March 26, 2025 • 44 mins
On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, Pro Bowl lineman Jahri Evans joins hosts Peanut and Roman. Jahri discusses his Saints career and shares how he feels to be a three-time finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jahri shares his path from a Division II college to the NFL, reveals the toughest defensive linemen he faced, and talks winning Super Bowl XLIII with Roman. Jahri also explains what makes him a good leader and why he decided to join the Saints coaching staff.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jarry Evans, New Orleans Saints, Saints Hall of Famer, Saints
ringerv Honor, Philly's Finest And this is the NFL Players
Second Acts Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm Peter Tuman, and this is the NFL Player's Second
Acts Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
And with me as always is my guy Roman Harper.
What's up?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What's up? Tell too?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I guessed this. I love this guest. This is my brother.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
If it's your brother, y'all got a lot more than
common than what I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
So I want you to intro this brother.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Number one, he is my frat brother, Omegasi five Frattorney Incorporated.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
But outside of that, he's also a guard.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Played twelve years in the NFL with the Saints and
for the Packers for a year. He is a six
time Pro Bowler, five time All Pro Super Bowl Champion
super Bowl forty four to be exact. With the New
Orleans Saints, he is a member of the twenty tens
NFL A Decade Team. He's also one of only eight
members in the Saints Ring of Honor that he was
(01:05):
just inducted into this past year, and he's now an
offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints and constantly your
favorite businessman. Man, this is number seventy three Jari Evans. Yes, yes, sir,
welcome to the pot. Hey, I'm here. He is PA's
(01:26):
finest Pas. Yes, yes, look man, everybody. If you guys
don't know, Jarry was selected in the same draft class
as me two thousand and six New Orleans Saints Draft class.
But more importantly, what I want to talk about, JAHI
is that, And I want to let all the listeners
and viewers know. All right, we're two days away, all right,
(01:48):
when we're recording this, we're two days away from this year,
twenty twenty five, right, Hall of Fame class will be announced,
and Jari is a finalist for that.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
This is his second time being a finalist and it's
three years of eligibility.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
So congratulations to that. So how does it feel to
get that call?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Like, man, like, what what is that? Like? How does
it even work? Though? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Just walk me.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, that's what I want to know.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
When I found out I was a finalist, they did
reach out and my agent reached out and said, you know,
you wanted a finalists. Obviously, it doesn't leave the room
and they try to wait till everybody till they put
it out to the media. Yeah. So yeah, he just
reached out. Drel hit me up and say, hey, you
know you made the finalist. One more step we'll see.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
This is your second time being a finalist, correct, What
was it like the first time?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Because I think that's probably a different feeling.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, it was awesome. You know when you when you're
on that list, and that list is large, obviously, and
they got to knock it down a few times, and
every time they knock it down, it's just one step closer.
You know, the smile gets bigger, you know what I'm saying.
So hopefully you know, it's a celebration weekend and I
get big call saying that I wanted the finals.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
So how will it feel if you get that call
this year? Because that would make you one of only
two linemen in the Saints for the Saints to be
in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Do you know who the other lineman is?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Of course? Okay, Big Willy, Okay, Big Whally Roth. Yeah,
it'll be awesome, you know, and it's not about you
know if it's just about win, right, you know, you
get to this point where you're in the finalist twice.
And there's guys that been on this list for a
long time. You know, Willie Anderson's the guy that's been
on this sort of talk. I think Eric Allen's been
on this list for a long time. You know, there's
(03:34):
guys that have been waiting for a long time that
are deserving of it. Because when you get down this part,
just about everybody that's the finalist is really deserving of it,
to the point where they have a senior list. If
you don't get in, you go on that senior list.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, how long is that? What's that process for the senior.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Think it may be twenty five years. I'm not sure
he's like twenty or twenty years you go on the
seniors list. Damn, there's a process, man. I'm not saying
the process is great, but its process. Trust the process.
You know, we'll see. I don't know. And I think
they try to put somebody in on the senior list,
(04:09):
like every year, like one or two people that are
on that list. I think they try to get in
every year. But you know, I tell everybody to think
about it. I can't get back out there and play
no more down. So the work is the work, you know,
it's already put in, so.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know, as a former teammate, I like to give
you a little bit of your flowers since we got
you on finally, all right, they wanted to know. When
I say they, I mean the fans and Thomas. Okay,
Thomas's own producer. He says behind the camera, they would
like to know what makes Jah a good leader, and
I would always have to respond that. You know, Joh
(04:45):
played offensive line, so I didn't see Jarry Evans doing
a lot of talk. I think he let a lot
of his play doing the talk. Besides that practice, he'd
be like, don't come in my beat gap. Like you
can be anywhere on this field, but in my bet
gap it's like loans, you don't come over here. Wrong.
We ain't got no problem, no smoke, no smoke, but
if you come over here, you're gonna get smoked. I'm
(05:06):
a must show you now, I see this your best
leadership of qualities job. I didn't see it always on
the field, but I would be remorse if I didn't
tell you that I saw this offseason, that training camp
when I saw you coaching. Yeah, that was the first time.
It was like, man, dude, Jos's got it, the way
you communicate it, the way you're able to work and
(05:27):
talk to these guys and still be able to show.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Them what it's like to do having to.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Punch the right countersteps, the right steps, making sure your
eye's right. I sat in a room with you and
learned so much just about offensive line schematics, all those
things that I had never even heard before. But it
makes all the much more sense when you have the
right person that's leading the room, that can actually communicate
these things about where your eyes should be at when
you take that first step off the line, and you know,
(05:53):
actually knowing where your targets are at. So I appreciated that.
And how has that been for you as a more
of a leadership role where now you're expected to do
more talking.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It's been great, man, Thanks for that. By the way,
I remember you sitting in he was like sitting in
the old line room. Learned a lot, like taking your notes,
you know, just for everybody that know. Roman blitzed a
lot and I told him he just don't just don't
be trying to blister this b gap. Put these head
and shoulders on you. And I'm not talking about shampoo,
(06:24):
you know what I'm saying so, but but yeah, you know,
just I was always a student of the game. You know,
I've had some great teachers, Doug Maroon o line coach,
Aaron Cromer on line coach, you know, and then our
room we always kind of taught each other, you know, Stinchcomb,
Zach Goodie, Carl Bush. We all kind of shared different
techniques and things that helped each other be the players
(06:46):
we had it they Jeff Faine earlier in my career,
Jamarinett's bit when I was a rookie start, and so,
you know, I just take those things that that I
learned on the field, how I break down film, how
I watched film. Like I went to Division two, we
didn't really watch film and college, you know what I mean.
So I learned a lot of these traits and how
to study and how to prepare as a pro. Once
I got to the NFL, and I just never stopped learning.
(07:09):
I always tried to add things to my game and
be on top of the game, because you guys know
in this league, the last in this league, you always
got to grow. You got to grow as a player.
Things are changing, so you know, being able to communicate
with players in a way that they're able to get
it or you know, they're able to see it and
put it into action. It's key. It's key, and no
(07:31):
line is different. Right. You got five six guys you
know on the field that can be on the field
at once if he's playing jumbo tight end. But you
got ten guys in the room that are from six
't one to six eight two ninety to three fifty
three sixty that move completely different, that have different skill sets,
(07:51):
you know what I mean, And you have to make
sure that all those skill sets come together and be
one unit. So it's important to learn how to communicate
with all the different guys differently and learn the different
ways that hits their brains they can go out there
and execute.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah, so I got one from both of y'all.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Okay, prior to two thousand and six and the thirteen
seasons prior to two thousand and six before you guys
got drafted the Saints and only one only had two
winning seasons. So my question of both the y'all isn't
whoever answers first, whoever answers first. What was it like
being a part of the Saints and that organization and
(08:29):
being a part of the rehabbing of it, you know,
like the growth and development and just how you guys
helped that franchise win a Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
What was that like living in this city?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
I mean, once you had the city and it like
it has a totally different dynamic because the city's up,
you know what I mean, the city's turning up. We
were I think we were all just so young. We
didn't know any better because I was after that was
after Katrina, right.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
That was the first season after Katrina.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
I would say Jari was the first person that came
in and started starting.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Jarry was the.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
First one, Coaston, then Colston, then Reggie got in.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Reggie was starting regardless he might not started, but he
was touched.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
And then I was the last one out of the
first initial group of starters that rookie year.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And Ninko had a Ninko. Yeah, Ninko play and.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Uh so it just go ahead, Josh trying of break
it down.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, you know, just like the Romans said, you know,
we had that draft class. We all wind up playing
in that draft class.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
It's a good draft.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Yeah, it was a good class, and we had to
play play right. They didn't bring back a lot of
guys that were displaced in two thousand and five, they
bought in a lot of free agents, Jeff Fain and
Drew Brees, and we had duce leadership and some guys
on defense as well. But you know, they bought in
you know, Fujia Hollis, you know what I mean, Shanley.
They bought a lot of free agents in that year.
(09:52):
So you know, it was just, hey, we're going to
see who who can make it through this training camp.
That was really to me, that was like, whoever we
wound up after this training camp, that's going to be
who we got, and we're gonna go out there and
handle business. And we in those six you know, that
started the foundation. I think we were like ten and six,
but wanted up going to the NMC Championship. You know,
in Chicago, we were one game away from the Super Bowl.
(10:14):
So just to know that, you know, all those guys,
free agents, new coaches. Was you on that Chicago team? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Game?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Bad, but yeah, you know those free agents and the
rookies and the new coach. You know, I think a
new system that people never saw before. That kind of
started it off, and then we just kept adding after that.
