Fred Taylor talks Being Called "Fragile," Girl Dad Power, his Podcast Pivot

playing those video games. We were at SA Mari's. I was playing Madden and Coach Coughlin gave me a warning for fratnizing with the opponent that he didn't play that. But that was my friend from childhood. So I tossed Samri the ball and I just was, you know, down on the ground and agonizing pain. The worst pain I ever felt, you know, my tire career because usually if you have chronic growing, procedure is they go in there and they snip it, no doubt, right, and then they

let a scar and heal and all of that. But I did that on the field with no anesthesia, so I never broke anything, per se. I had a ton of injuries, but that was the worst.

playing against you, But I want to talk more about the Tom Coughlin I would say what you would hear about outside of the building. I was never in the building with him, had you had to be there a couple of minutes early, like these are real hardcore rules that I've heard are legendary.

he wanted. He wanted you to come in and understand and learn how to be a man and approach his game as a business, which is what it is. And when you carved the fat off, he wanted to make sure you were extremely focused on your job. And so he tried to make sure he just carved off all the distractions and anythings that was going to hinder your you know, your push, you know, to try and be successful as an individual and as a team collectively. But yeah,

all of those stories are true. You know, even before I got there. I arribbed in ninety eight. They had a few camps a few years before I got there, so they started in ninety six. TC. They spoke about the three of days, you know, spoke about double padded practices, spoke about uh, the breaks that you were supposed to have. He would take those away and just make you no naps, a whole lot of stuff. Uh. We had a concentration line where you entered the field, you couldn't step on

the on the on the white line. Uh, you have to turn around and go do it again. All the little stuff Yeah, it's all the little stuff, right, but he really tried to create this sense of awareness and extreme focus.

outrageous quick stories. I remember Marlins Leroy, he played at Georgia, young defensive lineman. He placed the bet with Keenan mccardeal back in the day. Keenan was an older vet, always clean. Yeah, the nicest suits on the teams, great, great wide receiver and great coach now as well. Keenan bet Marlows that Florida would beat Georgia, and the Florida Georgia game and if Florida won, he would have to let Keenan pick out a suit for Keenan would pick out a suit

for at Marlos. So Keenan picked out the brightest orange suit for Marlows to travel with for game day. Coach Coughlin saw that guy on the plane. Find him like ten grands because he didn't have on our team, you know, business type travel. He had on a bright orange suit. So TC didn't play that. And the other story is Tavian Banks and Cordell Taylor. We had a Saturday nightteen meeting and they were driving across this bridge in Jacksonville

Main Street bridge. There's a slip regrading on the bridge, so if you if it's raining and you break the wrong way or too fast, your cars lose control. Those guys lost control. The front of the car was on top of the bridge, almost was going to go into the Saint John's river glass. The windshield broke out. Those guys are all cut up. They got fined for being late to the team meeting.

into you know, my achievements, the things I've done, and really being able to compare those two the other guys that are already in the Hall of Fame, whatever those criterias are, being able to stack them up. You know. Unfortunately, I never had the best timing throughout my career in terms of putting together back to back yearly campaigns which would have got my name consider and more Pro Bowl talks. You know, I had, you know, but they weren't back

to back to back like some of these guys. But I had years while I outrushed the best backs from the previous year, so forth and so on, even starting with my with my rookie year more than the Hall of Fame talks. I think in the class of ninety eight, myself, Peyton Manning, marsh I mean not Marshall or Randy Moss.

