Doug Pederson and Frank Reich

because we don't lie to you on this podcast. Here, give us a follow, hit like follow, give us a review or a comment. Anywhere you listen to your podcasts at whether it's iHeartRadio or Apple podcasts. Please tell a friend to tell a friend to tell a friend. Come check us out. This is what we do. We bring you top tier guests, former players that are now all in their second acts doing great things. And we got two good ones to day. We got two former players

that are now head coaches. We have the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Peterson and the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers, Frank Reich, check it out. Today, we got a special guest with us. This gentleman is the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously played for the Packers. He won a super Bowl when he played with the Packers, and he won a super Bowl when he was a head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. Welcome to the show, Doug Peterson. You know what, let's just

get the awkwardness out of the way. Coach with the Eagles could how what was it like to be in Philadelphia to win a championship? Playing in Philadelphia under Shan Well Sean Payton on the Saints we go to Philly. He was like, look, the game. The game plan is to get the crowd to boo by halftime because it is so rough. And the fans they are so special and they are so unique. What do you mean you mean they're like they helped bring the Teagle? What was

that like? It was, Um, it's very special. I played in that city. I worked with Coach Reid on his staff in that city, and obviously I was a head coach in that city. And it's um, you just said something right there. When you were with the Saints and and coach Peyton said, Hey, if we can jump up and the crowd's gonna turn. Well. I took a Jacksonville Jaguar team in there in Week four, Week three or four this past year and I said the exact same thing.

I said, guys, if we get up on this, on this guy, on these guys, the crowd is gonna turn. And it was four, we were up, fourteen, nothing about to go in twenty one, nothing and the crowd was turning on him. It was turning on him. But but that's their that's their passion. And then for for us to win a championship that year, um, the way we want it with the guys that we want it with. Uh, you know, as you guys know, it's a special it's a special bond. We've all been in the locker room.

We all understand what that means. And and uh, you know, we lost some guys that year. But for the city of phil Delphia to wait fifty two years and that organization to win a championship, you know, Coach Reid took him to a Super Bowl, and I have a lot of respect for Coach Read they lost. He's been to like five or six NFC championship games with the Eagles, you know, and and so for us that year, um, it's it's very special. And um, you know, I hate to say, but there's a lot of Eagle fans around

this country. Yeah, I run into all the time. I just couldn't get down with the grease selling them. The poles didn't they like, oh, they didn't want him to climb up them and to tear him down. But they were still climbing up the boy were trees and they just yea, yeah, they're just different. They got that little jail selling and they had like a holding room in there in the stadium. I mean, it's just Philly's Philly, man. I mean I think that's I think that's what makes

Philly so unique. And a lot of respect for those fans, and and I'll tell you they're they're passionate, but they're loyal. I mean we I hate to say, we could be four and ten and they're still gonna show out there's they're gonna pack that you know, that stadium, and you know they're gonna hang with you all season long. So how would you compare Eagles fans to Packer fans? Now, Packer fans are like, oh you know that that real deep Wisconsin on all. You know, all they got that

that thing there. Oh, I've been there a few times. I feel like they're like the nicest fans though, Like they are extremely nice and loyal in the cold, and they get so much snow. They don't throw snowballs out there. Hold on, hold on bread far Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, they've had two quarterbacks for like fifty years and you know what I'm saying. So they've had it well, they've had it good. They've been to they've had a lot of success. They've been to a lot of playoff games, a couple

of Super Bowls. So it's a different crowd. But you're right, they it's a it's a um. You know, in the in the in the winter time, you're gonna see nothing but blaze orange, you know, because they just caught got out of the hunt Huntever and then they came to a game at twelve noon. Um. But again, they're they're they're very loyal, they're very supportive, they're passionate about the Packers.

I loved playing there for the eight years that I did. UM. And again, there's a lot of Packer fans around this country and I still run into a lot of them. Yeah, they travel well, they do. They travel well. So when you so when you were in Green Bay, um, I was back on our Brett farm, Like, what was that experience like for you? And how did you make it

last so long? Being his not just the back back up to him, but that quarterback room what we had, like because you had a lot of great coaches there too, and all those Uh I had Steve Mariucci and ninety five when I went there, and then and then it transitioned to to Marty Morton Wagg and the ultimately we had Andy Reid. Yeah, you know, Andy Reid was our position coach there. Um. And you know Daryl Bevil who's

still coaching, he's in Miami right now. Um, you know, he was one of our position coaches at the times. We've had a lot of a lot of great coaches, you know, coaches. Tom Rossley was the offensive coordinator at the time, you know, and and then you know in our room, there was there was Brett, There was Jim McMahon, There was Matt Hasselback Jim, Yeah, Matt Hasselbeck was in there. Man. Yeah, you know, we've we've had you know, Henry Burrus, who oh my good from Canada? From Yeah you know why? Yes?

In Chicago app a great cup? Yeah, I want a great cup. So we've had we've had really really good uh quarterback rooms. Um. Obviously they were very lighthearted rooms. There was football being taught, but we we enjoyed each other and had had had a great time. So Doug following up that question, so after you finish your career playing wise, when did you know you wanted to get in coaches? You just routed off seven different great head coaches that were all around you at your different times

in Green Bay. We weren't even talking about with Derek. Coach Rhodes was coaching defense too. I wasn't with him though we missed. I missed I missed coach ros That's fine, but you still had an influence of yeah, when did you know that you want to get in that professor? So my my last my last two years in Green Bay. Um, I really started thinking, you know, I was the backup quarterback and it really started getting me. Um thinking about what I wanted to do after football, how I wanted

to transition. I wanted to stay in football somehow, someway and so the wheel started turning. And it was not untill that last year in two thousand and four that I really felt like coaching was going to be in my future. I just didn't know at what level, whether it's gonna be high school, college, pro. You know, I spent a lot of time with coaches picking their brains, you know, to see just as you guys know, the grind of a season, to grind a lot of year.

