do is to you know, make take players and help
them become better than they even thought they could be.
Then they could even even imagine that they could be.
And and Mike and Jim certainly help help help me
do that.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
Matthew. You know, I think that that was one of
the attitudes that you brought you obviously brought with you.
It was competitive because you came out with goals in mind.
You know, the ball's not going to hit the you know,
think about that, the ball's not going to hit the ground,
and you made you so you had to put in
(16:19):
more concentration. It was really a concentration type of situation
that you couldn't let go because if you just and
I used to really get bugged, if you just threw
vicinity passes, passes that were yeah I hit him, Yeah
it was close. That does not cut it, not not
at the NFL level, really not even at the college level.
(16:43):
But there's an acceptance, if you will, by by some
coaches thinking because they don't know, if you just concentrate
a little bit more, you can hit it. You can
throw the ball right where you want it to be,
and you can kind of came in with that. Tell
us the question that I have for you when you
got selected, you got traded to the Seahawks, how did
(17:06):
you because it amazed me, how did you come in
with such a great attitude of team, of knowing what
what just had, Like you were the one quarterback I coached.
I think in my whole life who knew exactly why
you got traded, exactly what you wanted to accomplish, and
(17:29):
you just brought that whole aura with you when you
came to the Seahawks. How did you was that in
you or did you did you study.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Or you know? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Well, you know, I would say I had a lot
to learn when I got to Seattle.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
I had a lot.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
To learn, But I at that point I had learned
a lot of lessons.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I mean I I you know, grew up in a
football family.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
My dad played nine years in the NFL, played for
the Patriots, the LA Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings, the New
York Giants. I was around it. I was around you know.
I was around the Bill parcels Is. I was around
you know, some great some great players, some great coaches.
I chose to go to Boston College. Tom Coughlin was
my coach. That was my coach my first year. I
(18:14):
learned a ton from him. I had great position coaches
in college. Uh, you know, I learned a little bit
from everybody, from Dirk Cutter to Steve Kragthorpe to Gary
Croton to I mean.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Just all kinds of guys and so.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
And then I get to Green Bay and I'm there
for three years and I'm learning behind Brett Farr of
Our quarterback room included Doug Peterson, Rick Meyer, Andy Reid
was my position coach. Mike McCarthy came in year two,
Mike Sherman year three. Darryl Bevill was there, like Danny
Werfol was a backup, like like there was a There
were a lot of people that I think like planted
(18:50):
seeds or watered seeds in terms of like who I
was as a teammate, who I was as a leader
like some of those things. But but uh, but now
I I think, you know, truly, I think I think
I was young and still growing and learning, and Jim
you ran the quarterback room a certain way. Brock Heward
was was one of the guys in the room. I
(19:11):
thought he was a great teammate and he was a
great leader. Trent Dilfer came in, he was he was
a great leader. So I just I think I was
a work in progress there, but we had we were
building something special, and I know I was a part
of it, but like I kind of feel like I
was a small part of it, especially early on, and
(19:33):
and and I don't know, I don't I don't know
if I have an answer for you, but I'm really
appreciative for the opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Yeah, what I hear you say in your answer is
that you had a lot of influences that molded and
shaped you before you got there. But when you came in,
I noticed just how you wanted to function on the
team and that made a huge impact on me from
(20:03):
you a player, and I wanted to give you the
best I could. I always felt like I was one
maybe braves, I was one day ahead of these guys
because they were very quick and they would love to
waste time, and I had to keep I had to
stay focused because they knew they knew their stuff, but
I still wanted to bring them further than what they knew,
(20:27):
and that was a challenge in itself.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Hey man, Mike, Mike, I know, and he said this before.
He was tough on you as he is on you
know a lot of people, but especially his quarterbacks, because
he was one and he knows how to play the position,
he knows how to coach it. He learned from Bill
Walsh and all that stuff. Did the dynamic end up
being because Mike, I mean, he speaks in such glowing
(20:50):
terms of you, but I know you guys had gotten
sideways a few times. And in fact, he told us
the last time we talked to him here that Kathy,
after one of your discussions, said you've got to go
back and apologize to Matt, which I guess you guys
both did. You said, Okay, we both lost our heads
a little bit. But did z Man have to play
kind of that that middleman between you guys. Was Mike
(21:12):
maybe a little tougher on you than he was on
other guys, And was z Man the guy who was
kind of talking you down at times or two?
