Pats from the Past: Episode 5, Andre Tippett

How you doing, man? I'm going good. Thank you guys for having me. Man, this is exciting. Part of this podcast is our first Pro Football Hall of Famer. It's our first Pro Football Hall of Famer. Who better to have than the great Andre Tippett? Who better to have than that? More you can do? I am always looking out, So Tip, let's start. Let's get started, and let me

ask you this, what did you know, if anything? Now, you grew up on the coast or in the Northeast quarter, so you're not like a kid from California who literally doesn't know where to win well Louisiana. What did you know about New England when he got drafted by him. I get the question all the time, and I tell you, the first thing that came to mind when I was

drafted was Grogan Heroes. And you know, I once saw a game, and I swear I only saw like one game, and the announcers was saying, you know, they were like, you know, Grogan's Heroes. And I'm watching and Grogan's out there running around like he's the half back, and and I was like, wow, I'm going to uh New England pages I said, well, I'll be close to Jersey, and uh, that's pretty cool. Well, you're a second round pick at that time? Did you expect to be a first did you?

I mean obviously you probably hoped, but did you expect to be a first? One? Where you disappointed? I expected to be a first round pick. I was disappointed that I wasn't. I truly was. I knew that it was funny. I knew the teams that I wanted to play for were all toward the end. They had the Dallas Cowboys,

Pittsburgh Steelers, and uh it was the Raiders. I actually bought a two eighties X, a black, silver and black two eighties ex thinking that you know, I'm gonna ride into Oakland with my two eighties, but he sold it to Antonio Brown, who wrote it in this year. I started getting nervous on obviously the second day of the draft, because the first day went by and my teammate Ron Howstron went before me, and everybody that was in my

apartment took off to go to him. And I was sitting around like a jaded bride man, and I'm like, are you kidding me? And the next day I get a call from the Steelers and they were, you know, quizzing me on, um, you know, would you have a problem playing defensive end Elsie Greenwood is getting made to retire and we kind of to see you in that role. And all of a sudden, I'm freaking out. I'm like, um, I'm not playing no defensive and I said, I'm outside

linebacker and I said, well, I gotta tell you. I said, I don't think i'll play the position. Well, they playing at three four. They're playing a yes three four at the time, Yeah it was, and uh it frightened me. And then I said, well, I guess After I hung up, I said, I guess they won't be uh doing anything.

And then I remember Rod Russ had worked me out, grabbed me out of class, and he was still with Kansas City at the time, and I figured, you know, Kansas City would come in late and do something and nothing. And then I was counting on the Cowboys and they ended up grabbing I think Rod Hill, defensive back who played for a year and a half maybe two there. And so all my all my picks were come and so I didn't didn't know what to expect. I didn't see New England coming. So who called? Was it? Bucko?

Was it? Uh? Was? It was Steinberg? Ron Meyers, Ron my Mars got on the phone. Hey, Andre, this is Ron Meyers. We just want to let you know we've taken you in the second round. And we got two more picks coming up. And uh, I was like, okay, all right, all right. And so I was off the hook as far as you know, people being in my apartment to report is there and you know the draft is on, man, I said, you know, now I know

where I'm going. So we've heard throughout the years, you know, and famously a guy who you worked with, Tom Brady, you know, used one ninety nine sixth round as a piece of motivation. Were you pissed enough that you didn't go in the first round? Were you pissed enough that, oh, how to come? The Cowboys didn't draft me? Who? I thought? How about the Steelers didn't draft me? How about the Raiders? The Patriots? Who? The Patriots? Did that motivate you when

you came here? A little bit? It did? Because you know, I obviously my teammates were two teammates were taken before me, uh ken Kenny Simms first picking the draft, and then uh uh Lester Williams was taken, uh because we had two first round picks and that that year. And but when I got here, I kind of understood what was

going on. They were trying they were building something, and I immediately kind of saw what was going on and how they were trying to put things together that cut some people, some people had been traded, and you know, they had all these draft picks, and so I could see the bigger picture of what, excuse me, eventually, uh,