It's a lot a lot of time what these coaches go through them like, I really really want to do I really want to do that. You know, maybe if you college. You know, if you're a college coach, you're on the road recruiting, biting two cell phones. You know, it's a recruiting phone, and you're I don't know if I want to do that. And so I settled on high school football. Uh. Mike Sherman, who was my head coach in Green Bay when I when I stepped away, um gave me some great advice because he was a

high school football coach, you know, in his time. And he said, he said, Doug, he said, just you got to find a place where you enjoy teaching the game of football. Yeah, wherever you can go and just teach the game, figure out where that is for you and then and then plug in. And so for me it was it was high school. So I as soon as I retired, I got into high school football down in Shreeport, Louisiana. OK. Yeah, I did that for four years. It was Calvary Calvary Academy.

I was in there with evangel Christians. It was pretty good. They beat the Brakes office a couple of times. Um. But yeah, I did high school coaching for four years. But in my was that immediately after you right after five I got no time head. Yeah, I went right it as a head coach, um and did that for four years. But there was still something inside of me

that there was more. Right, there was more. And having been in the league for a combined total about fourteen years on and off, you know, when you're around the game, you want to get to that next level. And so, uh Andy Reid had a had a quality control job open and hired me in two thousand and nine to come back to Philadelphia as a quality control guys. So

I dumped from high school back into the NFL. So did you have any other plans or career plans or goals aspirations, I would say outside of coaching when you were done. No, this is what it was like, Man, I'm going on chips are like here we go. Yeah, no, I you know, I'm a business major, got a degree in business. But I was like, I don't think I really want to sit behind a desk or you know,

I'm not the type that's gonna go sell something. Yeah, you know, I was a football guy, and so I mean you could be a head coach, so like, yeah you could. I'm feeling it now, like you you could sell me with it. You can sell me with that. I like your I like your confidence. How was what are those conversations like though? When you you know you typically it's the oc DC and then you have a successful season or two and then your name kind of gets floated around becoming a head coach, Like what are

those conversations like? Is it just are you on the phone talking to other teams? Is that you're your agent? Like, Hey, I got some news, m Philadelphia Eagles want to possibly your your name's been trounation And a good question because you as sean something very similar to this yesterday. Yeah, like how does how does that even? Like occur or

how does it arise about you coming head? So for me, for me, I was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City with with Andy Reid, you know, because we when Andy got fired in Philly in twenty twelve, got hired in twenty thirteen. He brought me as an offensive coordinator. I was just a quarterback coach and Philly left to go be AZOC and then you know, we had we had early success in Kansas City. Alex Smith is our quarterback,

and we had early success for those first two three years. Well, as you guys know in this in this business, ocs and DC's, when you have success, their names start to pop up around the different circles for for head coaches and and so for me, my agent, you know, had been been kind of talking to, um, you know, some of these different circles, the guys that you know, the powers to be around the NFL, and and um you know, actually it was in twenty fourteen my name had come

up the first time and I told my agent said, I'm not ready. I'm not ready to be head coach. I need I need another year. I'm just I'm just not there yet. Um. So I played or coach the twenty fifteen season, and that's when what's from Philadelphia And there was a lot of familiarity with going back to Philadelphia for me. Uh, it was a good transition, good fit and um got hired in twenty sixteen. So in that that little time where you were like, I'm not ready,

did you start to prepare in another way? Did you start to say, Okay, I might need to think about you do app you need to? You do you have to? You have to really transition your mind from you know, you're you're an offensive coordinator coaching one side of the ball right now, you gotta think big picture. Yeah, you gotta think organizationally. Yeah, not just the football side, but

you're also dealing with the business side, right businessman? Yeah yeah, So for me it was about okay, learning learning more of the business side too, and and you know, um, but do you do that as like so when you're the OC in you're under like I think Andy Read we can say he can be a Hall of Fame coach one day, like he's an amazing coach, But you're you're doing a job calling all the plays and getting the offensive side of the ball or offensive players ready.

Do you get coached as the OC. Are you actually like taking notes on how coach Read is running the team, how co Tread is running the business, how co Tread is interacting with the team, how co Tread is doing everything with the GM and the pro personnel in college, Like, did you start taking notes of like, Okay, this is what he this is what he does. Okay, he does this, he does that? Like are you still getting coached herself?

You know. It's it's interesting because the three years I was in Kansas City being the offensive coordinator, I got to spend a lot of time with Coach Read because he's an offensive mind and all, and so we did game plans together and the whole thing. So those three years he really started pouring into me what it was

like to be a head coach. Okay, and so for three years I was just like a sponge just absorbing everything that he all his knowledge and wisdom and everything, because you know, he's been fourteen seasons as a head coach in Philadelphia before he went to Kansas City, and so this is the first time sort of behind the scenes look for me of what a head coach looks like. And so he but he does that with all of

his guys. You look at the Sean mcdermotts and the Ron Rivers and the guys that have you know, Matt Naggie's and the Eric the enemies of the world and those guys that are going to go on to have been head coaches and will be head coaches. You know, you just named like six head coaches that came off of him. I guess I didn't realize that, you know, But but that's what he does. Yeah, and he he's more about coaching his coaches than he is coaching the players. Yeah,

you know. And um, and that's what he did for the three years. And that's Uh. You just got to be a sponge and take it all in. So when you're when your coaching career ended with the Eagles, all right, you you really took You took a whole year off. I did. And how important was that for you to take a full year off to kind of decompress. I did that after my career playing Gears. P Nut did not.

