Interview with Mike Drury

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
February 18th, we're back. We're gonna try this again. Special interview episode. Chiefs

(00:11):
Rain Supreme. Yanks are getting ready, loading up. In the studio, Angry J, the commish, the
Donfather looking nice, pomaded up. Lottie, studio owner. We planned this episode weeks in advance
as soon as we heard of a change in the high school football scenery. Speaking of planning,

(00:37):
I mentioned Joe Morello, special sponsor with Capital Securities, his motto and ours,
there's a life well planned. Skygaze are brewing, Brian's long, whatever. Audrey Tice hits a
thousand. Congrats, Audrey. Eastern Connecticut, State University Warriors. Gonna see Angry J on

(01:01):
the daily up there. All right, football show. We got a special guest, the commish getting to work.
Commish is one of these parents is always talking to the head coach, you know, see if we can get
more playing time. Yeah, at half time, Mike, it's a good time to talk to you. My kids playing
time. Bristol's one word to that coach ever. I don't know. He got him here in the studio,

(01:23):
but I'm trying to get him to come back here. It wasn't easy either. All right, in the house,
Bristol's own and Selington High School football coach, Mike Trueery. Mike, why'd you hang it up?
The people in the Blue Knight supporters got to be in tears over this. Just in time for my
kids senior year too, which I think is great. We're probably gonna run it a lot next year,

(01:50):
right? I think we're gonna have to, yeah. Mike, better run the ball. Why'd you make the decision?
You know, it was a tough decision, kind of a multi-year decision, something I've been thinking
about, you know, since I've had two boys, six and three year old, Georgia Murphy, and I, you know,
I made the decision, this past off season, I said, you know, this is gonna be the last year. I
told my wife that it's the only person, other person I told, and she didn't believe me. She

(02:14):
said, I believe you when I see it. I believe when I see it. She didn't tell any coaching staff?
I didn't tell any of the coaches. I told nobody. Not your dad? I told, yeah, nobody. I kept it
tight. So I didn't want it to get out. I didn't want anybody, you know, I never wanted that. It's
never about me. It's always about the program, the kids. And so, you know, when I finally decided,
you know, it was after a real tough loss of Staples, I called my defense coordinators now,

(02:38):
the head coach, Rob Lavec, and I told them, and he was in shock, you know, and I kind of slowly
told a couple of coaches before I told all the kids on that Wednesday. So, you know, it was just
more of a family thing. I wanted to be around and be involved in my kids a little bit more at this
stage of their life. I've been doing it for 13 years, been a second for 14 since 2010. So, you

(03:01):
know, I had a lot of success and I just, you know, I thought it would be just ready to make it just a
little different path right now. I know I'm still young, I'm 40, 41. So, you know, if I do, I'm sure
I'll be back at the head somewhere.
You look like you know you're going to be back. Just we'll see where, right?
Yeah, I definitely want to be back. I mean, I love football. I love coaching. I love the kids.

(03:22):
You know where Maltby Street is? Anyway, we need to sling it around over there. Come on.
They will. Don't look at me. We want to talk a ton about something. High school football,
obviously, but talk about your upbringing a little bit. Jury name is iconic name in Bristol. Your
dad, the patriarch of your family, your brothers played sports locally. Obviously, you did sports

(03:48):
town, sports family. Talk a little bit about that if you can. Yeah, I mean, you know, I've been around
sports my whole life. You know, when I was young, my dad, like, you know, he was obviously the head
coach at Pomp

(04:25):
Street. I just been around a lot. Then my brothers and sisters were all they're older. You know, my
brother Chuck is 12 years old. They're Matt's 10 and my sister's four years older, who's also a great
athlete, great volleyball player. So it's a great town. I mean, rich in tradition in sports. And
during my time, the youth sports were excellent. We always had great coaches, guys who were committed,

(04:45):
involved. The athletes stayed in town, played here, which was which was fun. And that's why I
stayed here. I mean, I live on the street I grew up on. So I didn't go far. I'm right up here,
right up a Royal Drive here like any golf course. Yeah. So Bristol through a little more elevated
than than we are Bobby Mac. He's up on the top of the hill. I was up on Nelson's farm for years to

(05:08):
at one point. So the rest of us. Yeah, yeah. So where'd you go to college, Mike? And with the
Merris College. Okay, the red, what are they called? And you played? Yep. Biggest alum. Are you
serious? Who's the biggest? No, no. We're gonna throw a trivia here. Yeah. 41. So like the basketball

(05:34):
kid from West Harford is here on your range. Jared Jordan was up there with me. Holy cow. Is he good?
He was a great player. I knew him well. And he walks past you and you're like, how is that the
kid that's lighting it up? Yeah, great. Yeah, try out for the next. I thought it was a baseball
player to from Connecticut. Chris Tras, who's now the who's now the head coach army. Okay, so
he got out of here. Yeah, he was from Trumbull. Patrick Winiger just committed to Merris for

(05:59):
for running. Oh, yeah. Red Fox. From something that Merris right now. I know I got two kids up
there right now. I've sent several kids to play up there. So yeah, it's a who's that facility like
um, very good now. When I was there, it was up and coming, I'd say, you know, so they've done a
ton of work there. It's beautiful right in the Hudson River. Great, great school. So in high

(06:22):
school, you know, you're a two way guy like most of the good ones are, you get to college that that
notion is about the window, right? Like, yeah, it's one way. So would you play? I play I was a
middle linebacker. So I started there for four years. Was that would have been your choice? I mean,
oh, yeah, would you rather play to offense? I mean, I like tight end. I like catching the ball a
little bit. But you know, when I played, I played it versus central. I was tight end, but we were

(06:43):
black in the whole time for Timmy Washington. So you're the lap to Timmy. Yep. I had six touchdowns
with first five games in my senior year. And then we made a decision. We wanted to have the first
3000 yard rusher in the state. So we didn't throw the ball anymore. It was Breon on that team too.
Yeah, that's not a soft more. Chris Perini. Chris Perini graduated with Chris. He used to live

(07:05):
right next door. Yeah. And then we had his nephew on the show last week. I don't know if you've
ever heard of him. The Charter Oak. Okay, so did you bring the noise? Like, did you start? I mean,
you're a big blitzer. What do we got? What was your game? I was a pressure guy. Me, I was, I was an

(07:26):
intense player, you know, I like to play the game way it's supposed to be played. So with high
intensity, you know, listen, my favorite movie growing up about football was the program. So
it was God, let's go. I mean, that was my senior quote in high school and that everyone could
play football. We're the lucky ones. So Latimer, I mean, you know, you are a headbutt in cars,
right? You're gonna fall. Mike, Mike, such a fine line. I like to hear you say that and I'd like to

(07:51):
watch you play. And I'm thinking like, you get somebody on like a run blitz or whatever, and you
smack them up with your boys and you get up. What's the fine line between celebrating a good
play and what we're watching on television now, which is ridiculous. There should be a penalty
on every play with the taunting. It really bothers me. I mean, there's a lot of that. I mean,
it's hard because it starts at the highest level. I mean, kids see it now. It's in it. Obviously,

(08:14):
a lot more is let go at the NFL level, um, terms of celebration, things like that. And that's the
stuff you got to battle as a high school coach. You're the trickle down of all that, you know,
and people doing a dance. Yeah, we play the same problem. But you want excitement at the same time.
You don't want idiocy. You don't want to stifle excitement and energy, but you got to you got

(08:35):
to play within that fine line. You got to act like you've been there. You know, I mean, the best
teams and the best players, you know, they're not worried about all that. They're worried about
winning most first and foremost. Okay. So you go to Marist. Yeah. When does coaching teaching
enter the equation? I was actually finance major. So, um, I kind of followed my brother Matt. He was
into finance. I want to follow his footsteps. And I knew, listen, I major in football and

(08:59):
college. That's one thing, you know, I didn't take academically seriously. I should have. So,
um, at the end of, I wanted to graduate in four years. I was like, listen, I got to get this
finance degree done. But I knew going into my senior year, I wanted to teach and coach. I made
that decision. I knew I was going to go into special education. So I finished my degree and
then I went right to, right to school at St. Joe's actually for the master's program teaching. And

(09:21):
then I got involved in coaching at Cromwell High School. Actually, a brist, it was a bristled
connection that got me involved. It was, um, um, Matt, I don't know if you remember Matt Coyne
quarterback. There's a coach at Bates right now, football, his dad, Jerry Coyne, called me up. And
this is like two days before training camp was starting in high school. He said, you want to
coach football? And I said, yeah, he goes, I'll pick you up to, you know, I'll pick you up on,