And when you look at the final tally of the Rookie of the Year voting, I believe there's a better argument for my case for Rookie of the Year then Randy wonted than my argument for the Hall of Fame. But I was trapped in a smaller market, correct. You know, Randy had certain attentions on him coming in, right, and he had two great games the rookie year Green Bay

in Dallas. And if you have a made in games against the typically the media is gonna tilt or that way a bit more as opposed to looking at my body of work, my rookie year in terms of touchdowns overall numbers. So I go back. They're probably a little bit more disappointed about that than the Hall of Fame because a lot of those young guys they come in with the mindset, Hey, I want to be a Hall

of Famer, you know. And I think that if I had thought that way coming in, as opposed to just being excited to be drafted, to the NFL and just being able to compete each Sunday. I think if I had that mindset, I would have done things a bit differently. It would have created a certain structure, you know. But I never thought that.

health first. You know. If I felt, you know, a toe or something that was hurting, I'm still gonna go to Miami and hang out, you know, and go in the offseason, go with my you know, go hang out with my people and my buddies and just ready to get away from the season, as opposed to doing the little things, you know, to achieve the end goal. So I never had an end goal. Yeah, I wanted to win.

I wanted to win the super Bowl, but in terms of the big the highest achievement from an individual standpoint, although team success is at but from an individual standpoint would be you know, can, And I just never had that thought process in place until later in my career. I was like, oh, this is attainable. Yeah, you know, when they started talking about the ten thousand yard Russian Club, when I became the twenty first running back to do it in the history of the league, I was all right,

this is let's go. This is attainable. And then Jim Brown, Jim Brown, you know, putting his numbers, you know, in my sight, said this is the guy idolized the most in this game. I want to outdo his numbers. You know. Unfortunately my last two years didn't go the way I wanted them to in New England, but I thought it would have helped. But again, if you set your bar high, you know, even if you fall just under it, you know you've you've gotten really close. And I just never

set my bar high enough. So yeah, so those talks, man, I'm appreciative of them. God's timing is the best. You know, when it happens, you know it'll be a good moment. And I think it can happen, you know, I think it will happen. My teammate Tony Boselli just conducted after so many years. But the guys I've played against, the old school guys that have played my position, that have mentioned certain things about my career and my style of play while I was playing, even now that I'm done,

those guys that are Hall of famers. The fact that when I retired and even now, my numbers are better than half of the backs that are in all the fame still, so I think I have some argument there. So when it happens, it'll be a good moment.

had a very good career. I missed out on those things. I missed out on some of the hardware, you know, that sticky Lombardi, maybe a few other Pro Bowls due to you know, certain marketing. And I know, I know I deal with this with Ryan.

the table. I brought him work. Pittsburgh Steelers, they know what I brought to the table. Work. I mean. So, it's so many other guys that are in the Hall of Fame, defensive grats, Derrick Brooks, Warrens, just Troy Pomalu. So when they go out and they say we wanted to stop him first, that's how we stopped Jacksonville, you know, and then their moments where they would consider me the first or second best player in team history behind it's either me or Tony that speaks volumes.

Famers is like, well what did he do? You know what I'm saying, So I kind of, you know, leave it, leave it to the greats, the yellow jackets to see.

He was trying to sweep the leg like well that was the best way he was Yeah, anything's ness. I had to go at his legs and like that was the plan. Anytime Fredd Taylor has ball, go with his legs. When you have Maurice Jones Drew get the ball, you better tackle him up high, kiss him almost, and so try to because he was so short, you tried to go low. You not, that's where his power is. So number one, all right, that was the respect that I had for you. It was the first time I ever

had to implement this into my game. Is a tackling plan.

So would your running style how would you think it would go or how would it bode well in today's game where it's more space, it's not so much power downhill, maybe more shotgun runs. How would you think your style of play would transition in today's game.

Then actually going out there attacking your back and when there is a blitz, once you put your keys into play and understand rotation and guys that look like they're not coming, but you know they're coming. But you still got to go up there and make the block. Because in today's game, the quarterbacks are getting fifty plus million a year. You gotta protect you gotta protect them. And if you don't protect them, I don't care how great you are of a runner. You can't play because you're

a liability. But I learned those other keys later in my career. I could say the first five years of my career, I was just running off natural ability. I would see the film I understand the fronts over under where guys were blitzing from understood that, but it was our reactionary. But after a few injuries, you know, and just trying to maintain that same level of play right and so there wouldn't be a drop off. I had to get smarter and started to really think the game.

