On the latest episode of Rams Iconic, D’Marco Farr is joined by former linebacker and Rams Legend James Laurinaitis to discuss his career in Horns, facing adversity, and how his love for the game has led him back to the field as a coach for Ohio State.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to Rams Iconic, presented by eighteen hundred Tequila, the
best taste in tequila. Please drink responsibly. I am your host,
DeMarco Farr, and this is the podcast where we catch
up with some of the greatest players in Rams franchise history.
My next guest played seven seasons with the Rams. In
those seven years, never missed the start, never missed a game,
one hundred and twelve straight starts, eight hundred and fifty
(00:29):
two combined tackles. That's the most enfranchise history. Was also
a three time All American, a two time Defensive Player
of the Year at Ohio State. Please welcome the Rams Iconic.
Former Rams linebacker James Lorinidis. What's up, big dog?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I'm so excited, bro Old double Nichols back in the house.
What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How about that? How about that?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It's like hearing your voice is like a It's like
a flashback, you know what I mean? Yeahs old times
because the best part is not only you know, for
the games, but also I.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Used to listen to you on the fast lane.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Yeah, so you know you'd hear obviously what was that
one on one one used to listen to you? I
used to listen to you all the time, which is
ironic because a lot of times it was like, you know,
there was some l's in there, you know, But it
was easier to listen to you all in the off season.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
You know what.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
That's funny.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I told you everybody behind the scenes has a Lornia
story and they're all positive. But the one question. You
won so much at Ohio State, I think you only
lost eight games, and then you come to the NFL,
come to the Rams, and.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
It's it's hard to it's hard to get a win.
It's hard to get a victory.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Yeah, was that two and fourteen? The first year one
to fifteen? One to fifteen year one, we draft Sam.
We have the year that really felt like we were
we were on the rise. I believe played Seattle right
in twenty ten. The last week of the season.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Winner goes yeah winter, Yeah, winner goes to the Yeah.
So the whole deal.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
And then lockout happens and new coordinator right on offense
and you're man that year three was a scramble, but yeah,
it was.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
You know when you love the game of football, though,
do far you know this? Like, what's your ask these
kids all the time? Like if your why for playing
the game is everyone has a different why, but if
it's not rooted, and just like the love of playing
the game or the love of competition, you know, like
I remember see Long, like Chris Long just love to compete.
(02:25):
I'm not sure, like the everyday grind of it was
his favorite, but when it came to Sunday and it
was Orville's practice, like me versus you, Like, that's what
he relished. And so in those moments, like if you
love that, you'll get through the bad times because you
just love playing and you realize how grateful you are
to play. But if you just love surface level stuff
and you're eliminated from the playoffs and what is it November? Yeah,
(02:48):
or you know, gosh, you're making postseason plans already. That's
that's a bad deal.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
You know what I look being up in the booth
and watching you guys, Chris Long, Stephen Jackson, all you guys. Ohay,
you guys putting it on the line even after you've
been eliminated. That told me a lot about your love
of the game and who you are. And I said
this to these guys, I wish guys like you, Stephen
Chris had a chance to experience this era with McVeigh,
(03:16):
the success because you guys went through so much trying
to get it done.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
And that's why I was so happy for you know,
you mentioned Chris specifically being able to leave and then
have success, you know, with with New England and also
with Philadelphia, you know, being able to win Super Bowls,
because you're right, the grind was a lot, and but
really we had such a fun room, Like you remember
those teams we had, and we had such a fun
(03:41):
locker room when it came to the defense, especially you
talk about some of those years with I mean, Eugene Simms,
William Hayes, Robert Quinn A d was young, Michael Brockers
was young, Chris long Ogle Tree, I mean, you name it,
Rodne McCleod, who's still going. I mean, it's we had
a fun, young team, and you just wish that we
(04:03):
got to enjoy as much fun on the field as
we did in the locker room and really around each other.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But ye had to.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
There's some some great memories though, regardless of the record,
there's some great memories.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It's funny. How did you like the TV side because
you're coaching. Now you went from the field, you did
some TV radio media stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
How'd you like that?
Speaker 4 (04:26):
You know, I enjoyed it. I was I was fortunate
because I had a really good team that I worked with.
I enjoyed my time at the Big Ten Network. There's obviously,
as you know, there's differences to games and studio, and
you know, studio, you know, you're you're giving little nuggets
about everything happening. You know, games you got to be
(04:46):
much more in depth, and you have to be able
to respect the teams that you're calling. Uh, you know,
when you're up at the NFL level and doing those
level games, which I never did a TV game with
the NFL, but I did some Westwood one radio, and
you know, you're provided such great information by the clubs.