(09:44):
you know, Saturday morning, we're going to go, we're going to go coach at Cromwell. So I started
that coach here my first two years. And then what were you coaching there? I coached a little bit
of everything. I coached offensive line, I coached linebackers, um, so special teams coordinator,
little receivers as well.
Cromwell daughter, the quarterbacks probably to punter, place kicker and safety, right? It was

(10:06):
yeah, it's class S football. We played good football and we played against some great high
level talent. Um, some, some, you know, I mean, this is the day and age where, you know, great
division one players were all staying in state. They were playing for the public schools. There's
a lot of great players we played against. So when did you get the job at Selington? And when did
you start teaching there? I start there. So I, it was, it was funny. I was, I was all set. I was

(10:30):
going to be at Bristol Central. Like I've been coaching track there for six years, wrestling for
six years. I was going to be teaching there that fall in 2010. They got a call from DJ Hernandez
called me up and he said, listen, I get in the head job. I want you to be my defense coordinator.
So I went over there. I was teaching at Bristol Central still and I went over there as defense
coordinator, then he left that off season and then that's, I got the job for 2011. Wow. And then I

(10:54):
moved over there for, for teaching too as well.
I'm just interested in, uh, you had mentioned the Marist and playing at Bristol Central. As far as
you kind of mentioned some of the, some of the coaches you played for. And then did you know, like
right away, like, Hey, I want to be a football coach when your curve is over, or is it just kind of
something after a couple of years, you're like, Yeah, it was, you know, to me, I was like, I was

(11:17):
going to be going to the city, working in the city, doing finance, you know, but, you know, I've
always been around great coaches. I mean, when I was in high school, we actually had three head
football coaches in my four years. So the first one was Rob Thompson, who ended up being my defense
coordinator for six years. Rob is maybe the greatest coach I've ever coached with. So you played
for him? I played for him. And then he became, and then he began. So Rob, Rob was my fresh year was

(11:40):
his last year as head coach. And then my sophomore year was guy Frank Fercucci. Oh my God, great
baseball player. Frank, Frank, I mean, Frank is still, I mean, Frank went on the coach at UMass
Fordham Central Connect. He's now he's now coaching at Western New England. Talked to him
recently. So he was my sophomore year. And then my junior year was Brian Stroneri, who straw, yeah,

(12:03):
who's a Bristol guy, but he was actually teaching in science at that time. So he, you know, when he
came when he actually coached for me when I got the head job at Scythe. So there was a lot of
connections there. And then my senior year was Dennis Perron. And then that's when Rob Thompson
got back involved. He, you know, with Timmy Washington without whole offense, that was Rob's
baby. He created that whole thing. Rob Thompson, great coach. So those guys being around him,

(12:24):
you know, really kind of real quick, how I want to add Marist. I was at Marist. We had, we had some
great coaches. This guy Jim Parity. So Jim Parity just retired this past off season. He was actually
the longest 10 year Division one coach, I think 34 years. So he was great. And he was a great
mentor. And they actually helped me kind of go down the road of like being a special education

(12:45):
teacher, going into coaching. You know, I almost coached with them for a few years, you know,
after high school, but I just had to get my degree. So I stayed in state here.
Coach, I had a question. So I saw at Marist, you were first team all conference playing linebacker.
Is it true that you are all American? And if so, what's it like to find out you've been named
an all American and playing college football? Yeah, I was, yeah, I was all American, a second

(13:07):
team all American. But that was great. I mean, it was, you know, to me, it was, you know, to me
is a good culmination of a career. You know, I remember, I tell the kids this story now, like
when I was in high school, like during this time period, during the recruiting process, I was like,
I don't know if I want to play football in college. And I, you know, something switched, I said,

(13:30):
I'm going to play, I'll give it a try. And I love football. I mean, I live and breathe it. So
that was that would have been the biggest mistake of my life if I didn't. If we knew you were second,
Jim, we probably wouldn't have had you down here. Sorry about that. Sorry about that. We were second
team. Not good enough. So coach, Southern's in high school, get back to that, that just a little bit
powerhouse program, the tradition, you know, what do you got a hundred guys in the program and,

(13:52):
and stuff like that. Early on in your career, you go back to back in 2013, 2014. I had the
pleasure of teaching a ton of those kids. So I know the quality of kids that were coming through
your program. Tell us a little bit about those two years and what you remember the most besides the
wins and losses. The great thing about that, well, when I got the job, we, the program was in a little

(14:13):
bit of a disarray at that time period. They just came off of having to, you know, this is like,
I was the third coach in the matter of like three, four years there. So, you know, the numbers were
down. We weren't great. My first year was six and four. But we had some great talent coming up. We
got likes of Steve Ballmer's quarterback and a lot of these great players. So kind of the building

(14:33):
that up was, was an awesome experience. And then 2013, it was, you know, the mentality was like,
we were kind of the unsung team, like people didn't know a lot about us. We were pretty good the
year before. And, you know, that was probably the most exciting game, one of the most exciting games,
our championship game, playing Fairfield Prep way bigger than us, enormous, you know, one of the
greatest coaches to ever play, coach high school football, Ed McCarthy, who was at West

(14:58):
Haven for ever. I remember him and I showed our kids this and, you know, the video and clip, he
said, ah, yeah, Sintons pretty good. Got some players, but there's no way they're going to be
on the hang. This is the best team I've seen in 20 years down here in this, that Fairfield Prep and
show those kids that and they came out and, you know, we kicked their ass. But,
and then we came back that next year with the goal of winning another championship and really no one,

(15:19):
no one was able to keep pace with us. We're, you know, to me, it was like the greatest thing you
think about, you know, the wins are great, but it's like the mentality that the kids had, the,
the want to, the drive, the effort of every single day. That was an exciting time.
I got, I got jumped. So when you took over, you said a little bit of in this array.

(15:39):
So did you just start as in like the weightlifting program? I'm kind of like newer to the area,
to the Bristol area. And it's from everything I heard, it's kind of like legendary now. Like I
asked the commission's son the other day, I'm like, if he played in another sports, he just, well, I'd
play football in a, in weightlifting. I'm like, I didn't know that. He's like, no, no, we just do
a football weightlifting like year round. Can you, did you jump in, implement that right away? Oh,

(16:05):
yeah. Can you get into that a little bit? Cause I'm, we asked, we had a Klingon on last week
and he was awesome telling us about the, the Yukon basketball weightlifting stuff.
Can you tell us a little about how, what you do and is it, is it year round? It's year round. I mean,
it's, it's intricate. It's highly important. And first of all, every sport, it should be highly
important. Every sport, you go to college, right? I mean, every sports training in season, out of

(16:26):
season, you know, at every level, you know, it could be, I don't care if it's girl sports, boy
sports, whatever it is, they're all strength training. So if they're not doing high school,
then, you know, to me, I think they're losing out on something. But to me, it's, you know, one of
the things that it was kind of engraving with my dad, you know, two state, two of his famous quotes
that I was like, that we always utilize is like, you know, no weights, no states. It's not going

(16:48):
to happen. I know it. I love it. Or WRP, weight room pounding. I mean, this is what we're looking
to try to instill with our kids. But yeah, if the season's done in Thanksgiving or December,
you know, we're starting, you know, usually a week or two right after that, we're right back into
the weight room. We're training, we're, we're, you know, getting them prepared. It is, and we train
in the morning. So we're, you know, we started at 5.50 in the morning, done at seven o'clock, kids

(17:11):
are showering there. And that's, that's commitment throughout the entire year. Coach, the whole
summer. Coach, I feel bad for these parents. I got to get up there. Hey, come on. They want to win.
They want to win. I like the wind. I'm not that much. Coach, I know you talked about your, your dad
a couple of times. I know him. He's salted earth guy, one of the, one of the greatest guys I've
ever met. And I know everybody here knows him as well. Yeah. Talk a little bit about your father's

(17:34):
influence and how cool was it to have him on the sideline? Regardless of the outcome, outcomes
of games and you guys can talk after games and just some of those maybe Sunday dinner type of
conversations and how cool that was for you. It was great. I mean, like I said, I was at
every one of his games growing up. So I would, I saw him on the sidelines. He's cool, comic

(17:55):
collective now as a grandfather and this and that, but he was a wild man as a coach. I mean,
headsets flying this and that. He also, you know, when he was coaching JV basketball, I was embarrassed
to go to those games, you know, next, you know, kicking the bleacher, the old wooden bleachers,
the back heel, yeah, scream like, listen, let's comment that a little bit. But when I had the
opportunity, when I actually was going to be offered the job, one of the kind of things,

(18:19):
because I was younger, right? And they, they wanted to make sure that I had a good support
system was like, you know, can you get your dad to come with you? So the call I made to my dad was
like, you know, he was already just retired from teaching that year. And I said, you know, will
you come? And I felt bad because I'm like, you know, almost forcing him to retire from
Pound Brock, but he came obviously, and it was been tremendous. I mean, we've had some great

(18:42):
wins, tough losses. But again, with us, it's, you know, we have such a really tight knit family.
You know, we talk a ton of football, but again, it's just talking regular life stuff. And, and
he's, he's an amazing person, you know, someone I'm not, you know, I wish I could, he strived to
be like him, like he's a one, he's one of a million guy. So you're playing high school football,

(19:04):
while he's coaching a popper, right? Yes. So he didn't see many of your games at all. Well,
the way he kind of worked it out, you know, he was smart, like when he was, they were still playing
on Saturdays, we were in Bristol, we were playing Friday nights. Right. So he's able to see most
of the games there. And then when I went to college, he pushed to get the lights. So they were
playing Friday nights. So he didn't see Saturdays. It's a good ball. Take it afforded out there.