And that's the part of the game that I missed

the most, is the preparation for the opponent. People say you missed the game. I have moments where when I hear a young linebacker, oh this, oh that I wish I could show himself. But more than actually going out there to compete the exes and o's is what I fell in love with like and if I you know, wasn't there to raise my four boys and you know, be there for my family. I certainly would be coaching, you know, because I love the exes and o's And when I watch the game now, I watch it from

a situational standpoint. Yeah, not just that they're dropping back throwing the ball. They should be doing this. I would be doing this. So I'm actually scripting and running plays in my mind as I would see it based on, you know, the time of the game and down the distances.

to forty shot play. Yes, it's gonna be like these little things you never think about, right, but you know it's coming.

And when you sit down and you talk talk to these kids on the youth level, in the high school level, and you see them out there in seven and seven. They understand coverages inside out right, they understand you know, the jargon, you know. So their knowledge for the game and their IQ levels was so high, which, in my opinion, when they adapt that even more, is just going to continue to you know, speat this game up. Yeah.

And so I had a stretch of really good seasons without injury, without a single injury for that matter, for about four years. Uh. And and the last thing as it relates to that you know, unsolicited nickname is you know, to throw it back in their faces. I played for thirteen years. Yeah that was averages three. So some sort of toughness and perseverance and all that good stuff in there. Uh, but pin, I think the moment I realized that it

was time to hang it up for me. After leaving Jacksonville, I went to New England, signed with the Pats, got there, won the starting job both of those years. My first year there, I had a severe high ankle sprain slowed me down some, so I would sit back like man and I want to play. Plus, as I mentioned earlier in the show, I had an agenda. I wanted to win a super Bowl, which is why I chose the Pats, and the other part was I wanted to push those

numbers up and catch up with Jim Brown. Before I got to New England, I was a thousand yards shy of passing Jim Brown. None of that happened my second year there. Uh, I had turf toe, and I used to tease people that turf toe, right, so hey, I remember they talked about Dion having turf toe back in the day and uh, Ladanian and I was like, turf toe,

it's a toe, it's turn toe. So I got a turf toe in one one foot on one side, and uh, like the very next week through trying to compensate for this one, I got tackled and I got turf toe on the other one like back to back weeks, and uh the second one was very extreme. So I'm in and out, in and out. So that was my thirteenth year. And as the season's going, you know, it's super cold in New England and I don't mind the coal.

So that's what I did, and I know so I but there would be practices where you know, you're out there, you gotta do the dog and pony show for the media, and you're like, I know, I'm not practicing the day, but that's just part of the Patriot way, right, So they don't tip off too much, and everybody's always fifty to fifty questionable. You don't know who's gonna play.

engine up beforehand just to make it through. You're like, okay, And then you know, I started saying, all right, I want to compete on the other side. I wonder what's that that's going to be like? You know, that transition, what is that going to be like? So there's a certain intrigue that set in, you know, about the statistics they throw at you in terms of the fel rate of guys making the transition out of the game, the divorce rate of guys making a transition. I said, this

is my new competition. You know, I'm not going to be one of those statistics. So I started to develop this mindset, in this excitement, you know, in the intrigue about what is that going to be like? I don't know, but I want to attack it head on. So after my thirteenth season, I was like, lucky, thirteen thirteen is a good number. But then that was right along the time that the CBA happened in two thousand and eleven. Then that's the CBA. I was like, all right, I'm

gonna get back. I'm gonna go do another year because I was training a lot of the great young running backs. Yeah, so I stayed away from training I forced myself to stay away from training down in South Florida. But we would have Matt fort T, Jones, Drew, you know, Frank Gore, a lot of the young great backs and I would go there and I will try to show them up, you know, because we would train together each and every

year prior to my retirement. So I was like, if I go train, I know I'll play a fourteenth season. I know I'll get picked up somewhere eventually and I'll play. So I just purposely stayed away. And then they announced the CBA. I was like, you know what, maybe I shouldn't retire. Just hit for about a week on my own, and then I was like, nah, I'm gonna give it up, and I just shut it down.

when you did finally hang it up. You're not training for it so many of us, me and Peanut talk about it all the time, and this is what this whole podcast is about. It's about that second acting.

of the people in the NFL. Because for years I would get opportunities earlier in my career to do you autograph signings or brand opportunities that I would turn down, you know, five ten thousand dollars opportunities, and that's great money, but you know, I wanted to be with my family before I had a family like my mother, brother, sister, and my friends. So I turned down a lot of stuff.