The college teams don't have to be that outgoing a
(05:07):
lot of their information, you know. You know, there's there's
times where you'll find some teams don't even list their
whole coaching staff or support staff online because.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
They don't have to. And you're like you're trying to
figure out who, well, who's new there and who does that?
Speaker 4 (05:19):
You know, it's it's it's kind of a baffling to
be honest, But I enjoyed it. I like the challenge
of the games because you had to study. It got
you back in the in the film kind of routine.
The ironic thing is is that you know, when you're TV,
you're traveling with your team, you know, your little squad
every weekend. But I just found that the weekends in
(05:42):
the fall are the best time to share it with
with those that you love, right, And I was always
away from my family.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
And my family would always be back.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
And although I busier hours, like my family's a part
of the team. So it's like home games. You know,
you got your wife and girls on the sideline and
you're celebrating after the gall that stuff. It's a family feel.
That's what teams are. And so when you're in the media,
I never really just had that that deep feeling, although
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
See the reason I brought that up because we the
Rams had Bobby Wagner last year, and you know, getting
to watch him up close and watch him what he does.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
He was a treat to watch that guy go to work.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But we start having conversations about the greatest linebackers that
we've ever seen, or in horns that played for the Rams,
And I'm like, how come no one ever brings up
James Lournidis. Well, you can't bring you can't compare the two.
I said, what do you mean you can't compare the two?
Look at their first seven seasons. I think you had
what sixteen sacks in your career about about ten picks.
(06:39):
I think you led the league in tackles. He did
it twice. I'm like, why can't you compare the two?
So actually he does. He reminds me of a James
Lurnidis the way he goes about his business, but nobody
wants to hear that, you know what I mean. It
drives me nuts that way.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
But I don't I don't really concern myself with all that.
I thought it was awesome to see b wags and
some horn and obviously respected his game from Afar for
a lot of years, and he obviously had a really
good season last year and decided to go back to Seattle.
But I don't know, man, I think a lot of
times too, is that when you don't win football games,
(07:16):
you know what I mean, that all goes into it
because in reality, it's no different than you know, when
you're doing TV or you're in media and you're going
and when you're watching, like when you're working for the
Big Ten Network, you'll get an Ohio State game, You'll
get a Penn State game in conference. That's part of
the contract. So you know, most of those games it's
(07:39):
Ohio State versus the teams are at the bottom of
the conference, so it can be Ohio State Rutgers. From
time to time, it can be Ohio State whoever's having
a bad season, right because Fox isn't putting that on
Big New Kickoff.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
They want to give that to Big Ten Network, which
is owned by Fox.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
So you start to watch these teams that maybe aren't
the top and you're like, wait, a second running back
at Rutgers is really good.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
His name is Isaiah Pacheco. Like this dude could play right.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
But all of a sudden you start bringing up, like
who are the best running backs in the Big Ten.
Nobody's saying Isaiah and checkbody except coaches.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Coaches see it that play him right.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So it's the same thing, like how many guys in
the league are really good on bad football teams that
nobody talks about. Well, you know, and there's biases everywhere, right, Like,
if you live on the East coast, how many times
are you bringing up really good Pac twelve football players?
Probably not because you're not staying up till night ten
o'clock to watch Kickcock. And I've seeing him, so there's
always I mean, who knows, man, I don't.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
I just remember you debate that stuff. Dude.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Your first game, I think you had fifteen tackles and
you lost, but nobody wanted to.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I'm like, did you see him play? The guy was everywhere?
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Now, what's funny is I always remember the bad plays,
and I think a lot of athletes do. I think
you were such perfectionists that you remember the ones that
you should have got. And there was a down run
Seattle had in Seattle that was the first game, Joan,
I miss, yeah, and the guard climbed up and I'm
(09:08):
supposed to get on the outside of the guard and spill.
The fall back of the guard reached me and that
thing went shoo oh yeah, and our safety, I don't
know who was that safety, but took a bad angle
and I think you know he hit the goal post, Craig, and.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
It wasn't his fault.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
It was my fault because that thing's supposed to at
least stop his feet a little bit. I think had Nope,
it was a straight forty yard dash tackles.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
You only remember the bad plays, So look, we do
every we do on this show. It's called my favorite play.
Do you have a favorite play? Can you remember one
that stands out?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Man?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
It's one of my favorite plays. I think it was
a play action pass against Tampa Bay.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I intercepted it.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
And the reason being is that we we worked all
the time on like on play action passes and zone coverage,
linebackers have to get deeper than usual, right, a lot
of play action passes, it's max protection. There's more time
to throw the deeper route. So for just having a
rule of thought, like if your normal zone drop is
ten to twelve yards, and I always tell people like
(10:13):
your your depthy your zone always factors on so much.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
What is it three step? Is it a quick game?