I did not, so foolish. What would you say was the reasoning behind that and would you suggest it for others? The reasoning for me um coming off of the twenty twenty seasons right after the twenty twenty seasons. That's the pandemic season. It was rough on all all clubs, and it was obviously rough on us in Philadelphia. We didn't play well. Quarterback issues and things like that, and I was not in a good place mentally physically. I just

was not in a good place. And and and um, looking back on it, it was probably a blessing to be released because I did take I did. I need I needed time. I needed time, you know, for me, I needed to get away from the game. I needed to get away from from football and just separate myself just a little bit and really kind of clear your head and really think about what life is going to look like. Either either you're going to step away from the game and retire, or do I want to continue and coach.

And so as the twenty one season went, and I did, you know, I had some issues with my brother and and um, you know, he passed away to pancreatic cancer that year. So I got to spend a lot of time with our brother. I appreciate it and spend a lot of time with him and his wife. And so there were life things. We had a wedding, our oldest son got married that year. So there's things in life

that come up. And sometimes, as you guys know, and football you miss, right, you miss sometimes the job proceeds family and that's you know, you don't you don't like that, right, So this gave me a chance to really dig into the family a little bit and be around family and and um, also give me a perspective to how, if given an opportunity again, how to how to coach again, and how to be a better coach, and how to really influence players right, and how to how to lead

an organization, lead a team. Um, because I knew it didn't take long. It took a couple of months, but I knew I wanted to get back into coaching. It wasn't I wasn't done. I was young. I'm young. I'm in you know, mid fifties, but I'm relatively young something. Yeah. It was same, the same, same hair, y'all like. But yeah, so that year was really good. So I you know,

but you look at Frank Reich. Frank Reich got let go during the middle of the season and he got right back into it this year, which for its different, right, it's just but for me, it was what I needed at the time to get back in because that window of opportunity closes so fast in this league that I didn't want that to pass by either. Um you know, and I had opportunities to be a coordinator again in

twenty one. I just the teams were not going to get the best version of me right right because I wasn't a I wasn't a bad place mentally and physically. Kudos for you for like realizing that and kind of stepping away, and thanks for sharing that. I think a lot of people need to do more of the you know what, I just need take my time off, take my three sixty five. You got great advice. Who told

you to take your time off? You your GM my GM. Yeah, Mickey Lumis told Mickey Lemis said, you know, if you want to be involved with football in any shape, form or fashion, he said, I was a just you take take some time, take a year off, like you've been able good, you played a long career, you made plenty of money, Take some time really decompressed, and then figure out like self reflecting, like really get away from the game and then say you might start sing it again

kind of like maybe what you did well and you start, you start, you start feeling better, and you feel like you can be a better version of yourself the next time around. Right, because of the experiences that you went through. Yeah, um, you know leading up to that decision, this, that was your first break because you stopped playing, stop playing, high school coaching, NFL coaching. So yeah, it was your first break,

my first break in a long time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, good. Well, yeah, good for both of y'all for doing I don't I don't think I ever took time off. I just kind of kept going. So I'm envious to both of y'all for for doing that. But yeah, that's another another topic another day. So when you were in Philly, Uh, Jalen hurts you guys drafted him and it probably wasn't received

well around the league. Now I know you're not with We talked about these Philly fans booing, so that natural, It is natural, but it wasn't very well received in the beginning, right, I know you're no longer there, but uh, he's gone out played well, you know, had an MVP MVP caliber season. What was it about Jalen that drew

you to like lacking him and drafting him? So I was there obviously when we drafted him in twenty twenty UM, and we're we're sitting there on day two of the draft on Friday, and you know, um, Howie Roseman, Um, Jeffrey Lurie, myself, I can remember having a conversation saying, Hey, if if Jalen is sitting there at our pick, we should pick him. We should take him. And I was like yeah, all of us were like yes, yes, And it wasn't. It wasn't to draft him to replace Carson

Wentz at the time. In this league, you need two quarterbacks, you need you need a solid backup quarterback. And so we felt like that this was our This is a great option. He's a tremendous athlete, good quarterbacks, smart kid. But before all of that, I've had a chance to talk to Brian Dabele who coached me in Alabama, right Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. You know, I talked to a lot of people and just watching his film and knowing his story. This guy's this guy's wired the right way.

This guy is a football player. And I just felt that if this kid gets an opportunity wherever, whether it's in Philly or maybe somewhere else, down the road, this kid is gonna shine. I just I just felt that my heart of heart's just understanding who he is. And so for the short you know, one year that I was with him, I saw that I saw his work ethic, the way he prepared, and he was he was the backup.

He was he started the season like the third quarterback, and then he made him made his way to the second and then ultimately played and started the last four games of the season that year. But I just knew that if this kid, if this kid gets an opportunity, he's he's gonna do some really good special things. And you know we've seen it here now, not only last year, but this past season, or I should say two seasons ago and then this last year. Um, just what what

he's capable of doing. And and I had a chance to see him back in February and just, uh, you know, just tell him how proud I was of him and how he's he's battled through. Owe you like they owe you a ton well for bringing them in. I think his former player, as a former player, it really does

mean the most. When you have your former colleagues, your coaches that you passed through times and they really still all keep up with you and ye there and when they you hear those words like hey, I'm watching, I'm proud of you, we do take that for granted. So well, we don't take it for granted. And it does mean a lot. And I'm sure you had that when you we're a former player and went run to other coaches,

other coaches and stuff like that. Yeah, tell you, tell you those kinds of things, yes, yeah, and means a lot. Chris Ballard was my guy. Chris Ballard's after me, so I could I could talk to Chris and I could text Chris right now, And I tell everyone to this day, man, I came to Chicago because Chris Ballard he saw something in me, the hard heart, and it was just like, no, I'm telling you. Get this kid from Louise and Lafayette.