they were looking for. But I was still looking around at the two first round draft picks, and I'm like, I gotta outplay these guys every opportunity that I get, and I'm gonna I'm gonna be in somebody's face as far as trying to get out on the field, trying

to get reps and just push with the advent. By the way of twenty twenty hindsight, is it funny to hear Andre Tippett talking about, you know, I gotta outplay Kenny Simms, you know, uh known as game Day and Lester Williams was tremendous talent from the University of Miami, right, absolutely, But listening to tip like as a kid going I play these guys, how'd that work out? You know? How did that work out well? And And there's a quote from Ron Meyer, Matt when Andre Tippett hits someone, they

stay hit. That's pretty good. I like that. That makes me laugh, right, oh man, we had some good times. We got some good times. It was you know, you know eighty two was a short lived season, right. People forget that we were only eight games played because everybody made the tournament. Right, Yeah, we were in the tournament. We we we we we had to strike. And that

freaked me out too. Man. I was like, I just got in the car and I had a town house and I'm like, man, I said, I might lose my house, and like what's going on and stop paying house is over here to make the make the pay the bills. Um. So you've been a part of this organization, Andrea, for thirty seven years. I think I'm right, thirty seven continuous years. And we'll get to that a little bit. But thirty

seven years ago a long time ago. There's kids, my kids especially, they have no idea what the Patriots were like back in nineteen eighty two. What was a culture like back here at that time? Tip Man, Well, you know, obviously we were trying to we were trying to change things. We were trying to you know, they were trying to win.

We had a lot of guys on the team that had had some success there earlier part of the seventies, you know, John Hannah, Steve Nelson, Grogan, and it was we were building the team and we were trying to be competitive. Um. You know, It's it's funny you don't know what the grass is like on the other side until you know, you hear about it from somebody else. So you know, for instance, obviously training camp was at

Smithville at Bryant College, and then we get here. We you know, we got the stadium and you know, I used to laugh because some guys that I played with were talking about how their college stadium was bigger than our game stadium, and and like, oh, by the way, practice field, y'all got to get in your car and you gotta drive over to the practice fille and and lunch.

Go do what you gotta do for lunch. And a lot of us would run down the street, grab a sandwich, come back and get dressed, get ready to go out. And it was our routine. And so we adjusted, we competeed, we we we we, we had meetings. There were things going on that sometimes you question equipment wise, it's funny. And I tell the guys now, say, you guys have no idea how heart it was for us back in the day. Just to get a pair of socks. I walked by these guys lockers now and it looks like

a foot locker. And then with all the stuff that they got, they got twenty pairs of shoes, and they got the clothing. And you know, we had a jock strap, and we had a pair of socks that I used to have to put a rubber band or take some white white tape around the whole forbid you needed another pair of socks. God forbid if I needed a pair for a game or a pair of shoes for a game, right, and you know I don't hit anybody while they're while they down, and people were passed since then, But it

was it was different. I mean I literally got into an argument an hour before kickoff because I was looking for a pair of socks and I wanted to change shoes. And so I mean as a comparison University of Iowa, Okay, I mean back in the day, even a nineteen I know it's an arms race now today, but you would more access to stuff as a collegiate player, probably than is appropriate. We probably shouldn have gon Hey, why am I going backwards? And I'm getting paid? Anything you needed,

anything you needed? It was, it was, It was. It was a comedy of errors at times when it came. And that stands out a lot because you hear other guys, you know, we go to the Pro Bowl or something like, hey man, you guys got a bunch of stuff in your bag to give out and trade with people? You know, I tell our guys, hey, can I take some stuff with me? I want to, you know, we can't what

you need? I like to take some stuff with me, and but you know, you get the Hawaii and you look around and guys that have bags full of T shirts and you didn't get no ice hats, and you know we're in there, so all I could trade was my helmet and my jersey. And I get back here and they like, Tip, got your back back from Pro Bowl? Where's your helmet in jersey? And I'm like unbelievable. I said, what I said, somebody must have snow. He said, well, somebody else's helmet is in here? Why is that? Why

