On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, Hall of Famer Jim Covert joins Peanut Tillman and Roman Harper to reflect on his incredible journey from anchoring the ’85 Chicago Bears offensive line to leading in the healthcare industry after football.
Jim shares untold stories from his playing days — including his famous fight with Steve McMichael, blocking for Walter Payton, and what it was like facing that dominant Bears defense every day in practice. He also opens up about the injury that ended his career, his transition from the NFL to the boardroom, and how his daughter’s fight with spina bifida changed his perspective on leadership, resilience, and purpose. It’s an inspiring conversation about toughness, legacy, and the power of reinvention — on and off the field.
The NFL Players: Second Acts podcast is a production of the NFL in partnership with iHeart Media.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's a pain in the ass.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You know, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
On the field, he's a pain in the ass. And
so I'm blocking Richard and boom, I get run into behind,
you know, by McMichael, and I go, what's your problem? Man?
He goes, your damn buddy pushed you into me. What
the you gonna do about it anyway? You know? And
that's how things started, you know. And so I just
(00:23):
I don't know, man, I just grabbed him, and you know,
I was wrestled, you know. So uh, I just did
kind of ladder drop on him, and uh, you know,
I got him down, and I got him pretty good.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
What's up, everybody? I'm peanut to him?
Speaker 4 (00:41):
And this is the NFL Player's second X podcast with me,
as always my trusty co hosts Roman.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I cannot golf Harper.
Speaker 5 (00:49):
Well, now you're just telling him lies. So we're gonna
move on and get straight to our guests.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
This guy is a Hall of Fame tackle, two time
first team All Pro, two time Pro Bowler, super Bowl
winning champion with the Chicago Bears in nineteen eighty five.
He is a healthcare executive. Please welcome to the pot,
mister Jim.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Covet pot to the pot. Thank you. A lot of
energy going on here. I like it. It's trying to
all day one podcast one.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
He does not on hour five.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
You know, we're trying to get.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
They normally get. They normally get. So we do about
we come to.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
These and we do about twenty pods. Like after like seventeen,
I start to kind of get a little tired, and
the producer he's kind of looking at me and he's
texting me.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Over there, mister Thomas. Mister Thomas, he's the one that's
never came with that gets mentioned.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Don't giving me the side too.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
I'll if we're talking about one topic too long, he'll
text us like, all right, move on, stop talking about
that bull like going to the next one.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So shout out to you.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
There's your there's your shoutout. But h yeah, which appreciate
you coming on you bet?
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, glad to be here.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
Well, I'll go straight to eighty five. Why were you
not in the Super Bowl shuffle video?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Because I know it'd last forever and you guys are
probably pulled up on this podcast. I see one of
the white guys dancing, you know, watch fensic. We look
for watch fensic dance. You think I'm gonna if you
saw him dance, he had no rhythm and Steve Fuller
he couldn't wrap, you know, he couldn't dance. I'm like,
I didn't want to be one of those guys.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
But did you guys get back late? You got back?
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Like wasn't I think from what Chico or culture he
told us one time. Because he's not in it too.
I think you guys got back. I think I don't
create it for him, but you guys got back really
late from from a game or set bowl or whatever.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
You got back really like late or early.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Miami beat us on Monday night. They did it the
day after the Miami beat us on Monday night. Yeah,
really Tuesday morning. Yeah. That's why when you go watch it,
you saw Peyton and McMahon. They like put them in later,
you know, like they filmed them on some kind of
green screen or something. They put them in later, so
they weren't there. But yeah, they did it. They did
(03:01):
it after we got beat by Miami, So you know
it's kind of ballsy, right you do.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I think I'm just think I knew that after we lost.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yeah lost, Yeah, one lost.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
This person's idea was that whose idea was it?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
It was Willie's, so you know it was to feed
the needy. Yeah, and uh and so you know they
were asking a bunch of guys to go in it,
and I was like, I just didn't feel right about it.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
How did they How did they like first like bring
this idea up? Because nobody just like, yeah, let's just
go fill this.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I was willly, really Willy, let's do a rap?
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah? Will you know? Will we Yeah? Willie's you know WILLI.
He's got a rap, you know, get the brap of
do going. He's going around telling everybody you can do this,
you can do this, you can do that, and guys
are eating it up. Man. He came to me. I
was like, I can't do it. I just can't do
it rapping. And then they just supposedly did some kind
of reboot.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Oh I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Oh yeah, he's trying to get guys to do that too,
And he asked me to do that and I said, no,
I didn't do the first one. I can't do the
next one.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
You know, So that'd have been dope.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, a bunch of old guys up there wrapping. That's
Who's going to watch that? Nobody.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
So the nineteen eighty three draft class.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Is considered one of the best draft classes of all time.
You got yourself, Dann Marino, John Elway, Jim Kelly, Chris Dolman,
Eric Dickerson, Bruce Matthews, Richard Dent.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
That's a hell of a draft class. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
a hell of a draft class.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And d bag from Joe Green. Yeah, he was last pick,
twenty eighth, Daryl's last year and Marino's twenty seventh. Yeah.
I mean that class was incredible, and I think for
the Bears, I think we got like seven starters out
of that class, and that put us over the top,
you know, I think for the eighty five season, because
we're pretty bad when I first got there. I mean,
(04:46):
we were pretty bad, but we end up finishing eight
and eight that year. I think we won our last
you know, six out of seven games or something like that,
and you could just tell, you know, you were on
a trajectory then, you know. And and then the next
year we lost Jimmy matcalfway through the year, and I
think we played five different quarterbacks or six maybe, and
Nady could bring Greg Landry. He was like forty four
(05:08):
years old. He was our quarterback for the last weekless
season against Detroit and we beat them. And then you know,
Steve Fuller was a backup and came in and we
beat washed them. Went to the NFC Championship, got beat
out there and I think in San Francisco, and I
think that really was the catalyst of you know, I
mean we got embarrassed. I mean we didn't score it
(05:29):
was twenty three nothing. We didn't score any points. I mean,
offense was bad. And you know, the forty nine er
players are like bringing offense next time, you know, And
I think that really motivated us next year. We went
out there next year and played him in the regular
season and beat him up pretty good.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
Jim, you know, my draft classes for the Saints they
kind of considered as one of the greatest ones. Your
draft class for the Bears you just said you just
mentioned seven starters out of that, Like, at what point,
because everybody's already starting and getting their confidence at different
times and during my class, what was it for your class?
(06:06):
Like I'm sure you guys talked about it, because when
you drafted together your rookies together, so you go through
all the rookie stuff together and you actually kind of
grow together. Their success is your success and your success
is their success. How did you guys start to be like, Okay,
it's us and the things that we're doing kind of
walk me through that path or what you guys, how'd
(06:28):
you see it through your lens?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Well? I think I think you could just tell that
class when they came in there, you know, quality of players.
I mean, Willie and Willie gall and I and Mike
Richardson were day one starters. So we started day one
and then and Richard Dent was in that class. So
Richard came in and you know, he started halfway through
the year, right then we had Dave Dorrison right and
(06:51):
he was starting start. You know, he started to get
a lot of playing time. And then when Todd Bell
held out the next year, the next year in eighty five,
and then you know, Day became a full time starter
and so and then Mark Boortz, who played next to me,
he became a full time starter in eighty four, right,
So you started to see that class, you know. And
then Tom Thayer he became a full time start in
(07:13):
eighty five. So that class started to really I think
initially people realized it was such a great class. But
then because we had these Day one starters, but then
you saw guys getting you know, eighty four, eighty five,
and then yeah, I mean, I think that's a class
that put us over the top. You know. That's how we,
I think, became so dominant in the NFC Central for
a long time.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
We've all experienced what it's like to be in the
NFL coming from college.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
What was your welcome to the NFL moment?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
You know, I think my welcome to the NFL moment
was my first game I played against Leroy Selman, who
I think was the best player I ever played against,
Hall of Famer and best end I ever played against.
I know that for a fact. And I said, Okay,
I'm gonna come up with this guy, and I'm gonna
I'm gonna hit him so hard. So he realized, you
(08:04):
know that, you know, because I'm not to play him
twice a year, right, I mean, that's why they drafted me.
One of the reasons they drafted me, you know. And uh,
you know, he just olayed me, you know, made the tackle,
you know, So now they decided to run the same
play like in the third quarter, I said, okay, now
I can't. I can't come off too fast or too hard.
This time, I got to be under control. And he
jacked me right in my chin and I said, okay,
(08:25):
now I get it. Now I get it. And uh,
he was such a great player. I mean, you know
nowadays they got guys that are playing situations. You got
three or four path five pass rushers. You got that.
I mean he played every snap, thirty four five technique.
You had him and Hugh Green, and they were good.
They were good. So I went down there the next
(08:47):
year in eighty four, and I think I grade out
in ninety five. Then I realized that's how that's the
kind of game you had to play to play in
the NFL. I mean, you had to step up your
game and you had to play against the best, and
you had to perform well.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Coach you did go one said you set the tone
for the offense. And I think that was one day
it was after practice or during practice, you and stevecmichael y'all.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Got into it and you you body slammed them.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Can you can you talk to us or tell us
a little bit about that story?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, I mean people have talked about that, uh for
so many times. You know, God bless him. Steve was
such a great player and uh, such a such a
we lost him the summer and uh, you know, such
a such an awesome teammate too. But he is paying
the ass, you know, I appreciate it. On the shield.
(09:36):
He's a pain in the ass. You'd have team, you know,
and and you know Dennis Gentry and you know Thomas Sanders,
guys be standing in the back well, you know, running
first team. Oh and he goes, you know, he'd run
by flipper them, you know, hit late, hit guys late
and camp and every hit guys late in practice. Uh.
And you never really mess with me, you know. And
so it was Green Bay week, of course, you know everybody.
(09:57):
Everybody's a little it's a little serious, you know. And uh,
it's hot. It's hot, you know. And uh and so
I'm blocking, uh Richard and boom, I get run into behind,
you know, by McMichael, And I go, what's the problem, man,
He goes, your damn buddy pushed you into me. What
(10:18):
the you gonna do about it? Anyway? You know? And
that's how things started, you know. And so I just
I don't know, man, I just grabbed him and I,
you know, I was wrestled, you know, so uh, I
just did kind of ladder drop on him, and uh,
you know, I got him down and I got him
pretty good, you know. So I had him down there
and I had his helmet up, you know, his face
(10:39):
mask go. Man. I gave him five or six good
shots right in the face, you know, and and they
let it go. They let it go because I guess
they wanted to see him, you know, get his ass beat,
you know. And he stood up. When he stood up,
he had his chintz strapovers because I had his helmet up.
He had a chin strap over. Mind, he couldn't talk.
(11:00):
He goes, you want to grab you because you want this
home so bad. He's a lefty, you know. He won,
like yes, boom dropped him and that was the end
of the fight.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
I don't think people realize that the fights we get
into in practice, like there's there's a there's a ton
I know, there had to be something in normals.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Yeah, but I would just say, you know what the
most important thing is, Like what Jim said at the beginning,
it was hot and so how big old Lineman versus
d Lineman fights ninety five percent of them is they
are hot and tired, and they just like you know what,
we they just gonna fight because they are.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Mad for street. They are hot, they are tired, and
that is why a lot of.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Fights start between offense and defensive linement, especially because one
of them is hot and tired.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
And he just was tired of Stephen.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
He know he had no reason to do it, you know.
And he you know, he had no reason to hit
me from behind. He could have just kept going and
walk back to the holder, you know, and there never
would have been a fight. But now he thought it
might have been funny or what. You know, he was
gonna get away with him. I wasn't gonna let him
get away with I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Mike Diggad talked about that. How about you tell me
what it was like.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
You know, all we ever hear about the eighty five
Bears or that that whole time you guys were so
good is that the defense.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So what was it like going against that defense?
Speaker 5 (12:23):
I was in New Orleans where we had the number
one offense for all these years, and we used them
as great examples anything we wanted to practice, anything, any
new things we had going on. It was always good
to practice against our best because they were the best,
and so if we could get them, we know it
is going to work on game day. What was it
like going against the best defense was considered in your time?