I know, no one knows the school, nobody knows where it's at, but draft this kid, he's well the Louisanna connects. I appreciate it, no doubt so so Doug Um in your current situation, we all heard the stories about how toxic this situation was in Jacksonville before you arrived. And what could you say was the biggest thing, um, and how important Sorry not the biggest thing, but how important was it for you to change that culture? You know? The biggest thing for me? And again this was all

part of twenty one being out of football. How was I going to be the better version of myself? And then when when the Jacksonville thing started gaining a little more traction, and then that might be the landing spot for me. I had to kind of research the situation a little bit and see just kind of went on that what went on down there? And um, it wasn't good. It wasn't good. Um the players, the players were really in a bad in a bad place, you know, mentally

coming out of that season. And and for me, for me, it was about, Okay, I'm the next head coach standing in front of these guys. How are they going to trust me? Because they lost faith and trust in the in the head coach before, So how are they going to trust me? I'm just I'm a head coach figure, right, So I didn't even know if I was gonna have

players at the off season program, right, volunteer program. Everybody's out and they're like, I ain't going you know, we got we got drove into ground our practices were hard. I mean, this is the off season. I mean, you know, so I put together a message, um to the guys that first day, and and I actually did it over the course of a couple of weeks. But we I talked a lot about communication. I talked a lot about that. I talked a lot about trust, you know, and in

me trusting you, you trusting me. Um. I talked a lot about the people that we surround ourselves with, right, the right people in our building, outside of our building. And so I just kept kept formulating these ideas with the players, and slowly, over time, I think I was able to gain their trust, right and and and then you know, we just kind of worked through, you know, because there were questions like, coach, how are these OTA

practices gonna go? So, what do you mean, We're gonna be out there an hour and twenty minutes, We're gonna get our work done. We're gonna be done. What what are you talking about? It was gonna be easy, you know, We're gonna meet you and lift some weights and you can go home this our day. Wow, you go get paid whatever. Um. But But I think too, I think they had respect for me because I sat in their chair, you know, as a former player, and and I could relate to them and and so there's a there's a

lot of that that goes back and forth. Um that that really sort of impacted our football football team really heading into training camp that year and still really not knowing how we were gonna do. You know, I felt like we could be a five hundred ball club that first year. Yea. Um, but uh, you know, we exceeded probably everybody else's expectations but our own. As you guys know, you only leaving yourself and your team, and you felt like you're a good football team. And we did some

good things last year. So one of the things we all have our welcome to the NFL moment, right, I know we all have them as players, But I'm gonna switch it up and I'm gonna ask you what was your welcome to the NFO moment as a head coach? Like, what what was that moment where He's like, damn, so this is what it's like to be a head coach? Like I didn't. I didn't. I didn't see that coming. And it just like really like holy you know what. It It kind of shook me. What what was that moment.

It was actually my first my first regular season game in Philadelphia in twenty and sixteen, played the Cleveland Browns at home at Lincoln Financial, and you know, I coached the preseason games and it was like, oh, these are great preseason games, but this is the regular season. Yeah, And that ball teed up and it kicked off, and I went, oh boy. In my mind, I'm like, Okay, this just got real because now you're you're you're you're managing the game. Yeah, I got a red flag in

my pocket that I may have. Yeah, you know, I've gotta I'm gonna call time outs and you know I've gotta oh wait, I gotta I gotta flip to the defensive side, and I gotta listen to what coach Schwartz is talking about, you know. And so it just it just became for me. It just became kind of that aha, like this is real, this is now. Okay. I kind of like it, but at the same time, you're kind of paranoid a little bit. That's the first time I've heard a coach saying that, It's like, man, this has

got real. I heard players say it all the time, but I say something it gets real because you're you're you know. And then at the end of the we won the game. Um, plus we're playing a rookie quarterback, Carson Wentz a rookie first game. Yeah, he's a rookie, you know. So there's a lot of things kind of going against you a little bit in that in that first uh, that first deal we ended up seven to nine that season. But um, you learn, right, you learn.

You learn from the good, the bad, the ugly, as we say, and um, each week we got a little bit better and and uh end up winning a championship in year two. Now pick one real quick, because I got to know this. I know they want us to hurry up. I know we've got a couple of minutes. But who are you rooting for in this past Super Bowl? The Eagles are the Chiefs? I plead the fifth alight. I don't accept that answer. I would like that answer.

It was very close. But I had to know. I had to know that here's a good duck who is on your personal Mount Rushmore of influence, not just football but in life for you. Well, you got four. I get four because some people might not know how many of the Mount Rushmore. I get it. I didn't understand. But one of them, one of them is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ's love. Yeah, he's number one. UM, number two. I would definitely have to put Andy Reid

up there. Um the impact he had not only as my playing career, but but as my coaching career, professional career. Um Andy, Andy would be one of those. Uh, my dad, My dad's on that list. My dad passed away. He never got to see me coach of head football as a head coach. He never got to see me coach a game. He passed away actually the last preseason weekend right before the first regular right before that Cleveland Browns game. So he passed away that week before. So he never

got to see me head coach. So, but he's on there. The impact he had, uh in my life as a you know, he coached me, coached me hard, probably shaped a lot of my beliefs and the way where I am um um today. And then the fourth one, Um, the fourth one for me I could name. There's a lot of guys that have influenced or shaped shaped my career. I'll tell you this. Mike Holmgren was another head coach had in Green Bay. He pulled me aside. I was