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I mean, there's so much, There's so much to the relationship.
But like I say, you know, I got to Seattle
kind of like Jim saying. I came from Green Bay
and we were running the same Mike Holmgrend offense, so
to speak, but we were running the Brett var version
of it. And when I was in Green Bay, it
was my job to run the green Bay version of it.
And there were so many tools and there was so
(21:43):
much freedom at the line of scrimmage and there was
all that's like, I don't know, it just felt like
a grown up offense. And when I first got to Seattle,
you know, I just felt like I was on.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Training wheels, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
It's like I was like, no, I have my driver's license.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
I don't need training wheels.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
And that was my first Like I literally remember we're
playing a game that year oh one down in Oakland.
We're playing the Raiders, and uh, I would call a
play and I audible and it's like a simple audible.
I was basically like same play other way, you know,
like opposite and and like I we snapped the ball
(22:20):
and I'm literally the only person who does the what
I thought.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Everyone was going to do. And I get.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Sacked like right around second base in the dirt, and
like Mike Clongrin.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Loses his mind on me, and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
But then I'm like, no, I'm right, everyone else is wrong.
Kind of like mindset. And Jim was like mind blown
because you know, he.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
Was like, who do you think you are?
Speaker 3 (22:45):
I mean, so I don't know, I yes, yes, but
I do remember one time, one time, it was kind
of a pivotal moment in my relationship with Mike Hongren
is like Mike was always hard on me, hard on everybody,
and Jim was sort of like, I don't know, like
the person I could trust the most, you know, Like
(23:07):
he was like he was my guy and I was
his guy. And there was a moment one time when
when Jim got mad at me at practice and I remember,
like Mike, we weren't like super like Buddy. Buddy was
like he was the head coach and I was a quarterback.
And Mike came over to me and was like, Hey,
if you have Jim like mad at.
Speaker 4 (23:28):
You, you're the problem. Like you're the problem.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Oh well, that's great, you know I remember I don't
necessarily remember that one play you audible to, But Mike
used to always say, what you don't like my play?
You don't like what I called? Uh do you have
a problem with what I called? And uh so, I
think that's probably what he would come up and tell
Matt what you didn't like what I called. But Matt
(23:56):
had a lot of influence as well, and maybe it
was after a few years, but he we had this
one play was called Past three twelve Double Quick Hitch,
and it was really designed a play to run versus
a three deep coverage. Well, when you had a two
deep pre snap or Matt would know, hey, it's going
(24:16):
to be cover two. He wanted audible out of it
because he wasn't going to have either side. They were
going to take both wide receivers away. So he would say,
I wanted just audible to a run and we had
you know, Steve Hutchison and Walter Jones on the left side.
Let me just audible to run, Max Strong leading the way.
Let me audible to that play versus a too deep shell.
(24:40):
And Mike would not budge for a while. And then
finally he trusted Matt Moore and more. And that was
really probably the key for the relationship between QB and coach.
For Mike Hongrin is, I want to be able to
trust you. And I think he began to trust Matt
(25:02):
with much more if like Matt put it the driver's
license instead of training wheels h and he allowed him
to be audibling to certain things, but no quarterback really
just just audibles because he wants to Really, you've planned
these things out, so they had to be planned for
(25:24):
Mike to agree to be able to do it.
Speaker 5 (25:26):
Matt the trust factor obviously took you guys ultimately to
the Super Bowl. That team just continued to get better
and better and better.
Speaker 6 (25:34):
So let's go to.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
That season, the Super Bowl year, actually maybe even the
year before that when you were inducted in the Ring
of Honor. In fact, let me go back to that
last last year, right or last season? And was it
last season two years ago?
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Last year?
Speaker 6 (25:50):
Well if it does for me too, And wait, are
my age?
Speaker 4 (25:53):
Money?
Speaker 5 (25:53):
Everything runs together when you're my age. And I remember
when we put together kind of the thing that I
was that I needed to say about you, and I said,
I've got to add this one thing. And we talked
about it that night on the great run by Marshawn,
which is still talked about, you know, the seismic activity
and all that stuff, how you were sprinting down the
(26:14):
field to make a block, and I just I always
thought about that that here's the quarterback who's there to
make help get this guy into the end z on
a really terrific run, maybe one of the most memorable
plays in Seayawk's history. But that team that you led
goes all the way to the Super Bowl game.