Speaker 1 (12:42):
No, I think it was great because our defensive line,
you know, I mean you got you got, you got
three Hall of Famers on the defensive line. So for us,
for for offensive line, it was it was great because
you were gonna you weren't gona play against anybody on
Sunday better than you're gonna play during the week, right,
I mean, so practicing I think was was was good.
And I think you know, they were such a great defense.
But you know, people forget about our offense. I mean,
(13:05):
we led the Lagan rushing four years in a row
in eighty five, we led Theligan rushing. We led the
leg in time possession, We led the league in first downs,
we were second in league in scoring. I make sure
defense pretty good. No one wants to say that or
talk about that, because I.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Mean, I don't I mean, I played for the Bears,
and I don't think I even knew.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I don't even think I knew that.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
That's how crazy Chicago is, or that's how much of
a defensive talents.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Never talked about it.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Like y'all let all that. And I didn't even know
that until now, and I played for the organizations.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
They were never on the field. They were never on
the field. I mean, we led the league in time possession,
led the league scoring, second league scoring, led the Ligan
first downs, right, led the league in rushing. I mean,
so total offense wise, I mean, we were right up
there in the top three in the league. So I
mean you sit there and you go, he's got that,
you know, buddy, it was buddy. Okay, yeah, it was
(13:54):
buddy and uh and he uh you know, that's it
was all about. It was all about defense. It was
always about defense when I first got there, and uh yeah.
And so for me, I was like, you know, you know,
I sell practices and you know, throwing guys around like
ping pong balls and like that. I said, they're not
(14:15):
going to do that to me. You know. For me,
I just came in and said, you know, I was
when I was a pit all right. It was the
whole line that set the practice tempo, you know what
I mean. So because we had you know, Russ Grim, me,
Bill Frey, Mark May like we set the like practice
tempo tone. You know, you come to the Bears and
(14:36):
it's completely the opposite. So I wasn't used to that,
you know, and uh you know, so I just said, hey,
they're not going to do that to me. And I
just think that rubbed off on the offense and in
our whole line, and I think that it helped us.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Tell me this.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
You you mentioned Buddy Ryan, do you? And Peanut says,
it's just the city. So it's the answer somewhere in between.
I would love both of you guys opinion. Is it
is it that Chicago just loves the defense or is
it maybe it was like the love affair of the.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Forty six defense.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
It was new, nobody else was kind of doing it,
Like what was it?
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I think it was a defense forever in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I mean you want I mean you think about you
got Buckets, you.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Got you got Bill George, you got Dick Buckers, you know,
you got Mike Singletary, and you got Brian or Lacker.
I mean that was that was It's all about the
middle linebacker, yes, you know, and and that and the
defense is it's just you know, city, big shoulders, Chicago.
That's what they want to talk about. They love Walter Payton, yeah,
(15:41):
you know, they love Jim McMahon. But it's all about
the defense. So you know, hey, that's fine with me.
But but people that that's what people don't realize when
you go back and look at the stats, you know,
and people still today, they'll go, all, the Bears had
a mediocre offense. I'm like, look at the stats. You know,
you see it all the time, the eighty five Bears, right,
(16:02):
what a defense that's in their offense? In their offense. Yeah,
and their offense was mediocre. I'm citing here, going, you're
leading the league and rushing right, you're mediocre. I mean,
I just didn't let it go, you know. But when
you look at the stats, the stats tell a different story.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
I guess I never really thought of it like that.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
When we talk about that that that that year, that season,
they only talk about the defense. They've even done documentaries
and it was just about the defenses.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
They don't really mention you all at all.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I never, I guess I never really thought about until
you actually just said something, is like, damn, and you want.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
To pretty they had a pretty good offense.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
And you wonder why he is trying to let it go. Still,
I just wondering why.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Well, I take for the three games before we lost
to Miami, I think I think the combined scorers like
I don't know exactly, but the combined scorer is like
ninety five to ten. Yeah, the defense didn't score all
those points, right, somebody had to score them. You're right,
So yeah, right, it's it's it's yeah. But hey, it
is what it is, so it's never gonna change.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
So you played LT.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Lawrence Taylor three times and in those three games, you
didn't give up a sack. And Lawrence Taylor said, I
played against a lot of excellent office of tackles and
I'll put him.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Right at there at the top. What does that mean
to you hearing that from LT.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Well, I mean, he's I think the greatest defensive player
to ever lived. So when you see someone like that
say say that about you, I mean, that's I mean amazing.
You know. I think the reason that I was able
to accomplish that is because we were never in bad
down in distances. We were never put in bad you know,
we weren't third and long all the time in the
(17:43):
eighty in the playoff game in eighty five. We really
just you know, we controlled the line of scrimmage. You know,
we weren't. We weren't third and ten, you know, we
were you know, we were third and two, you know.
And I think I think I had something doing then
in the eighty seven or when we played him, they won,
(18:04):
they want to We won eighty five, they won in
eighty six. We played them Monday night football on eighty seven,
first game of the year, and we beat him pretty good.
And it was the same thing. You know, we got
up on them and then you know, run the ball.
We're running the ballah so, and then in the playoff
game in ninety they beat us. And I think that's
probably when I played one of my best games, because
we were all we were behind the whole game, you know,
(18:26):
and was able to, you know, uh, not give up
a sack. It's amazing that you could play against a
guy like that and not do it. I didn't say
I didn't give up for pressure or something like that,
but that's for a while. But yeah, no sacks.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
It's a hell of a compliment. It's a hell of
a compliment.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
You mentioned his name, and you know, anytime we get
one of you old school Bears players with all due respect, Yeah,
we always want to know what was it like not
only playing with Walter Payton but blocking for Walter Payton.
I mean I only grew up watching him in my
parents van on all of the NFL films back in
(19:02):
the day.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And who he was as.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
A how hard working he was, how much the city
loved him, seemed like every like no fan ever had
a bad experience around him. Well, could you tell us
and the viewers and the people listening what was it
like to not only play with Walter Payton but also
block for Walter?
Speaker 1 (19:22):
He was just a He's just a special person. I
mean he treated everybody that he met like he just
had a just kind of this I don't even know
what it was, just annate ability to treat you like
you were the most important person he was talking to
at that time.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
You know what I mean that is that's a skill.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
That's a skill. Yeah, that he didn't care about anybody
else except you at that time. And he genuinely cared
about people, you know, and he was just a special person.
And so you know, luckily I got a chance to
know him, probably as well as anybody because you know,
Matts who in our roommates and Matt him are real tight.
(20:02):
And Matt and ire roommates on the road. So back
in the day. You got to remember now it's not
like today everyone gets their own room. We had roommates
back in the day, you know. So the only one
that had their own room was Walter, and I think
he had it in his contract. That was the only
way he got it. But he was always over in
our room anyway, when we were on the road. I'll
tell you what. The one thing I don't think people
give or think about him, what is how tough he was.
(20:26):
I mean he played thirteen years in a league. He
missed one game and he I mean I seen him
get his ankle rolled up. I've seen him get it,
you know, his knee twisted and he was still out there. Man,
he never missed it down, went in there and got taped,
you know, spat it over to shoe. I mean, he
just I mean one of the toughest, I think one
of the toughest. Are the toughest guys ever played with?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Tell me this, we've heard how much of a prankster
he was? Oh yeah, yeah, were you a victim of anither?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:54):
All of us were okay.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
I mean then the annual throwing and he's down in
the rookie locker room. That was the annual thing he
did every year. So you know, uh, right before the
second practice down came M eight and the heard the
ones that had like seventeen uh firecrackers on him. Yeah,
he did that, chasing all the rookies out of there.
Speaker 6 (21:15):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
The annual pulling the fire alarm at training camp. Uh,
like one of the last weeks, you know, getting everybody
out of everybody out of the door. He didn't even
sleep there. He had a he had an RV. He slept.
He slept in the r V. Yeah, he slept. He didn't.
He did'n he'd.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Get all you guys messy all.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
That was the place you'd hang out and you get
a beer after practice running with you know, if you
were lucky enough, he'd invite the a couple of linemen
in there and you could have a beer with him.
And then he would also call you up and he
could you know, he had that. He had that real
high voice. You know, I get this call and the
voice like Timbo, Hi, how are you? I just wanted
to call you. You know, we met up in Platteville.
(21:55):
You know, that's where you had training camp. You were
so wonderful to me, and you know, I was just
wondering if maybe we can meet, you know, and I go,
who is this? You know, and I like, who is this?
So they're saying some crazy stuff. So I hung up
the phone, you know, and this before cell phones or
you know. Yeah, so then the phone rings again. I
(22:16):
told my if don't don't answer that phone, and it's
him laughing. You know. He was a prankster, definitely.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Aster That's what people say about him the most.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
I want to know your thoughts on having a thousand
yard rusher every season you were there except one.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
And then I was a strike here. Yeah, that was
a strike here.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
So I mean that's that's that's impressive strike here.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
So I just think we concentrated on the run and
that was what we were known for, was running football.
But you remember, I mean after Walter, we had Neil Anderson,
who was a hell of a player.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I mean from Florida.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
People don't really give him the credit he deserves. And
you know he played like seven or eight years.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Yeah to watch, so I yeah, he was a.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Great receiver, fast and you know he would have played
a little bit earlier. But you're not gonna shit well
hating on the bench, you know. But they put Neil
fullback and in eighty seven, and that wasn't his natural position,
and the strike came and everything. But then that was
Walter's last year. But yeah, he was a great player.
(23:22):
So we concentrated on a lot and that was what
we were known for, is running football. So I think
we look we look forward to it. We look forward
to running the ball.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
We're going to take a short break and we'll be
back in a minute.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
Okay, I want to know about the the back injury
that permanently sidelined you from football.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Yeah, well I had I had a couple things with
my back in eighty eight. I hurt my back in
training camp.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
And was it a specific player? Was it just where.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Doing doing knuckcracker or Oklahoma drill?
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Oklahoma drill?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Canla that You got two dummies that are probably I
don't know, six five feet apart, four feet apart something
like that, lined up like this. You got an offensive
line and defensive lineman. You got a running back getting
the ball and you got to get him out of
the hole. So they running back and run right through
it and the guys are getting hit tackled. It's just
seeing who's tougher, you know, And it's a toughness drill.
(24:26):
And so we did it every every training camp. I mean,
you did you did ten jumping Jackson. You wan't right
the knuck cracker offensive defensive line. And I was really
good at it. In fact, you know, Matt told me
him and Walter used to jockey and the behind lines
is to get behind me, right, because I was pretty
good at knuckracker. And it's just I got I got
(24:50):
kind of twisted the wrong way and I felt something
and yeah, so I mean I tried to I tried
to get a couple of quarters on shots and EPI
door and it's just in take. So I went back
and had surgery. So I was eighty eight, and and
I did something that was you know, that basically shortened
my career, and it was it was a stupid thing,
(25:12):
but I did it. And when I came back and
I played six weeks later after I had back surgery,
and and I just you know, it wasn't good. I
played about a quarter. I just couldn't do it. I
should have never been out there and then I went
on IR and and then I came back and I
started the last eight games of the year, and we
went to the NFC Championship game, got beat by San
(25:33):
Francisco at home. But that was I should have never
done that. I think if I would have taken the
year off and and you know, got healthy, you know,
did the things I should have been able to do
to cobet come back, I would have been way better off.
So it just never was the same after that, you know.
(25:53):
And then I I played in eighty nine, I played
in ninety and I just never was the same.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Player, you know, just lets me excuse me.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
That just makes me feel even more blessed because of
nine off season or yeah, OTAs, I fractured, not fractured,
but I had a slip disc you know, L five
one her nation of my hernia and disc of mine
and I had surgery on in July. Missed all of
training camp and I was ready week one, so I
probably had surgery six weeks later. In that week one,
(26:24):
we played Green Bay. We ended up winning the game,
but I came I came back like way too early.