I was playing. He pulled me aside during during training camp, and um, we were actually passing each other in the building and he told me, he says, he said, Doug your you're a good quarterback. You can be so much better. He says, you need it. You need to really focus on taking your game to another to another level. You know, the offense, you know what to do. You can manage the whole thing. But it's now it's kind of like

just cut it loose. Yeah, right, don't hold back. Just go cut it loose, take it to another to another notch. And and that really challenged me from a player's perspective. But it also challenged me now a little bit, you know because back in seventeen we were you know, I was thinking about, you know, do all these fourth down decisions and two point conversion decisions, and you know, it's like taking your team to another level. It's like cutting

the guy's loose, don't hold the guy's back. Um. And and so for me, those would be the four guys I would put up there. Um that that really shaped and influenced, uh, you know my career now was that Uh is that baby Jesus or is that the old Jesus? Is it thirty thirty two year old Jesus was the baby Jesus? Jesus? This is a full grown Okay. My last question though, is Um, we retire every year and you when you were retiring, you were trying to figure

out what should I do next? What would your advice be on a player that is retiring after this season

going into retirement? What what would your advice be to him? Wow? Um, First of all, if if if somebody, if somebody is either if they're contemplating retirement or thinking about retirement, UM, just just make sure that it's it's it's the right decision, because you know, I feel like that when when when guys get in that in that situation one, there's probably something waiting for him right post post you know, career, right,

whether it's still in the business or somewhere else. You know, so that that usually pulls guys, guys into different in different directions. UM that way, but you know, the advice is just to enjoy, reconnect with your families, right, reconnect with your your friends, reconnect some of the relationships that sometimes football UM can can tug one just a little bit.

I you think about our our spouses, I mean they you know, they're the ones that probably sacrifice the most in this in this especially on the coaching side, you know, because the time away, and they're the ones that are, um, you know, running the kids to schools and grocery shop and keeping the house together and all that kind of stuff and so reconnecting, reconnecting right there. But just enjoy it,

Enjoy enjoy the memories, Enjoy your teammates. Um. As you head into retirement, look back on your career, you know, enjoy those moments that um, the bonds that you had in the locker room, I think those are the ones you carry for a lifetime. Rite those those friendships, whether it's you've been on you know, multiple teams or one team. UM. But but just enjoy it, enjoy life. UM back and you know, um, just think about the next chapter in the direction you want to go? Cool? Does that's a rap?

Appreciate it, man, thanks, you really appreciate it. How can you not root for the Jacksonville Jaguars after listening to the dug or coach Peterson, UM, I'm really excited. I didn't really know a ton about him, but I'm really rooting for him now moving forward and in the decisions and where this organization is going. Like I'm really excited about where they're going and what he's doing. I think

you should be, Doug. He really showed himself. He was very natural, very candid with us, and really opened up about his own experiences as being a head coach and also a former player. This next coach you're going to be listening to Frank Wright really excited about what everything he's doing for the Carolina Panthers and going forward. Let's listen in on his experiences, what brought him to this

place and where he's leading this organization. Our next guest, and I'm getting to do the honors of introducing this man, this young man right here. He's currently the head coach for the Carolina Panther. He's a two time Super Bowl champion, winning a ring with the Colts and the Eagles. He also played quarterback in the NFL for thirteen years. Mister

Frank will coach, head coach Frank right now. But I wasn't all the way done here because I want to talk about the press conference when you got introduced to the Carolina as the Carolina Panthers latest head coach. I thought your family you were good, but the family overall was excellent. You guys had the Carolina Blues nailed down. The lighting was excellent, your speech was great. They showed the highlight tape of you throwing the first touchdown pass

and Carolina Panthers history. It was to Pete Meslar's the tight end. As a matter of fact, they had white jersey's on. He had Pete Meslars there. He had a whole bunch of his former teammates there. The Carolina Panthers really went all out. David Tepper, everybody, Missus Wright, the daughter, everybody looked great that day. It was beautiful. I must say I was amazed. I was wild and now I'm in the presence of greatness. So thank you. Hey, I love love that intro, and yeah, it was a great day.

And when you have three daughters, you got to get the fashion right right right. It was on, hold are your daughters. The daughters are all married, so they're thirty three, thirty one, and twenty seven. Yea. The husbands look good too. Everybody was in the colors. Grandkids, you know, the whole best. But the grandkids were kind of not in the shot in the spotlight. But we had a great day. That's that's pretty cool. So okay, here we go, So let's

just get the awkwardness out the way. So I didn't even notice until I read a little bio earlier, was that you were the quarterbacks coach in the Indian app with the Indian App his colts in Super Bowl forty four where your team was fourteen and two in the regular season and you eventually to the Super Bowl to a thirteen and three New Orleans Saints team. Yeah, how was that possible? You guys are favored by most of the experts all week long. What what went wrong that day?

I love the fact that you're just hitting me right in the face with us to start. That's the way to go, and that's the way to bring it strong. Um you know we did. We had we had a lead, I believe at halftime, and they came out of the fake on you know, surprising on sidekick you know called by coach Payton start the second half. Really turned the tide, you know, really turned the tide. But um, we were I was just talking about that with a couple of

guys last night, that that game. But a couple of the Eagles guys about the difficulty of losing the Super Bowl. It's rough, you know, it's a rough feeling. It's a bad game to lose. Yeah, I've I've lost two. Um

flipping it. I'll give you. This is a layup though, Like, how was it you know, your first coaching gig two thousand and six, two thousand and seven, you were one of the I think quarterbacks are quite just an I had kind of been an offseason intern was not actually there during the season, but had been there in the off season. So the real first experience of it on

field as far as the victory was in Philadelphia in seventeen. Um. I did do that internship when they won it in in seven, but the true experience was in seventeen with the Eagles. Yeah, because you were on staff, not on staff with the Bears Colts, and I was on the field with the Bears at the time. And to answer the question to follow with it, yeah, it sucks. I still haven't gotten over my two Super Bowl losses. I'm

like owing two with Peyton Manning. I don't even like Peyton Manning because just like destroyed us in Super bowls, man I just, uh, why did you bring that up? And he never lets me live that down. No, because I because you won my one. And you know, the on side kicked like you talked about. We had practiced that so many times and I was supposed to recover it, but your guys, I'm not gonna bring his name up, but kind of touched it and then it kind of