You know, and then we were lucky to get there
four years later and win one.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
But yeah, I think that that first year, that six
was you know, they called us that junk, they called
us the Junction boys. I don't think it's a great
compliment because a lot of those people died and like
it was like terrible. I mean water was for the
week and yeah, it was a really really tough training
camp and was that year. The best thing about Millstaps
was literally the lunch fruit. The lunch fruit with the
(11:04):
lunch ladies were amazing. It was awesome. The lunch lad
what made it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
The food. Food food was so good.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Home Star restaurants, it was le.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
The training, yes, it was Mill lunch ladies. Legit, legit.
Where is that?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
And Jackson, New Orleans we didn't have a training Yeah,
everything was still.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
The luxury ladies. It was the jit The didn't ask anybody,
we're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Would you ever imagine growing up in Philly, playing at Bloomsburg,
playing left tackle at Bloomsburg, that you would come possibly
a Hall of Fame caliber player at right guard in
the NFL.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
That's a good question, man. So I always wanted to
be the best player I could be, right, Like, I
always had that mentality like I'm gonna go out here
and just crush it, you know what I mean. So,
you know, even in high school, my high school, Frankfort
High School in Philly, which.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Which has doesn't even have a full hundred and ten
yards field, just the corners, the corners in the end.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Zone are tracked because they have there. Wait, wait, wait,
we don't have I'm a visual earner. The way you
said that, it didn't compute, so we got the math mathing.
Yeah yeah, so wait, say please explain it.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
So how can I explain that? So we got a
gravel track, right, normal on the on a normal track,
four times around the track is a mile, right, yeah,
six hundred meters you're right. So our track you have
to go five times to make a mile. So the
field is a little short. So the corners of the
end zone, you know, you to tapping and gravel down there.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
You score.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
We used to score a lot of touchdowns of that quarter.
It's a little it's a little it's a little curve
from the grass to the ground too, So you gotta
be careful.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Did y'all have a professional like person do this or
did y'all just kind of like have somebody from the
from the neighborhood come.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Do y'all track. So we're one of the oldest universities
in the city. Actually, the Philadelphiagles started in Frankfurt, you
know what I mean. So you know back in the
day when they used to have those yellow and blue jerseys.
So you know what I played. We we we were
I think we were leading the city and championships before
George Washington took over. But you know, we're a pretty
(13:39):
historic high school. So it's an old stadium. You know,
it's a very old stadium. And but yeah, so like
even earlier, like I didn't play tackle football until I
went to high school till ninth grade, till JV. I
didn't put the pads on until then. But you know,
early on in my career, I always wanted to make
it to the league. I always wanted to be the
best player I can be, and I had and I
had good teammates and and good played on good teams.
(14:02):
My junior year, we were undefeated. We lost in the
second round to the other playoffs or the semi finals,
to the team that wound up winn the championship. And
then my senior year, I didn't play football right, broke
my knee playing basketball in the summertime. But I took
a piece of paper in the surgery room with me,
and on that paper I wrote, I said, I will
play this season, I will play in college, and I
(14:23):
would play in the NFL. So you know, I've always
had that, you know, that mentality that, hey, football is
what I want to do. I want to be a player.
I'm gonna try to be the best player I can be.
And you know I got two of those things out
of the three. Right my senior year, the guys my
high school team still went to the championship, but we lost,
and they will never let me forget that, you know,
(14:45):
forget about that. But yeah, so you know, I was
one of the best player I could be room and
even when I got drafted, you know, that was the
first thing, you know, I told myself, It's like, hey man,
this opportunity to come soon as you get the opportunity
to take advantage of it. And that opportunity came to
me early on. Couple guys got hurt, and I just
made sure that I took advantage of it and never
looked back and just put my best foot forward and
(15:06):
go out there and you know, try to win these down.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
What was that transition like to going from left tackle? Yeah,
to right guard, because I know one thing you always
talk about is that, dude, when you play DT ball
and you play on line.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You got to just maul cats right to stand out.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So going from that to all of a sudden, now
you're going to play right guard, what was that transition.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
It wasn't a hard transition, I should say, because it's easier.
I'm not going to say right guard is definitely not
as difficult as playing left tackle in the National Football League.
But at my level where I was playing in college,
it wasn't very difficult to play left tackle. I guess
for me at that level based off of, you know,
(15:45):
our team and our scheme that we ran, which is
not quite a pro scheme because we ran a lot
of sprint draw We still ran stretched out size zone,
still ran inside zone, but we also had some sprint
draw work that was that was phenomenal. You couldn't tell
if it was run or so. My head coach in college,
coach Dannyelle, he just went into the college football Hall
of Fame. But we just we used to run sprint
(16:06):
draw where the guards stacked, and then climbed where they stacked,
and then turned and hinge for the sprint for the past.
So had we had a different style of offense where
the tackle would just block down on that play, so
small right, we ran the ball. I mean my senior year,
My senior year, I had three backs that had one
thousand yards. Jamar Brendenham he won a D two Heisman
(16:30):
he had my senior year he had two thousand yards,
thirty four touchdowns. Like Balling he had. He had a
short stint in the league. But so we were just
malling guys. It was just a different league, different game.
But back to your point about changing positions. I mean,
you see our left tackle today. Tally he played right
tackle in college and then he played left tackle all
(16:51):
season for US. So it really just depends on the
skill set of the player. I think some players it
is hard to switch their feet, you know what I mean,
going from a right hand stand to a left hand stand,
or left hand stands to a right hand stands. But
ideally it's the body types that's rushing against you. And
I never struggled with the bigger, powerful guys in the
close radius. I think I would have struggled playing tack
(17:13):
with the NFL against smaller, quick guys with a little
more space on the edge.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Okay, how about you, Does that ever make you weird
with corners because safety were in the middle, but want
to right to left? Did that ever foot wise, pedal wise,
breaking either way? No, you got to be able to
travel well. When I when I say travel, meaning you
got to put on the left side of the field,
right side of the field. If your receiver goes in motion,
you gotta you gotta play inside slid outside. So for us,
(17:40):
for me, I didn't. So my first couple of years
I played left corner. And then we got Zach Bowman
from Nebraska, and then they wanted to move me the
right corner. And I was like, oh okay, because normally
naturally the left corner, that's your that's your dominant one.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
It's like your left right handed, so most quarterbacks a
right handed.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
So I went over to the At first, I fought
in the was just like, all right, I'll just go
to the right, you know. And I went to the
right corner and was still balling and didn't make me
didn't change anything.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Let me ask you this, Why do you think there
are corners that can't flip?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Because once it's like.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
You were saying, it's the footwork. Like, I'm so used
to having this foot up and using this hand. I'm
used to being in this stand. Right, It's just perfect
for me, no different than a left tackle. I'm gonna
have this foot up ready to kick, slide, kick slid
or kick step or whatever. Right, I'm just used to this.
I'm just used to this position. I'm used to this,
and I can't do nothing else right. So yeah, some
(18:34):
people aren't ambidextrous. They can't they can't make that move,
that transition.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
But I don't know.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I feel like at this level you should be able
to play left tackle, right tackle, right guard, left guard
that's just me, or left safety right safety is to me,
they're all unchangeable. Right, Am I a mic or am
I the well or on the sam? I think that's
a different ball game for me Personally, I would rather
play left corner because I like my left foot.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Up more than my right foot when I backed up.
I don't know why I like my left foot up.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
So did you do that when you would be in
the middle of or like, let's say, were you're on
the right side, did you just keep it up like
that or did you did you do it the right
way when you were on the right side of the field. Yeah,
on the right side, I moved my right one up
just because it just I would prefer to be on
the left. But I'm also strong safety, which most teams
are right handed, so my left foot is naturally up
all the time right because that's where the tight end
(19:28):
is that I just so for me, I naturally like
my left foot up.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
I don't know why. I just feel way more comfortable.
I just viewed it as.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Guilbird Senegal Chargers Hall of Famer, so he's always you
got to get comfortable being uncomfortable. So when I first
went over to the right, I wasn't comfortable, and then
I just was like, no, I got to enjoy this.
Embrace it, embrace it, embrace it. And then I just
got super comfortable with me and that. So that's that's
why that mindset of like, nah, I just you should
(19:58):
be able to go left.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Or right or right.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Garles, you trained you trained it in Yeah, I just
I just trained it in something We've always asked everybody,
and I know you know this, Uh, what was your
welcome to the NFL moment? Or were someone just like
mauled you or beat you or training camp or something
you had to buy something with the cafetier?
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Was it O line dinner? Was it?
Speaker 1 (20:21):
I'm trying to think, man, because we had a good
group of guys. Obviously we have everybody got the dinner,
they got to pay for. Absolutely, we did it right though.
We actually we actually bought a bottle of Little to
thirteen so we didn't have to buy it at the
at the store, I mean at the rest.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
At the restaurant. Charge about that. I don't charge you
like a thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
We had a smart shots at my at my dinner,
we just took the shots.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
That was that.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
But I'm trying to think it's it's crazy because our
room was was a little bit different, right, Nobody in
our room, you know, six started besides Jamal Brown who
he was drafted year before as a rookie. But I
would say training camp. I would say training camp. When
(21:06):
we went against the Texans, I got into a fight.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
You don't even look like you fight. YEA big, nice,
big nice guy. Right when they this guy with glasses,
I'm like, who is this?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
He looks like he's just a big This is a
big nice guy, big baby baby.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
He came here life.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Juice. I got into a fight, man, I got into
a fight against a guy on the Texans and we
were doing one on ones old line D line, and
and he just went straight from my face mask. He
wasn't even trying to Oh he's trying. He just went
straight from my face masks right. And I remember coach
like he was like, listen, you guys won't go. Just
make sure you go, like, don't don't be tiptoe and
(21:47):
order right. So so he went from my face mask.