But at the same time, I was very fortunate to
where I didn't have any you know, I'm a dB,
so I do more running than actually actually hitting.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
So I'm it just made me.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
When you said that, I was like, damn, I'm thank Jesus,
I'm super blessed because.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Yeah, and you're not the same position as you know,
you're not you're not down, you know, uh, you're trying
to get leverage in your helmets on this car. And
so yeah, I just never was the same and and
I just you know, I uh, I don't have any regrets.
I mean, I would have done it all over again.
But looking back on it, it was, it was. It was.
It's definitely shortened my career. And that was never the
(27:04):
same player.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Yeah, so how tough was it for you to walk away?
Speaker 1 (27:09):
So then in in ninety one training camp, I I
heard it again and uh, just in a blocking draw,
wasn't knucker, And I just got uh, I said, that's it.
I'm not going to play anymore. They put me on
member Plan B. They put me on Plan B. You
guys are too young for that, but they put you
on Plan B.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
I was like a female thing.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Yeah, So Plan B was they were able to It
was after the strike, so there was no agreement, right,
and so there was no uh, collective bargaining agreement anymore
until they had to redo it. And so it is
plan B where they can they put you on this
list and you were you was basically a waiver wire.
I got you and if no one claimed you, you could
(27:51):
come back and uh and so I was talking a
couple of teams and uh, and I just said, just
want to do it anymore? And I made the right decision. Yeah. Yeah,
I'm sixty five years old and I'm upright and not
walking around, you know, bent over. So I'm happy I
made the right decision.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Did Yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
So is it true that in nineteen ninety you played
a game so well that they wanted to select you
to be Offensive Player.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Of the Week.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Yet you chose You told them I only want the
ward if the whole old line can get it.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah, and so they gave it to you.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
You guys like the first offensive line to win an
Offensive Player of the Week.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
This is a true statement.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yes, I did. They came to me and they wanted to.
It was against Arizona out there, and they came to
me and asked me if I wanted to. You know,
they they selected me for and I said, I'm not
going to accept that unless it's just for the entire
offensive line. I just felt like, you know, we were playing, well,
we were on a roll. You remember one thing about
(28:59):
offensive lineman, right, I mean, he plays, he plays a group,
and we try to have that mentality. If you single
so many defensive linemans, their defense players are different.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Defensive lineman is like, I'm you know, I'm MVP. I'm
you know, Uh, I got five sacks, I'm player of
the week. You know that's good, but you know it's
a little different. You do that in an offensive line,
you wreck the you wreck the harmony, you know what
I mean. And uh, next thing, you know, you got
guys looking at you. Now, yeah, you know you're the guy.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
And then then then.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Your offensive player of the week, right, I mean, then
you might have to play against some guys got like
fourteen sacks, you know, and next thing, you know, you
might give up a couple of sacks, you know, because
that guy's gonna say, hey, that's the offensive player of
the week. I'm gonna go after that guy and see
how many sacks I can get on them, you know.
And so it was just for me. It was just
the right thing to do for offensive line, and I
(29:53):
didn't want to I didn't want to be singled out.
And uh, it was a funny thing because what happened was,
you know, in the NFL, they really wanted to make
an offensive line lineman offensive you know, offensive player of
the week. So a couple of weeks later they had
Jim lshe you know, they made Jim Lechee. He was
a left tackle for Washington offensive player of the week.
(30:18):
He made the Pro Bowl and I didn't make the
Pro Bowl. So that's how that works.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
It's a popularity content.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah, and I was like, you know what I mean,
still made the right decision. I never regret that, you know,
because it was the right thing to do and for us,
and it worked out.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
Now I want to I want to talk about Uh,
I want to talk about your second acts.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
You're you're you're out of football, you retire, you.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Walk away from the game, and you get into the
healthcare space. So currently right now you are the operating
partner at Chrissy and Company.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
How did you get into the healthcare space.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
I like to say it's like a thirty year overnight success.
You know, that's what people always would ask me, like
when I became a c O, They're like, how'd you
get that? Gig? I said, what do you think I've
been doing for the last twenty years? First of all,
we didn't make the kind of money they're making today,
so you had to go out of You had to
go out and work if you want to have the
same lifestyle. And I think one thing that for today,
(31:13):
it's going to be interesting because of all this stuff
going on in college football, you know, with with nil
and transfer portal and all this stuff for these kids
to get degrees at all. Right, and you know I
left Pitt I was fifteen credit shy because you know,
(31:35):
back then you had the bowl games. We played in
the Comton Bowl, and then we had the Hula Bowl.
Right then you had to Senior Bowl, right, and we
were on quarters. So we started school like January fourth, right,
and then back then, you know, they had combines all
over the place. Now they got one that big combine
they had in Minneapolis. You had to go all over
the place. So multiple Oh yeah, we had they had
(31:58):
blessed though, Bears, Lions, eaglest you had to go to
that one. And then they had another one. Right, it
was out in Seattle, and then they had then they
would fly you places right and you would go meet
teams right. Some wanted you to work out someone as
you didn't work out. So, you know, I get back
and it's like January, like thirtieth or first February, and
(32:20):
I didn't go to one class, you know. So I
went to my professor's and I said, what do you
think they go? You don't have a shot. So I
just took all ws and and then the next year
I plan on going back and I just didn't, you know.
And so it was about my sixth year in the league,
seventh year in the league. The NFL was sponsoring this
(32:41):
thing where they were having schools focus on getting NFL
players back to college. And the Pall in Chicago was
one of the sponsors of it. And so I took
four classes at the Paul and I took one class
at it as an independent study. And I graduated. And
(33:01):
so I remember I was talking to who I think
it was this a guy was really for me. Was
my mentor was a guy named vern Loux. He was
a president's CEO of Baxter Healthcare. I got a chance
to know him and I had lunch of them, and
he said, what do you think you want to do
when you're done playing? I said, I have no idea,
And he said, what's your degree in? And I said
(33:21):
English And he said, if I'd have said I didn't
have a degree, end of discussion, right, end of story.
So that's what worries me about these kids coming out
right now, right, I mean, because if you know, a
very very small percentage of them are going to make
it to the next level, right, and they're going to
make some bucks in school. Now, then I own all
(33:41):
that stuff, which is great, but that's going to be
very short lived and gone. So what are they going
to do with the rest of their life? That's what
worries me. You know, I think about that all the
time on him on the board of trustees at pitt
and you know, my alma mater. I think about it
all the time because I just feel like I was lucky.
I was one lucky ones. You know. I decided that
I knew I had to go back and and do that,
(34:02):
so I did. And then when I got into the
healthcare space, you know, I remember my last year I
made Now, don't laugh, anybody that's football fans, I was
the highest paid line in the league for three years.
I made four to seventy five five five on a quarter. Okay,
so I just sold that one guy just that was
high the league highest highest tackle on Me and Munos
(34:23):
were tied for seventy five five five other. Wow, I
just saw the just signed a left tackle for Indianapolis
for one hundred million dollars for like four years.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
I'm like, you see the second rounders saying for eight
million dollars. The guy that got drafted four slots behind
me signed a four year, eighteen million dollar contract.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
We had like sixteen fully gearant. I'm not mad. I'm
not mad.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Hey, you remember when I can you remember nineteen e
I'm man in nineteen eighty three is a fifty per
tax bracket. Now, I remember that in nineteen eighty three,
I was a sixth player picking the draft. I made
seventy five grand after after taxes. No way, okay, So.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
Uncle Sam, why.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
That's crazy if I can't yeah wild.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
But anyway, yeah, So I just I just, uh, you know,
I made seven hundred and fifty thousand my last year
and my first year my first job in sales at Baxter.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Was sixty thousand in the cube and uh put you
back to put you back down to reality pretty quickly.
Speaker 5 (35:32):
Are you like a big guy in the cube? Like big,
they're incredible.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Big, it's the cube exactly exactly, and uh.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
They're incredible.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Great. Great, I'm glad you got that.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
And I just said, I just said to myself, I'm
not going to stay here for long. Yeah, all right,
I'm gonna work my ass off. And I just applied
a lot of the same things I learned in sports.
I mean, yeah, you got to work hard. No one
cannot work you right and uh, and you got to
do your homework right and uh, and there's a lot
(36:05):
of things you got to you got to persevere through
because you're going to have adversity, just like you are
on the football field, right, and there's gonna be different
obstacles and you got to figure out and rocks in
the road, you got to figure out a way to
get around him or remove them. And that's what I did. So, Uh,
I was really lucky to have a good mentor that
(36:26):
helped me. And I remember when he when he when
when I got the job, I thanked him, I said,
thank you. And I've used this line a million times
since I've hired a bunch of people over the years.
I said, thank you for giving me the job. He goes,
I didn't give you a job. I gave you an opportunity,
and what you make of it is entirely up to you.
That's what you said to me. I was thirty two
years old, thirty three, So.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
You know, Jim, we always ask people like you know,
we asked you you're welcome to the NFL moment? What
is the welcome to the the nine to five moment?
Because it it's got to be difficult, but just different.
I don't know about difficult, But how different was that
for you to have been selected where you were selected?
(37:09):
Great player at pitt You've been through the highs of
the highs, you turned down a Super Bowl shuffle, and
now I'm.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Working at nine to five?
Speaker 1 (37:21):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (37:21):
And when did it like hit you?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Like?
Speaker 2 (37:22):
What was that first?
Speaker 6 (37:23):
Like?
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Man, it hit me when I got in that que
And it also hit me that nobody cares what you
did before. You know, as many doors as football open
for me, it closed just as many. Yeah, and I
don't think people realize that. You know, maybe now it's different,
(37:47):
but you know, there's a lot of guys that wanted,
you know, a lot of people you want to be,
especially in sales. People were like, hey, you know you
played for the Bears. I'm a big Bears fan. You know.
There's a lot of other people, very you know, professional,
very high ranking people were like, never gonna give you
a shot, right, And they're never gonna give you a
shot because there is just like a dumb jock. I
(38:09):
don't have to give him anything, just another dumb jock.
And uh and I had to face a lot of
that down here, right, So didn't get mad about it.
Didn't get mad about it. I figured to work around
around people like that, and I figured out a way
to to uh to still do my job and not,
you know, not excited because you know, in a field,
(38:30):
you got a problem with someone, you beat their ass,
like you know, you got a problem. You just can't
do can't do that in office, and it's it's.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
You could, but you're gonna get fired, gona get fired.
H I'm knocking on the dough.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Yeah. So that you had to learn that rather quickly,
and uh, you had to learn how to temper your
emotions and uh and not and not take everything so personal.
When you get beat on a football field, this part personal.
You can't do that because you can't let your emotions
(39:05):
get in the way of you know, what your ultimate
goal is, and that's being successful. And so that's kind
of the way I looked at it, and every job
that I was able to progress to, I looked at
it that way. And I think I think athletes really have.
Speaker 6 (39:22):
A special gift for that because you show them where
the goal line is, they'll get there right and and
a lot of times, you know, people people don't realize that.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
So you see a lot of hard drivers, and especially
in sales and other places like that, those guys do
very very well, the ex athletes because they know where
the goal line is.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
The never get there and we'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
What do you what do you think is the has
been your most rewarding piece of this this journey for you,
this second chapter in your journey.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
That's a good question, you know. I think when I
ran a company for ten years, company called Institute for
Transfusion Medicine, it was really it was something it was
you know, I was in healthcare business for a long time.
I was in you know, worked for Baxter Healthcare. Then
I worked for Horizon CMS. I worked for Health South
(40:22):
as part of the turnaround team. So I was always
in in you know that whole uh physical therapy, outpatient
kind of you know, hospital business. And uh this was
blood blood services. You know, everything you think of it
do with blood, you know, working with hospitals, and so
(40:42):
it was an undertaking. So I just remember that they
had so many acronyms, more acronyms in football, you know.