is that lt He's helmet in here? Why you got Eric Dickinson helmet in here? What? What? What? Wally? Who's Wally Hilgenberg? Do the players today? When you talk to the kids who are playing today, Chip and you that's that has to come up at some point time? Does it? Occasionally? You know, when I'm sitting around joking with some of the guys and you know, and you know versus what it was like when I was coming through, and how was the atmosphere, what was the culture like, and you know,

different things like that. Then I'll give them a lot of the Do they believe you? They just shake the head. How you got to be kidding me, right, Yeah, So Andy, what impact does that have? Does that stuff have on on field performance? For us? It we were tough, mentally tough enough that we didn't let it bother us because we're mentally tough to know that. You know what, once we get out on the field, the whistle is blown and it's time to play football, we put all that

stuff aside. But we just we knew what we were up against. We knew that things were limited. We knew that, you know, we we were around people that were set in their ways. I mean, you you don't see it much now, but back in the day, you saw guys that were equipment managers and trainers that had already been in the league thirty something years, and they kind of you know, the owners are nothing's gonna ever happen to

those guys. Nowadays, you know, Bill Belichick can come into a situation, right and he can say, this is what I want for my players for my team, and he's fortunate enough here to have an owner that that helps him do that stuff. When Ray Berry replaces Ron Meyer as your head coach, does he have the ability to come in and demand changes or is it status quo? As far as that goes, because Billy Sullivan's the owner

and this is the way it is. Uh, I think, yes, it was you know Bill was, I mean, uh, Coach Barry was was sort of that player coach, so he kind of knew. Um, he made the atmosphere around here a lot better. It was uh right away, Yeah, very professional and uh but yeah, the the other the other stuff that we're talking about. The it was what it was, and there was nothing that we could do about it.

But the attitude changed. Uh. We we we saw immediately this is interesting and we're hearing things and we're seeing things, and we're we're buying into to to to to the little things that Coach Barry believed that we all should do, you know, little things like you know, we everybody had putty. Everybody had to have putty, and then meeting rooms you had to play with putty. Keep your fingers strong. Because we were starting, guys were having finger injuries and stuff

like that. You know, in the beginning, we were like what is he talking? But you know what, there was a valid point to it. It became such a thing that guys were grabbing extra putty, putting them in their bags, go home, and you know, when you're sitting around watching TV, you play with putty to keep your fingers strong. You know, all of a sudden we gotta scoop and block punch and practice. Why we gotta do all that stuff? Well, all of a sudden we start blocking punch. All sudden

someone fumbles the ball. It's not new to us. Everybody's scooping, bending, grabbing, scoring and we're making points and all sudden, Okay, now we know why everybody in training camp got a line up and four or five lines and block punch every day and different things like that. And what better way to really express that tip then that run in nineteen eighty five, You know when you know you scoop and score in the LA Coliseum against the Raiders and seventeen

takeaways in most three playoffs, and everybody spoiled here. You know, everybody's crying in their beer about UM. You know they can't believe that they, you know, didn't automatically get you know, UM exalted into the AC Championship game like they have for the last eight years. But you can be you're the living, breathing monument to the fact that you were with the first team that went to the first Super Bowl.

You were on the wild card team. You had to win three games in order to get to the Super Bowl. Remos right, remind fans, what was that magical ride? Like ten, it was the most unbelievable ride I've ever been on. I mean, I had great moments at Iowa, being the first to go to the Rose Bowl when Big ten

champion high school. I went to two state championships, but getting here and you know, it's like that ultimate I mean, I sat, I must have sat and watched every uh Stiller Super Bowl or every Cowboys Super Bowl, and then here I am playing National Football League and we are in the playoffs and we're talking about things, and you know, it didn't bother us. The fact that we knew we a wild card team, the fact that we were in it, and it was like we we we wasn't afraid of anything.