I'm all jacked up like this trying to block him.
I'm like, all right, and old line D line, you
do two reps. So the second rep he did the
same thing came up. Wasn't he trying to beat me?
Just watch your face mat and I just I just
after he let go, I approached him and then he
mushed me. He mushed me, right, So he got the
(22:08):
first one off. I just let the hands flop, his
helmet popped off, he got a bloody lip. But I'm
on the bottom of the pile, like it is a
massive brawl. You guys know how that is. I'm on
the bottom of the pile. This is the worst I've
never felt this in my life. I'm on the bottom
of pile and I just feel the pile getting heavier
and heavier and heavier, to the point where I'm doing
(22:30):
like a static push up because I can't go no further.
The ground is there, and I take a breath. At
some point it was bananas. I said, yo, I ain't
fighting no more because a fight broke out and in
the middle of this, like, I don't know if that's safe.
But his lip was busted. I was fine, My helmet
stayed on. His got knocked off, but he was mad
(22:53):
the rest of the practice obviously, and then coaching coach
Peyton was, you know, telling his rocky stories and and
all that. So it was funny. It was funny, but
that that bottom of the power moment, my shoulder passed,
the buckles was bent. It was It was a scary
moment for a few seconds for me down there at
the Obama.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
There's a lot of weight.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
There's a lot of weight. It's a lot of weight,
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Weight, so who's a who's the toughest D line you
ever had to face?
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Oh man, I get this one a lot, all right,
So you got you got different kinds of D linemen, right.
I would say Drill McCoy was probably the best get off.
He'd be a wide for technique. He's just streaming up
the field quick fast, flip his hips. And then you
got guys like like Dominican Sue who just wants to
muscle you. He's not really flipping its hips, right, he's
(23:38):
not really. I'm not scared of him getting past me
with his hips. And I never really struggled against those
kind of guys. But then you got like Heloly Nada,
who's just it's just it's just a massive human. Like
I remember being two minute drill before half and it's
like a minute and fifty left and we in the
(23:58):
dome and you know, we throw the ball. We got
drew a a ain't no drawls and ain't nothing, ain't
no screens. We just cut out thought the ball and
Helodinod is in like a four eye or a five technique,
meaning like he's he's head up on the offensive tackle.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
And he's about to rush the pass.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
He's just about to take five hard steps as hard
as fast as you can and just try to put
me through the wall down there. Literally, And when you
watch the film, I'm taking a pass set, but my
shoulder pass, my head and shoulder pads is as low
as I'm coming off the ball like I'm running, like
we're doing a run play. It is bananas. And I
had to do that for a minute. It's twenty seconds
(24:35):
for the whole two minute drive, just just you know.
So guys like that are just they're just difficult tough guys.
Do you have your Henderson and your Stroud. The biggest
guy ever played against was Sam Adams and Cleveland and
those six. He was just a massive human being. They
don't they don't make them, you know, they don't really
be that size anymore. But yeah, I've had a lot
of tough battles, but Plodinada and I would say, like
(24:58):
you know, Drell McCoy was, or some my long battles
that I've always had against those guys over the years.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Yeah, a lot has been said about Sean Payton's complicated
play calls, and Drew was on TV and he he's
on one of these late night shows and he recited
one of the plays. Yeah, did you really tune out
or do you listen to the whole thing or did
you just listen to your small piece like I don't
care about does?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
He posts?
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, So it's funny because I see this, I know
Cliff you talk about and they've always been talking about it.
So you have to listen to the whole play, right
because what comes that the end of the play the snapcount.
So it's not like if you missed the snapcount, then
you know you're not getting off the ball. Now it's
the whole play talking to us.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
No, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
The first play is to run play like he said.
I think it was like slash thirty six Bob or something,
so we know what slash thirty six Bob means. Slash
means one thing, thirty six means one thing, and Bob
is talking to everybody on the blocking scheme and then
he says kill to a pass. The protection is really
the first part of the pass, and then the rest
of it is the routes like I don't know you
(26:09):
to know X Spear y Lucy Spear or post or Dragon. No,
I don't need to listen to all that stuff. But
I do have to hear damn snapcount that comes after,
so I'm not completely tuning it out, but I know
it's not talking to me. Once I hear the protection,
I don't the routes after that doesn't never really talk
to us.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
So could you recite one of those complicated plays right now?
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Probably?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Oh, yeah, he got it.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
You know, you know, you say, give me one of
Sean Payton's old plays, not the Saints, give me, give
me one of Sewan's old school plays.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
So you could say Greenwright, tight Ryde thirty four, Bob
Kill eighty two ex Harry z Posts. Why seeing on
one you know, that's two plays.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Ours was so easy? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Like so, and I probably missed up the routes a
little bit. You know, those are those are routes.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You know. So when I did training camp with the
Saints this past offseason, I went in there with Jah
when they were like when all the players are going
and we're just getting like some reps. He's doing some
stuff on the computer. He's like drawing up plays and
I'm just asking, like, so, what does this mean? And
why is this? Like this is the same run, but
this time you toss it versus your hand it off?
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Why is it this?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Everything was a why to me? Like I didn't it
didn't make a lot of sense. Oh well all the
runs are based upon cars or something like what. Yeah,
so this is a different type of whole different language. Yeah,
it's a totally different language than what we do on
the defensive side of the foot, where it's like three words, man,
three or four words and then we're done, like we
(27:47):
don't have time.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
You guys are like slide right, tokyo.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
That's it, that's it. Everybody knows what that means. You
know what I mean, peanut, you should you know what
tokyo means.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Just cover too.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Yeah, it's easy.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Yeah he knew that anyway, I didn't know that. You've
been on a lot of football teams. You won one
super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
What was so special about that two thousand and nine season,
and what what really stands out to you about that year?
Speaker 3 (28:14):
That season? Whatever that was?
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, that made that one just a little bit more
different than all the rest of the seasons you played.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
The one season that was probably the most similar to
that season was the eleven season, just because of stats
wise and how well we were rolling, how much we won.
But The biggest thing I think that stands out, you
know about the nine season is you saw a progression
of a team and not just a team of organization
to what he that was saying earlier, you know, you
(28:41):
saw them, you know, have a great have a draft, right,
and then have those players. And then as those players
that we started with may not stay or leave the
fold like all players do, bring in other players that's
going to fit the fold well enough to get us
over the hump that that we you know that we
have to be able to become champion. And so you know,
(29:01):
bringing in a guy like like Pierre and bush Rod
and and guys on defense, you know, like Tracy and
and and other guys that that just helped, you know,
mold the whole team. Bringing Mike, you know, Mike McKenzie
back on a championship team when we needed a guy
that to make plays for us because of injuries, and uh,
(29:22):
bringing in jv Vilma, you know what I mean. And
then seeing how Drew progressed as a as a passer,
as a communicator, you know, reading coverages, you saw that
in those three years, three or four years that propelled
us to be a championship team. And I think it.
It continued, it continued to grow. You can see you
(29:43):
saw things add to the playbook. Coach Payton as a
play caller, adding things to the to the playbook, adding
different schemes based off of other things that team did.
It's a chess match, right, You see me run. You
see me run this out of this formation. I'm gonna
give you the same formation, but I'm gonna run something else,
you know. So when you have success like that, I
think you become harder to stop because you just keep
(30:04):
scheming it up and keep adding and adding and adding,
you know, to the system, and then you bring in
the body types that can still run that system, like
bringing in the Sprolls. Yeah, you know, fits the system well,
you know what I mean, just just bringing in guys
that you know can do things well that you've seen
other guys that are kind of the same type of
(30:25):
guys do previously.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
One of the things I enjoy about coaching is I
enjoy coaching my kids when they allow me to. I've
learned I got to I can't be intense, So when
they allow me to coach them, I get joy out
of just one the bond and the connection that we have,
you know, father's son, daughter, you know, with your parents.
(30:54):
What do you get out of coaching with the Saints
right now? Like, what's that joy? How does that make
you feel?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
One of the biggest joys is just having a player
come to be like, oh, man, I tried that and
that worked.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Like I had a guy, you know, I played with
him with the Packers. He plays for US now, Lucas Patrick. Yeah,
Team Green Tea. You know, I told him something and
he went out and tried and he's like, man, you
know that that worked. You know, That's that's the that's
the biggest That's that's awesome for me. I'm like, I'm
(31:27):
surprised you didn't try that before, you know, so, Like
I love that stuff. Or just having young guys go
out there and and trust what they're being told and
go out there and try it even if they even
if it doesn't work the first time, just continue to
work at it and try it but have success. Watching
those guys have success based off of the stuff that
you teach them during the week and the stuff that
they learned is awesome. Same thing happened to me when
(31:48):
I was younger. I remember coach told me, he's like,
listen when uh Lufa, he was a Seattle right middle linebacker.
He was like, I think it's the name is Lufa.
When he want over here, don't miss this. You've got
the turnback on this end and hit it and hit
him to block off this backside gap from being closed.
And we're going to hit it. And I recognized it.
(32:09):
I read, recognized it and did it and it was
forty yards, you know what I'm saying. So like being
able to coach a player on where his eyes are,
what he sees, and how he should react, and how
his footwork should be, where his hand placement should be.
They know that stuff, but just to constantly harp on
it until his second nature for them and watch them
(32:29):
go out there and execute and have success is very fulfilling.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Where do you see or want your coaching career to
go or expand after this?
Speaker 1 (32:37):
You know a lot of people always ask you that question,
Head coach Evans, Yeah, I enjoy coaching the line, man,
I really do. I think offensive line is one of
the major parts of coaching in the NFL, especially how
these young guys are being coached in college. You know, there.