went awry. But that's why you on side kick it to the same sideline, because we knew if anything goes wrong, we wanted to be on our sidelines so we could get the refs and be arguing like it was us. And that was back in the day when you couldn't pull guys out of the podt Was that one of those one where just the kickoff team knew it was coming? Did you guys tell anybody else? Or like, did everyone knows a pre game? Like you never even heard the backstory? Okay,

all right, right here we go. So we get in a halftime, you know, it's an extended period at in halftime, Sean comes over to the defense because most of the defense is on the kickoff team. He said, I'm running the surprise on site and we're like, yeah, okay, whatever, just like like, and we thought he would change by the time we actually went out there and he was like, I'm still calling it like it's still up running ambush

and we were like, all right, let's go. So my I don't think I even got nervous because I'd recovered it so many times and practiced it. And then when the play went awry, like we had never practiced that, we didn't know what was going to happen, if it unbelievable, if it went wrong, and it went wrong, and we just happened to follow on it, so it kind of went crazy. But yes, that is a whole backstory. Sean came in the beginning, he said he was going to

do it at halftime. As soon as we went in there, he was so confident with it, and we were like, all right, let's do it, and we knew we needed to do something because we literally had not stopped the Colts all day. You guys. Yeah, I also think in that game, if you remember, you know, we got a little you know, at the end of the first half, if I remember correctly, we got a little conservative. Did

you went with a fullback dive? You should have just stayed pedal on the medal because we hadn't slowed you down at all. I know, I know, I still we still got that one a little bit. But those are the only things that really changed that whole game. That's awesome. Um, all right, well here we go. Let's go to currently. So what drew you to Carolina? Besides your former you know, playing there all those other things, What really drew you

to this opportunity? Because I know when David Tepper talked about it, he mentioned, you know, the other candidates, and he said, look, when Frank Wright came in, he had it nailed down of a future plan. Yeah. His vision was something that everybody could just get behind immediately. Yeah. And really, what I felt when I walked into that room in the interview was like I felt like we

were working. I mean like there was an instant connection, you know, with the Teppers, with David Nicole Tepper, with Scott Fitter, you know, the GM, with the whole crew that was there, and you know, just felt like a conversation. It didn't feel like an interview. And that in both the first interview and the second interview. So obviously I'd played there and lived there for thirteen years, so I already felt like home. My children are living in North Carolina.

But the commitment and just hearing you know, mister Tapper talk about okay, you know, he and Nicole had been owners now for a number of years, but hey, they're ready to put the pedal to the metal. Let's go. The commitment from them, that's a big deal. Yeah, it is. And so this is your second opportunity as a head coach. Yeah, and maybe you could give us a little bit insight of some things that you learned from your first experience that you will be different and how and how will

you treat this from different overall as well? Yeah, I mean it's it's unbelievable. How I don't want to say it's it's easy. It's not easy. But like when you first become a head coach the first times, it is a little bit like drinking you know, water from a fire hose, right, I mean, it's it can be overwhelming, you know, so much stuff going on. Uh, this time around, it just felt like, okay, let's go season. I know

what we're doing. This is version two point Oh. You know you get to debug things, right, It's like an app, you know, you get version two Um, it's updated it's improved. You got out the bad program. You know. For me, you know, that was just a question of understanding the chemistry of the staff, you know, understanding you know, the team we're trying to build, and that's what we were able to go in and paint that vision for mister Tepper.

So what's what's been the toughest thing being a head coach? Like, say, you your first time, like I was, we just asked a bug that you know, everyone has that welcome to the NFL moment as a player, What was your welcome to the NFL moment as a coach? As a head coach? Yeah, I mean I think it's you know, you're no longer just calling the plays. You know, you're over every aspect of the of the football operations. So that's both the you know, welcome to the excuse me, welcome to the NFL.

But honestly, for me, that was like what I wanted, Like that was like I couldn't wait for that. I felt like I was made for that. So you know, to learn to go in to dive in with the defense, you know, you get to know the defensive players, get you know, get in defensive meetings with the coaches. You know, understand, I'm not trying to micromanage what the defense is doing, but you really got to put your hand in touch on every part of the team. Yeah, Doug talked about that.

He said, like, you know, he remembered like, oh man, I'm not just calling him offense play, i gotta switch over to the defense. R It's like listen in and it really is different. Was your main goal always to be a head coach or like when did that decision come into factor? Like, you know what I'm gonna coach. I want to be a head coach. Well, naturally, you want to be probably the best, which is the head coach. You want to be the league guy, especially playing a quarterback.

When did that happen for you? Like when I was like six, you know, I mean, I'm not kidding. I mean I came from a family of coaches, you know, so you know, I wanted to be a player first, you know, like all of us, right, we wanted to play. But when I was in nineteen eighty five my rookie season, Bill Pollyan came up to me after the season was over,

who was the general manager at the time. He said, you're going to play a long time as a as a player, and then when you finished, you're gonna be a head coach in this You're gonna be a head coach in this league. That was in nineteen eighty five, after my rookie season, So you know, having a guy like that come up to you. M. I come from a family of coaches. My dad was a head high school coach. My mom was a coach. She coached everything.

She coached field, hockey, cheerleading, track and field. I mean, you know, she was the the ultimate high school teacher. I can coach anything. So my brother's a head coach. You know, I just think I've wired that way, but I brought up that way, so M. But the thing is, you guys know this, you know, seeing it from the player's side that you know, as a coach, you don't want to be that guy who's coming in just trying to climb the ladder. So I never took it like that.

