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November 20, 2025 • 14 mins

Bob Papa sits down with former Giants fullback and Super Bowl champion, Henry Hynoski. He discusses his career with the Giants, winning a Super Bowl in his first season, and his life after football.

:00 - His rookie season in 2011

2:25 - Choosing the Giants

5:45 - Working for the Giants after his playing career

8:45 - Becoming a high school principal

11:20 - Challenges as a high school principal

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Papa's Perspective, brought to you by Bob's Discount Furniture,
the official furniture store and Mattress partner of the New
York Giants. As we welcome you into the Hackensack Meridian
Health podcast studio, Keep Getting Better. We're joined by Super
Bowl champion Henry Heinosky on this edition and.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Henry, good to see him. Man, Always a pleasure, my friend.
How are you good? What was it like walking in
the building? Oh, it's everything. It's everything. It's such a
special place, such a special organization. Just brings back so
many great memories and seeing all the people that were
still here when I was playing. It's like a reunion
and you're just welcomed right back in, right back at home.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
So with training camp, you know, going on right now
as we're recording this, take me back to twenty eleven.
Because a lot of people thought you would get drafted
coming out of Pittsburgh, you wind up signing with the
Giants as a free agent. What was that whole experience
like trying to make the team and then at the
end of the year you're hoisting the Lombardi troph.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
You know it was it was absolutely amazing. You know,
everything came full circle. I was predicted to be drafted,
would be the first fullback off the board, you know,
that's what That's what all the experts said. Anyways, But
at the combine, I got hurt. I had a hamstring injury,
wasn't able to finish the combine, wasn't able to do
any pro days. So it definitely affected my draft status.

(01:20):
But you know what, I wouldn't change it for the world.
So I at that point, I got to pick where
I wanted to go, and New York was always the
team that I had my eye on, and I was
during the draft. I was praying that it was going
to be the Giants. But you know, God has a
plan and it worked out. I wouldn't change it for
a thing. But it just all happened so fast. It
was like a huge whirlwind. And you know, we get

(01:42):
to training camp and they hand me a playbook and said, well,
bear Pass goes on, you know, negotiating his contract. You're starting,
don't get Eli hurt.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
And then and then.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
I, uh, you know, got my first start the third
preseason game and then kept the job there, made the team.
They told me I was starting, and then next thing
you know, we're winning games, we're in the playoffs, and
then here we are in the Super Bowl on the
same field where I got hurt and I thought at
the combine in Indianapolis, where I thought my career was

(02:13):
over at that point. And you know, it just goes
to show you if you continue to stick to the
grind and work hard, everything came full circle and it
works out.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Yeah, that's pretty amazing. You get hurt in Indianapolis at
the Combine, you win the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Full
circle for you. When you were looking at teams in
the Giants were one of the teams. Even at that
point in time twenty eleven, there were some teams that
didn't carry fullbacks. They used tight ends, but it was
more of a passing team. Is that one of the

(02:45):
things that made the Giants attractive to you? With Bradshaw
and Jacobs and their commitment to running the ball.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Absolutely and just watching the NFL, you know, over the
course of my childhood and when I got in high
school and college, it just seemed like all the teams
that were successful and winning Super Bowls were able to
run the football, especially late in the year when it
was cold and you're on the road, you know, And

(03:11):
that's kind of what the Giants always epitomized. And I
wanted to go to a team that, you know, really
focused on running the ball, and you know, obviously Eli
Manning was the quarterbacks. We could throw the ball a
little bit too, but you know, it was always the Giants.
Was always a team that I had my eye on.
And when the lockout ended. That was the other thing too.
The lockout was that year, so I couldn't sign with

(03:33):
the Giants right after the draft, had to wait until
the lockout ended. But when coach Kaflin called me, you know,
to ask me to come on, and it just verified
everything that I believed about this organization and what the
Giants represented, especially from an offensive perspective.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
All right, let's let's now take our audience on a journey.
Because you played four years with the Giants, you get
a Super Bowl, you got the trophy. Now you got
to think about life after football. Playing fullback does not
have a long life expectancy as it is. What was
the first thing you thought of, What am I doing next?