Some of them are a lot of them are not
(32:57):
prepared to come out to the NFL and throw the
ball thirty five times a game, you know, And and
these coaches want to sling the rock. So I think
there's a there's a need of o line coaching and
a technique in the league. But the one thing about
it being an old line coach is that you're in
part of every facet of the play, the run, game
and the protection, you know what I mean. So like,
(33:20):
if those things aren't tight, the play doesn't get started.
You know, you're not ahead of the change, You're behind
the chaine. So for me right now, it's just the
old line coach. But I can see myself in the
future designing runs and possibly calling plays as well. You know,
I think I'll be a run heavy play caller. But
you get you give you that general back there. You know,
(33:40):
I throw some d balls, you know what I'm saying.
So but uh but yeah, you know, right now, I'm
just an old line coach learning learn the game, learn
the system. But it definitely starts upfront. I'm in the
room with these coaches and they're like, how are we
going to block this? How are we going to protect
this and that's important.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I think what I've learned from talking to other coaches
when they start out there, oh, I'm just a loneberger coach.
And then they get in the dB, and then they
get in the receivers, and then they get.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
In the running backs. Have you started to do that now?
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Like, I know you're on old line right now, but
have you have you got into I don't know, maybe
the next one is tight ends.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
Or receivers or quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Have you have you kind of, yeah, flirted with the
other positions?
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Yeah, I have. You know, we uh, during every week
we practiced with the tight ends. So I've taken the
tight ends and I've done old line tight end drills
with those guys throughout the season. It's funny you ask that.
I just interviewed the running back at the Senior Bowl.
I've never you know, interviewed the running back. So I
just interviewed the running back. Watch film with a running back,
talked about landmarks, footwork, and you know the running backs
(34:42):
marry the run game because you got to. You got
to be on the right track with the old line.
So so yes, I have been doing that. Also, been
drawing formations and what I would call plays how I
would call them, you know, like what like what name
I would call use for them? Oh? Yeah, am I
tagging it for the fullback? Or am I tagging it
the tight end? Or if I'm putting that tag in
there for the alignment? You know. So at the end
(35:04):
of the run, So like right thirty six, Bob, that
Bob is talking to the fullback saying that he's back
on a backer. Am I called it week lead? Or
am I just calling it week? So I've been, you know,
working things like that.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
I don't like that. I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Yeah, hold on, hold on, I gotta If you had
a play caller to work with, you're wishless right now,
that's past future whatever. If there was a guy or
a gap ye who you wanted to work with a
(35:39):
play caller.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
I really don't.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Who I've worked with in the past that people may
not know of. I've had two great experiences at these
last two All Star Games. So two years ago coach
at the East West Gate and Davis Webb was our
was our play caller. Mike Cafo was the head coach
in the East West game and Davis webbons with the
(36:04):
Broncos was our play calling. He did. He did a
good job and we won that game. And then this
past weekend Joe Thomas was to play call added and
Joe called. He called his butt off man his past
game in the Senior Bowl. He did a really really
good job. So I like both of those game plans
and we wind up winning. So I'm gonna go with
those two guys, okay, And it was their first time
calling the game.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
That's something I never thought about.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Yeah, the interviewing process, like are you ready to start
getting into the draft mode? Because being an NFL coach,
that's part of it, right, the whole the draft grades,
the scouting players. Those are probably some of the things
that we don't talk about enough as people that follow
the game, and how important that part, that piece of
it is because you're always looking for the next guy.
(36:47):
Have you thought about how that process is going to
go for you or or you already started doing some
of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
You're right, it's one of the I'm not gonna not
gonna say the most important because you don't really do
that during the season. You know, you're coaching the guys up,
but you know Jeff Ireland told me when I took
the job, you know two years ago, you got to
dial into these evaluations. You got to dial into these evaluations.
And he's exactly right. So last draft, I mean, I
looked at thirty to forty college offensive alignment film, wrote
(37:16):
evaluations on all of them. So we do as coaches
scout I want to say, not say scout, but we
do watch the film and write evaluations for the ball
club to look at. So I'll be doing that this
all season also, and luckily I was just at to
see your bowl, so I got you got a good
tend evaluations of guys that I coached, and got a
(37:37):
chance to sit down with the old line on the
other side. So that's twenty guys that I got to
put eyes on, all.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Right, I got.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
I guess My final question to you is your personal
amount Rushmore. You had to pick four influential.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
People in your life. Who would those four people be?
Speaker 1 (37:55):
First one would be my mother, strong woman, and uh,
you know, raised me. I'm the youngest of four on
my mom's side. My second would be my older sister, Carmela.
She's awesome, works at City Hall, She's a vocalist, she sings,
(38:19):
she has a few albums out. She's awesome. And then
I would say number three would be my college coach,
coach of Brian amazing guy, loves ball, taught me a
lot about ball, won a lot of games in college.
(38:39):
He's put three offensive linemen in the NFL two since me,
So he's a he's a great coach. Let me see
who would be number four? I would say, you know,
my grandma Ruby on my on my dad's side. You know,
she when I went to middle school, I used to
go to her house every day after school. She lived
(39:00):
right down the street from my middle school, which was
right behind Saint Joe's Prep, which was a big time
high school in Philly. I was supposed to go to
the prep, but I didn't go to the prep. But yeah,
I would say, my Grandmam Ruby is uh, you know,
really influential in my life. And I'll give you one more.
It's my uncle Ernie. He was He was amazing, my
mom's oldest brother. Yeah, he was amazing in what way.
(39:23):
Loved that man at death. Uh, you know when I
was young, took me to a lot of games. When
I got hurt, you know, took me to my doctor's appointments,
rehabing my knee. He was just always around the family,
and and and he made an awesome sweet potato pie, awesome,
sweeping phenomenal. But but yeah, that would be my mouth
(39:45):
rushmore shout out.
Speaker 2 (39:47):
I like that, well, John Man. I gotta say two things.
Number One, John's one of the greatest teammates I've ever
had in my life. Somebody asked me if I had
to have one one roommate from any former teammate.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
I said, you, I appreciate number one.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
We'd have a great time.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Number two is because of who you are genuinely as
a person.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I'm a paul. He didn't. We wouldn't have a good time. No,
you'd be playing tricks. I wouldn't be sleep. I would
be sleep. You don't trust me to do it?
Speaker 1 (40:17):
No, I don't. I don't.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
I would pick job and so.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
And what a lot of people don't know is that
from about the year two thousand and nine until I
left in twenty after twenty thirteen, every pregame I prayed
and held John's hand because I wanted to have a
big juice baby.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Like y'all.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
He ain't lying, he just said it all the time.
I was like yo, I want.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
A big juice baby, So I'm gonna hold Jazz hand
during the pregame prayer.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
We did that for about four or five years straight.
And so John's been my guy. Man.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
I'm so happy to have you on here. And one
of the most incredible feats. I've only seen this one
time in my life. I used to have my charity
golf tournament back in Prattville and of course we ended
up at waffle House thirty three in the morning, and
I'd never seen this before.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Stacked them waffles up.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
No, not at all. Joe ordered a seven egg omelet.
Seven egg omelet, real rat. I did, real rat.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
And the fact that you get down and killed it.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
And the fact that he ordered seven told me that
he had ordered eight and that was sixth one enough.
You know what you want, you know, and let's do
that tomorrow. Seven egg omelet.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Never this is two things. I just had never seen
that before. I just want to share that story with
my guy. Seven.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Love you to death, joh and uh Man, thanks for
coming out and doing this and who's spending some time
with us for sure.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Success.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
It's funny because I remember what he said it he
was like seven, he was like, why do you what
made you pick seven? I said, bro, I just I
just know I wanted seven in them things like I did.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
You would not let it go for like the whole weekend.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
It's crazy. Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Man.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
You guys are you guys are amazing. I love your
your podcast. Man, you guys are doing great stuff. Man,
you guys are doing it awesome. STUF appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
Thank you, appreciate it, man, Thanks for that time and
good luck. Yeah, man, put it out there. Celebration was
the last time I know. Earlier in the pod, you
said you so you wrote when you?
Speaker 1 (42:26):
When you?
Speaker 2 (42:28):
Lord?
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Have you been writing things down since? Have you wrote
anything down since?
Speaker 1 (42:33):
I have?
Speaker 3 (42:34):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (42:35):
But to your point, I think I need to yeh right,
morey write more? Yeah, yeah, I want.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
To do something right. Hey, we gotta put that in. Yeah,
we gotta speaking. We gotta put it on manifested right manifestation, Yes, sir, right, yes.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
I gotta put some things and write and some more
things and right.
Speaker 3 (42:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
The great Jarry Eva follow by listeners and viewers always
out there. Man, thank you guys for always tuning in. Man,
make sure you give us a five star rating.
Speaker 3 (43:01):
Hit that review, give us a.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
Comment, like, subscribe, share, follow, share follow Peanuts always teach
me how to do this thing. Tell a friend to
tell a friend to do what Peanut tell a friend.
And make sure you watch our NFL YouTube channel. And
that's wherever you pick up your podcast, whether it's Apple podcast,
iHeartRadio app, please continue to do that and the YouTube app.
Speaker 3 (43:20):
Where now is the NFL. I just said that, right,
I just yes, thank you stepping on my toes. I
just said that. Whatever. I appreciate, sy'all. I'm Peanut, that's Roman,
that's jaw.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
Thank you for tuning in to The NFL Player's Second
Act podcast, We Out
Jarry Evans, New Orleans Saints, Saints Hall of Famer, Saints
ringerv Honor, Philly's Finest And this is the NFL Players
Second Acts Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm Peter Tuman, and this is the NFL Player's Second
Acts Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
And with me as always is my guy Roman Harper.