And believe it or not, we had lost to the Jets regulars season, we had lost to the Raiders during the season. We had lost obviously to Miami U that Monday night game right at the end of the season, and uh eighteenth straight loss at the Orange Part absolutely so, you know, but it was like it Raymond Berry had us so geeked up and and the Miami Monday night game, he stood up in the locker room we had just come in. It was a close game. I believe he

lost twenty right at the end. They're all got right down there. It was a three point I think it was like, you know, different three points or whatever. And he stood up in front of us and he had that he had a finger that was broken from his receiver days. And he stood up and he and he did one of these moves here and he just said to us. He says, men, I just want to say one thing to you guys, and one thing only, and

I want you to hear me. He says, We've been delayed, but I'm telling you, guys, we not We will not be denied. And we're looking at him like, wow, you know, you think about exactly what he said. And we all heard it, and lo and behole. We're in the wild card. So we're playing the Jets, and we go there and we played them totally different than what we had played them during the regular season. We put a beating on them. We got out of the quarterback and again turnovers, you

got some scooping scores. Yep, we go to the Raiders again. Everybody's talking about they hyping the Raiders and you know they're gonna, you know they're gonna and and how we long gonna beat us to death out there, and and and and and and and and uh almost did what we told. We told Pat Sullivan and stay with us, man, you stay with the backers. Man, we got your back. No, he goes wondering off and do his own thing and

co cot but uh we do it. Um. We finally get to the AFC Championship game and I'm listening to one of the coaches as we're as we're departing off the airplane in Miami, and he's telling the receivers, look, we're gonna probably change some things this week and get ready for the game. We're gonna need you guys to block a little bit more. So I'm looking at Stanley Morgan, Urban Friar, uh C Jones, Stephan Star and they all got that look like, man, you must be out of

your damn mind. You think we're gonna be blocking, Man, we don't. We're gonna be catching the ball. And all sudden it rains. Phil is drenched, so to have that that hindsight. Raymond Barry has already done his work. He knows that. You know, none of us check weather. We're coming to Miami. So all of a sudden it rains like crazy. We end up running the ball for yeah, and it was like I might have thrown twelve passes

absolutely touchdown. Yeah. And I remember Guard rest his soul mosy at the end now when he scored at the end, and we utilize the running game and longohole, you know, the receivers. Though, it was funny. It was the funniest thing because I saw the look on Stanley Morgan's vay, Man, this is the ASC Championship. We're going to air this

thing out. Man. I'm like, well, and you look back on all that stuff though, you know, we we squished the fish and we we we closed the Orange Bowl out and uh, it was an amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. Now I thought we were gonna at least have two or three more opportunities to return. Well, let's look before we get to the return part, let me ask you this. So your guys are flying high, three straight road wins, takeaways, scoop and scores. There are the Bears with the T

shirts that where everybody had to have. I remember having one as a kid. Did you legitimately think you had a shot against them? We did because we had played the Bears second third game in the season in twenty seven, twenty to seven. I mean all right, well weren't on our game. We were still you know, we had a we we had a come to Jesus opportunity during that season when that happened, because we we we we we

woke up. You know, we went on a six game winning streak after we played Cleveland, and so in our mind, Chicago Bear is they beat us twenty you know, twenty to seven and and a big thing. We're gonna play them different. They don't know what's coming their way. Well, we weren't paying attention to the Bears and how they were wrecking everybody in the NFC and how they were knocking people out left and right, knocking quarterbacks out. So we didn't have a clue. But yes, we we thought

that we were gonna come into that game. Miami had beaten them at the end of the season, absolutely stopped it for being undefeated. Yeah, so I'm like, it's not like guys are gonna be coming out in this game with sledge Hammerson in their pocket, knocking us out. But they came out in that game with sledge Hammerson in their pocket and they started pumping. I remember, I remember it. So you get the first turnover, right, Peyton fumbles, It's

here we go again. Takeaways, that close pass at the goal line to Friar that I think that Gary Fencik maybe broke up or shitting in the stands in that end zone away. And then when Tony Franklin comes out and gives the Patriots a three nothing lead, I'm watching in my living room and it says like in the first nineteen Super Bowls, the team that scores first is some great record, And I'm like, yes, do that's serious? Right? So so they incomplete to Morgan out to Lynn Dawson.