Speaker 6 (26:31):
Talk to me about.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
What that team had what it was that you found
in yourself and in your teammates that got you to
that moment in Detroit.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Well, for starters, I think we had no idea like oh,
five training camp. I see footage of that sometimes in
NFL films and it's like that that was the year.
Like that, we had no idea, Like was it wasn't
like we showed up to camp that year and said, oh,
this is definitely our year. It wasn't that it was
just stacking one practice on top of another. That year
(27:05):
was not without adversity. We had adversity. We lost I
think all our starting wide receivers going into a game
in Saint Louis and Jim gave me this coaching point.
He said, Hey, I know we're playing with a bunch
of receivers that are like not starters and you know
all this stuff.
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Here's the coaching point I went for you.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
And like I had a pen out. I'm like, okay,
I can't wait.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (27:26):
And he says and he goes throw it to where
the receivers are, not to where you know they should be.
You know, He's like, I'm not writing that down, Like
what I'm not writing I'm not even writing that down,
but by game time, I took the advice throw it
to where they are, not to where you know they
should be, and literally threw a touchdown pass to Joe Jaravishis.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
Should have been looking for him, like twenty.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Five yards downfield, and I'm like, I don't see him anywhere,
and so I just kind of look everywhere and he's
way shallower than that.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
And I'm like, all right, we'll do what Jim said.
Threw it to him and he scored a touchdown.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
But but it's like it was stuff like that the
game when Mike Holmgren and I had our biggest flare
up and we really didn't have flare ups, but like
the one we did it, we had a major, major
like Kathy Holmgren needs to get.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
Involved flare up. That was That was five. That was five.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
You know, like there's a lot of stuff that happened
in five that It was like this team overcame adversity.
We went down to Jacksonville first first game, I think,
got spanked, got absolutely spanked, and then I hurt my
shoulder pretty bad throwing a hail mary down two scores
like a hail mary like further than I could throw
(28:43):
a hail Mary. Like I remember he calls, like we
called a two jet rebound path and I'm like, I
can't even reach from right here.
Speaker 4 (28:49):
This is a frustration call.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
And I'm like, all right, whatever, you know, someone's gonna
get hurt. I didn't think it was going to be me,
and it was me, and like so like that, that
year started out really tough, and uh, I think one
of the lessons in it is like, you know, just
just keep going, just keep going, one foot after another,
one step at a time, one.
Speaker 4 (29:11):
Play at a time.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
There's a Bill Watshs quote that we used in Seattle
quite a bit, you know, is, uh, you know, just
do everything right and the score will take care of
itself kind of thing. And and I don't know, I
think looking back, I don't remember ever saying that at
the time, but looking back, I think that's just what
we did.
Speaker 4 (29:30):
We we may.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
Be sacrificed on on talent and and probably valued professionalism
a little bit more of that year in terms of
like just being accountable to each other as players.
Speaker 4 (29:42):
And stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
But no, it was a super special year and I
wish we would have finished it.
Speaker 4 (29:49):
But but starting out it was. It really just felt
like every other year.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I remember so many things about that about that season,
and one of them, uh was how well we did
have some seasoned veterans and the relationships between you are
O Line, Sean Alexander, Darryl Jackson, Bobby Ingram, all these
guys that were involved, they were so valuable. As we
(30:16):
got further into the season. As a coach, we coached hard,
but we didn't say to ourselves, oh my gosh, I
think we have a chance to go to the playoffs.
We coached the same, But then towards the end when
you're winning, you almost coach less because the players, they
are much more accountable to themselves and they kind of
(30:40):
take over. And I think that's what happened during that season.
They just they believed in them in themselves and the maturity.
They still cracked jokes, and they still were, you know,
playing a little bit of you know, they were playing
loose and free. But once they were concentrating on what
(31:00):
the job that they had to do was going to
be accomplished, how it was going to be accomplished, they
just went right to it and worked really hard to
get that done. They deserved all the accolades that they
got after that season for what the work that they
put in during the season, for sure.
Speaker 6 (31:17):
And you should have gotten the ring. I mean that's
just me.