What's up?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
What's up? Tell too?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I guessed this. I love this guest. This is my brother.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
If it's your brother, y'all got a lot more than
common than what I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
So I want you to intro this brother.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Number one, he is my frat brother, Omegasi five Frattorney Incorporated.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
But outside of that, he's also a guard.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Played twelve years in the NFL with the Saints and
for the Packers for a year. He is a six
time Pro Bowler, five time All Pro Super Bowl Champion
super Bowl forty four to be exact. With the New
Orleans Saints, he is a member of the twenty tens
NFL A Decade Team. He's also one of only eight
members in the Saints Ring of Honor that he was
(01:05):
just inducted into this past year, and he's now an
offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints and constantly your
favorite businessman. Man, this is number seventy three Jari Evans. Yes, yes, sir,
welcome to the pot. Hey, I'm here. He is PA's
(01:26):
finest Pas. Yes, yes, look man, everybody. If you guys
don't know, Jarry was selected in the same draft class
as me two thousand and six New Orleans Saints Draft class.
But more importantly, what I want to talk about, JAHI
is that, And I want to let all the listeners
and viewers know. All right, we're two days away, all right,
(01:48):
when we're recording this, we're two days away from this year,
twenty twenty five, right, Hall of Fame class will be announced,
and Jari is a finalist for that.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
This is his second time being a finalist and it's
three years of eligibility.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
So congratulations to that. So how does it feel to
get that call?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Like, man, like, what what is that? Like? How does
it even work? Though? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Just walk me.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, that's what I want to know.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
When I found out I was a finalist, they did
reach out and my agent reached out and said, you know,
you wanted a finalists. Obviously, it doesn't leave the room
and they try to wait till everybody till they put
it out to the media. Yeah. So yeah, he just
reached out. Drel hit me up and say, hey, you
know you made the finalist. One more step we'll see.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
This is your second time being a finalist, correct, What
was it like the first time?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Because I think that's probably a different feeling.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Yeah, it was awesome. You know when you when you're
on that list, and that list is large, obviously, and
they got to knock it down a few times, and
every time they knock it down, it's just one step closer.
You know, the smile gets bigger, you know what I'm saying.
So hopefully you know, it's a celebration weekend and I
get big call saying that I wanted the finals.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
So how will it feel if you get that call
this year? Because that would make you one of only
two linemen in the Saints for the Saints to be
in the Hall of Fame.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Do you know who the other lineman is?
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Of course? Okay, Big Willy, Okay, Big Whally Roth. Yeah,
it'll be awesome, you know, and it's not about you
know if it's just about win, right, you know, you
get to this point where you're in the finalist twice.
And there's guys that been on this list for a
long time. You know, Willie Anderson's the guy that's been
on this sort of talk. I think Eric Allen's been
on this list for a long time. You know, there's
(03:34):
guys that have been waiting for a long time that
are deserving of it. Because when you get down this part,
just about everybody that's the finalist is really deserving of it,
to the point where they have a senior list. If
you don't get in, you go on that senior list.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, how long is that? What's that process for the senior.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Think it may be twenty five years. I'm not sure
he's like twenty or twenty years you go on the
seniors list. Damn, there's a process, man. I'm not saying
the process is great, but its process. Trust the process.
You know, we'll see. I don't know. And I think
they try to put somebody in on the senior list,
(04:09):
like every year, like one or two people that are
on that list. I think they try to get in
every year. But you know, I tell everybody to think
about it. I can't get back out there and play
no more down. So the work is the work, you know,
it's already put in, so.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
You know, as a former teammate, I like to give
you a little bit of your flowers since we got
you on finally, all right, they wanted to know. When
I say they, I mean the fans and Thomas. Okay,
Thomas's own producer. He says behind the camera, they would
like to know what makes Jah a good leader, and
I would always have to respond that. You know, Joh
(04:45):
played offensive line, so I didn't see Jarry Evans doing
a lot of talk. I think he let a lot
of his play doing the talk. Besides that practice, he'd
be like, don't come in my beat gap. Like you
can be anywhere on this field, but in my bet
gap it's like loans, you don't come over here. Wrong.
We ain't got no problem, no smoke, no smoke, but
if you come over here, you're gonna get smoked. I'm
(05:06):
a must show you now, I see this your best
leadership of qualities job. I didn't see it always on
the field, but I would be remorse if I didn't
tell you that I saw this offseason, that training camp
when I saw you coaching. Yeah, that was the first time.
It was like, man, dude, Jos's got it, the way
you communicate it, the way you're able to work and
(05:27):
talk to these guys and still be able to show.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Them what it's like to do having to.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Punch the right countersteps, the right steps, making sure your
eye's right. I sat in a room with you and
learned so much just about offensive line schematics, all those
things that I had never even heard before. But it
makes all the much more sense when you have the
right person that's leading the room, that can actually communicate
these things about where your eyes should be at when
you take that first step off the line, and you know,
(05:53):
actually knowing where your targets are at. So I appreciated that.
And how has that been for you as a more
of a leadership role where now you're expected to do
more talking.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
It's been great, man, Thanks for that. By the way,
I remember you sitting in he was like sitting in
the old line room. Learned a lot, like taking your notes,
you know, just for everybody that know. Roman blitzed a
lot and I told him he just don't just don't
be trying to blister this b gap. Put these head
and shoulders on you. And I'm not talking about shampoo,
(06:24):
you know what I'm saying so, but but yeah, you know,
just I was always a student of the game. You know,
I've had some great teachers, Doug Maroon o line coach,
Aaron Cromer on line coach, you know, and then our
room we always kind of taught each other, you know, Stinchcomb,
Zach Goodie, Carl Bush. We all kind of shared different
techniques and things that helped each other be the players
(06:46):
we had it they Jeff Faine earlier in my career,
Jamarinett's bit when I was a rookie start, and so,
you know, I just take those things that that I
learned on the field, how I break down film, how
I watched film. Like I went to Division two, we
didn't really watch film and college, you know what I mean.
So I learned a lot of these traits and how
to study and how to prepare as a pro. Once
I got to the NFL, and I just never stopped learning.
(07:09):
I always tried to add things to my game and
be on top of the game, because you guys know
in this league, the last in this league, you always
got to grow. You got to grow as a player.
Things are changing, so you know, being able to communicate
with players in a way that they're able to get
it or you know, they're able to see it and
put it into action. It's key. It's key, and no
(07:31):
line is different. Right. You got five six guys you
know on the field that can be on the field
at once if he's playing jumbo tight end. But you
got ten guys in the room that are from six
't one to six eight two ninety to three fifty
three sixty that move completely different, that have different skill sets,
(07:51):
you know what I mean, And you have to make
sure that all those skill sets come together and be
one unit. So it's important to learn how to communicate
with all the different guys differently and learn the different
ways that hits their brains they can go out there
and execute.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah, so I got one from both of y'all.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Okay, prior to two thousand and six and the thirteen
seasons prior to two thousand and six before you guys
got drafted the Saints and only one only had two
winning seasons. So my question of both the y'all isn't
whoever answers first, whoever answers first. What was it like
being a part of the Saints and that organization and
(08:29):
being a part of the rehabbing of it, you know,
like the growth and development and just how you guys
helped that franchise win a Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
What was that like living in this city?
Speaker 2 (08:41):
I mean, once you had the city and it like
it has a totally different dynamic because the city's up,
you know what I mean, the city's turning up. We
were I think we were all just so young. We
didn't know any better because I was after that was
after Katrina, right.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
That was the first season after Katrina.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
I would say Jari was the first person that came
in and started starting.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Jarry was the.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
First one, Coaston, then Colston, then Reggie got in.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Reggie was starting regardless he might not started, but he
was touched.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
And then I was the last one out of the
first initial group of starters that rookie year.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
And Ninko had a Ninko. Yeah, Ninko play and.
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Uh so it just go ahead, Josh trying of break
it down.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, you know, just like the Romans said, you know,
we had that draft class. We all wind up playing
in that draft class.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
It's a good draft.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Yeah, it was a good class, and we had to
play play right. They didn't bring back a lot of
guys that were displaced in two thousand and five, they
bought in a lot of free agents, Jeff Fain and
Drew Brees, and we had duce leadership and some guys
on defense as well. But you know, they bought in
you know, Fujia Hollis, you know what I mean, Shanley.
They bought a lot of free agents in that year.
(09:52):
So you know, it was just, hey, we're going to
see who who can make it through this training camp.
That was really to me, that was like, whoever we
wound up after this training camp, that's going to be
who we got, and we're gonna go out there and
handle business. And we in those six you know, that
started the foundation. I think we were like ten and six,
but wanted up going to the NMC Championship. You know,
in Chicago, we were one game away from the Super Bowl.
(10:14):
So just to know that, you know, all those guys,
free agents, new coaches. Was you on that Chicago team? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Game?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
You know.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Bad, but yeah, you know those free agents and the
rookies and the new coach. You know, I think a
new system that people never saw before. That kind of
started it off, and then we just kept adding after that.
You know, and then we were lucky to get there
four years later and win one.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
But yeah, I think that that first year, that six
was you know, they called us that junk, they called
us the Junction boys. I don't think it's a great
compliment because a lot of those people died and like
it was like terrible. I mean water was for the
week and yeah, it was a really really tough training
camp and was that year. The best thing about Millstaps
was literally the lunch fruit. The lunch fruit with the
(11:04):
lunch ladies were amazing. It was awesome. The lunch lad
what made it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
The food. Food food was so good.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Home Star restaurants, it was le.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
The training, yes, it was Mill lunch ladies. Legit, legit.