I had a whole book of acronyms, you know that
I that I would have to write down. And you
know what I did the first probably four or five months,
I just listened. I just listened, and I just tried
(41:04):
to learn as much as I possibly could about the
business and didn't want to assume or didn't want to
think that I knew more than the people that are
already there because they had such great institutional knowledge of
the business. I was just trying to learn it. Once
I got a pretty good handle on it, I tried
(41:25):
to change a lot of things. And that was tough
because a lot of people were adverse to change. And
so what I tried to do is I tried to
put some people that I worked with before that, I
hired as change agents, you know, to work with them.
And you know, I think that's the one thing about
(41:48):
me and the CEO. You got to get the right
people on the bus. And sometimes the people aren't in
the right seats, and some people got to get off
the bus. Yeah, but when you can get the right
team on the bus, you can be very successful. And
that's the one thing about leadership. You know, they're looking
(42:09):
for that, but they're also looking for you to do
it as well, you know, and and uh, you know,
and you gotta you gotta be there and you gotta
show you care. So that's that's it's that was very
rewarding for me. I enjoyed that.
Speaker 4 (42:25):
It's no different than a head coach or a GM
picking his head coach and his head coach picking his staff,
trying to get him on the get everybody on the
same page. I wanna I want to ask you about
Mount Rushmore. You get four people or four picks that
have helped you become the man you are today.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
You get four picks?
Speaker 1 (42:48):
What a great question, you know, that's a great question. Honestly,
it's a I've never had that question. That's a great question.
I'd say the first two spots for my mom and dad.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
I loved that.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Yeah, my dad, my dad worked at armcoas Steel for
thirty four years. His grandfather worked there for forty four years.
My brother, my uncle, both my brother in laws all
worked in the mill. All my dad's all, my all
my my buddies in high school, their dad's worked in
the mill. So they already either worked in the mill,
(43:23):
steel mill, railroad right, Pennsylvania Railroad, or the oil refinery. Right.
So you know, I just looked up to my dad
because my dad was you know, he took me into
the mill one time in a hot mill. I told
people as many many times in July, and he said, yeah,
I see this, these these you know, hot pieces of
(43:44):
metal coming down these things and it's like nine hundred
degrees in there, and all these guys are sweating and
everything like that. And my Dad's like, you never want
to come in here ever. You know, he gave me
such great advice. But he will tell you what for
he was. He was a tough, tough customer though. Man.
I mean those guys, uh, they know how to motivate
(44:05):
you, you know, because you think about what they had to
do for work. Every day. Get you come in with
a little ankle bruise or ankle strain or something like that.
He's like, you're not gonna miss any time when you
see guys like that. And my mom was just you know,
uh she worked at j C. Penny part time and
raising all of us. She had all four of us
in five years, and uh, my brother and I were
(44:28):
eleven months apart, and so we fought. Oh yeah, we
kept fall like cast and dollars. But he, uh, you know,
my mom, we used to laugh because everything we own
came from j C. Pennies, you know, and we.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
Had those didn't they have way back then? What's that
did they have back then?
Speaker 1 (44:49):
Away? Yeah, everything was on layaway. Yeah, everything everything on layaway,
and everything came from j C. Pennies. And you got
you got a school outfit at the beginning of the year,
you know, and uh the tennis, you know, and they
had those those j C. Penny fake tennies that looked
like they tried to look like, I don't know what
they tried to look like, something like a Nike or
something they weren't really or Converse or something, but they weren't.
(45:12):
And always got these kids in school, some of these
kids had them. I wanted to pair, you know, so
I told my dad and my brother and I said,
we we want these converse you know. So he uh
he took us down an army Navy store in Rochester, Pennsylvania.
You know, we went down there, and my brother and
I each got a pair and they were nine ninety
nine a pair. And my dad goes, boys, he goes,
(45:34):
you better take care of those shoes. There's a lot
of money. Think about that, nine ninety nine a pair.
Now they got nikes, you know, for for uh, you know,
hundreds of dollars, you know, and that's to show you
how how money was tight, you know, And he did so,
I mean those two for sure. And then you know,
(45:54):
my wife and I have had such a great relationship.
She's been there, she's done. You know. We've been married
now for forty three years, I think, and uh we
got married right before we uh where is actually my
rookie year? And I mean she raised our kids because
my second career I was always on the road.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
You know, and people think that athlete football players maybe
baseball players different. They think football players are always gone.
They're not always gone.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
You're just amount of time doing certain month's training camp.
Speaker 1 (46:27):
Yeah, it's training camp. And if you play, if you
play Green Beer Detroit, you're home for dinner. Yeah, you know,
so it's not you're it's not so. I let I was,
I was traveling. I was trying to build my career,
you know, and she did it all. You know. She
was a glue to kind of hold everything together. And
so I think to her. And then I had a
(46:48):
line coach at Pitt, guy named Joe Moore. Who Joe Moore? Who?
Who was like I think the best offensive line or no, no, no,
he's he he coached, He's had he I think he's
had forty five guys. Uh when he coached a Pitt
Notre Dame in Temple, Uh, playing the NFL, and so uh,
(47:10):
you know he coached me and Russ and Bill Freelik
and a bunch of guys. Yeah, I mean coach Notre
Dame guy, Joe Moore offensive line. It's named after him.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Yeah, it is a jo.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Yeah, he named after Joe Joe Moore. So uh, he
just he was a a special guy. And I mean
that's the reason, you know, I was a you know,
I came to the Bears, and I was the most
you know, I think prepared guy there from a technique respect,
and then I think a lot. Finally, the guy that
was talking about earlier, Vern Loux, who was a chairman
(47:43):
CEO of bax Of Healthcare. He was, you know, really
impressive guy. He's a Yale Grid Harvard MBA and he
was a captain of the Marine Corps. So what a
what a resume is I had, you know, and uh
just a man's man. But he was the CEO there,
(48:04):
and he's the guy gave me my first opportunity, so
that would be the people I put on him.
Speaker 5 (48:09):
I got to ask this, and you can let me
know if I'm going way too personal. But your daughter
was born with spinal biffida. Is that did that actually
push you into the health healthcare system at all?
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Or that just was just a random No.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
I don't think it had anything to do it. I think,
you know, she just had a birthday yesterday, Happy birthday, Jessica,
and she's doing great. But uh yeah, it's it's uh no,
I think I think it was for us. It was
difficult because she was born nineteen eighty seven of right
in the middle of my career, and uh, it was heartbreaking,
(48:49):
you know for us. I mean we didn't know, we
didn't know.
Speaker 3 (48:52):
Much about I was like, I was like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
We didn't even know anything about it. And then you know,
and then we found out it was the most common
birth defect and as you know, affected people in different
ways and different levels of function, different levels of ability
to ambulate. So it was difficult. But she's done a
remarkable job. I mean she, you know, went to lenn
University and graduated, been a health carecter at HR space.
(49:15):
She's done a great job. So she's you know, she's
she's a superstar. You know, you don't you don't get
too many people like that. But she's a hard worker,
you know. I mean she's she's had to overcome a
lot of different things that people haven't had to do.
Speaker 2 (49:28):
How much better has she made you?
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Oh, she's a tough per I mean she's tough. I
mean talking about surgery, I had, like I've had like,
you know, fourteen surgeries and all these orthopedic things. I
think she's had like twenty five surgeries. Wow, oh yeah,
oh yeah, shunt revisions and and spinal surgeries and and
uh you know, uh uh they had to rotate her
(49:52):
ankles back in and her, I mean just just for kid,
a kid, Yeah, you know tough so uh and she
would she take it on head head on and just
you know, look her straight in the eye and she
got she she got a little tough, you know. Uh,
but she she dealt with it and was able to
(50:13):
do it. She's yeah, doing great.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Thank you, thanks for sharing all.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
We appreciate you man sharing some stories. But it was
fun presence. Yeah, we appreciate what knee surgery is.
Speaker 1 (50:25):
That that's a big that's a that's a new that's
a new knee.
Speaker 5 (50:29):
Oh it's a new knee, okay, because the cross is different.
Speaker 3 (50:32):
I'm not No, that was an old surder Okay.
Speaker 1 (50:36):
I had this operate on like five times before I
got the neigh replace.
Speaker 3 (50:39):
And how's it feel with the new knee.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
It feels awesome. Except I got a bone chip underneath
m plant. You can see it pop up.
Speaker 2 (50:48):
Yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (50:48):
So I got a bone chip. I gotta get party trick,
I gotta get scoped. But other than that, it doesn't
hurt that much anymore. But uh, yeah, this this is
a new one, and I got this is the gnarly one.
Speaker 3 (51:01):
Okay, so that's an one angle one. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's that's.
Speaker 4 (51:08):
That's Those are great party tricks whenever there's like that
awkward silence, like, hey, look at my.
Speaker 2 (51:13):
Knee at home.
Speaker 1 (51:14):
That's an one that was a a cadaver ligament and
a cadaver tan replacement. So for your ankle, yeah yeah,
they put a cadaver ligament in the cadaver ten. And
then so I got it done in Stemen clinic and
veil and the doc that did it, you know how
they do your knee where they grab your knee, they
move it around to see how stable it is. You
(51:35):
could grab the bottom of my ankle moving around like this,
and it just had I had no ligament snow tens there.
And uh, the guy did it said, you know, he's did,
he's done. You know, skaters, you know, basketball players, people
were traditionally bad ankles. He says, you have like one
of the worst ones I've ever seen. And I just,
(51:57):
you know, just delayed, delayed, delayed, And I got I
got this done on a Tuesday, and that on a
Thursday in the same week.
Speaker 3 (52:03):
Oh damn, if I'm down, let me just be down.
Speaker 2 (52:05):
Yes, I said.
Speaker 1 (52:06):
I thought I was gonna be non weight bearing and
it was gonna be fine until I was laying in
the hospital bed looking at my boot on here and
this thing all wrapped up, Like what did I just
do to my I stayed in veil for three weeks
and my wife was pushed me around in a wheelchair.
Not bad, it goes, Can you get can you get
up on these crutches? Can you get up on these crutches?
Speaker 2 (52:26):
I said, no, it hurts too bad.
Speaker 1 (52:32):
She finally got me a phone, man, But I was,
you know, in the middle of working. Yeah, so now
I get this boot. You know, I'm going to work,
I'm flying places. I'm like, oh god, please, but now
it Then this came back real quick. That was a
little problem, but just good now yeah we're good. Yeah,
it's good.
Speaker 3 (52:52):
All right, man, We appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (52:53):
That was fun.
Speaker 2 (52:54):
Don't you run off of us, jim Bo, thank you
so much.
Speaker 6 (52:56):
Man.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
Let's give you some flowers. Bro.
Speaker 5 (52:58):
We really want to say thank you for awaitness man.
Actually getting to sit down and talk to you.
Speaker 2 (53:03):
Peanut.
Speaker 5 (53:03):
Knew a lot more about you than I did. I
didn't grow up in the Bears community, but you getting
here to share your story, really sharing some great stories
and times through that eighty five, through.
Speaker 2 (53:15):
Your draft class to everything you guys.
Speaker 5 (53:17):
Got to build for that organization and what you meant
to it and now look at you so man, Thank.
Speaker 1 (53:22):
You appreciate sharing that for this guy and anything man Man, well,
we appreciate it. Man.
Speaker 2 (53:27):
Thank you peen up for getting it here.
Speaker 5 (53:28):
Thank you and and all of our listeners and viewers
out there wherever you pick up. Your podcast was Apple Podcasts.
iHeartRadio app. Make sure you tune in, make sure you
give us a follow, like, share, subscribe. Also, you can
check us out on the NFL's YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Peanut, get us out of your head.
Speaker 5 (53:45):
Proud of you man, you you you did that.
Speaker 1 (53:48):
It's like the end of the NFL broadcast. He did that.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
Good good, I am improving. Thank you. I like that.
Speaker 4 (53:54):
He our Peanut Toeman. That's Roman, that's Shambald Hall of Famer.
Speaker 2 (53:58):
An't there.
Speaker 3 (53:59):
And this is the NFL players second X podcast.