Is it a five step?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Like?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
What's the what's the quarterbacks? Depth?
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Was a play action so anyway, it's a play action pass.
So I had to get depth and we worked it.
We worked and we worked at and there was just
a deep comeback like an eighteen yard comeback and I
turned and I ran right to the spot and I
turned around right and phase and jumped and caught it.
I believe it was Josh Freeman who threw it to.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Me Tampa Bay.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Yes, yes, so I.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Remember just getting it and jumping up and celebrating with
Courtland Finnigan and and yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Just uh, I remember there's that play. There's a play against.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
The Commanders, you know, and Washington, and I think it
was Rex Grossman that I intercepted. It was the same
thing they got me on a fake week lead kind
of deep comeback.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
In the first half, I was still playing run. I
mean I was.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
I was all over it, like, oh it was a run.
I was no, I had no depth. And then it
came back to it and I got it in the
second half. So those are the plays. And then obviously,
you know you can go to the Spags era. Yeah,
there are plays that are kind of to be honest
with you, where you don't make the play that are
some of my favorite. For instance, you manipulate the slide
of an offensive line like so in Spag system there
(11:29):
was a lot of and even greg different blitzes, different styles,
but a lot of the mic did or the linebackers
in general. It's who's showing what to get the slide
to go a certain way so that the overload.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Gets home right.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
And there's sometimes where you go and you show something
and all of a sudden, you show and you hear
that center go hey, rip rip rip rip fifty Five's mike,
and all of a sudden, you're like, yes because I
know that the other guys.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Are free and a boom shack, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Yeah, And like you're fist pumping because you're pumped for
your boys, but you're also pumped because you know you all,
you know, you did what you practiced so hard to do.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Wow. See, this is why I think you're You're home man.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
I mean you with a video board and and a
chalkboard behind you, you're back in a linebacker room.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I know your family is your happy place, but this
is your world man, this is where you live, This
is where you need to be.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
It is it feels it feels right, It definitely feels right.
It feels great obviously to be back home. Uh in
Columbus at Ohio State. Uh, thankful for sure of It's funny.
You know you hear you hear schools all the time
talk about, oh, it's the brotherhood, right, it's the brotherhood.
A lot of people say it, but I'd be you know,
(12:41):
I'd be hard pressed to find another school that actually
lives it out more than Ohio State. And what I
mean by that is, you know, you make certain phone
calls trying to get into coaching, and when you're a
former player, sometimes if you don't do it right when
you're done, I think sometimes people assume that you're not
serious because you don't you don't know the grind.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And what's ironic is that, yeah, we do.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Because if you really are a guy who studied the
game as a player, you grind.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, like you grind, and then you go do it
on the field.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
You don't know what moving on? You move into that
next level.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Yeah, yeah, you work in the next level. And then
people think, well, I don't know if you really want
to do it and this that and whatever, and so
there have been other times I tried, try, I tried,
and you didn't get a chance and then mentioned the
brotherhood like it took Marcus Freeman, who I played all
four years with at Ohio State. You know, we're in
each other's weddings and you're you're really close with a
(13:30):
dear friend, be like, hey man, can you give me
a chance to at least, you know, try this coaching
thing out. And he's like one hundred percent. So I
was blessed to spend a year at Notre Dame with
him well obviously a dear friend.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
And then the opportunity came to come back home to
your alma mater, and you know, you got to take it.
It's good to have the girls and the family back
in Columbus.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
To your point, I mean, you have to be a
solid guy to make that phone call. And then somebody
says absolutely on hundred percent, because I'm sure they get
phone calls from other guys.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
They're like, hell no.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
That's the hard thing. Like you understand why the coaching
profession is. It's there is a lot of like, who
do you know? It's it's a relationship thing. But it's
also hard because if you have a really good relationship
with somebody doesn't mean you necessarily think they're a good
football coach or could be. So I mean there's I'm
(14:23):
sure there has been, and I've witnessed it with my
own eyes people that you can tell are really good friends,
that's great. But when it comes on the line of like, hey,
are you going to stick your job out for this?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Like, there's a I think there's a fine line like
who could I trust right in this business?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
That's nuts?