(19:30):
What's that facility like? I mean, the football field's right on campus, right?
Yeah. So is that what they played? They don't have like a stadium or not like that? No. No.
It'd be nice. Can we jump to Sullington? My first experience ever going to a game this year to
support my favorite player in your team, my godson, Callipedic. You give it back.

(19:52):
I got there and I heard the national anthem as I stepped out of the car and I'm like,
perfect, I'm going to get in right on time, play in the Britain. The line I stood in was
about 200 feet long. And I'm thinking, Oh my God, this is not like who's the tonic Gilbert, right?
Right. Were you amazed at the following of Sullington football? You probably knew it growing

(20:16):
up, but I can't believe what a big deal it is. I'm even thinking dollars and cents with a number
of people there. I'm like, they got to make a nice nut like every home game, right? Yeah. Winning
matters. He had something to do with that. Yeah. Winning matters are that, but there's,
like I said, when I was growing up, our biggest rival in high school, we were pretty good for a
few years was Sullington. It wasn't Eastern at the time. They were a little down. And you always

(20:38):
look at them. We have 35 kids on our team, soft ones through senior, they got 100. You look at
that. So the tradition's been there for a long time, like I've always said with our guys. And
it's going to be there for a long time after. There's people who care about it in the community.
The parents care about it. The kids are hungry. I mean, the one thing there are some myths about
it, like, Oh, wow, it's a factory. You get all these guys, all these players. Listen, the amount

(21:00):
of work that goes into it is tremendous. I mean, there's a lot of work that gets put in between
the players, parents, coaches to play well. You know, I mean, you know, because you're only
getting with the talent you have every year. So when you have sustained success like scientists
had over these decades, like there's a lot of work that goes into that. But it's a great place.

(21:25):
Let's talk about this season a little bit, if you don't mind, just because, you know, I was a
follower of it. It was a great night for Connecticut football when one, two, three and four were playing
within a matter of a few miles one night. Yeah, that was Maloney hosted Greenwich. Yep. And you
guys hosted Staples who you would eventually fall to at the end of the season. And then one of the

(21:45):
games was a weird ending. Was it yours with a weird field goal? It was the Maloney game. Yeah.
But great night for the area to bring those powers into central Connecticut and say this is, you
know, this is where it happens. Like, so you guys were part of, you know, the class of Connecticut,
like, but you had you had tough luck. The Hall game, I'm sure has to be like, how did,

(22:09):
if it doesn't rain that night, and I know you can't feel it, I mean, that's a different outcome,
right? Big time. Yeah, absolutely. It was still should have won. We just, you know, we fought,
there made some mistakes, there's personnel things, there was a lot of, you know, penalties that you
can't have in those situations. So that was that was a tough one. But you know, the kid, like I said,
these kids bounce back, you know, we built that into like understanding like, hey, you lose one,

(22:33):
you got to you got to fight back that next week. So there was never that. The good thing about the
season, you know, there was never that with a loss, like, oh, you deflated, you lost the team, that
never happened. No, there was always another one that was just as important. Yeah, absolutely. So
I go to the Manchester playoff game. I don't think I was ever colder in my life. Your kids are out
there with no sleeves on some of them. These kids were ready. And the elements were not fun. He's

(22:58):
talking about the toughness of your roster this year, the talent. I got to know some of the names.
Lottie has coached some. Oh, and by the way, where are the tougher kids from? Kennedy or DePauw?
Oh, come on. There's listen, I'm judging the phys ed teacher. There's no difference. They're
both tough. Right. Love them both. Good answer. Yeah. Yeah, these are tough. Yeah, these are
hard notes kids. These kids love football. They live and breathe it. They have their entire lives,

(23:22):
their youth program. That's one thing I'll say is the youth program is excellent in town. You know,
I had my kid playing flag football there and it was legit in terms of the coaches and their
commitment and dedication. So these kids now, you know, it's 10 degrees, it's 20 degrees,
it's a five degree windshield, like you're going no sleeves. Let's go, especially the offensive
linemen. Yeah, Bobby, you mentioned Maloney. I wonder this interesting story there. Last year,

(23:46):
you guys are one and two when you played a big game this year against them. Talk about Kevin
Frederick in your relationship with him. You go with the Marist together. Yeah, yeah, coach Maloney.
Yeah, so we were together. He lived with me up in Marist for he was two years younger than me. So
he lived with me for a year and then, you know, we've just stayed extremely close ever since he
coached with me in 2010 with with DJ and then in 2013 he came back and he coached with me during

(24:12):
the championship here. Yeah, we're, you know, in each other's weddings. We just went away
together last weekend on a ski trip, you know, with our family. So we're very tight, but very
competitive. Playing against each other though. What's that like? Oh, listen, we're both as
competitive as they come. So, you know, we hate each other that week. I saw it. I think this year
before the game, your kids went over with the flag in front of them. There's little dust up.

(24:32):
And then you guys were having words, I think, before the game. I actually was rewinding on tape
because I think so these guys are talking to each other was like cross the field, you're waving
at them, then you're walking away, walking back at them. Just you put that friendship aside during
the games, obviously. Sometimes it happens. We both get fired up, you know, you know, even when
we were playing college, like he was in the offensive side, I was on defense side with a lot,
you know, there's a lot more chatter and talking in college than there is in high school, right,

(24:54):
even in practice and stuff like that. So, yeah, he's, yeah, he's done a great job there. They got
a good, you know, they get great talent in meridian, you know, they always have. And I think like he's
cultivated it really well. You talk a little going back to your previous answer. Talk about kids
that are committed to the sport and love football in the South and on a Friday in these middle

(25:16):
schools, every boy has their jersey top on. So, I mean, talk about what you guys have cultivated
through the youth system. We try to do that, I think, what we know here in the boys basketball
with the boys and girls club with the travel stuff. But at that lower level, that's your farm system,
that's your feeder system. And they have done a great job. Can you talk a little bit about

(25:41):
what makes Coach Levec the right fit coming in to take the tradition over and everything that you
built? Yeah, and if you know, Rob came on with me in 2017, working on the defense side of all under
Rob Thompson that year. And then he's been our defense coordinator ever since. Rob's in the
building, which is huge. You know, to have that job, you got to have someone who's in the building.

(26:01):
It's important. I think any head football coaching job. He's been committed. He's been my right
hand man for the past several years. And, you know, he's got a great relationship with the kids.
He's hungry. He's competitive. He wants to win. Like, you know, and you want to have someone in
that position who wants to win. And, you know, we're going to have a lot of our same staff and

(26:23):
that's going to continue on. I think he's going to create a great structure. So, I'm excited to see
how he's done. He's been a head coach of wrestling for a bunch of years at Glassenbury in at Manchester.
So, he's been around the game his whole life. You know, he knows the game. So, we're excited for
that. We're excited for that. I wanted to ask you that the fact that you're losing
quite a few offensive weapons, that playing through your decision at all or not at all?