Speaker 2 (54:02):
We out
He's a pain in the ass.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
You know, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
On the field, he's a pain in the ass. And
so I'm blocking Richard and boom, I get run into behind,
you know, by McMichael, and I go, what's your problem? Man?
He goes, your damn buddy pushed you into me. What
the you gonna do about it anyway? You know? And
that's how things started, you know. And so I just
(00:23):
I don't know, man, I just grabbed him, and you know,
I was wrestled, you know. So uh, I just did
kind of ladder drop on him, and uh, you know,
I got him down, and I got him pretty good.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
What's up, everybody? I'm peanut to him?
Speaker 4 (00:41):
And this is the NFL Player's second X podcast with me,
as always my trusty co hosts Roman.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
I cannot golf Harper.
Speaker 5 (00:49):
Well, now you're just telling him lies. So we're gonna
move on and get straight to our guests.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
This guy is a Hall of Fame tackle, two time
first team All Pro, two time Pro Bowler, super Bowl
winning champion with the Chicago Bears in nineteen eighty five.
He is a healthcare executive. Please welcome to the pot,
mister Jim.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Covet pot to the pot. Thank you. A lot of
energy going on here. I like it. It's trying to
all day one podcast one.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
He does not on hour five.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
You know, we're trying to get.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
They normally get. They normally get. So we do about
we come to.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
These and we do about twenty pods. Like after like seventeen,
I start to kind of get a little tired, and
the producer he's kind of looking at me and he's
texting me.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Over there, mister Thomas. Mister Thomas, he's the one that's
never came with that gets mentioned.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Don't giving me the side too.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
I'll if we're talking about one topic too long, he'll
text us like, all right, move on, stop talking about
that bull like going to the next one.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So shout out to you.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
There's your there's your shoutout. But h yeah, which appreciate
you coming on you bet?
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, glad to be here.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
Well, I'll go straight to eighty five. Why were you
not in the Super Bowl shuffle video?
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Because I know it'd last forever and you guys are
probably pulled up on this podcast. I see one of
the white guys dancing, you know, watch fensic. We look
for watch fensic dance. You think I'm gonna if you
saw him dance, he had no rhythm and Steve Fuller
he couldn't wrap, you know, he couldn't dance. I'm like,
I didn't want to be one of those guys.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
But did you guys get back late? You got back?
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Like wasn't I think from what Chico or culture he
told us one time. Because he's not in it too.
I think you guys got back. I think I don't
create it for him, but you guys got back really
late from from a game or set bowl or whatever.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
You got back really like late or early.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Miami beat us on Monday night. They did it the
day after the Miami beat us on Monday night. Yeah,
really Tuesday morning. Yeah. That's why when you go watch it,
you saw Peyton and McMahon. They like put them in later,
you know, like they filmed them on some kind of
green screen or something. They put them in later, so
they weren't there. But yeah, they did it. They did
(03:01):
it after we got beat by Miami, So you know
it's kind of ballsy, right you do.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I think I'm just think I knew that after we lost.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yeah lost, Yeah, one lost.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
This person's idea was that whose idea was it?
Speaker 1 (03:12):
It was Willie's, so you know it was to feed
the needy. Yeah, and uh and so you know they
were asking a bunch of guys to go in it,
and I was like, I just didn't feel right about it.
Speaker 5 (03:24):
How did they How did they like first like bring
this idea up? Because nobody just like, yeah, let's just
go fill this.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I was willly, really Willy, let's do a rap?
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah? Will you know? Will we Yeah? Willie's you know WILLI.
He's got a rap, you know, get the brap of
do going. He's going around telling everybody you can do this,
you can do this, you can do that, and guys
are eating it up. Man. He came to me. I
was like, I can't do it. I just can't do
it rapping. And then they just supposedly did some kind
of reboot.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Oh I didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Oh yeah, he's trying to get guys to do that too,
And he asked me to do that and I said, no,
I didn't do the first one. I can't do the
next one.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
You know, So that'd have been dope.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, a bunch of old guys up there wrapping. That's
Who's going to watch that? Nobody.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
So the nineteen eighty three draft class.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Is considered one of the best draft classes of all time.
You got yourself, Dann Marino, John Elway, Jim Kelly, Chris Dolman,
Eric Dickerson, Bruce Matthews, Richard Dent.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
That's a hell of a draft class. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
a hell of a draft class.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
And d bag from Joe Green. Yeah, he was last pick,
twenty eighth, Daryl's last year and Marino's twenty seventh. Yeah.
I mean that class was incredible, and I think for
the Bears, I think we got like seven starters out
of that class, and that put us over the top,
you know, I think for the eighty five season, because
we're pretty bad when I first got there. I mean,
(04:46):
we were pretty bad, but we end up finishing eight
and eight that year. I think we won our last
you know, six out of seven games or something like that,
and you could just tell, you know, you were on
a trajectory then, you know. And and then the next
year we lost Jimmy matcalfway through the year, and I
think we played five different quarterbacks or six maybe, and
Nady could bring Greg Landry. He was like forty four
(05:08):
years old. He was our quarterback for the last weekless
season against Detroit and we beat them. And then you know,
Steve Fuller was a backup and came in and we
beat washed them. Went to the NFC Championship, got beat
out there and I think in San Francisco, and I
think that really was the catalyst of you know, I
mean we got embarrassed. I mean we didn't score it
(05:29):
was twenty three nothing. We didn't score any points. I mean,
offense was bad. And you know, the forty nine er
players are like bringing offense next time, you know, And
I think that really motivated us next year. We went
out there next year and played him in the regular
season and beat him up pretty good.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
Jim, you know, my draft classes for the Saints they
kind of considered as one of the greatest ones. Your
draft class for the Bears you just said you just
mentioned seven starters out of that, Like, at what point,
because everybody's already starting and getting their confidence at different
times and during my class, what was it for your class?
(06:06):
Like I'm sure you guys talked about it, because when
you drafted together your rookies together, so you go through
all the rookie stuff together and you actually kind of
grow together. Their success is your success and your success
is their success. How did you guys start to be like, Okay,
it's us and the things that we're doing kind of
walk me through that path or what you guys, how'd
(06:28):
you see it through your lens?
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Well? I think I think you could just tell that
class when they came in there, you know, quality of players.
I mean, Willie and Willie gall and I and Mike
Richardson were day one starters. So we started day one
and then and Richard Dent was in that class. So
Richard came in and you know, he started halfway through
the year, right then we had Dave Dorrison right and
(06:51):
he was starting start. You know, he started to get
a lot of playing time. And then when Todd Bell
held out the next year, the next year in eighty five,
and then you know, Day became a full time starter
and so and then Mark Boortz, who played next to me,
he became a full time starter in eighty four, right,
So you started to see that class, you know. And
then Tom Thayer he became a full time start in
(07:13):
eighty five. So that class started to really I think
initially people realized it was such a great class. But
then because we had these Day one starters, but then
you saw guys getting you know, eighty four, eighty five,
and then yeah, I mean, I think that's a class
that put us over the top. You know. That's how we,
I think, became so dominant in the NFC Central for
a long time.
Speaker 4 (07:34):
We've all experienced what it's like to be in the
NFL coming from college.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
What was your welcome to the NFL moment?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
You know, I think my welcome to the NFL moment
was my first game I played against Leroy Selman, who
I think was the best player I ever played against,
Hall of Famer and best end I ever played against.
I know that for a fact. And I said, Okay,
I'm gonna come up with this guy, and I'm gonna
I'm gonna hit him so hard. So he realized, you
(08:04):
know that, you know, because I'm not to play him
twice a year, right, I mean, that's why they drafted me.
One of the reasons they drafted me, you know. And uh,
you know, he just olayed me, you know, made the tackle,
you know, So now they decided to run the same
play like in the third quarter, I said, okay, now
I can't. I can't come off too fast or too hard.
This time, I got to be under control. And he
jacked me right in my chin and I said, okay,
(08:25):
now I get it. Now I get it. And uh,
he was such a great player. I mean, you know
nowadays they got guys that are playing situations. You got
three or four path five pass rushers. You got that.
I mean he played every snap, thirty four five technique.
You had him and Hugh Green, and they were good.
They were good. So I went down there the next
(08:47):
year in eighty four, and I think I grade out
in ninety five. Then I realized that's how that's the
kind of game you had to play to play in
the NFL. I mean, you had to step up your
game and you had to play against the best, and
you had to perform well.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Coach you did go one said you set the tone
for the offense. And I think that was one day
it was after practice or during practice, you and stevecmichael y'all.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Got into it and you you body slammed them.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Can you can you talk to us or tell us
a little bit about that story?
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, I mean people have talked about that, uh for
so many times. You know, God bless him. Steve was
such a great player and uh, such a such a
we lost him the summer and uh, you know, such
a such an awesome teammate too. But he is paying
the ass, you know, I appreciate it. On the shield.
(09:36):
He's a pain in the ass. You'd have team, you know,
and and you know Dennis Gentry and you know Thomas Sanders,
guys be standing in the back well, you know, running
first team. Oh and he goes, you know, he'd run
by flipper them, you know, hit late, hit guys late
and camp and every hit guys late in practice. Uh.
And you never really mess with me, you know. And
so it was Green Bay week, of course, you know everybody.
(09:57):
Everybody's a little it's a little serious, you know. And uh,
it's hot. It's hot, you know. And uh and so
I'm blocking, uh Richard and boom, I get run into behind,
you know, by McMichael, And I go, what's the problem, man,
He goes, your damn buddy pushed you into me. What
(10:18):
the you gonna do about it? Anyway? You know? And
that's how things started, you know. And so I just
I don't know, man, I just grabbed him and I,
you know, I was wrestled, you know, so uh, I
just did kind of ladder drop on him, and uh,
you know, I got him down and I got him
pretty good, you know. So I had him down there
and I had his helmet up, you know, his face
(10:39):
mask go. Man. I gave him five or six good
shots right in the face, you know, and and they
let it go. They let it go because I guess
they wanted to see him, you know, get his ass beat,
you know. And he stood up. When he stood up,
he had his chintz strapovers because I had his helmet up.
He had a chin strap over. Mind, he couldn't talk.
(11:00):
He goes, you want to grab you because you want this
home so bad. He's a lefty, you know. He won,
like yes, boom dropped him and that was the end
of the fight.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
I don't think people realize that the fights we get
into in practice, like there's there's a there's a ton
I know, there had to be something in normals.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Yeah, but I would just say, you know what the
most important thing is, Like what Jim said at the beginning,
it was hot and so how big old Lineman versus
d Lineman fights ninety five percent of them is they
are hot and tired, and they just like you know what,
we they just gonna fight because they are.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Mad for street. They are hot, they are tired, and
that is why a lot of.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
Fights start between offense and defensive linement, especially because one
of them is hot and tired.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
And he just was tired of Stephen.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
He know he had no reason to do it, you know.
And he you know, he had no reason to hit
me from behind. He could have just kept going and
walk back to the holder, you know, and there never
would have been a fight. But now he thought it
might have been funny or what. You know, he was
gonna get away with him. I wasn't gonna let him
get away with I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Mike Diggad talked about that. How about you tell me
what it was like.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
You know, all we ever hear about the eighty five
Bears or that that whole time you guys were so
good is that the defense.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So what was it like going against that defense?
Speaker 5 (12:23):
I was in New Orleans where we had the number
one offense for all these years, and we used them
as great examples anything we wanted to practice, anything, any
new things we had going on. It was always good
to practice against our best because they were the best,
and so if we could get them, we know it
is going to work on game day. What was it
like going against the best defense was considered in your time?
Speaker 1 (12:42):
No, I think it was great because our defensive line,
you know, I mean you got you got, you got
three Hall of Famers on the defensive line. So for us,
for for offensive line, it was it was great because
you were gonna you weren't gona play against anybody on
Sunday better than you're gonna play during the week, right,
I mean, so practicing I think was was was good.
And I think you know, they were such a great defense.