Speaker 4 (31:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Can I say one o the things that I think
is like somewhat relevant is like we lost on the
last play of the game and the three playoffs, and
then we lost on the last play of.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
The game and the four playoffs.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
And and I think like five, it was kind of
like we all just kind of knew we all had
to do a little bit more, a little bit different,
a little bit better, you know, like we couldn't just
do the same thing we do every year. And and
I don't know, I almost think like the losses in
three and o four, like even though they weren't like
Super Bowl losses or NFC Championship losses, like they they
(31:59):
mattered so much to the motivation going into five and
and just you know, I just think I think that was.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Like a major factor. Remember, my disappointment.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Would lose into the Rams for the third time, I'm
literally like pounding the turf as hard as I can, like,
you know, and just that disappointment just kind of turning
that into not gonna let this happen again. Not gonna,
not gonna lose to that team again. And you know
it was it was you know, I guess in those losses.
There's there's something good about the losses, I guess because
(32:30):
it propelled us to the you know, the kind of
team that we were in O five.
Speaker 5 (32:34):
Well, and the same thing happened a few years later
when we go down to Atlanta and lose a playoff
game there and literally Russ is talking to Pete on
the way back into the locker room and said, you know,
we're gonna We're gonna go to the super Bowl next year.
This is the team to do it. And in fact
it did happen. So playing days kind of passed. Matthew,
you go into television. That's something I know about little
(32:55):
something about after spending almost.
Speaker 6 (32:57):
Four decades in it. Do you is it now?
Speaker 5 (33:00):
I got to tell you, I've been around a lot
of you know, when they've had reduction in forced riffs
we call it in the business, and they say, oh,
we got to kind of cut the budget and all
that stuff, so they.
Speaker 6 (33:11):
Let people go.
Speaker 5 (33:12):
And I was so sorry to see that happen to you,
because you worked hard and you did such a terrific job,
and I'm not you know, I don't want you to
to speak bad, speak ill of people, even though I will,
but I thought they made a mistake. So do you
want to get back to that. What did you enjoy
about that opportunity.
Speaker 6 (33:33):
That you had?
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Yeah, I I absolutely loved it.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
I wasn't that really my intention to go into TV
or anything like that. I got offered an opportunity to
work with Chris Berman on the show that I grew
up watching, some NFL Countdown, and I was like, are
you kidding me? Chris Berman like yeah, I'm like yeah,
it's awesome.
Speaker 4 (33:51):
Let's let's go.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
And I started with Randy Moss and Charles Woodson and
it was awesome. It was it was a great experience,
great seven years. I was super bummed, like super disappointed
when when I got the call this summer saying hey,
we're gonna we're gonna lay you off.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
You're part of the ESPN layoffs.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
And they were like, you know, I don't know, like
you know, spitting it positively, like hey, you know you
have two years left on your deal. You'll still get paid,
and you know you just can't work anywhere else for
two years and all this stuff.
Speaker 4 (34:24):
But I was devastated. I was like really upset. But
looking back, all that all.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
That has happened is like it freed me up to
coach Henry in the senior year of high school. And
quite honestly, I just told my wife this the other day,
I said, you know, ESPN laying me off like they
did for me what I never would have had the
courage to do myself, Like I would not have had
the courage to quit my job, invest in family time,
(34:51):
invest in this year my son's senior year, going back
to my own high school, and just pour everything I
have out for the kids that are at my school now, and.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
You know, and have missed.
Speaker 3 (35:04):
I would have missed out on like this state championship
and like all this stuff with my son, and I
don't think I would have had the courage to do it.
And you hear stories about people who quit their jobs
and choose family or whatever.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
And and it's it's it's.
Speaker 3 (35:17):
Unbelievable because you know, I know how tough that would
have been for me to do, and I didn't have
the courage to do it.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
So they did it for me.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
And you know, this is like a you know, like
an unanswered prayer in a sense that I've had the
opportunity to do it. So looking back, I wouldn't change
a thing, and I don't.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
I don't honestly.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
I didn't miss it one time this year, maybe the
first week, but I think I was just so into
what I was doing at the high school level and
just loving it that it's all it's all good, and
it worked out better than I could have ever planned myself.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Hey, Matthew, so you talked about being able to coach
Henry in high school. A lot of dads want to
do that and maybe and you with all the knowledge
that you were bringing in, how did Henry respond to
you as a dad and now you're going to try
to be his coach and hey, you're the big time player.