He broke his leg, slowed the game down for a while, didn't get a completion on third down, head to kick the field goal to make it three to nothing. So hindsight's always perfect. Tip it's twenty twenty and you're saying, yeah, we had a shot against the Bears. The only bed is twenty to seven. When you look back on it now and you're a student of the game and a student of the history of the game. Is we celebrate

the one hundredth year of the National Football League. When you look back at that eighty five team, nothing about to score or anything like that. Can you look back and say, that's a hell of a team. That might have been the best team we've I've ever played against football team. They they there wasn't a guy on that team that you wouldn't want playing with you. There isn't a guy that you wouldn't want to play that was on that team because everybody, even from the dvs they

were contributing. The d lineman was just raising hell and just intimidating people, and the linebackers were just blowing people up. So everybody was making stuff happen. Yeah, Buddy, Buddy Ryan called a great, great, great game, But he had the players. Because the players were out there and they were making guys shaking their boots, Guys were afraid. At some point, you look, somebody, a lot of people were afraid that game.

Is that the best front seven you've ever seen that I've personally ever seen, other than you know, watching back, you know, doing some of the Stiller days or in the Doomsday defense. They were right there, right there. That's a hell of a compliment, all right, before I ask you this one of the thing, the Super Bowl Shuffle,

in my opinion, one of the greatest songs. I can't believe they had the balls to come out and put that out before the end of the regular season, and that rotten the Patriots or we not only did they beat on the field, but the Super Bowl Shuffle was a great song with that team as aides, that one Patriots and we was awful. We had there was beat on the Bears, you know, there was these guys are involved in that Patriots or we remember Dino Lynchy, that's

the one you can find onlines there, right. But the Super Bowl Shuffle, man, that was cool. I thought they h we did. You know, as you look at it, and you still see it today, you know, you're like, actually it was pretty cool. Yeah, you like, you don't want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but you have to say it really was cool. Steve Moore, who was one of our our teammates. Yeah he's no longer here, uh, was telling me the funniest story that week down in UH in New Orleans because him and

Richard Dent went to school again. Okay, So all of a sudden they're together and NT talking and and and and Steve asked, uh, Dent something, and Dents as well, m I don't. I really don't know what I'm gonna do, man, It says, I'm trying to figure out if I'm gonna go back to Chicago for the parade. I might, I might show up at this place with you, but I'm not. And so Steve Moore looking at what are you talking about?

And then here is like on a Monday Tuesday. He's telling him, I don't know if I'm gonna go back to Chicago for the parade. And Steve Moore gets back and tells us this man and makes us even more fire to fight. They think they are, you know what, I'm gonna knock McMahon out. I'm gonna I'm gonna hurt somebody. And it was but I tell them that story time I see him, just to make him laugh, because him Steve Moore really really close. From So then Andre, let's

let's kind of go to the negative side. It seems like through Patriots history, every time there was something great, it would crash down. You guys get back from the super Bowl and the Globe releases the story about a drug scandal. Did that just take the wind out of the sales? It did? It did, and it caused a little dissension. Not that anybody was calling anybody out or you just you know, you kind of looked at guys differently, you know, because we all talked about, you know, I'll

go down to Doc alleyway with you any day. I'll trust and that you got my back. And then you know, it's like, well, we wasn't committed to this game. Because if this stuff is out there, I can only imagine what the week was like. So you start pointing fingers and second guess and who was doing what? And I mean, maybe why this is why he didn't play that well or why he was having problems and he was dropping balls and he couldn't you know, do this and do that.