But you know, people forget about our offense. I mean,
(13:05):
we led the Lagan rushing four years in a row
in eighty five, we led Theligan rushing. We led the
leg in time possession, We led the league in first downs,
we were second in league in scoring. I make sure
defense pretty good. No one wants to say that or
talk about that, because I.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Mean, I don't I mean, I played for the Bears,
and I don't think I even knew.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I don't even think I knew that.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
That's how crazy Chicago is, or that's how much of
a defensive talents.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Never talked about it.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
Like y'all let all that. And I didn't even know
that until now, and I played for the organizations.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
They were never on the field. They were never on
the field. I mean, we led the league in time possession,
led the league scoring, second league scoring, led the Ligan
first downs, right, led the league in rushing. I mean,
so total offense wise, I mean, we were right up
there in the top three in the league. So I
mean you sit there and you go, he's got that,
you know, buddy, it was buddy. Okay, yeah, it was
(13:54):
buddy and uh and he uh you know, that's it
was all about. It was all about defense. It was
always about defense when I first got there, and uh yeah.
And so for me, I was like, you know, you know,
I sell practices and you know, throwing guys around like
ping pong balls and like that. I said, they're not
(14:15):
going to do that to me. You know. For me,
I just came in and said, you know, I was
when I was a pit all right. It was the
whole line that set the practice tempo, you know what
I mean. So because we had you know, Russ Grim, me,
Bill Frey, Mark May like we set the like practice
tempo tone. You know, you come to the Bears and
(14:36):
it's completely the opposite. So I wasn't used to that,
you know, and uh you know, so I just said, hey,
they're not going to do that to me. And I
just think that rubbed off on the offense and in
our whole line, and I think that it helped us.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Tell me this.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
You you mentioned Buddy Ryan, do you? And Peanut says,
it's just the city. So it's the answer somewhere in between.
I would love both of you guys opinion. Is it
is it that Chicago just loves the defense or is
it maybe it was like the love affair of the.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Forty six defense.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
It was new, nobody else was kind of doing it,
Like what was it?
Speaker 1 (15:13):
I think it was a defense forever in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
I mean you want I mean you think about you
got Buckets, you.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Got you got Bill George, you got Dick Buckers, you know,
you got Mike Singletary, and you got Brian or Lacker.
I mean that was that was It's all about the
middle linebacker, yes, you know, and and that and the
defense is it's just you know, city, big shoulders, Chicago.
That's what they want to talk about. They love Walter Payton, yeah,
(15:41):
you know, they love Jim McMahon. But it's all about
the defense. So you know, hey, that's fine with me.
But but people that that's what people don't realize when
you go back and look at the stats, you know,
and people still today, they'll go, all, the Bears had
a mediocre offense. I'm like, look at the stats. You know,
you see it all the time, the eighty five Bears, right,
(16:02):
what a defense that's in their offense? In their offense. Yeah,
and their offense was mediocre. I'm citing here, going, you're
leading the league and rushing right, you're mediocre. I mean,
I just didn't let it go, you know. But when
you look at the stats, the stats tell a different story.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
I guess I never really thought of it like that.
Speaker 4 (16:20):
When we talk about that that that that year, that season,
they only talk about the defense. They've even done documentaries
and it was just about the defenses.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
They don't really mention you all at all.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I never, I guess I never really thought about until
you actually just said something, is like, damn, and you want.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
To pretty they had a pretty good offense.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
And you wonder why he is trying to let it go. Still,
I just wondering why.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Well, I take for the three games before we lost
to Miami, I think I think the combined scorers like
I don't know exactly, but the combined scorer is like
ninety five to ten. Yeah, the defense didn't score all
those points, right, somebody had to score them. You're right,
So yeah, right, it's it's it's yeah. But hey, it
is what it is, so it's never gonna change.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
So you played LT.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Lawrence Taylor three times and in those three games, you
didn't give up a sack. And Lawrence Taylor said, I
played against a lot of excellent office of tackles and
I'll put him.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
Right at there at the top. What does that mean
to you hearing that from LT.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Well, I mean, he's I think the greatest defensive player
to ever lived. So when you see someone like that
say say that about you, I mean, that's I mean amazing.
You know. I think the reason that I was able
to accomplish that is because we were never in bad
down in distances. We were never put in bad you know,
we weren't third and long all the time in the
(17:43):
eighty in the playoff game in eighty five. We really
just you know, we controlled the line of scrimmage. You know,
we weren't. We weren't third and ten, you know, we
were you know, we were third and two, you know.
And I think I think I had something doing then
in the eighty seven or when we played him, they won,
(18:04):
they want to We won eighty five, they won in
eighty six. We played them Monday night football on eighty seven,
first game of the year, and we beat him pretty good.
And it was the same thing. You know, we got
up on them and then you know, run the ball.
We're running the ballah so, and then in the playoff
game in ninety they beat us. And I think that's
probably when I played one of my best games, because
we were all we were behind the whole game, you know,
(18:26):
and was able to, you know, uh, not give up
a sack. It's amazing that you could play against a
guy like that and not do it. I didn't say
I didn't give up for pressure or something like that,
but that's for a while. But yeah, no sacks.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
It's a hell of a compliment. It's a hell of
a compliment.
Speaker 5 (18:42):
You mentioned his name, and you know, anytime we get
one of you old school Bears players with all due respect, Yeah,
we always want to know what was it like not
only playing with Walter Payton but blocking for Walter Payton.
I mean I only grew up watching him in my
parents van on all of the NFL films back in
(19:02):
the day.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
And who he was as.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
A how hard working he was, how much the city
loved him, seemed like every like no fan ever had
a bad experience around him. Well, could you tell us
and the viewers and the people listening what was it
like to not only play with Walter Payton but also
block for Walter?
Speaker 1 (19:22):
He was just a He's just a special person. I
mean he treated everybody that he met like he just
had a just kind of this I don't even know
what it was, just annate ability to treat you like
you were the most important person he was talking to
at that time.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
You know what I mean that is that's a skill.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
That's a skill. Yeah, that he didn't care about anybody
else except you at that time. And he genuinely cared
about people, you know, and he was just a special person.
And so you know, luckily I got a chance to
know him, probably as well as anybody because you know,
Matts who in our roommates and Matt him are real tight.
(20:02):
And Matt and ire roommates on the road. So back
in the day. You got to remember now it's not
like today everyone gets their own room. We had roommates
back in the day, you know. So the only one
that had their own room was Walter, and I think
he had it in his contract. That was the only
way he got it. But he was always over in
our room anyway, when we were on the road. I'll
tell you what. The one thing I don't think people
give or think about him, what is how tough he was.
(20:26):
I mean he played thirteen years in a league. He
missed one game and he I mean I seen him
get his ankle rolled up. I've seen him get it,
you know, his knee twisted and he was still out there. Man,
he never missed it down, went in there and got taped,
you know, spat it over to shoe. I mean, he
just I mean one of the toughest, I think one
of the toughest. Are the toughest guys ever played with?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Tell me this, we've heard how much of a prankster
he was? Oh yeah, yeah, were you a victim of anither?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (20:54):
All of us were okay.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
I mean then the annual throwing and he's down in
the rookie locker room. That was the annual thing he
did every year. So you know, uh, right before the
second practice down came M eight and the heard the
ones that had like seventeen uh firecrackers on him. Yeah,
he did that, chasing all the rookies out of there.
Speaker 6 (21:15):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
The annual pulling the fire alarm at training camp. Uh,
like one of the last weeks, you know, getting everybody
out of everybody out of the door. He didn't even
sleep there. He had a he had an RV. He slept.
He slept in the r V. Yeah, he slept. He didn't.
He did'n he'd.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
Get all you guys messy all.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
That was the place you'd hang out and you get
a beer after practice running with you know, if you
were lucky enough, he'd invite the a couple of linemen
in there and you could have a beer with him.
And then he would also call you up and he
could you know, he had that. He had that real
high voice. You know, I get this call and the
voice like Timbo, Hi, how are you? I just wanted
to call you. You know, we met up in Platteville.
(21:55):
You know, that's where you had training camp. You were
so wonderful to me, and you know, I was just
wondering if maybe we can meet, you know, and I go,
who is this? You know, and I like, who is this?
So they're saying some crazy stuff. So I hung up
the phone, you know, and this before cell phones or
you know. Yeah, so then the phone rings again. I
(22:16):
told my if don't don't answer that phone, and it's
him laughing. You know. He was a prankster, definitely.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Aster That's what people say about him the most.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
I want to know your thoughts on having a thousand
yard rusher every season you were there except one.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
And then I was a strike here. Yeah, that was
a strike here.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
So I mean that's that's that's impressive strike here.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
So I just think we concentrated on the run and
that was what we were known for, was running football.
But you remember, I mean after Walter, we had Neil Anderson,
who was a hell of a player.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
I mean from Florida.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
People don't really give him the credit he deserves. And
you know he played like seven or eight years.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Yeah to watch, so I yeah, he was a.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Great receiver, fast and you know he would have played
a little bit earlier. But you're not gonna shit well
hating on the bench, you know. But they put Neil
fullback and in eighty seven, and that wasn't his natural position,
and the strike came and everything. But then that was
Walter's last year. But yeah, he was a great player.
(23:22):
So we concentrated on a lot and that was what
we were known for, is running football. So I think
we look we look forward to it. We look forward
to running the ball.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
We're going to take a short break and we'll be
back in a minute.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
Okay, I want to know about the the back injury
that permanently sidelined you from football.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Yeah, well I had I had a couple things with
my back in eighty eight. I hurt my back in
training camp.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
And was it a specific player? Was it just where.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Doing doing knuckcracker or Oklahoma drill?
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Oklahoma drill?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Canla that You got two dummies that are probably I
don't know, six five feet apart, four feet apart something
like that, lined up like this. You got an offensive
line and defensive lineman. You got a running back getting
the ball and you got to get him out of
the hole. So they running back and run right through
it and the guys are getting hit tackled. It's just
seeing who's tougher, you know, And it's a toughness drill.
(24:26):
And so we did it every every training camp. I mean,
you did you did ten jumping Jackson. You wan't right
the knuck cracker offensive defensive line. And I was really
good at it. In fact, you know, Matt told me
him and Walter used to jockey and the behind lines
is to get behind me, right, because I was pretty
good at knuckracker. And it's just I got I got
(24:50):
kind of twisted the wrong way and I felt something
and yeah, so I mean I tried to I tried
to get a couple of quarters on shots and EPI
door and it's just in take. So I went back
and had surgery. So I was eighty eight, and and
I did something that was you know, that basically shortened
my career, and it was it was a stupid thing,
(25:12):
but I did it. And when I came back and
I played six weeks later after I had back surgery,
and and I just you know, it wasn't good. I
played about a quarter. I just couldn't do it. I
should have never been out there and then I went
on IR and and then I came back and I
started the last eight games of the year, and we
went to the NFC Championship game, got beat by San
(25:33):
Francisco at home. But that was I should have never
done that. I think if I would have taken the
year off and and you know, got healthy, you know,
did the things I should have been able to do
to cobet come back, I would have been way better off.
So it just never was the same after that, you know.
(25:53):
And then I I played in eighty nine, I played
in ninety and I just never was the same.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Player, you know, just lets me excuse me.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
That just makes me feel even more blessed because of
nine off season or yeah, OTAs, I fractured, not fractured,
but I had a slip disc you know, L five
one her nation of my hernia and disc of mine
and I had surgery on in July. Missed all of
training camp and I was ready week one, so I
probably had surgery six weeks later. In that week one,
(26:24):
we played Green Bay. We ended up winning the game,
but I came I came back like way too early.
But at the same time, I was very fortunate to
where I didn't have any you know, I'm a dB,
so I do more running than actually actually hitting.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
So I'm it just made me.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
When you said that, I was like, damn, I'm thank Jesus,
I'm super blessed because.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Yeah, and you're not the same position as you know,
you're not you're not down, you know, uh, you're trying
to get leverage in your helmets on this car. And
so yeah, I just never was the same and and
I just you know, I uh, I don't have any regrets.
I mean, I would have done it all over again.
But looking back on it, it was, it was. It was.