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Well, I guess I was off to a I was
off to a really good start. And then I had
the knee injury, and then that, you know, was a setback.
I probably rushed that back a little faster than, uh
than I should have, you know, because later that year
I made it back. I know, they were talking about

(04:29):
putting me or off on IR and starting on IR
because I had the knee injury in the spring, and
then uh, I ended up making it back for the
opening game, didn't do any training camp, but was ready
for Week one for the Cowboys, and I just wasn't
quite myself. And then I ended up sustaining a pretty
significant shoulder injury. And when a full beck gets a

(04:51):
shoulder injury, that's essentially the kiss of death unfortunately, you know.
But I can say, you know, did my career as
long as I wanted to know, I envisioned I visioned
you know, playing ten twelve years. But at the end
of the day, it was a nice It was a
nice four to five years, and I really enjoyed my time,

(05:12):
had a lot of wonderful experiences, you know, and I
gave it my all. I really did. I can look
back and say that I have absolutely no regrets because
I know every single play and you know, every single situation.
I brought it, and uh, you know, it was it
was all about team, and I cared about team, and uh,
you know, we got a Super Bowl out of it,

(05:34):
and then my first year, so I thought we were
going to get a couple more. I just thought this
was the way it was supposed to go. But you know,
it just makes you realize how how special it is
and how rare it is to actually accomplish that in
the world's biggest stage.

Speaker 1 (05:47):
So let's talk about life after ball. Because you work
your whole life as a kid, you're an elite athlete.
You you you break through every barrier to eventually get
in the national Football LEA football players at the age
of twenty five or twenty six, after investing their entire
youth into playing football, now have to start a new career.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
That's correct.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
So what were the first steps when you knew that
ball was over and deciding on a direction you wanted
to go to.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
Well, it was. It was definitely tough. It was definitely
a transition. You know. When I was done with the
Giants in twenty fifteen, went back home, you know, really
thought about it what I wanted to do with the
next steps, or I spent a lot of times in
the woods hunting and fishing, and you know, thinking about
my options, and you know, I knew I had an

(06:43):
opportunity here with the Giants. Came back as an intern
because I thought, you know, maybe I want to stay
in the NFL, you know, from either coaching or like
a scouting perspective or you know, marketing, public relations, whatever
it might be. And I accrued a lot of great
experiences and knowledge about how you know, the NFL works

(07:06):
and the ins and outs. And I really enjoyed doing
the player evaluations. But ultimately, you know, I missed home.
I'm a country boy at heart, and you know that's
where my heart is. I loved, loved my internship opportunity,
loved working here, but you know the big thing was,
I just wanted to go home, and you know, and
I wanted to make a difference when I went home

(07:28):
and do something positive and productive to you know, help
the community and help, you know, especially young kids, you know,
reach their goals and you know, give them something to
believe in and you know, give them confidence that they
could do anything they set their minds to. So I
thought a lot better way than you know to do
that than education and when I was with the Giants,

(07:49):
we started, you know, we would do different charity events
and different community relations events, and we're going to schools
in the city trying to help kids and motivate kids
that are having struggles or you know, having issues with grades,
and just the thrill that we brought them coming in
and being with them and spending a little time with them,
and you know, hearing about how they turned around and

(08:09):
you know, became success stories. Said, I thought, you know,
there's really something here, and you know, so that's when
I decided. While I was working here for the Giants,
I went back and got my master's degree in education.
And you know, it really worked out because I really
enjoy what I'm doing, and I still get to come
back to New York, which is my my you know,

(08:31):
my home away from home, and my wife's from here,
and we come back off and with our kids because
we want them to experience what the cities like. And
you know, we're back every couple months, so we're away,
but we're still here. We're only two and a half
hours away. So it's the perfect balance and the perfect blend.