(26:45):
No, not at all. Like I said, I made the decision, you know, listen, I knew that we have a great
couple of groups coming up right now. You know, you have your, the freshman class
is one of the best classes we've ever had. The eighth grade class coming in
has lost like one game in four years, five years, something like that. So, there's some great
talent coming up. And like I said, the only decision was based off my kids and me wanting to be

(27:12):
involved in this stage in their life a little bit more. And I knew if I was going to stay this year,
I'm staying for the next six, you know, because that's, there's going to be great, you know, and
that's the hardest thing. There's never a good year, you know, you get kids like your son, you know,
who are great kids, who I love them. And it's like, you don't want to let them down, right?
But you know, at one point it's like, you're going to have to let somebody down.
Right. Otherwise, you're going to, you're locked in. And I just, you know, I felt I needed that

(27:36):
little time right now. Do you see yourself going to games and how much will you still stay involved
with the program? Opening night next year? Are you there? I got to see what I'm doing. I mean,
that's it. Yes, I'm still involved. I mean, I talk to Rob every single night. I talk to a lot of
the coaches every single night. So I'm still heavily involved and kind of help them through the
transition of everything, getting everything going. I was in the weight room this Friday morning. So

(27:59):
I'm still going like about once a week with the kids. You know, I just got to see what, what that's
going to look like. I don't want to, to be an awkward or weird situation, you know, what I mean?
Like former head coach, like it wouldn't be for me. It wouldn't be for Rob or the kids, but you
know, outside people looking at things like that. I got to jump in real quick. Were you involved
with who was going to get the position? Because you obviously are leaving it in a fantastic spot.

(28:24):
Were you with the, did Steve Risner, did he ask for your input or did you have any?
Were you on an interviewing committee? I was going to be on the committee,
but then three of my coaches were going for the job. So I didn't want to be on that. And
you know, they, you know, I have a great relationship with the administration in, in, in town,
you know, and Steve Risner and my cracker principal who were kind of spearheading the

(28:45):
hiring process. He's got the O in the end. But he, you know, so they, they took my input,
but I didn't want to, I wanted them to make the decision. I said, listen, these guys, they're
all going to be excellent candidates and all of them can do the job. You know, and they made the
decision based off that. So I didn't want to be, I didn't mean to put you on a spot. But they kept

(29:09):
me abreast. What was, you won two state championships, correct? So what was the difference like between
getting back to the top of the mountain and, you know, staying up there? Like, what's the
difference between the two teams? And did you have to approach the seasons or your opponents
differently after you're already up there? You know, to me, it's like, you know,
Scythons always had a bull's eye on its back. You know, teams are always going to be looking at
like, Hey, this, you know, when, when teams beat us over the years, you know, there weren't many

(29:33):
teams that did like, especially within the conference, but you know, when it happened,
you know, it was the Super Bowl for them. It was like the biggest game ever, you know, so,
that, you know, that's one of the things with the kids. It's like, listen, you are going to have,
you're going to get everybody's best. So you have to give everything that you got, you know,
in our mentality, always in the off season, all our training is like, we're looking to compete.
It doesn't matter who we're playing that week, we want to compete and play with the best

(29:56):
in the entire state, you know, so it's hard. You got to stay up there. You got to keep,
you got to work that much harder. We've all coached at different levels. And a lot of us here are
educators as yourself. What has changed the most in coaching from the time you started until the
day that you retired? Is it, is it the parents? Is it the kids? Can you talk a little bit about

(30:19):
some of the adjustments you had to make as years went by? Because as educators and coaches, Bobby
Mack and I talk all the time, how much different it is nowadays than it was just like 10 or 15 years
ago. Yeah. You're always going to have that difference. But to me, it was like, I thought in
my experience, you know, we've had great parents, you know, I really have had, I mean, I can count

(30:41):
the amount of parent issues on like two fingers in my career, which has been great. But in the kids
are hungry, the kids are tough, there's not a lot changes there. But I think with like social media
and that whole aspect of it, I mean, that has been the biggest change to me. It's like, how do
you manage that? How do you do this? You got to do these different things. And the recruiting process
is totally, you know, that's that's been flipped upside down, you know, from the college level,

(31:04):
all the way down to the high school level. So that those have been the biggest, the biggest
challenges and changes. But other than that, I mean, the kids are kids, parents are parents,
they care about their kids, if you're doing the right thing, you're doing the right thing by their,
by their kids, you're not going to have a lot of problems. Coach, do you think football lends itself
to maybe people staying in their lane? Because, you know, with the amount of film that the experts

(31:26):
watch, really, the average, you know, Joe parent shouldn't be questioning the expertise of coaches.
And you can play if you want to on a given night, 40 guys, right, have a significant impact on a
game where if you're coaching, let's say hoops, five guys are going out there and everybody

(31:47):
else's parents are pissed off. Like, do you think that football maybe lends itself to that?
It's not a cut sport, you know, whenever you're involved in cut sports, baseball, basketball,
you know, that's tough, you know, someone's gonna cut, then you got your kids made a team,
then they're not getting enough playing time and this and that and the other. And then there's a
lot more to on top of that. With the other sports, you know, with youth sports, all the outside teams,

(32:09):
the travel teams, club teams, this, that and the other. So, you know, this kid is a starter on
this team, this club team that time, but he comes to his high school and he's not, you know, and
his parents are paying five grand a year to play on these things and they expect it to translate.
It doesn't a lot of times, you know, as you guys know, but in football, yeah, you got a lot more
kids playing. You know, if you set the X, I think the big thing is you set the expectation with the

(32:33):
parents, how you want the communication to go, you know, how the program is organized, you know,
and listen, I've never not played a kid because he was better than another kid, you know, or, you
know, so, you know, we want to get the best players in the field. I mean, that's what I'm trying to
win. And like you said, the weight room is the great equalizer too. You can tell a kid, if you
go in that weight room and you work your ass off, you're gonna play. Yeah, you'll get a chance.

(32:56):
A lot of guys are gonna play. You stick with it, you work hard, you got a chance, which is amazing
for sports. Yeah, you know, yeah, and that is an equalizer because, you know, other sports, you
might just have the talent to set the other in and this can kind of like level that playing field.
Coach, NFL, PA, they shut down a lot of pad work, a lot of tackling during the

(33:19):
week. And as they probably should, I mean, now that we're learning more about what's happened to
these people over time with concussion and, you know, Earl Campbell, you know, can't walk,
yeah. What is, first of all, what does a college practice look like in terms of how much contact
there is? And then what does a high school practice look like in that? And do you do not no pad days,

(33:41):
walk through days? Are you getting after it every day? I mean, you know, you talk about, you know,
college, it's different, you know, there's, there's places like, you know, I've met with a lot of
high level college coaches from a lot of different programs, you know, every year we, us as a staff,
we go to the Penn State, we do a coaching clinic there, we watch their practices, we're meeting
with all their coaches. And, you know, you're seeing the differences, but you know, some places,

(34:05):
there's some programs, even high level programs where they are tackling every single day.
What do you think about that? I don't agree with that. I don't think you need to, but some places do.
I mean, you know, I remember some of the coaches at Temple, you know, they were like, we tackle
every day and they were really good at that point. And those coaches, coaches went on to coach and
high level, a lot of those guys in the NFL. But to me, it's like, you know, there's definitely

(34:28):
less contact nowadays from when we played in terms of like, bring people to the ground,
things like that. The one thing that you do have is you have a lot more plays, the pace of the
games faster, you're getting, you know, which is great. I love it. You know, I was watching the,
this is what I was watching the other day with my son, we were watching the Bills
dynasty, you know, about their four years in a row. It was awesome. But it's a little fast.

(34:53):
They were playing back then. I go, this is what I love. This is the way I've always coached and
played like basketball. You know, this is, we're going fast break, you know, every single day. So
you do more than that. You know, but the biggest thing is you want to keep the kids healthy,
you know, so you're not, you know, we're not bringing kids to the ground. We, our kids,
last year, we invested in the program to get the guardian caps for all the kids. Oh, wow.