And that's what happened. And for me personally, I was getting calls from family, you know, is your name gonna be on that list? And I'm what are you talking about? Because I had left from there to go to Hawaii right after, right after the super Bowl, and I had heard it and so it broke my heart a little bit yecause it was it was like, yeah, we worked

too hard for what we accomplished. Although we didn't win the Super Bowl, we worked really hard that year to see this thing through and then come back and get slapped in the face with that story. It was it was, it was tough. I'll share a story as a twenty three year old kid who went to the game, didn't

have a nickel to rub together. But a college roommate was a Chicago Bear sees a ticket holder and called me at halftime of the Miami game and said, you know, I've got your ticket to go to the super Boy said, are you kidding me? They haven't won in Miami for a thousand years? Why are you jinking me? I hung up on the guy. They win. I end up going down to New Orleans. They lose, and I couldn't get

out on Monday, so I left on Tuesday. I wake up early to fly home and I get into my car at Logan and I'm listening to the old WBCN on the radio and they're talking about what a tragedy, and they're saying, this is one of the worst things we've ever seen happen. I'm saying she's for forty six to ten game. And I you know, I know about the stuff that came out with these guys on drugs and it's really bad, but Jester really making a big

deal about it. Christa mcculiffe and the space shuttle had exploded that I had no idea about that, but I was, of course, because I'm just a knit wit. The only thing I'm thinking about is the Pride. Did it piss you off? Tip that they named names and they put those seven guys pictures right on the front page of the Globe, and you know, you guys had to answer

for that. I remember talking to Nellie about that, and people coming to Nellie's house knocking on his door, and he was out of his mind, like why did you have to name these guys? Why do I have to answer for him? Right right? And you you're you're right. It was It was wrong for them to do that

because at that time it was it was private. No one knew, so someone gave someone up and it was a typical that, you know, whoever whoever did that was was was It was mean spirited and obviously somebody was out to get us for whatever reason, or get a particular few players that were named, and uh, it bothered us for a long time, and and and and I

think guys never forgot it. And so people were treated a little differently whenever they walked into the locker room, uh, the next few years or so, and and and you know, you'd hear guys, and so it reverberated a little bit. Yeah, it did, It did, And it was wrong to to to do that. And it was funny. I kind of knew a guy or two, but I didn't realize it. It was such a large number, and it was you know, it was it was interesting. You mentioned not making it back.

Did that have Do you think that factored into not making it back to the Super Bowl, especially with that group? Yeah, I would, I would say, um a little bit, because you know, you know, from both of you guys know, from our success here, from the successes of those ten Super Bowl trips, the commitment that the players have to make. And I talked to this, I talked to my son a lot about the commitment and to get eleven on defense, offense, special teams being on the same page. How hard that is.

And given what they have now, it's totally different. Back then you're trying to convince them. A lot of strong will,

strong mind minded guys. I we we we gotta, we gotta band together, and we gotta figure out how we're gonna you know, we're gonna repeat what we did in eighty five and then this time we're gonna win when we go there, and it was you know, yeah, we were what playoff games the next two two or three years, but it was something was missing, something was missing, and you know, you can't put a finger on it right then and right then and there. But it was a

different team. I didn't recognize it then until later on. But when I was in it, it was like, Okay, we can do this. This is gonna but you don't know what the individuals are gonna do, how how strong will they are, how beaten they are because they let something, you know, like the article that was there or who else, somebody else has probably threatened them that you know, if you do this and you're gonna get cut, and you know, if we find out you're doing drugs or whatever. You know,

you got a lot of stuff going on. You're listening to Pats for the Past podcast with Patriots Hall of Famer and Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett. It's brought you by who but WB Mason, who delivers all of your business essentials for free with no minimum order, break room, furniture, facilities, maintenance, office applies, and so much more for the fastest delivery of business products. Nobody he

does it better than who but WB Mason. Okay, Tip, just playing off of what you just said there for a second. Roberts talked, I think ever since this team won in two thousand and one, about the jealousies about I want more money now that we won the Super Bowl, where I should be getting a promotion and everything like that. That's what you're talking about. I mean, absolutely, but clearly the drug scandal had an effect. But it's hard to keep everybody tied together because well, wait a minute, I

was just on the AC championship team. I want mine, I want mine, and it's it's an insidious thing, but it's human nature that everybody thinks they're the reason why you had so much success. And to your point, how do you keep eleven times three for the three units? How do you keep forty five or fifty three guys together? It's not easy regardless of the era, isn't it? Nah? It is. It's tough. You know. The only way that it's funny. The minute you said that, something popped in

my head. And the only way you can equalize that or equate it is, uh by having a good draft. And you think about how we drafted after that Reggie Dupart first round pick. So if you're drafting and you're bringing in guys that you know, pushing heelther for the people that I need more money, I'm not happy with my plan. John retired. Yeah, so you got guys coming in that are pretty good, and all of a sudden you look and you're like, hey, I gotta get my stuff.