Speaker 4 (14:40):
But then also like I trust you, but do I
trust you enough?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I trust you to have my back? But do I
trust you enough to also coach and make the most
you know what I mean? That's real, that's real.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
I think for any job, right, Like if you are
a guy who makes decisions at a job and you
have a friend who wants a job underneath you, like
you might be like, yeah, I trust you with my
with my family, with you got my back, but do
I trust you enough to have eh?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Am I going out?
Speaker 4 (15:08):
There's a layer of like sure, I think a lot
of times, and all that means is like you gotta
be good at what you do too. I'm grateful. I'm grateful.
I think the thing was Marcus knew my study habits
as a player from playing together all four years, and
so he knew he knew that I would how hard
I would work at it, and so I'm grateful.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Still, well, one hundred and twelve straight starts, and I
can't remember a single defensive timeout you called when you
guys were confused. Now you had to call time out
the same time trying to win the football game, what
have you. But it's never been a situation where the
defense wasn't lined up correctly. So that carries over and
something else. This is how we connected. Jim Hannifan, remember
God blessed Jim Hannathan. He was telling a story about
(15:51):
our Super Bowl year, the previous years, and how Vermil
was telling the coaching staff he was going to stick
with Tony Banks, so you know, Handy being handy.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
He was the next to speak.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
He got up and starts and he starts to tell
the coaches, what we need to do now is get
a jump on selling our houses and call you haul
now because we're all gonna get fired.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Right.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
So he's telling us about how bad we were gonna
be in ninety seven ninety This is pre Super Bowl.
I had no idea we were bad in ninety seven
ninety eight. We were close. I think you felt the
same way. I don't think you saw yourself as one
in fifteen, two and fourteen, you were a field goal
about seven point short of being eight and eight on
a one in fifteen year. You know what I'm saying,
(16:30):
I don't think you knew you were a bad football team,
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
No, that's right.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
And I think a lot of times too, athletes, well,
we convince ourselves no matter what the spread is, no
matter what any of that, like, we're gonna win. Like
you have a game plan, and when you look at
a game plan, you're like, oh, yeah, we can win this,
and you're right. That rookie year, you felt like you
were so close and so many and there have been
numerous times throughout my whole time there in Saint Louis
(16:56):
that you really felt, gosh, man, and if if we
could just get this piece or this player is able
to stay healthy or all the time. And I really
never felt like it was like false motivation either.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I felt like it was real.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
And I mean, I'm sure there'll be some fans who
are will call me delusional for thinking that, and there'll
be some fans who are like, you know, you're absolutely right.
But I always felt we were right there because you know,
some of it, you know, it's just we had some
bad luck and then you just didn't extecute, and we
had some timing too, like the division. Remember how bad
the division was early on in those years, and then
(17:34):
all of a sudden it ramped up, and next thing
you know, you got Russell Wilson and Kaepernick and that
whole deal.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And I tell people all the.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Time, man, when you used to go up against the
forty nine ers and they had you know, Gore and
Vernon Davis and de Lady Walker, like that was a problem,
Like how are you going to match that? Is this
twelve personnel or is this a ten personnel? Because those
two casts can fly? Yeah, you want to spread them out.
Next thing you know, you got safeties on them. They
can't run with them like what he wants to do
alone linebackers.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
So right, wow, that's just crazy.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Man.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Look, your dad was my hero. Did he ever tell
you like that DeMarco is a mark? Because every time
I saw your father, I would geek out. And you
know what, I don't care because he's an icon to me.
So you know, did he ever tell you I was
like a pain in the ass.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
No, he did it.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
My dad. My dad always enjoyed those moments. He enjoyed,
He always enjoyed meeting fans. He loved talking wrestling, he
loved talking about the biz. Honestly, it's one of the
I think that's especially if you caught him in the
right time, if he had done it for like four
hours straight and then you came up to him. You know,
(18:43):
his patients would wear a thin but if you were
like one of the few people that saw him, especially
as he aged, he liked the relive. He liked the
relive the glory days.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Oh my god, I just marked out. I really did.
And the last thing I wanted to do was piss
off animal.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Really, so I.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Tried my childhood and that was a lot of childhood.
Last thing I want to do is piss off dad.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
There's no doubt.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Thanks for coming on. Look, I can't wait to catch
up with you again. We will stay in touch. You're
one of my favorites. Double Nickel in the House eight
hundred and fifty two tackles franchise leader James Lornidis Man.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Thank you, yeah, thank you. Bro.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
That's a wrap on this episode of RAMS Iconic presented
by eighteen hundreds Tequila, the best taste in tequila.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Please drink responsibly.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I hope you enjoyed our conversation with legendary James Lorinidis.
I'm DeMarco Farr. We'll see you next time.