Where is that?
Speaker 2 (11:28):
And Jackson, New Orleans we didn't have a training Yeah,
everything was still.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
The luxury ladies. It was the jit The didn't ask anybody,
we're gonna take a short break and we'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Would you ever imagine growing up in Philly, playing at Bloomsburg,
playing left tackle at Bloomsburg, that you would come possibly
a Hall of Fame caliber player at right guard in
the NFL.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
That's a good question, man. So I always wanted to
be the best player I could be, right, Like, I
always had that mentality like I'm gonna go out here
and just crush it, you know what I mean. So,
you know, even in high school, my high school, Frankfort
High School in Philly, which.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Which has doesn't even have a full hundred and ten
yards field, just the corners, the corners in the end.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Zone are tracked because they have there. Wait, wait, wait,
we don't have I'm a visual earner. The way you
said that, it didn't compute, so we got the math mathing.
Yeah yeah, so wait, say please explain it.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
So how can I explain that? So we got a
gravel track, right, normal on the on a normal track,
four times around the track is a mile, right, yeah,
six hundred meters you're right. So our track you have
to go five times to make a mile. So the
field is a little short. So the corners of the
end zone, you know, you to tapping and gravel down there.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
You score.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
We used to score a lot of touchdowns of that quarter.
It's a little it's a little it's a little curve
from the grass to the ground too, So you gotta
be careful.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Did y'all have a professional like person do this or
did y'all just kind of like have somebody from the
from the neighborhood come.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Do y'all track. So we're one of the oldest universities
in the city. Actually, the Philadelphiagles started in Frankfurt, you
know what I mean. So you know back in the
day when they used to have those yellow and blue jerseys.
So you know what I played. We we we were
I think we were leading the city and championships before
George Washington took over. But you know, we're a pretty
(13:39):
historic high school. So it's an old stadium. You know,
it's a very old stadium. And but yeah, so like
even earlier, like I didn't play tackle football until I
went to high school till ninth grade, till JV. I
didn't put the pads on until then. But you know,
early on in my career, I always wanted to make
it to the league. I always wanted to be the
best player I can be, and I had and I
had good teammates and and good played on good teams.
(14:02):
My junior year, we were undefeated. We lost in the
second round to the other playoffs or the semi finals,
to the team that wound up winn the championship. And
then my senior year, I didn't play football right, broke
my knee playing basketball in the summertime. But I took
a piece of paper in the surgery room with me,
and on that paper I wrote, I said, I will
play this season, I will play in college, and I
(14:23):
would play in the NFL. So you know, I've always
had that, you know, that mentality that, hey, football is
what I want to do. I want to be a player.
I'm gonna try to be the best player I can be.
And you know I got two of those things out
of the three. Right my senior year, the guys my
high school team still went to the championship, but we lost,
and they will never let me forget that, you know,
(14:45):
forget about that. But yeah, so you know, I was
one of the best player I could be room and
even when I got drafted, you know, that was the
first thing, you know, I told myself, It's like, hey man,
this opportunity to come soon as you get the opportunity
to take advantage of it. And that opportunity came to
me early on. Couple guys got hurt, and I just
made sure that I took advantage of it and never
looked back and just put my best foot forward and
(15:06):
go out there and you know, try to win these down.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
What was that transition like to going from left tackle? Yeah,
to right guard, because I know one thing you always
talk about is that, dude, when you play DT ball
and you play on line.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
You got to just maul cats right to stand out.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
So going from that to all of a sudden, now
you're going to play right guard, what was that transition.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
It wasn't a hard transition, I should say, because it's easier.
I'm not going to say right guard is definitely not
as difficult as playing left tackle in the National Football League.
But at my level where I was playing in college,
it wasn't very difficult to play left tackle. I guess
for me at that level based off of, you know,
(15:45):
our team and our scheme that we ran, which is
not quite a pro scheme because we ran a lot
of sprint draw We still ran stretched out size zone,
still ran inside zone, but we also had some sprint
draw work that was that was phenomenal. You couldn't tell
if it was run or so. My head coach in college,
coach Dannyelle, he just went into the college football Hall
of Fame. But we just we used to run sprint
(16:06):
draw where the guards stacked, and then climbed where they stacked,
and then turned and hinge for the sprint for the past.
So had we had a different style of offense where
the tackle would just block down on that play, so
small right, we ran the ball. I mean my senior year,
My senior year, I had three backs that had one
thousand yards. Jamar Brendenham he won a D two Heisman
(16:30):
he had my senior year he had two thousand yards,
thirty four touchdowns. Like Balling he had. He had a
short stint in the league. But so we were just
malling guys. It was just a different league, different game.
But back to your point about changing positions. I mean,
you see our left tackle today. Tally he played right
tackle in college and then he played left tackle all
(16:51):
season for US. So it really just depends on the
skill set of the player. I think some players it
is hard to switch their feet, you know what I mean,
going from a right hand stand to a left hand stand,
or left hand stands to a right hand stands. But
ideally it's the body types that's rushing against you. And
I never struggled with the bigger, powerful guys in the
close radius. I think I would have struggled playing tack
(17:13):
with the NFL against smaller, quick guys with a little
more space on the edge.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Okay, how about you, Does that ever make you weird
with corners because safety were in the middle, but want
to right to left? Did that ever foot wise, pedal wise,
breaking either way? No, you got to be able to
travel well. When I when I say travel, meaning you
got to put on the left side of the field,
right side of the field. If your receiver goes in motion,
you gotta you gotta play inside slid outside. So for us,
(17:40):
for me, I didn't. So my first couple of years
I played left corner. And then we got Zach Bowman
from Nebraska, and then they wanted to move me the
right corner. And I was like, oh okay, because normally
naturally the left corner, that's your that's your dominant one.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
It's like your left right handed, so most quarterbacks a
right handed.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
So I went over to the At first, I fought
in the was just like, all right, I'll just go
to the right, you know. And I went to the
right corner and was still balling and didn't make me
didn't change anything.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Let me ask you this, Why do you think there
are corners that can't flip?
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Is it?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Because once it's like.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
You were saying, it's the footwork. Like, I'm so used
to having this foot up and using this hand. I'm
used to being in this stand. Right, It's just perfect
for me, no different than a left tackle. I'm gonna
have this foot up ready to kick, slide, kick slid
or kick step or whatever. Right, I'm just used to this.
I'm just used to this position. I'm used to this,
and I can't do nothing else right. So yeah, some
(18:34):
people aren't ambidextrous. They can't they can't make that move,
that transition.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
But I don't know.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I feel like at this level you should be able
to play left tackle, right tackle, right guard, left guard
that's just me, or left safety right safety is to me,
they're all unchangeable. Right, Am I a mic or am
I the well or on the sam? I think that's
a different ball game for me Personally, I would rather
play left corner because I like my left foot.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Up more than my right foot when I backed up.
I don't know why I like my left foot up.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
So did you do that when you would be in
the middle of or like, let's say, were you're on
the right side, did you just keep it up like
that or did you did you do it the right
way when you were on the right side of the field. Yeah,
on the right side, I moved my right one up
just because it just I would prefer to be on
the left. But I'm also strong safety, which most teams
are right handed, so my left foot is naturally up
all the time right because that's where the tight end
(19:28):
is that I just so for me, I naturally like
my left foot up.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
I don't know why. I just feel way more comfortable.
I just viewed it as.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Guilbird Senegal Chargers Hall of Famer, so he's always you
got to get comfortable being uncomfortable. So when I first
went over to the right, I wasn't comfortable, and then
I just was like, no, I got to enjoy this.
Embrace it, embrace it, embrace it. And then I just
got super comfortable with me and that. So that's that's
why that mindset of like, nah, I just you should
(19:58):
be able to go left.
Speaker 3 (19:59):
Or right or right.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Garles, you trained you trained it in Yeah, I just
I just trained it in something We've always asked everybody,
and I know you know this, Uh, what was your
welcome to the NFL moment? Or were someone just like
mauled you or beat you or training camp or something
you had to buy something with the cafetier?
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Was it O line dinner? Was it?
Speaker 1 (20:21):
I'm trying to think, man, because we had a good
group of guys. Obviously we have everybody got the dinner,
they got to pay for. Absolutely, we did it right though.
We actually we actually bought a bottle of Little to
thirteen so we didn't have to buy it at the
at the store, I mean at the rest.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
At the restaurant. Charge about that. I don't charge you
like a thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
We had a smart shots at my at my dinner,
we just took the shots.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
That was that.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
But I'm trying to think it's it's crazy because our
room was was a little bit different, right, Nobody in
our room, you know, six started besides Jamal Brown who
he was drafted year before as a rookie. But I
would say training camp. I would say training camp. When
(21:06):
we went against the Texans, I got into a fight.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
You don't even look like you fight. YEA big, nice,
big nice guy. Right when they this guy with glasses,
I'm like, who is this?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
He looks like he's just a big This is a
big nice guy, big baby baby.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
He came here life.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Juice. I got into a fight, man, I got into
a fight against a guy on the Texans and we
were doing one on ones old line D line, and
and he just went straight from my face mask. He
wasn't even trying to Oh he's trying. He just went
straight from my face masks right. And I remember coach
like he was like, listen, you guys won't go. Just
make sure you go, like, don't don't be tiptoe and
(21:47):
order right. So so he went from my face mask.
I'm all jacked up like this trying to block him.
I'm like, all right, and old line D line, you
do two reps. So the second rep he did the
same thing came up. Wasn't he trying to beat me?