Then eventually, at a certain point while I was playing, I understood that it's about showing up, you know, and allowing people to understand that they can call on you that you're going to show up. It wasn't about the money, It's just about being there. So that mindset from a latter part of my career and then into retirement, I said, I want to maintain that, you know, I want to stick close to the Jaguars, you know, and take advantage of the hard work and the name and the brand

that I built in the local market. So I wanted to get out in front of that, the bad investments that I had. You know, how can I speak, get on the speaking circuit and speak to you know, the young guys, how to steer clear of these different things. So all the different things, the bad things that I can see, the things I consider bad that happened in

my career. I took those and I sort of formed a mindset that I wanted to use this and be able to use that to help me give back, and you also use that to steer clear and help me direct myself, you know, on the right path by by always sharing. So I wanted to get better at investing, you know. So that was intriguing. So I started to study little things, you know. I started to do the opposite of what I would do when people would approach me about investments. For example, I learned just a simple

terminology investment talk. I just got downloaded Investorpedia when that was around, in order to communicate you outa understand you know, speaking the definition of words. So if I know I'm going to be in that space, I know I want to continue to invest, you know, uh in private funds and stocks and all that stuff. Go and teach yourself.

So that's what I did. And I also you know, leverage the relationships and people uh to use them, uh to help myself even more there created a company, started create another minority company, uh, and really just started leveraging those relationships to try to build uh from there. Uh. So I've had some better investments, you know, in my second career because I don't call a retirement, I just

called a career change. Yeah, because because this is not what retirement is supposed to feel like, or at least what we've been taught that it was supposed to feel like. So it's a career change for me. I will never retire. I don't think I will. But every every step, every day, it's a different uh intrigue for me. It's a different competition for me, and I embraced that, you know now doing the pivot with Ryan and Channing. I love our grind,

I love our hustle. Just being able to continue to learn from Ryan, you know, someone who actually majored in journalism, I do.

I learned from Ryan. In order to be in this space, you have to be able to tap into uh and be unbiased respectfully, you know, when you engage with the subject our guests. UH. But I also want to make sure that I give people their flowers, which is you know what I do. But Ryan, just being able to study, you know, study beforehand, not just going in there just talking and slang. Like we come in there really prepared

and we do our homework. So learning that from Ryan the hardest working I'm like, I don't know how you do it. He has so many different hats that he wears, not just in the media, but with his family, his son Jordan. Back at ASU, he was coaching all the dbs, coaching the dB so you that grind, that hustle, you know, being able to sacrifice when need be. All of that comes into play once. I actually met Ryan away from the field, because on the field I wanted to tear

him in half when he was a Steeler. But now you know, we're really good friends. We have the same amount of respect for each other, and that we have one agenda, you know, no no drama and just make the pivot. You know, one of the best podcasts out there.

with the mistakes you made and then also what you guys have learned from that and how it's different in the pivot.

we were all neighbors. It started with myself, Reggie, Wayne, Brandon Marshall, and Channing Crowder and we said, let's just go and talk about current events, you know, and we started there, but it took off so fast. It was nothing to do during the pandemic, but people were trying to find everything to do at home. So podcast was like perfect, you know, time to birth the podcast, and uh, it just took off.

business button up. No paperwork had necessarily been signed, and there had been some discussions, but as friends who respected each other, we thought we were on the same plan fill playing field, and we thought it was one of

those things that didn't necessarily have to be communicated. But then an agenda sort of took over that when the success showed up, certain agendas kind of showed up, and then there were you know, whispers and looking around like all right, well this isn't fair, this isn't fair, Well this should have happened. Equity ownership, revenue sharing, all this stuff started to kind of take shape and the numbers

didn't add up. So Channa and I we had a conversation, and I would always use the word just you know, pivot, just all the time, just everyday life, you know. I remember hearing the song jay Z had some lyrics. He's like posting pivot, redistribute and some other stuff, and I would always just naturally say, man, it's just time to pivot. We gotta it's a wrap, you know, it's time to go.