(36:12):
You're going to a big time Did you get a
lot of eye rolling or did he you know? What
was that relationship?
Speaker 4 (36:17):
Like?
Speaker 1 (36:18):
And matt do you still have a relationship with Henry?
Speaker 3 (36:22):
So it's funny, like I put into practice a lot
of the things that sort of Taffy Homegren had recommended
that Mike and I do, And because it is a
thing like dad's coaching their sons and stuff like that,
and so in fifth grade, I did. I kind of
sort of coached a little.
Speaker 4 (36:41):
Bit, like during the week.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
I was never able to go to games, but I
coached during the week. When Henry was in fifth grade,
that was the first year that I was done playing
with a teammate of mine that played in the NFL.
I'm a high school teamate of mine that played in
the NFL. We coached our sons, and it was just funny,
like he was hardest on his son and I was
hardest on my son, and so we kind of made
an agreement. I'm like, hey, listen, I'll coach your son.
(37:04):
You coach my son, you know, like like specifically, and
but they're on the same team. So I kind of
understood that I was going to be a thing. But no,
I basically to your question, I was intentional about how
I would coach him, Like if when he would come
off the sideline after a play, I would give him space.
I would let him talk to his teammates. I would
(37:26):
let him talk to other coaches. I would let him
get a drink. I would not be there even if
I had something to say, I would I would I
would move move. And then this year for his senior year,
maybe like two games into the season, I decided to
go up to the booth and be on the headset
up in the booth too. Again, I think just sort
(37:47):
of let his leadership style kind of fleurus a little
bit and let him not have me on the sideline, like, hey,
I'm not there. Like, you know, he grew up playing hockey,
and I just remember and the goalie equipments a lot,
and I remember there was a time in the goalie
hockey life where it was like tie your own skates,
(38:07):
put are on your own leg pads, like you're old enough,
now it's your turn. And I sort of did something
similar this year with him as a quarterback, like hey,
you go break the team down. You got the offense,
you know, like let let him have Let him have that,
you know, Mike, Mike and Jim there was a saying
that we said in our quarterback room. Think Mike started it,
(38:30):
and it was they would say to the quarterbacks, you're
an artist, not a blacksmith. You're an artist, not a mathematician.
You know, there's an art to playing quarterback, and you know,
and then Jim would say like, hey, you know, go
ahead and paint your canvas.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
You're an artist, and.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
That's something those guys said, and I repeat that to him,
you know, like, hey, what should the cadence be here?
Speaker 4 (38:50):
I'm like, hey, you got it.
Speaker 3 (38:52):
Like there are things that are like non negotiables, and
I'll let you know what those are, but other.
Speaker 4 (38:57):
Than that, you got it.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
And so I tried to give him the free them
that I would have wanted if I was the player.
Speaker 6 (39:02):
Do you want to continue? Do you want to keep coaching?
You want to move up? Do more?
Speaker 3 (39:07):
I really do want to keep coaching. I don't know
if I need to move up in a weird way.
I think like if I was in a weird way,
coaching an NFL quarterback would be easier for me.
Speaker 4 (39:19):
That's like I don't know a.
Speaker 3 (39:20):
Lot, because that's the one thing I feel like I
really do know. Well, you know, high school is it's different,
you know, and it's a lot of work and you
don't have to support, you know, you're trying to scout
an opponent.
Speaker 4 (39:33):
You're looking at the film. You're like, I can't this
film is so bad? Are there ten people out on
this film? I have no idea, you know, Like I
don't even know.
Speaker 3 (39:41):
The rules all the way like the hash marks are
you know, befuddling to me.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
I don't the thing I would say about it.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
And I was telling one of my friends this the
other day, like, like, one of the things I love
about coaching these kids is that, you know, a lot
of them are going to go on to play college football,
and I really, I know I can help them, but
there's there's a lot of them that aren't gonna go
play college football.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
You know, the majority ei they're not. But they're all
going to grow up to be adults.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
You know, They're all going to grow up to be
probably husbands and dads.
Speaker 4 (40:13):
And leaders somewhere.
Speaker 3 (40:15):
And I think that's probably the most rewarding part about this.
It's like, yeah, we're.
Speaker 4 (40:20):
Using football like to you know, as a tool to
kind of be around them and teach them and all
that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (40:27):
But you know, it's it's it's so much bigger than that,
so much bigger than seventy two X shallo across. Now,
seventy two x shall Across teaches you how to be
like precise, imperfect and like and like you strive to
be the best, et cetera. But it's not about that.