Just watch your face mat and I just I just
after he let go, I approached him and then he
mushed me. He mushed me, right, So he got the
(22:08):
first one off. I just let the hands flop, his
helmet popped off, he got a bloody lip. But I'm
on the bottom of the pile, like it is a
massive brawl. You guys know how that is. I'm on
the bottom of the pile. This is the worst I've
never felt this in my life. I'm on the bottom
of pile and I just feel the pile getting heavier
and heavier and heavier, to the point where I'm doing
(22:30):
like a static push up because I can't go no further.
The ground is there, and I take a breath. At
some point it was bananas. I said, yo, I ain't
fighting no more because a fight broke out and in
the middle of this, like, I don't know if that's safe.
But his lip was busted. I was fine, My helmet
stayed on. His got knocked off, but he was mad
(22:53):
the rest of the practice obviously, and then coaching coach
Peyton was, you know, telling his rocky stories and and
all that. So it was funny. It was funny, but
that that bottom of the power moment, my shoulder passed,
the buckles was bent. It was It was a scary
moment for a few seconds for me down there at
the Obama.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
There's a lot of weight.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
There's a lot of weight. It's a lot of weight,
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Weight, so who's a who's the toughest D line you
ever had to face?
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Oh man, I get this one a lot, all right,
So you got you got different kinds of D linemen, right.
I would say Drill McCoy was probably the best get off.
He'd be a wide for technique. He's just streaming up
the field quick fast, flip his hips. And then you
got guys like like Dominican Sue who just wants to
muscle you. He's not really flipping its hips, right, he's
(23:38):
not really. I'm not scared of him getting past me
with his hips. And I never really struggled against those
kind of guys. But then you got like Heloly Nada,
who's just it's just it's just a massive human. Like
I remember being two minute drill before half and it's
like a minute and fifty left and we in the
(23:58):
dome and you know, we throw the ball. We got
drew a a ain't no drawls and ain't nothing, ain't
no screens. We just cut out thought the ball and
Helodinod is in like a four eye or a five technique,
meaning like he's he's head up on the offensive tackle.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
And he's about to rush the pass.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
He's just about to take five hard steps as hard
as fast as you can and just try to put
me through the wall down there. Literally, And when you
watch the film, I'm taking a pass set, but my
shoulder pass, my head and shoulder pads is as low
as I'm coming off the ball like I'm running, like
we're doing a run play. It is bananas. And I
had to do that for a minute. It's twenty seconds
(24:35):
for the whole two minute drive, just just you know.
So guys like that are just they're just difficult tough guys.
Do you have your Henderson and your Stroud. The biggest
guy ever played against was Sam Adams and Cleveland and
those six. He was just a massive human being. They
don't they don't make them, you know, they don't really
be that size anymore. But yeah, I've had a lot
of tough battles, but Plodinada and I would say, like
(24:58):
you know, Drell McCoy was, or some my long battles
that I've always had against those guys over the years.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Yeah, a lot has been said about Sean Payton's complicated
play calls, and Drew was on TV and he he's
on one of these late night shows and he recited
one of the plays. Yeah, did you really tune out
or do you listen to the whole thing or did
you just listen to your small piece like I don't
care about does?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
He posts?
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, So it's funny because I see this, I know
Cliff you talk about and they've always been talking about it.
So you have to listen to the whole play, right
because what comes that the end of the play the snapcount.
So it's not like if you missed the snapcount, then
you know you're not getting off the ball. Now it's
the whole play talking to us.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
No, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
The first play is to run play like he said.
I think it was like slash thirty six Bob or something,
so we know what slash thirty six Bob means. Slash
means one thing, thirty six means one thing, and Bob
is talking to everybody on the blocking scheme and then
he says kill to a pass. The protection is really
the first part of the pass, and then the rest
of it is the routes like I don't know you
(26:09):
to know X Spear y Lucy Spear or post or Dragon. No,
I don't need to listen to all that stuff. But
I do have to hear damn snapcount that comes after,
so I'm not completely tuning it out, but I know
it's not talking to me. Once I hear the protection,
I don't the routes after that doesn't never really talk
to us.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
So could you recite one of those complicated plays right now?
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Probably?
Speaker 3 (26:30):
Oh, yeah, he got it.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
You know, you know, you say, give me one of
Sean Payton's old plays, not the Saints, give me, give
me one of Sewan's old school plays.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
So you could say Greenwright, tight Ryde thirty four, Bob
Kill eighty two ex Harry z Posts. Why seeing on
one you know, that's two plays.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
Ours was so easy? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Like so, and I probably missed up the routes a
little bit. You know, those are those are routes.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
You know. So when I did training camp with the
Saints this past offseason, I went in there with Jah
when they were like when all the players are going
and we're just getting like some reps. He's doing some
stuff on the computer. He's like drawing up plays and
I'm just asking, like, so, what does this mean? And
why is this? Like this is the same run, but
this time you toss it versus your hand it off?
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Why is it this?
Speaker 2 (27:26):
Everything was a why to me? Like I didn't it
didn't make a lot of sense. Oh well all the
runs are based upon cars or something like what. Yeah,
so this is a different type of whole different language. Yeah,
it's a totally different language than what we do on
the defensive side of the foot, where it's like three words, man,
three or four words and then we're done, like we
(27:47):
don't have time.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
You guys are like slide right, tokyo.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
That's it, that's it. Everybody knows what that means. You
know what I mean, peanut, you should you know what
tokyo means.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Just cover too.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Yeah, it's easy.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
Yeah he knew that anyway, I didn't know that. You've
been on a lot of football teams. You won one
super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (28:08):
What was so special about that two thousand and nine season,
and what what really stands out to you about that year?
Speaker 3 (28:14):
That season? Whatever that was?
Speaker 2 (28:15):
Yeah, that made that one just a little bit more
different than all the rest of the seasons you played.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
The one season that was probably the most similar to
that season was the eleven season, just because of stats
wise and how well we were rolling, how much we won.
But The biggest thing I think that stands out, you
know about the nine season is you saw a progression
of a team and not just a team of organization
to what he that was saying earlier, you know, you
(28:41):
saw them, you know, have a great have a draft, right,
and then have those players. And then as those players
that we started with may not stay or leave the
fold like all players do, bring in other players that's
going to fit the fold well enough to get us
over the hump that that we you know that we
have to be able to become champion. And so you know,
(29:01):
bringing in a guy like like Pierre and bush Rod
and and guys on defense, you know, like Tracy and
and and other guys that that just helped, you know,
mold the whole team. Bringing Mike, you know, Mike McKenzie
back on a championship team when we needed a guy
that to make plays for us because of injuries, and uh,
(29:22):
bringing in jv Vilma, you know what I mean. And
then seeing how Drew progressed as a as a passer,
as a communicator, you know, reading coverages, you saw that
in those three years, three or four years that propelled
us to be a championship team. And I think it.
It continued, it continued to grow. You can see you
(29:43):
saw things add to the playbook. Coach Payton as a
play caller, adding things to the to the playbook, adding
different schemes based off of other things that team did.
It's a chess match, right, You see me run. You
see me run this out of this formation. I'm gonna
give you the same formation, but I'm gonna run something else,
you know. So when you have success like that, I
think you become harder to stop because you just keep
(30:04):
scheming it up and keep adding and adding and adding,
you know, to the system, and then you bring in
the body types that can still run that system, like
bringing in the Sprolls. Yeah, you know, fits the system well,
you know what I mean, just just bringing in guys
that you know can do things well that you've seen
other guys that are kind of the same type of
(30:25):
guys do previously.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
One of the things I enjoy about coaching is I
enjoy coaching my kids when they allow me to. I've
learned I got to I can't be intense, So when
they allow me to coach them, I get joy out
of just one the bond and the connection that we have,
you know, father's son, daughter, you know, with your parents.
(30:54):
What do you get out of coaching with the Saints
right now? Like, what's that joy? How does that make
you feel?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
One of the biggest joys is just having a player
come to be like, oh, man, I tried that and
that worked.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Like I had a guy, you know, I played with
him with the Packers. He plays for US now, Lucas Patrick. Yeah,
Team Green Tea. You know, I told him something and
he went out and tried and he's like, man, you
know that that worked. You know, That's that's the that's
the biggest That's that's awesome for me. I'm like, I'm
(31:27):
surprised you didn't try that before, you know, so, Like
I love that stuff. Or just having young guys go
out there and and trust what they're being told and
go out there and try it even if they even
if it doesn't work the first time, just continue to
work at it and try it but have success. Watching
those guys have success based off of the stuff that
you teach them during the week and the stuff that
they learned is awesome. Same thing happened to me when
(31:48):
I was younger. I remember coach told me, he's like,
listen when uh Lufa, he was a Seattle right middle linebacker.
He was like, I think it's the name is Lufa.
When he want over here, don't miss this. You've got
the turnback on this end and hit it and hit
him to block off this backside gap from being closed.
And we're going to hit it. And I recognized it.
(32:09):
I read, recognized it and did it and it was
forty yards, you know what I'm saying. So like being
able to coach a player on where his eyes are,
what he sees, and how he should react, and how
his footwork should be, where his hand placement should be.
They know that stuff, but just to constantly harp on
it until his second nature for them and watch them
(32:29):
go out there and execute and have success is very fulfilling.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Where do you see or want your coaching career to
go or expand after this?
Speaker 1 (32:37):
You know a lot of people always ask you that question,
Head coach Evans, Yeah, I enjoy coaching the line, man,
I really do. I think offensive line is one of
the major parts of coaching in the NFL, especially how
these young guys are being coached in college. You know, there.