It's definitely shortened my career. And that was never the
(27:04):
same player.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
Yeah, so how tough was it for you to walk away?
Speaker 1 (27:09):
So then in in ninety one training camp, I I
heard it again and uh, just in a blocking draw,
wasn't knucker, And I just got uh, I said, that's it.
I'm not going to play anymore. They put me on
member Plan B. They put me on Plan B. You
guys are too young for that, but they put you
on Plan B.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
I was like a female thing.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Yeah, So Plan B was they were able to It
was after the strike, so there was no agreement, right,
and so there was no uh, collective bargaining agreement anymore
until they had to redo it. And so it is
plan B where they can they put you on this
list and you were you was basically a waiver wire.
I got you and if no one claimed you, you could
(27:51):
come back and uh and so I was talking a
couple of teams and uh, and I just said, just
want to do it anymore? And I made the right decision. Yeah. Yeah,
I'm sixty five years old and I'm upright and not
walking around, you know, bent over. So I'm happy I
made the right decision.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Did Yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:12):
So is it true that in nineteen ninety you played
a game so well that they wanted to select you
to be Offensive Player.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Of the Week.
Speaker 5 (28:23):
Yet you chose You told them I only want the
ward if the whole old line can get it.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Yeah, and so they gave it to you.
Speaker 5 (28:31):
You guys like the first offensive line to win an
Offensive Player of the Week.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
This is a true statement.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yes, I did. They came to me and they wanted to.
It was against Arizona out there, and they came to
me and asked me if I wanted to. You know,
they they selected me for and I said, I'm not
going to accept that unless it's just for the entire
offensive line. I just felt like, you know, we were playing, well,
we were on a roll. You remember one thing about
(28:59):
offensive lineman, right, I mean, he plays, he plays a group,
and we try to have that mentality. If you single
so many defensive linemans, their defense players are different.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
You know.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Defensive lineman is like, I'm you know, I'm MVP. I'm
you know, Uh, I got five sacks, I'm player of
the week. You know that's good, but you know it's
a little different. You do that in an offensive line,
you wreck the you wreck the harmony, you know what
I mean. And uh, next thing, you know, you got
guys looking at you. Now, yeah, you know you're the guy.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
And then then then.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Your offensive player of the week, right, I mean, then
you might have to play against some guys got like
fourteen sacks, you know, and next thing, you know, you
might give up a couple of sacks, you know, because
that guy's gonna say, hey, that's the offensive player of
the week. I'm gonna go after that guy and see
how many sacks I can get on them, you know.
And so it was just for me. It was just
the right thing to do for offensive line, and I
(29:53):
didn't want to I didn't want to be singled out.
And uh, it was a funny thing because what happened was,
you know, in the NFL, they really wanted to make
an offensive line lineman offensive you know, offensive player of
the week. So a couple of weeks later they had
Jim lshe you know, they made Jim Lechee. He was
a left tackle for Washington offensive player of the week.
(30:18):
He made the Pro Bowl and I didn't make the
Pro Bowl. So that's how that works.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
It's a popularity content.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah, and I was like, you know what I mean,
still made the right decision. I never regret that, you know,
because it was the right thing to do and for us,
and it worked out.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (30:33):
Now I want to I want to talk about Uh,
I want to talk about your second acts.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
You're you're you're out of football, you retire, you.
Speaker 4 (30:39):
Walk away from the game, and you get into the
healthcare space. So currently right now you are the operating
partner at Chrissy and Company.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
How did you get into the healthcare space.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
I like to say it's like a thirty year overnight success.
You know, that's what people always would ask me, like
when I became a c O, They're like, how'd you
get that? Gig? I said, what do you think I've
been doing for the last twenty years? First of all,
we didn't make the kind of money they're making today,
so you had to go out of You had to
go out and work if you want to have the
same lifestyle. And I think one thing that for today,
(31:13):
it's going to be interesting because of all this stuff
going on in college football, you know, with with nil
and transfer portal and all this stuff for these kids
to get degrees at all. Right, and you know I
left Pitt I was fifteen credit shy because you know,
(31:35):
back then you had the bowl games. We played in
the Comton Bowl, and then we had the Hula Bowl.
Right then you had to Senior Bowl, right, and we
were on quarters. So we started school like January fourth, right,
and then back then, you know, they had combines all
over the place. Now they got one that big combine
they had in Minneapolis. You had to go all over
the place. So multiple Oh yeah, we had they had
(31:58):
blessed though, Bears, Lions, eaglest you had to go to
that one. And then they had another one. Right, it
was out in Seattle, and then they had then they
would fly you places right and you would go meet
teams right. Some wanted you to work out someone as
you didn't work out. So, you know, I get back
and it's like January, like thirtieth or first February, and
(32:20):
I didn't go to one class, you know. So I
went to my professor's and I said, what do you
think they go? You don't have a shot. So I
just took all ws and and then the next year
I plan on going back and I just didn't, you know.
And so it was about my sixth year in the league,
seventh year in the league. The NFL was sponsoring this
(32:41):
thing where they were having schools focus on getting NFL
players back to college. And the Pall in Chicago was
one of the sponsors of it. And so I took
four classes at the Paul and I took one class
at it as an independent study. And I graduated. And
(33:01):
so I remember I was talking to who I think
it was this a guy was really for me. Was
my mentor was a guy named vern Loux. He was
a president's CEO of Baxter Healthcare. I got a chance
to know him and I had lunch of them, and
he said, what do you think you want to do
when you're done playing? I said, I have no idea,
And he said, what's your degree in? And I said
(33:21):
English And he said, if I'd have said I didn't
have a degree, end of discussion, right, end of story.
So that's what worries me about these kids coming out
right now, right, I mean, because if you know, a
very very small percentage of them are going to make
it to the next level, right, and they're going to
make some bucks in school. Now, then I own all
(33:41):
that stuff, which is great, but that's going to be
very short lived and gone. So what are they going
to do with the rest of their life? That's what
worries me. You know, I think about that all the
time on him on the board of trustees at pitt
and you know, my alma mater. I think about it
all the time because I just feel like I was lucky.
I was one lucky ones. You know. I decided that
I knew I had to go back and and do that,
(34:02):
so I did. And then when I got into the
healthcare space, you know, I remember my last year I
made Now, don't laugh, anybody that's football fans, I was
the highest paid line in the league for three years.
I made four to seventy five five five on a quarter. Okay,
so I just sold that one guy just that was
high the league highest highest tackle on Me and Munos
(34:23):
were tied for seventy five five five other. Wow, I
just saw the just signed a left tackle for Indianapolis
for one hundred million dollars for like four years.
Speaker 5 (34:31):
I'm like, you see the second rounders saying for eight
million dollars. The guy that got drafted four slots behind
me signed a four year, eighteen million dollar contract.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
We had like sixteen fully gearant. I'm not mad. I'm
not mad.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Hey, you remember when I can you remember nineteen e
I'm man in nineteen eighty three is a fifty per
tax bracket. Now, I remember that in nineteen eighty three,
I was a sixth player picking the draft. I made
seventy five grand after after taxes. No way, okay, So.
Speaker 3 (35:02):
Uncle Sam, why.
Speaker 2 (35:03):
Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 5 (35:07):
That's crazy if I can't yeah wild.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
But anyway, yeah, So I just I just, uh, you know,
I made seven hundred and fifty thousand my last year
and my first year my first job in sales at Baxter.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (35:25):
Was sixty thousand in the cube and uh put you
back to put you back down to reality pretty quickly.
Speaker 5 (35:32):
Are you like a big guy in the cube? Like big,
they're incredible.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Big, it's the cube exactly exactly, and uh.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
They're incredible.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Great. Great, I'm glad you got that.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
And I just said, I just said to myself, I'm
not going to stay here for long. Yeah, all right,
I'm gonna work my ass off. And I just applied
a lot of the same things I learned in sports.
I mean, yeah, you got to work hard. No one
cannot work you right and uh, and you got to
do your homework right and uh, and there's a lot
(36:05):
of things you got to you got to persevere through
because you're going to have adversity, just like you are
on the football field, right, and there's gonna be different
obstacles and you got to figure out and rocks in
the road, you got to figure out a way to
get around him or remove them. And that's what I did. So, Uh,
I was really lucky to have a good mentor that
(36:26):
helped me. And I remember when he when he when
when I got the job, I thanked him, I said,
thank you. And I've used this line a million times
since I've hired a bunch of people over the years.
I said, thank you for giving me the job. He goes,
I didn't give you a job. I gave you an opportunity,
and what you make of it is entirely up to you.
That's what you said to me. I was thirty two
years old, thirty three, So.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
You know, Jim, we always ask people like you know,
we asked you you're welcome to the NFL moment? What
is the welcome to the the nine to five moment?
Because it it's got to be difficult, but just different.
I don't know about difficult, But how different was that
for you to have been selected where you were selected?
(37:09):
Great player at pitt You've been through the highs of
the highs, you turned down a Super Bowl shuffle, and
now I'm.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
Working at nine to five?
Speaker 1 (37:21):
You know what?
Speaker 3 (37:21):
And when did it like hit you?
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Like?
Speaker 2 (37:22):
What was that first?
Speaker 6 (37:23):
Like?
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Man, it hit me when I got in that que
And it also hit me that nobody cares what you
did before. You know, as many doors as football open
for me, it closed just as many. Yeah, and I
don't think people realize that. You know, maybe now it's different,
(37:47):
but you know, there's a lot of guys that wanted,
you know, a lot of people you want to be,
especially in sales. People were like, hey, you know you
played for the Bears. I'm a big Bears fan. You know.
There's a lot of other people, very you know, professional,
very high ranking people were like, never gonna give you
a shot, right, And they're never gonna give you a
shot because there is just like a dumb jock. I
(38:09):
don't have to give him anything, just another dumb jock.
And uh and I had to face a lot of
that down here, right, So didn't get mad about it.
Didn't get mad about it. I figured to work around
around people like that, and I figured out a way
to to uh to still do my job and not,
you know, not excited because you know, in a field,
(38:30):
you got a problem with someone, you beat their ass,
like you know, you got a problem. You just can't
do can't do that in office, and it's it's.
Speaker 3 (38:39):
You could, but you're gonna get fired, gona get fired.
H I'm knocking on the dough.
Speaker 1 (38:44):
Yeah. So that you had to learn that rather quickly,
and uh, you had to learn how to temper your
emotions and uh and not and not take everything so personal.
When you get beat on a football field, this part personal.
You can't do that because you can't let your emotions
(39:05):
get in the way of you know, what your ultimate
goal is, and that's being successful. And so that's kind
of the way I looked at it, and every job
that I was able to progress to, I looked at
it that way. And I think I think athletes really have.
Speaker 6 (39:22):
A special gift for that because you show them where
the goal line is, they'll get there right and and
a lot of times, you know, people people don't realize that.
Speaker 1 (39:37):
So you see a lot of hard drivers, and especially
in sales and other places like that, those guys do
very very well, the ex athletes because they know where
the goal line is.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
The never get there and we'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
What do you what do you think is the has
been your most rewarding piece of this this journey for you,
this second chapter in your journey.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
That's a good question, you know. I think when I
ran a company for ten years, company called Institute for
Transfusion Medicine, it was really it was something it was
you know, I was in healthcare business for a long time.
I was in you know, worked for Baxter Healthcare. Then
I worked for Horizon CMS. I worked for Health South
(40:22):
as part of the turnaround team. So I was always
in in you know that whole uh physical therapy, outpatient
kind of you know, hospital business. And uh this was
blood blood services. You know, everything you think of it
do with blood, you know, working with hospitals, and so
(40:42):
it was an undertaking. So I just remember that they
had so many acronyms, more acronyms in football, you know.
I had a whole book of acronyms, you know that
I that I would have to write down. And you
know what I did the first probably four or five months,
I just listened. I just listened, and I just tried
(41:04):
to learn as much as I possibly could about the
business and didn't want to assume or didn't want to
think that I knew more than the people that are
already there because they had such great institutional knowledge of
the business. I was just trying to learn it. Once
I got a pretty good handle on it, I tried
(41:25):
to change a lot of things. And that was tough
because a lot of people were adverse to change. And
so what I tried to do is I tried to
put some people that I worked with before that, I
hired as change agents, you know, to work with them.