It's about things much much bigger than that.
Speaker 1 (40:48):
Yeah, well, I think with Matt, you can You and
I are sitting here listening to him, and we're nodding
our heads. This is right on, and you can see
that Matt is built for more about life through football,
but football is just a small part of things in
(41:09):
the bigger picture for him, right well.
Speaker 5 (41:11):
And I think any of us, or many of us,
let me put it that way, who played this game
to the level that we played. Certainly me, not to
the level of you guys, but we all played at
this at the NFL level. But we had to come
up through the ranks, and we had to come up somewhere,
and high school was in my estimation. And I just
saw my high school coach I went back to Louisville,
Kentucky when we played in Cincinnati, where I'm from. He's
(41:33):
ninety seven, Oh my god, and he's still sharp as attack.
He's smarter than I'll ever be, and he's forgotten more
football than I'll ever know. And we sat and talked
to me myself in a former teammate, high school teammate
and my coach. And every time I do that, and
it's been like five or six years since I saw him.
I just remember that, aside from my father, he was
(41:54):
the man who had the most influence on my life
growing up because he taught me things about discipline, achieving things,
and about pride, but not a false pride, but a
pride in doing the right thing the right way. And
so I always remember that. And you're right, matt You
can have a bigger impact on a young man at
that point in his life than ever in any other
(42:16):
point in a young man's life. So I applaud you,
and I hope that that continues.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Yeah, hey, Matthew, let me say one more thing to
the audience, to you too, Steve, about matt because one
of the things that I remember as we were building,
he talked about the three season, four season, and then
in five we end up being able to win it
and go to the Super Bowl. But one of the
things that I always remember about Matthew is his tempo.
(42:45):
We always talked about tempo, creating tempo on the football field,
and we did not have an everybody was talking about
no huddle offenses and oh Peyton Manning. Watch him on
the line of scrimmage, and when you look at his
on the line of scrimam antics, he'd snap the ball
with less than ten seconds to go on the clock.
But Matt. I say all that to say Matt had
(43:08):
this ability to get in and out of the huddle
so fast with the play he'd call it, he'd get
up on the line of scrimmage and then we would go.
He would not sit there and let's study the line
of scrimmage and slow things down. He just went fast,
so fast that the defensive coordinators and the head coaches
(43:32):
were all complaining all year long. That's one of the
things that we would hear from them is we were cheating,
especially because when you see it on video, you can't
tell when you're preparing for. When you were preparing for
Matt Hasselbeck on the field, you could not tell how
fast we were really going because the video starts when
(43:55):
he gets up to the line of scrimmage, and man,
it was fast. And those tea teams, I think, just
were always on their heels with what we were doing
because it was in and out, audible here, quick pass here,
and he had a great rhythm and timing to how
he played. And I try to coach that into players
(44:18):
today because the tempo is an offensive weapon and I'm
not talking about no huddle. I'm just because we huddled,
we called every play and we got a fillin of
scrimmage and went Matthew did it as good as anybody
I've said. I don't think anybody has done it as
well as he's done.
Speaker 6 (44:35):
It, matt Is it a weapon that you choose that
you teach today.
Speaker 4 (44:40):
It's funny you say that.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
I was doing a Matthew Stafford interview down with Sean
McVay last summer and I just showed up at practice
or whatever, and Sean McVay was like, no way, so cool.
Speaker 4 (44:52):
That you're here today.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Takes me into the quarterback room and he's like, this
is a video we showed of your first drive against
Caroline in the NFC Championship game, talking about tempo, how
you guys just go fast and like don't give the
defense a chance to breathe and you know you're snapping
it with like, however many seconds on the play clock,
Like a lot of time left on the play clock.
(45:15):
The funny thing about it, and I told Sean mcvaythis
how that kind of started is I was sick and
tired of getting minus grades on my quarterback Grete sheet
from Jim's orn, and I determined because I had to decide, Okay,
is the safety down or is the safety back? And
I just I kind of watched Trent Tilford do this.
(45:36):
If you just go really really fast, you don't give
the safety a chance to come down or even make
a decision, so you can't be wrong.
Speaker 4 (45:42):
So it was really just born out.