(35:14):
And I went down to Penn State and I saw that and I said, they're all wearing them. I'm like,
well, you know what, these guys are, you know, we got to be doing, let's do this.
So do the kids wear those every day? They wear them every day. Just practice.
So do you like to follow up on Max's question? Do, is there just certain days you tackle,
do you not tackle at all during the week? We don't.
As the season goes on, is it less and less or? It's, it's, it, we don't tackle a lot during the

(35:36):
week, but, you know, there's usually like one or two periods that we're going ones versus ones
where it's competitive. Even still then we want to try to stay up, but there are some tackling,
but we try to keep them up the whole time. But again, it's not necessarily the tackling,
you know, it's the constant, you know, the continuous stuff. So the, the position groups
where you got to kind of manage it and keep it under control is up front. It's the whole line,

(36:00):
D line in the box, you know, linebackers, those are the guys are getting hit. Those are the guys
are taking those little hits all the time. So those are the ones you got to make sure that,
you know, you're, you're managing the repetition, you're managing the tempo and speed of a practice
you get, you have some of them where you're thud, which is more full speed to walk through to on
air. So, but you know, we're in pads every day. Okay. So we, one thing we do on this podcast,

(36:24):
we throw random weird trivia questions that nobody really knows. You mentioned the bills dynasty,
the force were both, or the name of their, their offense, what did they call it? Their offense was
the Zen be no, it was the, I just saw yesterday. I could be wrong. Was it a K gun? K. It was the

(36:48):
K gun also. They get a lot of credit for the bills, but somebody, another team actually started
doing that before them. Does that mean know what that is? Oilers. Dolphins. No Cincinnati
Bengals. There was boomers size and was calling the plays at the line with four. I think it was
a force. No, same way. Same way. What was the name of Warren moon's offense? Buddy Ryan called

(37:09):
the truck and duck. He did. Was it the red gun? Something like that. But that mode, those guys
weren't stopable. He's too young. He might not know that. Oh, he know he's 41. He got it. Coach,
speaking of, you know, you've been a little younger than us here, like, and you obviously keep
yourself in decent shape. Wasn't the last time in a practice you said, that's it. I'm going to

(37:34):
show this guy. And did you ever like it? I'm sure you mix it up with the line. I got to mix it up.
I got to mix up with those guys a little bit sometimes. You know, I'll mix it up a lot in the
weight room. Let them know I still got it. Yeah, we get after with them in there. And then, you
know, I have a good arm. Like I was going to be a quarterback my senior year in high school until,
you know, Rob Thompson was like, no, we're actually going to put Timmy Washington at this,

(37:54):
you know, but I can throw the ball. I can throw it. So I'll throw a lot in practice with our kids.
And, you know, so get competitive that way. But, you know, sometimes I got to let them know, like,
hey, listen, I still got a little something in me, you know, they got to feel it. Hey, speaking of
quarterbacks, your quarterback, I don't know much about him, but it seems like an amazing story.
I heard he can't throw a baseball, but he can sling the football. You see the brace on his arm. I

(38:17):
think he had a brace on his arm, right? Can you just talk about what that kid went through and
and what it's like, you know, what people don't know that these kids go through? Listen, you know,
that's one thing about science and we've had, you know, our kids have injured or this or they have
to have surgery or stuff like that. They're they're they're doing everything in their power to get on
that field, you know, delaying surgeries. This sat in the other at a quarterback years ago, Jay Rose,

(38:42):
who was getting novocaine shots in the shoulder because he had separated shoulder for the first
six weeks of the game without us doing it. But it was a CJ D Benedetto was a quarterback at the
baseball baseball first guy, great kid, you know, was playing in a, you know, getting ready for the
playoffs last last year in the spring and they were playing a scrimmage. Each picture was just
one any and he's really a closer reliever type guy. And he just hears a pop and he tears his UCL.

(39:06):
So us as a staff, we are, you know, our hearts are dropping. We're like, Oh, God, what are we going
to do here? And, you know, a couple weeks later, he's like, I still want to, you know, we're,
I'm talking through the whole thing and he comes to a Yukon seven on seven rubber Yukon doing a
passingly tournament and, you know, first, he's like getting warmed up, I'm feeling good, I'm
feeling good. I'm like, okay, all right, let's see the first play you throw as it kind of goes into

(39:29):
the dirt and it hurt. And then he was out and we had another kid play the rest of the day and
in to me, I thought that was going to be it. He wasn't going to be able to do it, but did PT,
got himself ready, didn't want to leave, you know, didn't want to lose his senior year with
his guys and played the whole season with the tour and UCL and threw the ball down the field.
Oh, he led the state and passing yards and passing touchdowns from a different arm slot too. Right.

(39:49):
He was, he was slinging a little bit too. The way he was throwing was different arm slot a little bit
from Monday because he still a little bit. Yeah. But he was, you know, and he threw the ball ton of
practice. We didn't have to manage his reps. I mean, initially I thought we really reworked,
didn't have a lot of pain, didn't have anything. He was able to, to fight through it. And they said
he led the state in, you know, all quarterback passing categories. What about your, what about

(40:11):
the weapons you had on offense? I mean, there's like five of them. Yeah, that's great receivers.
Yeah, we really did. I wonder, one of those weapons was Evan Anderson. Yeah. Overcame injuries a
couple of times. Great player. Had his dad pass away while you're, you know, last year during the
season, you had another kid lose a dad in the program. How do you, how did you handle that kind
of stuff? I mean, those things, you know, when you become a coach, there's no like, okay, coaching

(40:36):
class that tells you how to handle those things. No script. No. You know, that was, we were getting
ready for a game Thursday night and I got a call from another kid's parent, John Flynn, and it was
another great receiver for us this year. I mean, his mom would never call me during the practice
and I'm like, what is going on here? She let me know that, fortunately, his dad passed away,
workplace accident. So, you know, it was, it was a horrific thing. I went to his house that night,

(41:01):
you know, a deal on that little thing. He said he wanted to play the next day, the very next day,
he gets hurt and loses the rest of his season. But he scored two touchdowns.
He scored two touchdowns. First play of the game, he scored a touchdown. It was impressive.
That was probably one of the most powerful moments of my sports career. You know, first play of the
game, we're like, we're going to get him in the ball quick. Boom, takes the six yards of the house
and everyone's crying. We're crying on the sideline. Oh, geez. But then sports will kick you in

(41:25):
the ass every now and then he gets hurt and he's basically two minutes later, he's hurt and he
misses the whole season. Has that surgery? Oh my God. In that game? Yeah. Very next day after
his dad died. So it was a horrible situation. Was he out for the hall game this year too? Oh, no,
he was in. He was in, but he was still banged up a little bit. He was limited through the first
part of the year. But he never missed a game. He was tough as nails. I guess that game didn't

(41:48):
really hurt. I mean, I know you brought it up now three times. You're probably like, what are you
talking about? But like, I mean, you guys are in the semis. So like, right? I mean, you got to beat.
Hate losing them. Yeah. Coach, the season a long haul.
Coach, you talked a little bit about going down to Penn State and knowing some of the
temple coaches and things like that. Football lifer, who influenced you or some of your idols,

(42:11):
maybe other high school coaches, maybe college coaches, some NFL stuff, or maybe you've been
to some clinics and something just clicked. Somebody said, you know, something during the
presentation. And can you talk a little bit about besides your father, who we know was a huge influence,
some of the coaches that you kind of look up to? Yeah, just being around it. I mean, you know,

(42:33):
if you look at just Bristol, for example, a lot of my experiences there, you know, guys like,
even like Joe DeFlippi, I mean, Joe DeFlippi, I was at every practice with him growing up with my
dad and just seeing him, the passion he coached with. And even a guy like Eddie Phelan had that too.
I mean, I was, you know, he was a madman, but, you know, he was he was fun. You know, Dennis
Sigmund was a big, you know, big guy for me just because I was involved in the wrestling world.

(42:57):
I still am. I'm helping coaching his grandson now and the gladiators. Brian Archibald Archie,
you know, Archie was, you know, he's in my wedding. I mean, we became very close. And,
you know, I started coaching with him and just people like that who have been like around great
coaches, you know, growing up. He's a hell of a wrestling coach. Oh, he was great wrestling coach.

(43:19):
You know, talking about another thing in Bristol, this is 2000, probably six, seven.
And Lou Holts comes to Bristol Central High School to get to give a talk. I remember that. Yeah. And
it was, you know, I remember just sitting there listening. I'm a young coach and I'm like,
I'm dialed in when I'm a type of guy where I go to a clinic where I go to see someone talk, I'm
going to I have pages, I have books of notes. I'm a handwritten note guy. I'm going to write a thousand

(43:41):
notes, everything they do. And he was talking about his, you know, what's important now,
you know, portion of the philosophy of how he coaches, you know, of every little piece of like,
hey, we're here right now doing this is podcast. This is the most important thing right now going
on in my life. So, you know, to me, it was like an after every, every practice plan, every email,

(44:02):
all that stuff at the end of it was WIN, when, you know, what that means, and what's important now
and the focus of that. So, you know, the things like that stuck with me. I love that. What's
important. We were at that presentation, or that new holds, I think it was out South Carolina,
might have just gotten that job if I recall, and he was fantastic. He was great. How did you get to
go? I know people. All right, I'm going to throw some Connecticut high school coach. I'm not an

(44:27):
expert. We didn't, we didn't have it in our high John and I, the commission we played for an undefeated
program and coach Arlo angry Jake, because we didn't have a team like. So, I love this, this whole
like football community and the competitiveness of it. Jim Wanker, do you remember that name?