We gotta pivot. So Channing and I we went to had one big meeting and see if we can come to an agreement for the old podcast didn't necessarily work out. So Channing and I we went behind the scenes and say, all right, man, what you want to do? What do you want to do? It's like, I don't think it's gonna work out for me personally, so much like the end of my career, I kind of sat back and saw some things unfolding that I necessarily wasn't too happy about.

So I just kind of accepted it for about three or four weeks and that season three of that old podcast, and I was like, Nah, this isn't going to do it. So we went silent and we just went black for a while, myself Channing while they were trying to make their minds up and how they wanted to do stuff. We just went dark. But during that time we were plotting, so we said, all right, what are we going to do. We got with Alicia Zubakowski, who's our producer on the podcast,

thirteen times Emmy Award winner. She's a monster at what she does. We got on the phone with our seat, he said he was down. We formed our team and we said, the one thing we're going to do is get the business right. First structure, from the pivot the company to our own entity amongst the talent, and how it was going to pay out, the distributions, just everything. We shaped up, We got the account, we just shaped up, and the last thing was what's the name? What are

we going to name it? And we just you know, one day, I said, let's just call it. How about the pivot? Because that's what Channon and I that's what we're doing. We're about to pivot. And that's what everybody in the pandemic was doing. We all had to pivot, everybody, you know, and they're going to always be moments in all of our lives where everybody at some point is going to have to pivot and there'll be pivotal moments

that create good and bad time. So it just stuck and we went and trademarked our stuff and you know, made sure that part of it was solid and the rest is history.

But we look at models like the Breakfast Club, you know, the consistency and the sustainability, and we want to achieve that first. We want to maintain our consistency and as long as we do that, everything else is going to take care of itself. I think where people mess up is when they take too many breaks and then there's some uncertainty and you know, then your fans don't know what you're gonna do. Uh, And we said, that's not

what we're gonna do. So consistency is the first thing that will help create the sustainability and keep us there for the years to come. We're independent now, we we we've had some offers you know here and there from some of the bigger you know, companies that are eventually

going towards you know, podcast platforms and stuff. But when those numbers you know, come in the right way and certain aligns with certain partnerships, then that'll be the right moment where we're able to carve off, you know, a piece of our ownership you know, for partnership, and then maintain some ownership, but always really just right now controlling complete ownership of the pivot and licensing our shows to go forward because they're going to live on that forever.

It's going to always be valuable information. But long term, we just want to make sure that we're giving back, Like we don't have a complete, I guess business agenda to just dump it and run with money. We want to keep servicing the people because people make podcasts, you know, what I'm saying, like, that's what we believe in people, the viewers, you know, subscribers. However, they make podcasts. If they don't sit there and tune in and listen, you're relevant.

So we want to make sure we're servicing them. That's always our first mindset that we want to do good conversation, good content. You have certain guests that going to spike your numbers, and that's cool, but it's not always about that. And I tried to explain that on the other podcast, that it's about building bridges, right and just having dope, super dope conversations and content. You don't always need an A lister as a guest, just need great conversation with that.