Speaker 3 (45:44):
Of like, all right, you know, I'm tired of getting minuses.
Speaker 4 (45:48):
I'm just gonna go as fast as I can here.
Speaker 1 (45:49):
Yeah, you did a good job. And I remember talking
to you a couple of games about how did you
know he was going to come down? Because I you know,
you either had to go opposite rotation or you knew
the guy was going to come down. You even changed
the protection, uh, based we would change protections based on
a safety coming down to cover the back while the
(46:11):
linebacker blitzed, And you would change the protection to get
that taken care of and the guy and and what
Matthew said, this is what he said to me, as
I remember he just I saw him take a step.
I said, one step. You did it because of one step? Yes,
as we were watching video, I could tell if that
guy took one step forward he was coming up.
Speaker 6 (46:33):
And more times than that he was right.
Speaker 1 (46:34):
Yeah, oh he was right.
Speaker 4 (46:35):
All you know, I learned to believe it or not.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
I mean, Walter Jones did not talk when we were
talks all the time. I used to change my cadence
up a lot and acts like I was going to
snap the.
Speaker 4 (46:46):
Ball and or go on a quick count or all
this stuff.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
And I remember talking to Walt one time and I said, Hey,
I'm going to try to get that guy a jump,
and Walt was like, it don't matter. What do you mean.
Speaker 4 (46:59):
I'm like, I'm trying to a job. He goes na,
it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he jumps.
Speaker 3 (47:04):
All I need to do is see him lean, just
his flinch, and I know which way he was going.
And I got him, and I thought like, dang, that's crazy,
like and I wonder if that's true for me, and
so the same thing. If I could just get the
safety to like just just lean, then I know what
he was gonna do if I had snapped snapped the ball,
(47:24):
and you know, it's it was a nice little, nice
little tool weapon whatever.
Speaker 4 (47:31):
You know. Trick I learned from uh from Wall and.
Speaker 3 (47:35):
Again, I think most of it is just I didn't
want to mind us onims on.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
One of the main one of the main things I
had to do with Matthew when we first were together,
you know, I was. I would watch him. He was
and you could tell probably still is an excitable boy
and pregame he would just be wired up. So what
is it was different? You know, you think about, okay,
(48:01):
he's on some kind of drug. Matthew, how many cups
of coffee did you drink today? I only drank six
six cups of coffee. Yeah, So I said, okay, here's
the new rule. This is a Matthew Hasselbeck rule. There
is no caffeine at all. You're already high enough. I mean,
you're already excited about playing. You're the excitable boy. No caffeine.
(48:25):
And so that was that was a rule. Now I
don't know if he obeyed that or not. He'll tell
us here in just a second.
Speaker 4 (48:31):
But newborns oh, I know.
Speaker 1 (48:37):
But what he did is I would always remember he
needed to eat at halftime. So at halftime, you know,
we're going to talk, and now he'd beaten a hot dog,
or we're going to talk and he's eating a pizza,
pizza or we're going to talk, and now he's got
a Deli sandwich.
Speaker 4 (48:56):
You know, he ate hey for the record. For the record, I.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
Would have eaten something, but like so in the NFL.
In the NFL, you eat four hours before kickoff, right, okay, and.
Speaker 4 (49:07):
So there's no food and everyone's like, oh, you know,
I'm just hungry. But so there was nothing.
Speaker 3 (49:13):
So I would get people to go into the concession
stand and get me something because.
Speaker 2 (49:18):
There was nothing.
Speaker 4 (49:19):
Now we got that fixed. Eventually it went from a
hot dog to a piece of pizza to it.
Speaker 3 (49:25):
Literally, you're right, it went to it like a turkey sandwich,
and you know, we improved it.
Speaker 4 (49:31):
But other than that, the only thing that.
Speaker 3 (49:33):
They were serving at halftime was orange slice. Like you
did you know, you played soccer as a kid, and
you can only have so many orange slices.
Speaker 6 (49:42):
So yeah, what a difference.
Speaker 5 (49:46):
Because I remember the halftime when we were playing, like
my rookie was guys going in the bathroom and smoking,
you know, have a couple of cigarettes and then come
back out into the locker room. And I remember you
talk about coffee. I one of the games we played,
Mike Curtis was one of our linebackers, our rookie year,
the great outside linebacker, and he used to eat no
(50:07):
pregame meal and he just drink coffee, drink like a
pot of coffee before the game. So I said, if
it's good enough for him and he's playing like in
his thirteenth year at linebacker, I said, I'm gonna try this.