I honestly did. I knew, hey because I played fourteen years so and then I took seven years where I was out of football before I got so I didn't get back into coaching until I was really in my mid forties. So could I ever think I'd make it. I didn't know. I was just gonna take it year by year, do the best I could and hope that it worked out. So when you got away from football, you set for seven years, right, Yeah, what were you doing in that time? We all didn't ask players. Doug

said he never took time off. He went straight went right into coaching. You took a year off. I didn't take a year off. I wish I would have took a year off. Like, what did you do and what made you just decide to stay away from the game. Yeah, so I had opportunities to go into coaching right away, but as we talked about earlier, at the onset of the program of three young daughters, you know, I think when I finished, they were like nine, seven and four.

So I knew once you get into coaching, man, it's one hundred plus hours a week. And I was like, I know, I want to coach, but I want to help raise my children first, you know. So I wanted to help them with homework, go to swim meets, you

know all that stuff. So I said, I'm going to take a couple of years really invest into my family, my children, you know, my wife and I could do some things together because once you get into coaching things commitment, and then we also you know, I also you know, I went into full time ministry and so I was able to kind of keep my own schedule, did a lot of traveling and speaking. So that was the combination

of things that I did for those few years. So now that you are head coach, every coach has their philosophy, Every coach has their saying of what they think the team should be. We obviously know when Carolina is to keep pounding. I played in carol. We both played in Carolina for a year where you played two, I played one. What has been your philosophy or what is your philosophy

late going into the season. Yeah, No, the keep pounding thing is a way to talk about what we've always talked about for me, and that's that that keep pounding is a relentless pursuit for sustained excellence. Right, So we talked about that as an organization already with the Panthers. Right, So we're gonna clearly define what keep pounding and that's a relentless pursuit for sustained excellence. Um. Yeah, we all want the goal, we all want the Super Bowl that

we're talking about. But we think the best way to get there is is to create that sustained excellence, like create a high floor so that when the opportunities present itself to reach for those championships were in striking distance. So you're with the Panthers. Now, you guys have made the trade of the off season. Let's let's go ahead to call it what it is. Extremely busy. I like

the moves you're making those. I like it. I like it with this opportunity to draft a franchise quarterback, like all the pressure that comes with that, all the decision making, all of the thought process, the mindset that so many hours, the manpower to create all these things, this opportunity. Could you just give us a little bit of insight. I'm not telling us to give us the pick, even though

I think I know. But yeah, as anything, that's great. Um, you know with Scott Fitter, the GM, Dann Morgan and assistant GM, the whole whole crew. Uh, mister missus Tepper, they've been great. So the processes, you know, dive in right. Scott and his crew they already have the event. They've been evaluating these quarterbacks for you know, forever. So I just get here. So I sit down. I listened to where where are our scouts at? Where's Scott at? On his view of all these quarterbacks as we as a

coaching step begin to dive in. Now, Hi, let's get out and meet these guys. Let's you know, let's go to the pro days. Let's sit down, have dinner with him. We've seen you. Yeah, let's bring them into our building. You know, Let's let's dig down deep and take every second, every hour, every day to finish and confirm what we believe from the very start of this process. And that's what we're doing. It's a lot of fun. These guys are all these guys are fun to hang out with.

So yeah, that's yeah, I didn't well and that and then and then and then on top of that, right, so you get that trade as as we're talking about and when you said about the moves, the big one was going to number one. But now this free agency thing, you know, mister Tepper has just said, Okay, let's go. Let's surround this guy with some playmakers. Miles Sanders, right, DJ Chark, Adam Feeling, you know, Hayden Hurst. Right, Let's get some playmakers. So he is, so is the is

the owner? Is he like super involved and like, hey I want this guy, want that guy. No, he's uh, he's has his you know, he's looking and hearing everything. Okay, he's you know, he's obviously brilliant guy and brilliant enough to know, hey, let's Scott and I handle that. But he's involved in it, you know, he wants to know um and in particular, I think he's involved in all the numbers and the cap and the contracts and how everything's set up. I think he has his hands on

all that. So you you know, we're talking earlier about your your your coaching staff. You got it. You got a lot of ex players. You got Josh, you got dudes, got dan'elow on, Josh mccolln. Let's put a name on it. Oh not everybody just knows John you right, he played eighteen years. We should he was. He was one of my teammates. I was with him, he was with me in Chicago. I was with his brother Luke in New Orleans. So I know Josh very well. But you're your coaching staff.

It has a lot of former players in it, Like, tell me what that process was like to hire those specific guys. Yeah, I mean, Deuce was the first guy I called, because you know, the first one on staff. Yeah, he was. You know, we were together in Philadelphia, and I just know, you know, I'm mister even kill Listen, I'm not a yeller and screamer. Everybody knows that I'm kind of even killed. Keep you know, poised, you know their intensity and all that, But I need Deuce's fire

and brimstone. He brings the fire and brimstone, you know, so um and then brilliant offensive. You know, he's a brilliant offensive mind. But really has helped me when we were in Philadelphia in the run game. His perspective on some of the stuffs in the run game was really good. And in the protection world, which you know you have to be great at um. But overall, I just wanted to blend right. I liked the former player thing. Obviously.

I think there's advantages to being a former player, but I also think there's advantages to the coaches who have been coaching since they've been twenty you know what I mean. They bring a certain football acumen that former player who played for these guys been coaching ball all those years that we were playing, you know what I mean. So there's a certain advantage that so get the blend of that old young get the whole thing. I just liked it when he yelled so much, like he gonna yell

and give you everything to him. Well, it was funny because when you saw NFL Hard Knocks, it really put like I really shine the light on that whole Detroit staff and the staff with the stars and so we could talk about the players, but nobody cared that we were rooted. Everybody was rooting for that staff, and Deuce really came out the bucks. I didn't realize how fire he was until that whole deal. Him and Aaron. I was like, they was my two favorite people on the show.