And you know, I think that's the one thing about
(41:48):
me and the CEO. You got to get the right
people on the bus. And sometimes the people aren't in
the right seats, and some people got to get off
the bus. Yeah, but when you can get the right
team on the bus, you can be very successful. And
that's the one thing about leadership. You know, they're looking
(42:09):
for that, but they're also looking for you to do
it as well, you know, and and uh, you know,
and you gotta you gotta be there and you gotta
show you care. So that's that's it's that was very
rewarding for me. I enjoyed that.
Speaker 4 (42:25):
It's no different than a head coach or a GM
picking his head coach and his head coach picking his staff,
trying to get him on the get everybody on the
same page. I wanna I want to ask you about
Mount Rushmore. You get four people or four picks that
have helped you become the man you are today.
Speaker 3 (42:46):
You get four picks?
Speaker 1 (42:48):
What a great question, you know, that's a great question. Honestly,
it's a I've never had that question. That's a great question.
I'd say the first two spots for my mom and dad.
Speaker 2 (43:00):
I loved that.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Yeah, my dad, my dad worked at armcoas Steel for
thirty four years. His grandfather worked there for forty four years.
My brother, my uncle, both my brother in laws all
worked in the mill. All my dad's all, my all
my my buddies in high school, their dad's worked in
the mill. So they already either worked in the mill,
(43:23):
steel mill, railroad right, Pennsylvania Railroad, or the oil refinery. Right.
So you know, I just looked up to my dad
because my dad was you know, he took me into
the mill one time in a hot mill. I told
people as many many times in July, and he said, yeah,
I see this, these these you know, hot pieces of
(43:44):
metal coming down these things and it's like nine hundred
degrees in there, and all these guys are sweating and
everything like that. And my Dad's like, you never want
to come in here ever. You know, he gave me
such great advice. But he will tell you what for
he was. He was a tough, tough customer though. Man.
I mean those guys, uh, they know how to motivate
(44:05):
you, you know, because you think about what they had to
do for work. Every day. Get you come in with
a little ankle bruise or ankle strain or something like that.
He's like, you're not gonna miss any time when you
see guys like that. And my mom was just you know,
uh she worked at j C. Penny part time and
raising all of us. She had all four of us
in five years, and uh, my brother and I were
(44:28):
eleven months apart, and so we fought. Oh yeah, we
kept fall like cast and dollars. But he, uh, you know,
my mom, we used to laugh because everything we own
came from j C. Pennies, you know, and we.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
Had those didn't they have way back then? What's that
did they have back then?
Speaker 1 (44:49):
Away? Yeah, everything was on layaway. Yeah, everything everything on layaway,
and everything came from j C. Pennies. And you got
you got a school outfit at the beginning of the year,
you know, and uh the tennis, you know, and they
had those those j C. Penny fake tennies that looked
like they tried to look like, I don't know what
they tried to look like, something like a Nike or
something they weren't really or Converse or something, but they weren't.
(45:12):
And always got these kids in school, some of these
kids had them. I wanted to pair, you know, so
I told my dad and my brother and I said,
we we want these converse you know. So he uh
he took us down an army Navy store in Rochester, Pennsylvania.
You know, we went down there, and my brother and
I each got a pair and they were nine ninety
nine a pair. And my dad goes, boys, he goes,
(45:34):
you better take care of those shoes. There's a lot
of money. Think about that, nine ninety nine a pair.
Now they got nikes, you know, for for uh, you know,
hundreds of dollars, you know, and that's to show you
how how money was tight, you know, And he did so,
I mean those two for sure. And then you know,
(45:54):
my wife and I have had such a great relationship.
She's been there, she's done. You know. We've been married
now for forty three years, I think, and uh we
got married right before we uh where is actually my
rookie year? And I mean she raised our kids because
my second career I was always on the road.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
You know, and people think that athlete football players maybe
baseball players different. They think football players are always gone.
They're not always gone.
Speaker 3 (46:24):
You're just amount of time doing certain month's training camp.
Speaker 1 (46:27):
Yeah, it's training camp. And if you play, if you
play Green Beer Detroit, you're home for dinner. Yeah, you know,
so it's not you're it's not so. I let I was,
I was traveling. I was trying to build my career,
you know, and she did it all. You know. She
was a glue to kind of hold everything together. And
so I think to her. And then I had a
(46:48):
line coach at Pitt, guy named Joe Moore. Who Joe Moore? Who?
Who was like I think the best offensive line or no, no, no,
he's he he coached, He's had he I think he's
had forty five guys. Uh when he coached a Pitt
Notre Dame in Temple, Uh, playing the NFL, and so uh,
(47:10):
you know he coached me and Russ and Bill Freelik
and a bunch of guys. Yeah, I mean coach Notre
Dame guy, Joe Moore offensive line. It's named after him.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Yeah, it is a jo.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Yeah, he named after Joe Joe Moore. So uh, he
just he was a a special guy. And I mean
that's the reason, you know, I was a you know,
I came to the Bears, and I was the most
you know, I think prepared guy there from a technique respect,
and then I think a lot. Finally, the guy that
was talking about earlier, Vern Loux, who was a chairman
(47:43):
CEO of bax Of Healthcare. He was, you know, really
impressive guy. He's a Yale Grid Harvard MBA and he
was a captain of the Marine Corps. So what a
what a resume is I had, you know, and uh
just a man's man. But he was the CEO there,
(48:04):
and he's the guy gave me my first opportunity, so
that would be the people I put on him.
Speaker 5 (48:09):
I got to ask this, and you can let me
know if I'm going way too personal. But your daughter
was born with spinal biffida. Is that did that actually
push you into the health healthcare system at all?
Speaker 2 (48:23):
Or that just was just a random No.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
I don't think it had anything to do it. I think,
you know, she just had a birthday yesterday, Happy birthday, Jessica,
and she's doing great. But uh yeah, it's it's uh no,
I think I think it was for us. It was
difficult because she was born nineteen eighty seven of right
in the middle of my career, and uh, it was heartbreaking,
(48:49):
you know for us. I mean we didn't know, we
didn't know.
Speaker 3 (48:52):
Much about I was like, I was like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
We didn't even know anything about it. And then you know,
and then we found out it was the most common
birth defect and as you know, affected people in different
ways and different levels of function, different levels of ability
to ambulate. So it was difficult. But she's done a
remarkable job. I mean she, you know, went to lenn
University and graduated, been a health carecter at HR space.
(49:15):
She's done a great job. So she's you know, she's
she's a superstar. You know, you don't you don't get
too many people like that. But she's a hard worker,
you know. I mean she's she's had to overcome a
lot of different things that people haven't had to do.
Speaker 2 (49:28):
How much better has she made you?
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Oh, she's a tough per I mean she's tough. I
mean talking about surgery, I had, like I've had like,
you know, fourteen surgeries and all these orthopedic things. I
think she's had like twenty five surgeries. Wow, oh yeah,
oh yeah, shunt revisions and and spinal surgeries and and
uh you know, uh uh they had to rotate her
(49:52):
ankles back in and her, I mean just just for kid,
a kid, Yeah, you know tough so uh and she
would she take it on head head on and just
you know, look her straight in the eye and she
got she she got a little tough, you know. Uh,
but she she dealt with it and was able to
(50:13):
do it. She's yeah, doing great.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Thank you, thanks for sharing all.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
We appreciate you man sharing some stories. But it was
fun presence. Yeah, we appreciate what knee surgery is.
Speaker 1 (50:25):
That that's a big that's a that's a new that's
a new knee.
Speaker 5 (50:29):
Oh it's a new knee, okay, because the cross is different.
Speaker 3 (50:32):
I'm not No, that was an old surder Okay.
Speaker 1 (50:36):
I had this operate on like five times before I
got the neigh replace.
Speaker 3 (50:39):
And how's it feel with the new knee.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
It feels awesome. Except I got a bone chip underneath
m plant. You can see it pop up.
Speaker 2 (50:48):
Yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (50:48):
So I got a bone chip. I gotta get party trick,
I gotta get scoped. But other than that, it doesn't
hurt that much anymore. But uh, yeah, this this is
a new one, and I got this is the gnarly one.
Speaker 3 (51:01):
Okay, so that's an one angle one. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's that's.
Speaker 4 (51:08):
That's Those are great party tricks whenever there's like that
awkward silence, like, hey, look at my.
Speaker 2 (51:13):
Knee at home.
Speaker 1 (51:14):
That's an one that was a a cadaver ligament and
a cadaver tan replacement. So for your ankle, yeah yeah,
they put a cadaver ligament in the cadaver ten. And
then so I got it done in Stemen clinic and
veil and the doc that did it, you know how
they do your knee where they grab your knee, they
move it around to see how stable it is. You
(51:35):
could grab the bottom of my ankle moving around like this,
and it just had I had no ligament snow tens there.
And uh, the guy did it said, you know, he's did,
he's done. You know, skaters, you know, basketball players, people
were traditionally bad ankles. He says, you have like one
of the worst ones I've ever seen. And I just,
(51:57):
you know, just delayed, delayed, delayed, And I got I
got this done on a Tuesday, and that on a
Thursday in the same week.
Speaker 3 (52:03):
Oh damn, if I'm down, let me just be down.
Speaker 2 (52:05):
Yes, I said.
Speaker 1 (52:06):
I thought I was gonna be non weight bearing and
it was gonna be fine until I was laying in
the hospital bed looking at my boot on here and
this thing all wrapped up, Like what did I just
do to my I stayed in veil for three weeks
and my wife was pushed me around in a wheelchair.
Not bad, it goes, Can you get can you get
up on these crutches? Can you get up on these crutches?
Speaker 2 (52:26):
I said, no, it hurts too bad.
Speaker 1 (52:32):
She finally got me a phone, man, But I was,
you know, in the middle of working. Yeah, so now
I get this boot. You know, I'm going to work,
I'm flying places. I'm like, oh god, please, but now
it Then this came back real quick. That was a
little problem, but just good now yeah we're good. Yeah,
it's good.
Speaker 3 (52:52):
All right, man, We appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (52:53):
That was fun.
Speaker 2 (52:54):
Don't you run off of us, jim Bo, thank you
so much.
Speaker 6 (52:56):
Man.
Speaker 2 (52:57):
Let's give you some flowers. Bro.
Speaker 5 (52:58):
We really want to say thank you for awaitness man.
Actually getting to sit down and talk to you.
Speaker 2 (53:03):
Peanut.
Speaker 5 (53:03):
Knew a lot more about you than I did. I
didn't grow up in the Bears community, but you getting
here to share your story, really sharing some great stories
and times through that eighty five, through.
Speaker 2 (53:15):
Your draft class to everything you guys.
Speaker 5 (53:17):
Got to build for that organization and what you meant
to it and now look at you so man, Thank.
Speaker 1 (53:22):
You appreciate sharing that for this guy and anything man Man, well,
we appreciate it. Man.
Speaker 2 (53:27):
Thank you peen up for getting it here.
Speaker 5 (53:28):
Thank you and and all of our listeners and viewers
out there wherever you pick up. Your podcast was Apple Podcasts.
iHeartRadio app. Make sure you tune in, make sure you
give us a follow, like, share, subscribe. Also, you can
check us out on the NFL's YouTube channel.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Peanut, get us out of your head.
Speaker 5 (53:45):
Proud of you man, you you you did that.
Speaker 1 (53:48):
It's like the end of the NFL broadcast. He did that.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
Good good, I am improving. Thank you. I like that.
Speaker 4 (53:54):
He our Peanut Toeman. That's Roman, that's Shambald Hall of Famer.
Speaker 2 (53:58):
An't there.
Speaker 3 (53:59):
And this is the NFL players second X podcast.
Speaker 2 (54:02):
We out
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