So I tried it, and all it did was make
me have to pee like ten times during the game.
I had to, and Jack wouldn't let us run inside,
so you know, you're kind of back there by the
(50:27):
garbage can and hoping that nobody sees you.
Speaker 6 (50:29):
But that was the dumbest thing I ever did.
Speaker 5 (50:32):
You know, you have the jitters, you can't hold your
hands in front of your face, and now you've got
to go to the bathroom about fifteen times.
Speaker 6 (50:37):
So I learned a lot.
Speaker 5 (50:38):
I learned a lot there before we go and we
were getting gonna be wrapping up here, Matt, I know
you got things to do, like rest your voice.
Speaker 6 (50:45):
For one.
Speaker 5 (50:46):
We have both Jim and I have done this now
this entire interview, we've gone back and forth between Matt
and Matthew.
Speaker 6 (50:53):
When you were playing.
Speaker 5 (50:55):
I can't tell you how many people would either write
me a note or say something to meal.
Speaker 6 (51:00):
Why do you call him Matthew? His name is Matt,
It's Matt Hasselbeck.
Speaker 5 (51:04):
And I always remember saying, because I heard that his
mom called him Matthew, and I just thought it sounded great,
And so I called you Matthew.
Speaker 6 (51:13):
I know you know this. I called you Matthew for
your entire.
Speaker 5 (51:15):
Career, and I just felt like that was I felt
like it was a little piece of the family. And
I got to meet your mom and dad one day
after a game, and I knew I think Don and
I actually played against each other at time.
Speaker 6 (51:26):
Or two, sure, but U and they were they said that,
you know, they like that. They thought that was really
nice that we called you Matthew.
Speaker 5 (51:33):
So anyway, for those of you out there who are listening,
who remember back in the good old days, that's why
we called him.
Speaker 6 (51:38):
That's why we call Matt Matthew.
Speaker 4 (51:40):
All Steve, and I'll tell you, like I say, Matt, I.
Speaker 3 (51:44):
Signed Matt like you know, I introduced myself as Matt.
But like there's never been a time in my life
ever or anyone in my family, my mom, my dad,
my brothers, my wife, my kids, my you know, cousins.
Anybody has ever called me matt ever, really it's always
Matthew always, But yeah, it's both. I guess I don't
(52:07):
really care either way, but I will say this, I
know my mom appreciates it. And when someone doesn't call
me Matthew and they call me matt she will correct them.
Speaker 4 (52:16):
So she's a big Steve Rabel fan for that reason.
Speaker 5 (52:19):
Right now, well, listen, Matthew, this has been just a slice.
Speaker 6 (52:27):
Of heaven here.
Speaker 5 (52:28):
We have enjoyed talking to you. We've been zee and I,
you know, kind of put a list together of all
the people we wanted to have on and you're right
there at the top of the list for many, many reasons,
and a lot of it doesn't have to.
Speaker 6 (52:39):
Do with football.
Speaker 5 (52:40):
A lot of it has to do with just the
person that you are and the person that you kind
of grew into here in Seattle, and we watched you
grow up in front of our eyes, and now you're
doing all these great things. Really many thanks to you.
I hope what you decide to do in the future
continues to help those young people that you helped the
last couple of years, because you're the kind of guy
(53:01):
that can do just that. Matt Thank you very much,
hate us, Sarah and the family. Hey to the folks,
and we can't wait till you come out here and
visit with us again.
Speaker 3 (53:09):
All Right, I'm coming out for a cracking game, I
think New Year's Day and that's kind of my goal.
Speaker 4 (53:14):
So we'll see if it happens. Busy, busy kid.
Speaker 1 (53:17):
We'll see see you later, man, all right, buddy, that's
thanks guys, enjoying it, okay, man.
Speaker 6 (53:22):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (53:23):
Matthew Hasselbeck joining us here on Seahawks Stories along with
Jim z Ord and yours truly, Steve Rabel. That was
That was a treat I enjoyed. That can't wait till
we find out who we're going to talk to next
week with us, as it's always somebody great from this organization.
Thanks for being with us, Thanks for listening in everybody
till next time.
Speaker 6 (53:40):
We'll see you then.
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