It was really good. Man ag Okay, Frank, so we well coach, right, sorry, no, you're good, Thank you please. It's hard for me. Yeah, it's still coach, even though you're older and we're kind. Yeah, I still say coach too. All right. Uh. They want me to ask you about your Mount Rushmore and I want to get to that. But I got to know this because you burst on my scene and I became a fan of yours when I was a young man, when you led the Buffalo Bills back with this big comeback in the playoffs, like

that is the greatest comeback. That is who Frank Wright was known for for the longest time. And now you're the head coach. How has that been this transition of like, all right, this is what I'm known for, this backup that was the Macklin comeback forever, and now the head coach that's going to go and lead this program in this organization to hopefully win in Super Bowls. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a great Uh. I think it's a

great background to step into this position. You know, because I knew, right I was a part of that team. I was a backup quarterback, right, you know, I was just a back. I was a backup guy, right. So um, and I know that when you have a comeback like that,

it ain't one guy, it's whole team. Right. So now as the head coach, that's really what I want to accentuate, right, I mean, yeah, listen, we know we talk about the coaching staffs and how good our coaching staff is in the Detroit, but you guys know, more than anything, this is a players game. It's a players game. I always tell the coaches. I mean, I always tell the coaches it's it's like ten to twenty percent coaching and it's eighty or ninety percent players making plays. But we got

to put those guys in the best position. And so you know, I just think that background for me. But you got to put all these guys together, coaches and players, and it's got to be a team. I mean, it's it's got to be all about the team. And I think I've witnessed that and experienced that with some of the teams I've been with. All Right, now your mount rushmore of influence on your life? Get four? All right? Who are those? Who are those four that are up

there on that hill? Okay, well you know obviously you know have to start, uh you know with my mom and dad. I'm putting those together. I'm cheating, so okay we can you know. Um, but you know, in particular, I'm assuming this is football related. Um, and so you're coaching. No, it didn't have to be. It's just what made you you today. These four people made me me perfect. Okay, So it starts there up one and um and I and I do think I do think, uh, the influence a had of me that I'm a blend to the

two of them. As a coach man, I just idolized my dad. You know, he was a stud man. He was he was a stud player. He was a stud coach. Um. He was a winner, and you know he was the he's a man's man. He'd like played with no face mask, broke is. You know, he's just a tough love dude. Like I don't cuss very much or almost not at all, but like I want to say, when he was a tough man, he was tough dude. He was a tough

Yes he was. And this game is about toughness, right, So I just feel like that he put that in my soul, right, he put out of my soul. Um. As far as coaches, the two coaches, uh, you know it's got to be the two other people would be uh Marv Levy, right, so played for Marvel, you know head coach. Um. You know, just an incredible person, like he knew how to push every button. He was cerebral, but he was just connected with players. He was an older man, but yet he had a way to connect

with everybody. Of great highlight films, just the NFL films, It was just watching him talking, watching him, just watching him talking say things on the sidelines, great highlights. I've had a chance to meet him twice. I've never met him. Yeah, I was like, man, well he's from from from scott you know, it was in Chicago for a long time. So um. But him and then kind of his partner in crime, you know, Bill Paulian who was the GM, um. And then you know, he was the guy drafted me.

He was the guy when we went to Caroline, when when he went to Carolina as the GM. You know, he signed me as a free agent to be the first quarterback in Panthers history. I mean just for a couple of games until Carry Collins would take over. He was a fifth pick in the draft. You didn't even have to say that, but we'll take that on. Yeah. But Bill, everywhere I've been in my football career, Bill Pauline's stamp is on it. Right. He's been like a

football father to me in many respects. So that's three. And then of course you made me today as my wife. You know, um, you know my wife, we been married thirty six years. Um. You know, you go this journey of the NFL, it's crazy journey right, there's high highs, there's low loads. You got to have a center, you know, you got to be centered in on things. So you know, our relationship has been a real foundation for me of strength and peace. That's a that's awesome and only that

the woman can dress like I tell you. For those that didn't see it, go back out and watch the press conference. It was beautiful. The family was beautiful. Thank you. So here's my last question for you, Frank, what was your co coach? Sorry and Peanut kind of already talked about this as the head coach, but I want to know you're welcome to the NFL moment as a player as well. Like mine was my rookie year in training camp where I looked up one of the injured guys.

He had shades on his underneath his helmet. While riding in my bicycle, I was like, man, this is like this is the league, Like this guy's big time. I want you to tell me what it was like in the in the eighties, Like in the eighties, okay, okay, when football was real and I'm gonna this is really you guys know this when you see the old film, but like when football was real, when we came into

a halftime. We came in a halftime of our very first game in the NFL, and uh, I'm not going to mention any names because not that it matters, but I came in. One of my teammates they just lit up a cigarettette. It's smoking a cigarette at halftime, and I'm like, okay, welcome to the NFL. You know. But one other quick one if I could just you know, for me, the real first moment, like welcome to the NFL.

My very first preseason game was against Chicago and Walter Payton, you know, and I'm on the field warming up and nervous Walter Payton and this is a guy that I idolized. I mean, I just I couldn't believe it. I was on the same field as Walter Payton. I was incredible. That's that's awesome. Yeah, we always have that man. That's that's beautiful. Thank you so much. Frank's all right. Exciting times ahead for Carolina Panthers, obviously with Frank fright at

the hell and really exciting news. Just you know, now that they have the first overall pick, I think I know what They're gonna pick that quarterback but that's up to them. What do you think, you know, I think they're gonna do something good. We already know what they're gonna do. They're gonna pick a quarterback, so let's let's let's just lay it out for him to play it out. Thank you for tuning in. I'm Peanut Tillman. That's my guy, Roman Harper. We appreciate y'all. Thanks for listening.