Welcome to Rams Iconic, presented by eighteen hundred Tequila, the
best taste in tequila. Please drink responsibly. I am your host,
DeMarco Farr, and this is the podcast where we catch
up with some of the greatest players in Rams franchise history.
My next guest played seven seasons with the Rams. In
those seven years, never missed the start, never missed a game,
one hundred and twelve straight starts, eight hundred and fifty
(00:29):
two combined tackles. That's the most enfranchise history. Was also
a three time All American, a two time Defensive Player
of the Year at Ohio State. Please welcome the Rams Iconic.
Former Rams linebacker James Lorinidis. What's up, big dog?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
What's up?
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I'm so excited, bro Old double Nichols back in the house.
What's up?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How about that? How about that?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
It's like hearing your voice is like a It's like
a flashback, you know what I mean? Yeahs old times
because the best part is not only you know, for
the games, but also I.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Used to listen to you on the fast lane.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Yeah, so you know you'd hear obviously what was that
one on one one used to listen to you? I
used to listen to you all the time, which is
ironic because a lot of times it was like, you know,
there was some l's in there, you know, But it
was easier to listen to you all in the off season.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
You know what.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
That's funny.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I told you everybody behind the scenes has a Lornia
story and they're all positive. But the one question. You
won so much at Ohio State, I think you only
lost eight games, and then you come to the NFL,
come to the Rams, and.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
It's it's hard to it's hard to get a win.
It's hard to get a victory.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Yeah, was that two and fourteen? The first year one
to fifteen? One to fifteen year one, we draft Sam.
We have the year that really felt like we were
we were on the rise. I believe played Seattle right
in twenty ten. The last week of the season.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Winner goes yeah winter, Yeah, winner goes to the Yeah.
So the whole deal.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
And then lockout happens and new coordinator right on offense
and you're man that year three was a scramble, but yeah,
it was.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
You know when you love the game of football, though,
do far you know this? Like, what's your ask these
kids all the time? Like if your why for playing
the game is everyone has a different why, but if
it's not rooted, and just like the love of playing
the game or the love of competition, you know, like
I remember see Long, like Chris Long just love to compete.
(02:25):
I'm not sure, like the everyday grind of it was
his favorite, but when it came to Sunday and it
was Orville's practice, like me versus you, Like, that's what
he relished. And so in those moments, like if you
love that, you'll get through the bad times because you
just love playing and you realize how grateful you are
to play. But if you just love surface level stuff
and you're eliminated from the playoffs and what is it November? Yeah,
(02:48):
or you know, gosh, you're making postseason plans already. That's
that's a bad deal.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
You know what I look being up in the booth
and watching you guys, Chris Long, Stephen Jackson, all you guys. Ohay,
you guys putting it on the line even after you've
been eliminated. That told me a lot about your love
of the game and who you are. And I said
this to these guys, I wish guys like you, Stephen
Chris had a chance to experience this era with McVeigh,
(03:16):
the success because you guys went through so much trying
to get it done.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
And that's why I was so happy for you know,
you mentioned Chris specifically being able to leave and then
have success, you know, with with New England and also
with Philadelphia, you know, being able to win Super Bowls,
because you're right, the grind was a lot, and but
really we had such a fun room, Like you remember
those teams we had, and we had such a fun
(03:41):
locker room when it came to the defense, especially you
talk about some of those years with I mean, Eugene Simms,
William Hayes, Robert Quinn A d was young, Michael Brockers
was young, Chris long Ogle Tree, I mean, you name it,
Rodne McCleod, who's still going. I mean, it's we had
a fun, young team, and you just wish that we
(04:03):
got to enjoy as much fun on the field as
we did in the locker room and really around each other.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
But ye had to.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
There's some some great memories though, regardless of the record,
there's some great memories.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It's funny. How did you like the TV side because
you're coaching. Now you went from the field, you did
some TV radio media stuff.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
How'd you like that?
Speaker 4 (04:26):
You know, I enjoyed it. I was I was fortunate
because I had a really good team that I worked with.
I enjoyed my time at the Big Ten Network. There's obviously,
as you know, there's differences to games and studio, and
you know, studio, you know, you're you're giving little nuggets
about everything happening. You know, games you got to be
(04:46):
much more in depth, and you have to be able
to respect the teams that you're calling. Uh, you know,
when you're up at the NFL level and doing those
level games, which I never did a TV game with
the NFL, but I did some Westwood one radio, and
you know, you're provided such great information by the clubs.