(44:48):
It was at Windsor. I do. Any thoughts of him? Jack Cochran. Jack Cochran? Absolutely. Good or bad.
What are we thinking? Listen, there's a lot of mix. I've always had a great relationship with Jack.
You know, just, just as another colleague as a coach, he was a tremendous coach. Does the
rules still exist? The rules out. And now they have the running time changed. So that rules out.

(45:10):
I didn't know that. Jimmy Cochran. Jimmy Cochran. You know, I almost, you know, I brought him in,
interviewed him a few years ago, probably 2018. He came in, he was going to join, but then he
ended up going to Holy Cross at that point. A lot of energy, you know, you know, great coach. You
know the name Rob Plasky? Was he at Nogatuck? Yes. Yes. I didn't know him. Was he at Nogatuck?

(45:30):
Yeah. Had to step away. Right. Coach or two part. First, but who's that player you have,
or do you wish like every year I wish you had one of them? I wish I had one of them. And then
second part is who was the hardest like player you ever had to prepare for? Which is like a
nightmare having the game plan. You know, people talk about Belichick taking the other team's best
player out like as a coach, do you have that philosophy? Like we got to limit this guy to this?

(45:53):
Yeah. I mean, the player I would say would be, I've had a lot of them and it's hard to kind of
pinpoint one kid with Alex Tramelli who coached with us, was our receivers coach the past several
years. Receiver, defensive back, as tough as they came. The type of guy you had to like pull back
and how hard you practiced. It wasn't like you had to say, all right, Alex, who needs you to pick

(46:16):
it up? Like he set the tone. He was a difference maker. I mean, he's, he's got every, you know,
a ton of, he's number one in the state of Connecticut receiving touchdowns in a career with 50.
Number one in the season with 29. So he caught one, he caught one. Yeah, and that led the nation
that year. So you ran the ball out that year, huh? Yeah. We actually did, we actually 50-50,

(46:38):
which is, but that was, that was a great year. But just guys like that, you know, who just,
you don't have to tell them to do anything. It's, it's everything they're going to do is going to
be hard. It's going to be tough. It's, they brought energy and excitement and intensity to the game.
Probably the hardest guy we've ever had to prepare for. There's been a few. There was one kid,
and I'll go back some years. There was one kid in 2013. And we had to beat him pretty handily.

(47:03):
This is NFA. It was a quarterfinal game. This is 2013. But the player was a fifth year senior.
He got granted a fifth year, but his name was Tuzar Skipper. Oh yeah. And this dude, yeah,
I mean, he ended up actually coaching in the all-star game that he was a great kid. But
he ended up going to a junior college and then, I forget we're going to college, but he was in
the NFL for nine years. He was like DN though. He was like 6'3, 250. He could run like a deer.

(47:27):
He was a twin, dude. He had a twin brother. Yeah. Yeah. He was pretty good too. Absolutely
freak. Another kid was that same year was, you know, anytime a guy does his ball in his hands
every single play. It was a quarterback for Fairfield Prep that year. And they ran him a lot.
Him and another kid who played at Glacierbury, then played at UConn, a receiver here, and

(47:52):
been a receiver at UConn, but he was a quarterback. Keon Dixon. These guys were quarterbacks with
the ball in their hands. They were elite level athletes. You have to change things defensively
to stop those guys because, you know, one miss tackle, one miss, they're bringing it to the house.
So you said the first one was a linebacker. Like, in my mind, I'm thinking of preparing for an

(48:13):
offensive weapon. How do you prepare for a defensive weapon? Well, listen, you look in the NFL, who
the highest-paid guy in the NFL? Obviously, quarterbacks are in there. But defensive end,
Ed Rushers, right? Offensive tackles and cornerbacks. So you get an edge rusher. You know,
what happened to us this year against Jester, they had a very good edge rusher. We did a really

(48:34):
good job against them, but he impacted the game. When you get a guy defensively who can impact
the game so much, you know, that's hard. Because you got to double them. Actually, I shouldn't
name one other kid. We played Darian back to back in the semifinals, 2015, 2016. Really wish they
stayed down in class. So we went four and we're all at that point. But anyway, it was the best

(48:58):
high school teams in 20 years that I've seen around the state. They had two guys. One of them was
I think it's Evan. I forgot his first name. His last name was Evanchek. I can't remember his first
name right now. But he broke Dwight Feeney's sack record in the state of Connecticut. This kid was

(49:19):
a Gatorade player of the year. All right, two-time Gatorade player of the year in La Crosse.
But he was also a defensive end, like 250 pounds. Moved great. Ended up going to like Penferla
Crosse. I was like all American there. But an unbelievable defensive end. Like, we had to really
prepare for that kid. And we had some great teams. The other one was this kid Andrew Stuber. So it was
him and this kid Andrew Stuber. We went to go play in Michigan. And now he's starting, starting

(49:42):
tackle in the NFL. So we have, and he was, but he was playing defensive tackle too as well. So you
got these two guys here. It's, you know, that becomes a real tough thing to run the ball. Does
football get two Gatorade players, one offense, one defense, or is it a player to you? Just a single
one. Yeah, just one. That's kind of ridiculous. Really? Yeah. They get one, just Gatorade play
of the years. This year was the guy from Avon Old Farms. Have you had one? Have you had one?

(50:04):
Went or something to? Have not. We had two guys who could have been right there, but you know,
they didn't get it. You said Avon Old Farms. It just makes me think, I know a couple of the
Bristol Eastern players ended up going there to play this year. What do you think about like
making that move and like, what's the point if you're not reclassing? And what do you think of
just that move? I mean, you know, to me, it's like, you know, if a kid needs to reclass, if,

(50:27):
you know, it could, it depends on the situation, right? Depends on what's going on at their school.
You know, I know those coaches very well there, former Sutherlandton alumni, John Hoolie,
you know, played at Sutherlandton graduate 2000. But the UConn too. Yeah, went to UConn,
coached up there. So he's been coached. He's been a guy who I've been tight with for a long time.
You know, it just depends on the kid situation, you know, is it going to be the, is it going to,

(50:49):
what's going to match for that kid? But I do know those kids who both, I know both kids who went
there. I saw that. Yeah. So it's tough. You got to, and that's another thing. One of them checks all
the boxes as far as what our linemen should look like. Yeah. He, yeah. Yeah. Big good looking.
Big dude. Yeah. So I mean, that's the thing, like as a coach, you got to promote your kids, you got
to, you got to recruit your kids. I mean, it's like that now at the high school level. And it's

(51:12):
unique here because you go throughout the country. There's not prep schools throughout the country.
You know, you go down to Florida, kids are going to prep schools, you know, they're playing for their,
you know, they're playing for their schools. You go down to Alabama, you go to California.
There's not all these preps where it says now there's movement and things like that where kids
are going, but it's public school still ran supreme. You know, it seems great about football.
And if I'm wrong about this, please enlighten anyone listening like travel and a you ball has

(51:39):
ruined the high school experience for a lot of people on every level from the coaches having
to deal with it to the players being yanked in different directions and lied to, to,
to the parents who believe this stuff and then think that they're entitled to X, Y and Z.
Because the travel coach said so or the guy they take lessons from, which is just,

(52:00):
it's disheartening. Yeah, there's no travel football or a football, right? There isn't. And
that's, that's the great thing about it. And to your point, we were talking about before with,
you know, with parents and this and that expectations, like, this is what they have,
like there's not this other team that they're playing for where this coach is feeding them this
and this or they're playing in this position, but now they have to play this position at your school.

(52:23):
So you don't have that, which is, which is unique and which is great. I mean, there's,
there's some start stuff starting to kind of build, like there's some off season seven on seven
travel teams and this and that. But, you know, really where the kids are going to learn the most
and benefit the most or be being involved with their high schools. And then with the changes in CIC,
working with kids, like you guys didn't have the same rules as like a basketball or baseball coach,

(52:45):
right? I think all the rules are similar. Like, so you can't do skill work with your guys. No,
you're not supposed to. And what are you allowed in the spring? Nothing right now. I mean, that's
the, did you used to get spring? We used to have spring ball games. Yeah. Yeah. We had spring ball,
spring practice. And I was on the CIC football committee for seven years and until they kicked

(53:07):
this all off because we were pushing back because we wanted spring ball. We wanted these things.
And, you know, and they wanted to clean house on that because we were kind of pushing back because
it was always, in my opinion, it was always talking about the game being safe. You talk about, you
know, you know, the contact, you know, you can do a lot less contact in the NFL. You want to
why? Because those guys are elite level athletes are the best players in the world. You know,

(53:27):
the high school level, you got to learn these kids even learn a block and tackle
things like that. So the less time you get for that, the more contact you have to do effectively,
you know what I mean? So my, my opinion was we need to have more time for these kids to develop
them and things like that. Because guess what? The teams that are going to do it, they're going to
do it regardless. You know, you mean there's shooters out there? I think there is. Come on, man.