We're gonna ask you some quick hitter questions real quick, rookie year, get that contract you sign probably, I know for me, I bought me a nice little I bought a nice little I had some rims, you know what I'm saying. I had that speaker, I had to screens falling from the ceiling, I had to screen in the river, you know, single note kids. So all my money went.

the first major thing that I bought. And then after I got hurt secured, I blew some money on some jewelry, some rims, you know, a bins or two. Stuff that I look back on now and you see some dumbs. It doesn't make doing, Yeah.

and these guys getting that year in a year. But they're exposed to so much more, right, But I think they're also exposed to having a lot of good people around them that can tell them not to make certain frivolous, you know, purchases and decisions that are in you know, in a in a year, two years from now, you're not gonna like it won't even be around.

your money. It's a constant reminder like, don't make certain you're gonna have fun. Yes, but everything can be calculated. Make sure you keep the main thing the main thing. Learn how to take your interest or shoe deals or you know, appearance moneys and stuff. And if you want to go crazy with that, you can kind of, you know, justify certain means by with that. But creative plan, you

know whatever, that plan looks like creative plan. But I think it's our duty, you know, as vets guys that have been around, guys that have made those mistakes, because we can look back on them and say it was but it was stupid, right unnecessary. I think at one point I had maybe five cars in my and my driveway. It's only me. But then I got buddies. Hey, take this, Take this. You know.

game day. The other days during the week, it probably didn't even crank, probably didn't even start, and I smelled fumes, fumes all down the street and parked of my garage. My wife was like, we got to get rid of that, you know. And I ended up selling it to a teammate for like forty thousand. So I took a thirty five thousand dollars haircut and he showed it probably four months after that for like twenty five I should have sold it back to me.

rid of that. I've been trying to get rid of that coffee, like, hey, you need to get rid of it. But a good thing is it's been paid off. Yep, it's eight It only has like fifty thousand miles, so it's perfect condition right from the outside, you know, Deans, it's perfect. I'm just tired of looking at it. But the blessing in disguise is our oldest son. He's twenty now and we have a seventeen year old. They can drive it and they drive it to work and this

and that, so it's not as bad. And then I don't have to got to check to pay for them a car because they like driving a bend. Still. Uh So that's the one old school that's in the garage.

it's just you know, all superficial stuff. So sorry, we have a hard question.

that I admire. Uh and I believe, in my opinion, those are my favorite follow up.

a dog. Uh. And I admire a lot of the young, the young running back. I like my Florida boy, Dereck Henry. You know, he's different.

how to have that, how to be extremely agile. Then they carry it over to you know, the running back position and just really being able to think the game line up, the x's and o's. I think those things are gonna be what separate the greats, the guys that are going to be future Hall of famers at that position versus the guys that are going to be really good at that position, that high level i Q and how they see the x'es and o's. I don't think it will be too many more ten thousand yard rushers

because of how the game is evolved. It's more of a past dominant game now.

great guys, and through my journey of life, I've had numerous guys that have helped me along the way. And if you could have your mount rushmore of guides or people that are helped you to get to where you are right now, who would those people be?

then my dad. You know, he came to my life later, but he was sort of forced out of my life early on, but he came back into my life later and he did what dads are supposed to do and he helped me become, you know, a better person from a brotherly approach, and then just a you know, a couple of mentors. Coach Pola you know my running backs coach who I got towards the end of my career, just his fatherly approached, how he kept me on track and how he you know, uh, continue to reinforce things

that were most important. And lastly, I would just say my my daughter Natasha, because she was the one who initially broke me from you know, all of the knuckleheaded stuff you would do and the decisions you would make without thinking. My first baby girl, she she made me

man right. And just really all of those you know, people as a collective, and I've never thought of it that way, but now since y'all put me on the spot, yeah, those people that have been the most influential and helped me pivot and become the person that I am today.

I appreciate you being I wanted it vulnerable and sharing that too.

was her. Yeah, my wife pretty much changed, you know, as a single person, changed the direction of my career because I would hang out, like I saying in the off season all the time, and you know, she was, you know, saying, look, this is what you're going to have to do in order to you know, if you want to be great, So this is what you're going to have to do. So a hard relationship. You know,

we've been together for twenty plus years. But she's the one who helped me pivot and get back on the path that I thought I could be on as a player. But it also made me a better person, made me a responsible person. So yeah, so she, for lack of I guess pun intended, she took me out the streets, but from hanging out and learning structure and just really just developing, you know, sort of a a guideline for my life. And so she deserves as much credit as the other for that.