Speaker 1 (08:47):
So now in twenty twenty three, you're named the principal
at Southern Columbia Area High School, Principal Hainasky, what has
that been like and how much do you draw upon
your experiences from your coaches like Coach Coughlin to execute
your job.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Now, I'll tell you what I learned so much from
Coach Coughlin, you know, the other coaches, but even just
the leaders in this organization, from management down, you know,
even you know, the director of player personnel. You know,
it's you learn a lot of the the ins and
outs of the business and you're able to translate it

(09:29):
to your job. So I actually started off at another
school district. I was an assistant principal. I started off
as a dina students. Then I went back and got my,
uh another master's in educational leadership, and I was coaching
football at that time too, So naturally, you know, I
tried the model myself off of, you know, a blend
of the coaches I had in my life, mainly Coach Coffin,

(09:50):
but you know Coach Wantstead as well from when I
was in college. And you know, the kids responded well
with that, and you know, I was able to take
a program that was struggling, that one over the course
of the three years before I got there, they won
I think two or three games. They were like two
and twenty eight or something like that. And we're able
to turn around become, you know, a winning, competitive team

(10:14):
that was playing for a district championship every year. And
you know, then the opportunity came to go back to
my alma mater. Southern's my alma mater, and I just
couldn't pass that up. And you know, our school board
had a policy in place that you can't coach if
you're an administrator. And not that I was gonna dethrow
in our current coach anyways, because he was. He was

(10:36):
my coach in high school. Still there. The man is
the first most winningest coach in Pennsylvania history. He won
fifteen state titles, third most wins nationally. You know, so
obviously football wasn't in the cards at this point. Maybe
down the road, we'll see, But right now, I'm still
applying those same principles as a principal to my students,

(11:00):
even though I'm not a coach. Hard work, discipline, you know,
just doing what you love, staying out of trouble, doing
the right things. You know, that's what we that's what
we preach, and we just wanted to make sure we
get these kids and you know, in the community on
the right path and make sure that you know, they
become productive citizens beyond their days in high school.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
What's the biggest challenge that you have to deal with
with the high school kids of today as opposed to
Henry Hyne i ski in high school circa two thousand
and eight, nine and ten, actually a little bit before that.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
Social media, social media and you know, just cell phones
in general. When I was in high school, we still
had the flip phones and we were playing snake on it.
You know. Now now all you know, all the kids
are you know, have their their social media and their
you know, texting. So I would say the technology is

(11:56):
the definitely the biggest adjustment now with that, so much
positivity can come from it, you know, all this AI
you can use it as a resource, not to cheat
in school, you know, because there is that, but you
can use it as a resource now where we need
to be able to help kids use it for research perspectives,
not to do the work for them. But it's not

(12:18):
going anywhere. AI and tech isn't going anywhere. As educators,
we have to embrace it and teach our kids how
to utilize it properly.

Speaker 1 (12:26):
You're happy with how this whole thing has evolved for.

Speaker 2 (12:29):
You, Yeah, I really am. And you know, my whole
life centers around my family, you know, amazing wife, two beautiful,
wonderful kids, and we're happy and we're healthy, and we're
in a great stage in our life. And ultimately, this
is where I want to be. So I wouldn't change
a thing. You know. We had some hardships along the way,

(12:49):
you know, with the injuries and you know, with with
football and you know, being cut, you know, and being
released and everything. But those things all happen to prepare
you for the rest of your life. And I have
absolutely no regrets because I lived my life to the
fullest and I woke up every day and gave it

(13:10):
one hundred percent. And you know, I just I just
love where I'm at. I really do.

Speaker 1 (13:14):
And that name is etched on that Super Bowl forty
six Lombardi Trophy in perpetuity. Now, when you have a
staff meeting at the school as the principal, do you
make sure everybody's there five minutes early?

Speaker 2 (13:28):
Well, I'm a little more lenient when it comes to
that because you know, we're talking about you know, true,
true academic professionals here, so I expect them to be
there early. But if they're you know, three, two or
three minutes early, I'll cut them a break. But hopefully,
hopefully never, never late be on the threshold.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
Henry, we appreciate you joining us. Congratulations Principal Heinosky and
Super Bowl forty six champion. Thanks for joining us. From
Popper's Perspective, Thanks Bob, always a pleasure. Popper's Perspective brought
to you by Bob's Discount Furniture, the official furniture store
and mattress partner of the New York Football Giants.
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