(53:50):
Not basketball. I think everybody's on the up. But we agree with everything you said. I think
basketball, the CIAC is changing a little bit where there's a window during the summer where
maybe you could work with some kids. I don't know how much college football you get a chance to,
to watch only because, you know, like the commission said with the with the film stuff until 2am.

(54:11):
Can you talk a little bit about the landscape of college football in particular with the transfer
portal, the NIL stuff? Do you agree with it? Do you think it's good for the game or where do you
see the game 5, 10 years from now? Because, you know, Alabama's losing guys in the portal.
And you see in college basketball, a lot of coaches are stepping away from college basketball

(54:34):
because like the J writes or the Roy Williams and some other people, they just didn't want to deal
with that stuff anymore. Can you talk a little bit about that? I've talked, I know a lot of guys
are coaching high level college, college football. I've talked to guys who are NFL coaches and
college coaches and I always ask, what do you like better? They said NFL by far because the
schedule's better. You know, the recruiting, you have to deal with all that and that's before all

(54:55):
this stuff came out. So it's very difficult because as a college coach, you're recruiting these kids,
right, from your to your program and now you have to re-recruit them every single year to keep them
and to retain the talent to retain your kids. To me, I think there's going to be a tipping
point because you can only do so much. How far is this going to go? I mean, kids are getting

(55:18):
million dollar deals, you know, coming out of high school. I mean, yeah, it's great and I think
that the kids should be some compensation but once you kind of open that Pandora's backs,
the richer you're going to get, the richer, the middle of the road guys are going to stay
middle of the road or less. You're never going to be able to have a lot of that parity. But
I think it's difficult for me because, you know, in kids going to the transfer portal, you know,
I'll get a kid and help them get recruited to college and then three years later, I've had this

(55:40):
happen several times, kids are going to transport and like, coach, you know, it's like now I got to
help them get re-recruited again. It's just like a continuous cycle. It's hard. I think it's exhausting
for the coaches, you know, to an already exhausting sport to what you have to do. But right now,
unless things are put into place, legislation, I guess, will be the only thing to be able to control

(56:03):
it. That's a problem that that's not happening. Like people, the states have said like, to the
NCAA like our NCAA said, oh no, you states you figured out. NCAA is in trouble. You guys know
what now the NIL stands for. Now it's legal. Now it's legal. Well, that's true. You had a lot of

(56:24):
places that things were, you know, this stuff was going on, but you know, that was, you know,
blue chips and things like that. Great. But it's now it's legal. So now you get in the states that
have these, you know, they're down in the SEC and they have these huge programs with these huge
amount of monies and donors and people able to deliver that type of money. They don't care.

(56:45):
They love it. They're like, fine, we're going to get, you know, we're going to pay, you know,
1.5 for this kid to come play quarterback for us. Great. You know, quarterbacks are getting more
in that. But they are. Hey, no patronage here. I mean, I've never had a lengthy conversation with
you. But like, I mean, you obviously seem like you got all the boxes checked to like pursue a job
at a higher level. I know you must have thought about it. I know you must have been asked about it.

(57:08):
Why not just go for it? I mean, your kids are little. Have you ever thought about going for,
you know, one of these college jobs? Start on, you know, listen, like I said, it's, I mean,
you love the college experience because it is football nonstop. That's all you're doing.
That's your coach. And that's it. You know, but it is a tough life. There's a lot of traveling.

(57:30):
The hours are really excessively tough. You're not home. You know, you miss, you know, to me,
it's like, I've been a family guy, like for how much I love football, like, and I do it a lot.
I think about a lot, you know, I've still watched film like crazy right now. You know, I am a family
man first and foremost, you know, and in my dad installed and still that mean my family. So

(57:51):
I've just seen too many people go there. And it's just, it's just a tough life and being able to
uproot your family and moving here and going here. You can go coach at this level and, and
which is great and all good, you know, but to me, it's like, I don't know. Hey, listen, I like Bristol,
I like being in Connecticut. You know, if I do that, I'm out. Yeah. Your program, high school
program was run like a college program though. Yeah, that's always what we want to do. We want to,

(58:14):
and that's one of the things like our kids who went out, you know, we got kids playing in the
FBS all the way down to division three right now currently. So, you know, our kids, when they went
on to college, they would come back and calm the thread throughout all of them, no matter where
it's like, it's easier up here. Yeah, I've heard that before. Yeah. Do you see yourself
head coach somewhere down the line again, maybe coach your kids? What's the, have you looked that

(58:38):
far ahead yet? Yeah, I mean, I'm definitely going to be involved my kids, you know, I'm involved in
them wrestling, they're going to do baseball, you know, so I coach, you know, T ball or actually
coach pitch last year here in town. So we'll kind of go that route. And you know, I do want to get
involved like my son's going to be playing for the Bulldogs, you know, he's going to be, you know,
we did flag there this year. And I couldn't get to any practices, I can just come to the game on

(58:59):
Sunday mornings. And to me, it's like, I want to be a little bit more impactful, but I don't need
to be his coach and everything. I don't want to do that. But I'll be involved in that. But I'm
sure I'll be involved somewhere in football this fall. No judgment on the Bulldogs because I had,
my kids played flag there. Yeah, it was fun thing. You know, we've never advanced in football beyond
flag. We did an NFL league in Avon or whatever, like that was kind of cool. But in Sullington,

(59:23):
when I went to see Colin play when he was, did they both play that? Yeah. Yeah. At this park
in Sullington, and it was flag, I thought it was going to be like it was with the Bulldogs,
you know, you mean we're pushing the kids here and there, you know, guy that never went out,
there's coaching, they got the chains out, there's first downs, dude. Sullington football, dude.
Yes. The kids are like this big. I know we did it in one year. One year we did it. Flags. Then this

(59:49):
year we did in Bristol. So this is a different philosophy. So that's why I want to help get
involved. Oh, the change is coming. Just want to help, you know, help the, you know, you want to
help better. Yeah, 1% better every day. One is the weightlifting program, start form. Hey, listen,
now. Listen, all body weight stuff right now with these kids. Coach, as someone who's been a part

(01:00:10):
of the program, I first I want to say thank you. I mean, it's been an unbelievable experience for
my son. Appreciate it. Just that what he's learned from that. I'll tell you a funny story this week.
We're picking his classes for high school, and we're going through all the things and I want to
take public speaking. Public speaking. Why would you want to take that? There's easier things you

(01:00:30):
could do. Podcast. But he's hammering it home to my wife. I want to take public speaking. He'd be
very good at that. But he said I want to be able to talk to my teammates better. And I'm thinking
that's something that came from you. Yeah. And the culture of the program has become such that
I see myself 70 years old in the stands at Sellington watching those kids play. Yeah. And so I

(01:00:52):
appreciate what you did. It was an unbelievable job. Sometimes we say we have great coaches and
this guy's a good coach. You ran a great program. I'm very proud to be part of it. And I really,
really think that you deserve everything you get in life. I appreciate it. I really appreciate it.
What a compliment to the whole staff that a kid says that. Yeah. It's all about the staff and
the players. I mean, that's it. Yeah. So can the kids start next year, please? Can we get in there?

(01:01:12):
Yes. No, he got in there. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. I know. He earned it. He earned it.
And you know what? We should have, you know what? Should have been earlier. Well, come on. He should
have been in that Hall game. You guys play at Hall? That happened. All right. We're going to wrap up
the interview stuff. Thank you so much. But we want to keep, want you to stick around and be

(01:01:34):
involved in just some little banter that we like to have every podcast. So Angry J is going to
take over this segment known as Who's Your Rather sponsored by Joe Morello and Capital Security.
Thanks, Joe. All right. Who's Your Rather this week is centered around football and out of our
guest. You guys will, we'll start with our guest. Mac will let you go second today because you've

(01:01:54):
been complaining about having to go last, even though you might have been second. Yeah. All right.
Chinese clean up. You pick whoever you want. If you don't know who the guy is, and we're going
to go a little old school just for the first couple. Okay. One college football guy and then
we'll go NFL. So NTA only. Do you want Tim Tebow or Tommy Frazier leading your team?