The college teams don't have to be that outgoing a
(05:07):
lot of their information, you know. You know, there's there's
times where you'll find some teams don't even list their
whole coaching staff or support staff online because.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
They don't have to. And you're like you're trying to
figure out who, well, who's new there and who does that?
Speaker 4 (05:19):
You know, it's it's it's kind of a baffling to
be honest, But I enjoyed it. I like the challenge
of the games because you had to study. It got
you back in the in the film kind of routine.
The ironic thing is is that you know, when you're TV,
you're traveling with your team, you know, your little squad
every weekend. But I just found that the weekends in
(05:42):
the fall are the best time to share it with
with those that you love, right, And I was always
away from my family.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
And my family would always be back.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
And although I busier hours, like my family's a part
of the team. So it's like home games. You know,
you got your wife and girls on the sideline and
you're celebrating after the gall that stuff. It's a family feel.
That's what teams are. And so when you're in the media,
I never really just had that that deep feeling, although
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
See the reason I brought that up because we the
Rams had Bobby Wagner last year, and you know, getting
to watch him up close and watch him what he does.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
He was a treat to watch that guy go to work.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But we start having conversations about the greatest linebackers that
we've ever seen, or in horns that played for the Rams,
And I'm like, how come no one ever brings up
James Lournidis. Well, you can't bring you can't compare the two.
I said, what do you mean you can't compare the two?
Look at their first seven seasons. I think you had
what sixteen sacks in your career about about ten picks.
(06:39):
I think you led the league in tackles. He did
it twice. I'm like, why can't you compare the two?
So actually he does. He reminds me of a James
Lurnidis the way he goes about his business, but nobody
wants to hear that, you know what I mean. It
drives me nuts that way.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
But I don't I don't really concern myself with all that.
I thought it was awesome to see b wags and
some horn and obviously respected his game from Afar for
a lot of years, and he obviously had a really
good season last year and decided to go back to Seattle.
But I don't know, man, I think a lot of
times too, is that when you don't win football games,
(07:16):
you know what I mean, that all goes into it
because in reality, it's no different than you know, when
you're doing TV or you're in media and you're going
and when you're watching, like when you're working for the
Big Ten Network, you'll get an Ohio State game, You'll
get a Penn State game in conference. That's part of
the contract. So you know, most of those games it's
(07:39):
Ohio State versus the teams are at the bottom of
the conference, so it can be Ohio State Rutgers. From
time to time, it can be Ohio State whoever's having
a bad season, right because Fox isn't putting that on
Big New Kickoff.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
They want to give that to Big Ten Network, which
is owned by Fox.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
So you start to watch these teams that maybe aren't
the top and you're like, wait, a second running back
at Rutgers is really good.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
His name is Isaiah Pacheco. Like this dude could play right.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
But all of a sudden you start bringing up, like
who are the best running backs in the Big Ten.
Nobody's saying Isaiah and checkbody except coaches.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Coaches see it that play him right.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
So it's the same thing, like how many guys in
the league are really good on bad football teams that
nobody talks about. Well, you know, and there's biases everywhere, right, Like,
if you live on the East coast, how many times
are you bringing up really good Pac twelve football players?
Probably not because you're not staying up till night ten
o'clock to watch Kickcock. And I've seeing him, so there's
always I mean, who knows, man, I don't.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
I just remember you debate that stuff. Dude.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Your first game, I think you had fifteen tackles and
you lost, but nobody wanted to.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
I'm like, did you see him play? The guy was everywhere?
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (08:46):
Now, what's funny is I always remember the bad plays,
and I think a lot of athletes do. I think
you were such perfectionists that you remember the ones that
you should have got. And there was a down run
Seattle had in Seattle that was the first game, Joan,
I miss, yeah, and the guard climbed up and I'm
(09:08):
supposed to get on the outside of the guard and spill.
The fall back of the guard reached me and that
thing went shoo oh yeah, and our safety, I don't
know who was that safety, but took a bad angle
and I think you know he hit the goal post, Craig, and.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
It wasn't his fault.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
It was my fault because that thing's supposed to at
least stop his feet a little bit. I think had Nope,
it was a straight forty yard dash tackles.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
You only remember the bad plays, So look, we do
every we do on this show. It's called my favorite play.
Do you have a favorite play? Can you remember one
that stands out?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Man?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
It's one of my favorite plays. I think it was
a play action pass against Tampa Bay.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I intercepted it.
Speaker 4 (09:51):
And the reason being is that we we worked all
the time on like on play action passes and zone coverage,
linebackers have to get deeper than usual, right, a lot
of play action passes, it's max protection. There's more time
to throw the deeper route. So for just having a
rule of thought, like if your normal zone drop is
ten to twelve yards, and I always tell people like
(10:13):
your your depthy your zone always factors on so much.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
What is it three step? Is it a quick game?