Some of them are a lot of them are not
(32:57):
prepared to come out to the NFL and throw the
ball thirty five times a game, you know, And and
these coaches want to sling the rock. So I think
there's a there's a need of o line coaching and
a technique in the league. But the one thing about
it being an old line coach is that you're in
part of every facet of the play, the run, game
and the protection, you know what I mean. So like,
(33:20):
if those things aren't tight, the play doesn't get started.
You know, you're not ahead of the change, You're behind
the chaine. So for me right now, it's just the
old line coach. But I can see myself in the
future designing runs and possibly calling plays as well. You know,
I think I'll be a run heavy play caller. But
you get you give you that general back there. You know,
(33:40):
I throw some d balls, you know what I'm saying.
So but uh but yeah, you know, right now, I'm
just an old line coach learning learn the game, learn
the system. But it definitely starts upfront. I'm in the
room with these coaches and they're like, how are we
going to block this? How are we going to protect
this and that's important.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I think what I've learned from talking to other coaches
when they start out there, oh, I'm just a loneberger coach.
And then they get in the dB, and then they
get in the receivers, and then they get.
Speaker 3 (34:05):
In the running backs. Have you started to do that now?
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Like, I know you're on old line right now, but
have you have you got into I don't know, maybe
the next one is tight ends.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
Or receivers or quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Have you have you kind of, yeah, flirted with the
other positions?
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Yeah, I have. You know, we uh, during every week
we practiced with the tight ends. So I've taken the
tight ends and I've done old line tight end drills
with those guys throughout the season. It's funny you ask that.
I just interviewed the running back at the Senior Bowl.
I've never you know, interviewed the running back. So I
just interviewed the running back. Watch film with a running back,
talked about landmarks, footwork, and you know the running backs
(34:42):
marry the run game because you got to. You got
to be on the right track with the old line.
So so yes, I have been doing that. Also, been
drawing formations and what I would call plays how I
would call them, you know, like what like what name
I would call use for them? Oh? Yeah, am I
tagging it for the fullback? Or am I tagging it
the tight end? Or if I'm putting that tag in
there for the alignment? You know. So at the end
(35:04):
of the run, So like right thirty six, Bob, that
Bob is talking to the fullback saying that he's back
on a backer. Am I called it week lead? Or
am I just calling it week? So I've been, you know,
working things like that.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
I don't like that. I did not know that.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Yeah, hold on, hold on, I gotta If you had
a play caller to work with, you're wishless right now,
that's past future whatever. If there was a guy or
a gap ye who you wanted to work with a
(35:39):
play caller.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
I really don't.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (35:44):
Who I've worked with in the past that people may
not know of. I've had two great experiences at these
last two All Star Games. So two years ago coach
at the East West Gate and Davis Webb was our
was our play caller. Mike Cafo was the head coach
in the East West game and Davis webbons with the
(36:04):
Broncos was our play calling. He did. He did a
good job and we won that game. And then this
past weekend Joe Thomas was to play call added and
Joe called. He called his butt off man his past
game in the Senior Bowl. He did a really really
good job. So I like both of those game plans
and we wind up winning. So I'm gonna go with
those two guys, okay, And it was their first time
calling the game.
Speaker 3 (36:24):
That's something I never thought about.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Yeah, the interviewing process, like are you ready to start
getting into the draft mode? Because being an NFL coach,
that's part of it, right, the whole the draft grades,
the scouting players. Those are probably some of the things
that we don't talk about enough as people that follow
the game, and how important that part, that piece of
it is because you're always looking for the next guy.
(36:47):
Have you thought about how that process is going to
go for you or or you already started doing some
of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
You're right, it's one of the I'm not gonna not
gonna say the most important because you don't really do
that during the season. You know, you're coaching the guys up,
but you know Jeff Ireland told me when I took
the job, you know two years ago, you got to
dial into these evaluations. You got to dial into these evaluations.
And he's exactly right. So last draft, I mean, I
looked at thirty to forty college offensive alignment film, wrote
(37:16):
evaluations on all of them. So we do as coaches
scout I want to say, not say scout, but we
do watch the film and write evaluations for the ball
club to look at. So I'll be doing that this
all season also, and luckily I was just at to
see your bowl, so I got you got a good
tend evaluations of guys that I coached, and got a
(37:37):
chance to sit down with the old line on the
other side. So that's twenty guys that I got to
put eyes on, all.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Right, I got.
Speaker 2 (37:44):
I guess My final question to you is your personal
amount Rushmore. You had to pick four influential.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
People in your life. Who would those four people be?
Speaker 1 (37:55):
First one would be my mother, strong woman, and uh,
you know, raised me. I'm the youngest of four on
my mom's side. My second would be my older sister, Carmela.
She's awesome, works at City Hall, She's a vocalist, she sings,
(38:19):
she has a few albums out. She's awesome. And then
I would say number three would be my college coach,
coach of Brian amazing guy, loves ball, taught me a
lot about ball, won a lot of games in college.
(38:39):
He's put three offensive linemen in the NFL two since me,
So he's a he's a great coach. Let me see
who would be number four? I would say, you know,
my grandma Ruby on my on my dad's side. You know,
she when I went to middle school, I used to
go to her house every day after school. She lived
(39:00):
right down the street from my middle school, which was
right behind Saint Joe's Prep, which was a big time
high school in Philly. I was supposed to go to
the prep, but I didn't go to the prep. But yeah,
I would say, my Grandmam Ruby is uh, you know,
really influential in my life. And I'll give you one more.
It's my uncle Ernie. He was He was amazing, my
mom's oldest brother. Yeah, he was amazing in what way.
(39:23):
Loved that man at death. Uh, you know when I
was young, took me to a lot of games. When
I got hurt, you know, took me to my doctor's appointments,
rehabing my knee. He was just always around the family,
and and and he made an awesome sweet potato pie, awesome,
sweeping phenomenal. But but yeah, that would be my mouth
(39:45):
rushmore shout out.
Speaker 2 (39:47):
I like that, well, John Man. I gotta say two things.
Number One, John's one of the greatest teammates I've ever
had in my life. Somebody asked me if I had
to have one one roommate from any former teammate.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
I said, you, I appreciate number one.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
We'd have a great time.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Number two is because of who you are genuinely as
a person.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I'm a paul. He didn't. We wouldn't have a good time. No,
you'd be playing tricks. I wouldn't be sleep. I would
be sleep. You don't trust me to do it?
Speaker 1 (40:17):
No, I don't. I don't.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
I would pick job and so.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
And what a lot of people don't know is that
from about the year two thousand and nine until I
left in twenty after twenty thirteen, every pregame I prayed
and held John's hand because I wanted to have a
big juice baby.
Speaker 3 (40:36):
Like y'all.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
He ain't lying, he just said it all the time.
I was like yo, I want.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
A big juice baby, So I'm gonna hold Jazz hand
during the pregame prayer.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
We did that for about four or five years straight.
And so John's been my guy. Man.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
I'm so happy to have you on here. And one
of the most incredible feats. I've only seen this one
time in my life. I used to have my charity
golf tournament back in Prattville and of course we ended
up at waffle House thirty three in the morning, and
I'd never seen this before.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Stacked them waffles up.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
No, not at all. Joe ordered a seven egg omelet.
Seven egg omelet, real rat. I did, real rat.
Speaker 3 (41:14):
And the fact that you get down and killed it.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
And the fact that he ordered seven told me that
he had ordered eight and that was sixth one enough.
You know what you want, you know, and let's do
that tomorrow. Seven egg omelet.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
Never this is two things. I just had never seen
that before. I just want to share that story with
my guy. Seven.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Love you to death, joh and uh Man, thanks for
coming out and doing this and who's spending some time
with us for sure.
Speaker 3 (41:51):
Success.
Speaker 1 (41:54):
It's funny because I remember what he said it he
was like seven, he was like, why do you what
made you pick seven? I said, bro, I just I
just know I wanted seven in them things like I did.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
You would not let it go for like the whole weekend.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
It's crazy. Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Man.
Speaker 1 (42:11):
You guys are you guys are amazing. I love your
your podcast. Man, you guys are doing great stuff. Man,
you guys are doing it awesome. STUF appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
Thank you, appreciate it, man, Thanks for that time and
good luck. Yeah, man, put it out there. Celebration was
the last time I know. Earlier in the pod, you
said you so you wrote when you?
Speaker 1 (42:26):
When you?
Speaker 2 (42:28):
Lord?
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Have you been writing things down since? Have you wrote
anything down since?
Speaker 1 (42:33):
I have?
Speaker 3 (42:34):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (42:35):
But to your point, I think I need to yeh right,
morey write more? Yeah, yeah, I want.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
To do something right. Hey, we gotta put that in. Yeah,
we gotta speaking. We gotta put it on manifested right manifestation, Yes, sir, right, yes.
Speaker 1 (42:49):
I gotta put some things and write and some more
things and right.
Speaker 3 (42:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
The great Jarry Eva follow by listeners and viewers always
out there. Man, thank you guys for always tuning in. Man,
make sure you give us a five star rating.
Speaker 3 (43:01):
Hit that review, give us a.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
Comment, like, subscribe, share, follow, share follow Peanuts always teach
me how to do this thing. Tell a friend to
tell a friend to do what Peanut tell a friend.
And make sure you watch our NFL YouTube channel. And
that's wherever you pick up your podcast, whether it's Apple podcast,
iHeartRadio app, please continue to do that and the YouTube app.
Speaker 3 (43:20):
Where now is the NFL. I just said that, right,
I just yes, thank you stepping on my toes. I
just said that. Whatever. I appreciate, sy'all. I'm Peanut, that's Roman,
that's jaw.
Speaker 2 (43:33):
Thank you for tuning in to The NFL Player's Second
Act podcast, We Out
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