(01:02:18):
Tim Tebow. Why, coach?
You know, NFL didn't work out for him, obviously, but just the intensity and the focus that he
had during his time there in Florida was, you know, it was unimaginable, I think, at that point.
I mean, he just, he was impressive. Yeah, I'm going to go, he's really him. He really was and

(01:02:39):
too good to be true, but that's why it didn't work out in NFL, maybe. Yep. I concur. Tebow.
I'm going to give a quick Tebow story. I'd say Tebow too, but I actually heard last week at a
Super Bowl party that he runs a dance. So like it's almost like a prom for kids with disabilities.
And he did at the casino this week and someone's son was there. Unbelievable guy, a winner. So I'll

(01:02:59):
go with him. Oh, he ran that? It's his foundation. But yeah, I got you. I'm actually going to go
Tommy Frazier because the way he ran the wishbone at Nebraska, whatever. Yeah, triple option. Sorry.
Well, yeah, I got it. I'll go with Tebow. How many NFL guys were on that roster when he was there?
Wow. That was Urban Meyer. Pretty good recruiter, huh? Oh yeah. All right. Little old school again

(01:03:23):
for NFL coach Fran Tardington, Kenny Stabler.
His nickname is the snake. I mean, come on, man. They got to go with the snake. I'm going snake also.
Fran. I'm going Fran Tardington myself. I'm going snake just because of the way he lived his life
off the field. Like a boss. All right, coach, we're going Julio. This is NFL. Now Julio Jones,

(01:03:50):
Antonio Brown. Julio Jones, bigger. Antonio Tuftagard. He'd never take Antonio Brown for
obvious reasons. Julio. I'd take Antonio Brown. He could not guard him even though he wasn't big.
He couldn't be covered. Julio for me. I'm going to Julio just because he's going to have this

(01:04:10):
grass and eagle. Come on, man. I'll go to be on a kit too. I'll go Jones. All right. Here we go.
Des Bryant, Jordy Nelson. Des Bryant. Des easy, but Jordy had about three years or is really
unbelievable. I'm going. I think it's pretty easy. Des nuts. I'm going Jordy. He's widely underrated.

(01:04:36):
I think Des Bryant is underrated too. I'll take Des. How are you guys?
Um, coach John Elway, Dan Marino.
All day long.
I don't want to hear this Super Bowl nonsense. The best passer of all time. Period. Marino.
I'm going Marino also. Elway. I'm going. I'm leaning Elway too. I think if he played in today's

(01:04:59):
era, his stats would be off the charts. You know me. I'm all about the rings. So the drive aside,
I'm taking Elway. All right. We got three or four more. Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, coach.
Aaron Rodgers. Oh, that's easy for you. That's easy. Listen, why? Drew Brees came and
thrilled with his right arm right now. He could throw it back then. It's all the matter. I know.

(01:05:22):
I know, but I just think Aaron Rodgers arm talent and, you know, I think Brees was great as well,
but and he had a tremendous coach and that system fit perfectly. But Aaron Rodgers talent
level is just more for me. I know nothing about football. This is obvious because I got to go
Brees all day. Maybe it's the weirdness of Rodgers. I just can't do it. And in the cowboy

(01:05:43):
seasons ended quite often to him. So I think Aaron Rodgers all day. Easy. I agree with the
coach and the Donfather. Aaron Rodgers. I'm going Brees just because I want to be different.
No, I'll go Rodgers. That one's pretty easy for me. All right. How about Matt Stafford? Matt Ryan.
Matt Ryan's up. They're both going to be up for the Hall of Fame too, brother.

(01:06:04):
There. Oh, Stafford obviously still playing. I'm going to go Stafford.
Matt Eise, you know, if they could have ran that ball, maybe he's going to get some a-tongue ring.
I got to go Stafford, man. Remember when he played with the dislocated shoulder on a two-point
conversion one year? Yeah, in Thanksgiving. Was it again? It was against Dallas. He's a toughie.

(01:06:26):
I like him. Yeah, Stafford. Stafford infection. Wow. I'll go Matt Ryan. He's a Hall of Famer.
You think so? Oh, absolutely. Where do you go? BC? I think he's a Hall of Famer too,
but I'll go Stafford. All right. We'll go, uh, okay. A couple more. Jim Kelly, Warren Moon.
Yeah, well, we didn't combine them till the film.

(01:06:48):
K-Gun versus the Red Gun. I'm going to go Jim Kelly. You know, I'm going to go Jim Kelly.
I mean, Moon was awesome. He was great talent. I just think Jim was a better quarterback, in my
opinion. It's hard to go against him, but I mean, Warren Moon in two different, uh, professional
leagues, two slightly different rules. Um, got to go with Warren. I'm going to Warren Moon.

(01:07:11):
He could have been the prettiest ball that's ever been thrown on the NFL.
I'll go Warren Moon. I'm actually going to lean with Coach here. I'm going to go
a slight nod to Jim Kelly. Just the way he ran the team. I'm going to go Moon. He elevated two
franchises, I think. Yeah. Two NFL franchises and the CFL. And yeah, they made him, where do you

(01:07:31):
go to college? Washington State? No, Washington University, Washington. All right. Uh, last
football one, uh, Marshawn Lynch, Austin Eckler. Now you got to remember how you run your offense now.
That's all I'm saying. Oh, Marshawn Lynch. All right. We were running out of the way I run my
offense. It's more kind of spread out. It's, it's wide open. So you get a piece like that, you know,

(01:07:55):
with a light box. I thought you might want to throw it to Eckler a little bit. I couldn't.
One of the greatest coaches of all time, Carol, you couldn't give the guy the ball that day.
Um, Lynch. Yeah, I'm going beast mode. Yeah, Marshawn. He would have had two, right?
He was a headache. I'm going Eckler. No, I'll take Lynch. Oh, you guys are where do you go to

(01:08:16):
college? West Virginia? Cal Lynch? Lynch went to Cal. Yeah. He was driving around on the golf cart.
Must have been for the academics he was there for. Um, last one, you had mentioned it. Movie,
the program or remember the Titans?
If you didn't say you didn't see it, either. I want kids version. Now we're talking about,

(01:08:38):
listen, the program for me, you know, I just love the, the whole aspect of it and just
the kind of the rise and fall, the greatness and the, and the glory and the, and the, the tough
things that you remember the team name? Um, East Carolina, um, East Carolina, right?
Yeah. East Carolina. What's their nickname? Their nickname was the, not Cougars. No, what was it?

(01:09:01):
I don't remember. Timberwolves. Timberwolves. Before, before you go to Bob,
you've seen Vision Quest?
Oh, sir. Yes, sir. I'm a wrestler. Of course. You don't know that. That's why I know that.
I've never seen it, but I actually, I think it was like the anniversary I saw on Facebook or
something this week. You need to write it up. This is ridiculous. What was the weight we
was trying to get to? I can know that. 155. 157? 168. 168. Okay. You got up the pegboard, man.

(01:09:26):
That's all that matters. I'll take, I'll take your word for it. It was a good movie. Is that in
black and white? I'm going coach Boone. Six plays running the veers. I mean, come on, man. I'm going
with the Bobby Bowden story program. I'm going program too. I'm going to remember it. Titans.
That's one of my all time favorites. It's a great movie. Okay. Hey, uh, who's your NFL squad?

(01:09:47):
Patriots. Come on. Too easy. So red socks, red socks too. Socks. Listen, I'm Boston all day.
So, Celts. Let's go. How about college? College football and hoops. Hoops. You can obviously
football. Wow. Old school. Rudy. I went old school. Rudy off sides. He's off sides. Listen,

(01:10:09):
I never cry. I cried. I'd let the team know that I wasn't coming back to coaching,
but I will cry a hundred percent of the time watching Rudy. I do too. Every, it does even
multiple times throughout the world. I would cut that kid. I would have cut that kid.
And the father in the stand. Oh, get him down there. It's like,
in the runway to Charles Dutton character in the runway. Oh yeah. Yeah. First game you ever saw.

(01:10:33):
You worked there forever. Come on. Hey, coach. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it. The
inevitable is we're going to see you on the sideline again as you're a young man and you're
obviously built for this. And good luck in retirement. And we look forward to the next
time we see you over there with the headset on. Yeah. Appreciate it. Thanks for coming. Thanks.

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