Is it a five step?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Like?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
What's the what's the quarterbacks? Depth?
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Was a play action so anyway, it's a play action pass.
So I had to get depth and we worked it.
We worked and we worked at and there was just
a deep comeback like an eighteen yard comeback and I
turned and I ran right to the spot and I
turned around right and phase and jumped and caught it.
I believe it was Josh Freeman who threw it to.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Me Tampa Bay.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Yes, yes, so I.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Remember just getting it and jumping up and celebrating with
Courtland Finnigan and and yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Just uh, I remember there's that play. There's a play against.
Speaker 4 (10:55):
The Commanders, you know, and Washington, and I think it
was Rex Grossman that I intercepted. It was the same
thing they got me on a fake week lead kind
of deep comeback.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
In the first half, I was still playing run. I
mean I was.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
I was all over it, like, oh it was a run.
I was no, I had no depth. And then it
came back to it and I got it in the
second half. So those are the plays. And then obviously,
you know you can go to the Spags era. Yeah,
there are plays that are kind of to be honest
with you, where you don't make the play that are
some of my favorite. For instance, you manipulate the slide
of an offensive line like so in Spag system there
(11:29):
was a lot of and even greg different blitzes, different styles,
but a lot of the mic did or the linebackers
in general. It's who's showing what to get the slide
to go a certain way so that the overload.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
Gets home right.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
And there's sometimes where you go and you show something
and all of a sudden, you show and you hear
that center go hey, rip rip rip rip fifty Five's mike,
and all of a sudden, you're like, yes because I
know that the other guys.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Are free and a boom shack, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Yeah, And like you're fist pumping because you're pumped for
your boys, but you're also pumped because you know you all,
you know, you did what you practiced so hard to do.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
Wow. See, this is why I think you're You're home man.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
I mean you with a video board and and a
chalkboard behind you, you're back in a linebacker room.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I know your family is your happy place, but this
is your world man, this is where you live, This
is where you need to be.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
It is it feels it feels right, It definitely feels right.
It feels great obviously to be back home. Uh in
Columbus at Ohio State. Uh, thankful for sure of It's funny.
You know you hear you hear schools all the time
talk about, oh, it's the brotherhood, right, it's the brotherhood.
A lot of people say it, but I'd be you know,
(12:41):
I'd be hard pressed to find another school that actually
lives it out more than Ohio State. And what I
mean by that is, you know, you make certain phone
calls trying to get into coaching, and when you're a
former player, sometimes if you don't do it right when
you're done, I think sometimes people assume that you're not
serious because you don't you don't know the grind.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And what's ironic is that, yeah, we do.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
Because if you really are a guy who studied the
game as a player, you grind.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, like you grind, and then you go do it
on the field.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
You don't know what moving on? You move into that
next level.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Yeah, yeah, you work in the next level. And then
people think, well, I don't know if you really want
to do it and this that and whatever, and so
there have been other times I tried, try, I tried,
and you didn't get a chance and then mentioned the
brotherhood like it took Marcus Freeman, who I played all
four years with at Ohio State. You know, we're in
each other's weddings and you're you're really close with a
(13:30):
dear friend, be like, hey man, can you give me
a chance to at least, you know, try this coaching
thing out. And he's like one hundred percent. So I
was blessed to spend a year at Notre Dame with
him well obviously a dear friend.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
And then the opportunity came to come back home to
your alma mater, and you know, you got to take it.
It's good to have the girls and the family back
in Columbus.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
To your point, I mean, you have to be a
solid guy to make that phone call. And then somebody
says absolutely on hundred percent, because I'm sure they get
phone calls from other guys.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
They're like, hell no.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
That's the hard thing. Like you understand why the coaching
profession is. It's there is a lot of like, who
do you know? It's it's a relationship thing. But it's
also hard because if you have a really good relationship
with somebody doesn't mean you necessarily think they're a good
football coach or could be. So I mean there's I'm
(14:23):
sure there has been, and I've witnessed it with my
own eyes people that you can tell are really good friends,
that's great. But when it comes on the line of like, hey,
are you going to stick your job out for this?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Like, there's a I think there's a fine line like
who could I trust right in this business?
Speaker 2 (14:39):
That's nuts?
Speaker 4 (14:40):
But then also like I trust you, but do I
trust you enough?
Speaker 2 (14:44):
I trust you to have my back? But do I
trust you enough to also coach and make the most
you know what I mean? That's real, that's real.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
I think for any job, right, Like if you are
a guy who makes decisions at a job and you
have a friend who wants a job underneath you, like
you might be like, yeah, I trust you with my
with my family, with you got my back, but do
I trust you enough to have eh?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Am I going out?
Speaker 4 (15:08):
There's a layer of like sure, I think a lot
of times, and all that means is like you gotta
be good at what you do too. I'm grateful. I'm grateful.
I think the thing was Marcus knew my study habits
as a player from playing together all four years, and
so he knew he knew that I would how hard
I would work at it, and so I'm grateful.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Still, well, one hundred and twelve straight starts, and I
can't remember a single defensive timeout you called when you
guys were confused. Now you had to call time out
the same time trying to win the football game, what
have you. But it's never been a situation where the
defense wasn't lined up correctly. So that carries over and
something else. This is how we connected. Jim Hannifan, remember
God blessed Jim Hannathan. He was telling a story about
(15:51):
our Super Bowl year, the previous years, and how Vermil
was telling the coaching staff he was going to stick
with Tony Banks, so you know, Handy being handy.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
He was the next to speak.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
He got up and starts and he starts to tell
the coaches, what we need to do now is get
a jump on selling our houses and call you haul
now because we're all gonna get fired.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Right.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
So he's telling us about how bad we were gonna
be in ninety seven ninety This is pre Super Bowl.
I had no idea we were bad in ninety seven
ninety eight. We were close. I think you felt the
same way. I don't think you saw yourself as one
in fifteen, two and fourteen, you were a field goal
about seven point short of being eight and eight on
a one in fifteen year. You know what I'm saying,
(16:30):
I don't think you knew you were a bad football team,
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (16:33):
No, that's right.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
And I think a lot of times too, athletes, well,
we convince ourselves no matter what the spread is, no
matter what any of that, like, we're gonna win. Like
you have a game plan, and when you look at
a game plan, you're like, oh, yeah, we can win this,
and you're right. That rookie year, you felt like you
were so close and so many and there have been
numerous times throughout my whole time there in Saint Louis
(16:56):
that you really felt, gosh, man, and if if we
could just get this piece or this player is able
to stay healthy or all the time. And I really
never felt like it was like false motivation either.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I felt like it was real.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
And I mean, I'm sure there'll be some fans who
are will call me delusional for thinking that, and there'll
be some fans who are like, you know, you're absolutely right.
But I always felt we were right there because you know,
some of it, you know, it's just we had some
bad luck and then you just didn't extecute, and we
had some timing too, like the division. Remember how bad
the division was early on in those years, and then
(17:34):
all of a sudden it ramped up, and next thing
you know, you got Russell Wilson and Kaepernick and that
whole deal.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
And I tell people all the.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Time, man, when you used to go up against the
forty nine ers and they had you know, Gore and
Vernon Davis and de Lady Walker, like that was a problem,
Like how are you going to match that? Is this
twelve personnel or is this a ten personnel? Because those
two casts can fly? Yeah, you want to spread them out.
Next thing you know, you got safeties on them. They
can't run with them like what he wants to do
alone linebackers.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
So right, wow, that's just crazy.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Man.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Look, your dad was my hero. Did he ever tell
you like that DeMarco is a mark? Because every time
I saw your father, I would geek out. And you
know what, I don't care because he's an icon to me.
So you know, did he ever tell you I was
like a pain in the ass.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
No, he did it.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
My dad. My dad always enjoyed those moments. He enjoyed,
He always enjoyed meeting fans. He loved talking wrestling, he
loved talking about the biz. Honestly, it's one of the
I think that's especially if you caught him in the
right time, if he had done it for like four
hours straight and then you came up to him. You know,
(18:43):
his patients would wear a thin but if you were
like one of the few people that saw him, especially
as he aged, he liked the relive. He liked the
relive the glory days.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Oh my god, I just marked out. I really did.
And the last thing I wanted to do was piss
off animal.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Really, so I.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Tried my childhood and that was a lot of childhood.
Last thing I want to do is piss off dad.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
There's no doubt.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Man.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Thanks for coming on. Look, I can't wait to catch
up with you again. We will stay in touch. You're
one of my favorites. Double Nickel in the House eight
hundred and fifty two tackles franchise leader James Lornidis Man.
Speaker 2 (19:15):
Thank you, yeah, thank you. Bro.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
That's a wrap on this episode of RAMS Iconic presented
by eighteen hundreds Tequila, the best taste in tequila.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Please drink responsibly.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
I hope you enjoyed our conversation with legendary James Lorinidis.
I'm DeMarco Farr. We'll see you next time.
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