I not worry about my contract right now. I got this, dude, that's pretty good. I've been stepped my game up that I believe would have helped equate the issues. Sure, um, but you know, you you look at the draft picks. You know it's it's right there. And the instability tip. I mean, you played for five coaches in your career, and you can look at this and marvel at guys.

You know, obviously Tom's an anomaly, you know, playing for the same guy for twenty years, but that instability, you know, and we can talk about the instability of the franchise and the ownership. Are you gonna get a second pair of socks after you go to the Super Bowl? That doesn't help um? And it isn't conducive to building a winner, is it right? No? No, not at all, not at all, And I mean it it uh the five coaches, I mean I you know, I told someone, I said, I

played for five coaches and I think three owners. And it was I didn't realize the instability. You know, you heard things here and there, but it was like, you know, my check was still being delivered to the bank. My my contract had been honored. So I'm like, well, how can we have Well I don't know everything that goes with it. But you know, again you're looking back and

you're like, wow, get that bad. But when you're when you're in Hawaiian you were in Hawaii for many years, You're at the Pro Bowl and you see how the other half lives. That had to be eye opening. Oh it was. It was. I mean I I used to have guys that used to tell me, you know, hey, man, why don't you do something to get get get cut or get traded. Why don't you ask for a trade and I'm and I'm looking at these guys. I'm like, I can't do that. I didn't say it, but I'm

looking at him like, what are you soft? But you know, if I had to think about it, put me in that situation again, maybe I hey, I want to get traded, right, you know, maybe I could have pulled the mic Hanes or something and and got out of here. But you're not guaranteed to get to where you want. Back then, they used to threaten you to send you to Siberia and and you know, like Minnesota at that time, or

or you know, Indianapolis or one of those places. And it was like, I'm gonna keep my mouth closed and and and not make a make an issue. Well, the last of your five coaches was Bill Parcels, right, two times Super Bowl champion head coach. He comes in changes everything. I mean, you went from Dick McPherson, you know, God love coach mac cheerleading on the sideline to Bill Parcels. What was that like? It was you know what it is.

It's like everybody knows Bill Parcels. I want to play for Bill Parcels And all of a sudden, I'm like, oh man, we got Bill coming here, this is gonna be cool. And for me personally, it was none of that. And it was it was he pushed. He pushed everybody, which is okay. You know, it was a different type of man. It was a different type of head coach that I had had been around. And you know he was it was you could see him changing the guards. I'm moving people out of the way. I don't even

shoot who it is. I'm gonna step over you. And I'll still I'll never forget to this day that you know. It was Vincent Brown. He stopped practice one day, had Vincent Brown come up. Now I'm on the team. I'm in my twelfth season. I thought I was a pretty good leader and I'm, you know, try to lead by example. And he said, right in front of everybody, Vincent Brown, this is your team. Now I need you to show some leadership. But blah blah blah, bah blah. And I'm

sitting up there like you, mum, what theuf? And I'm like pissed, and I'm looking I said, all right, okay, cool. So now I'm a little bit different now and and and so I'm in training camp and I'm asking for an afternoon off because I've been there twelve years. I watched Julius Adams, John Hannah, Steve Grogan, all those guys. Second third week into training camp. You know, hey, veterans, just come out in your shorts and T shirt and

just chill. I'm I'm looking for this. I'm like. So I go to Bill, I'm like, hey, you know, what's your room on the veterans and you know, you know, get him a little. He looks right at me. He's like, uh, what are you talking about? I said, well, you know, I'm in my twelfth year and you know, I'm thirty three, thirty four him, I'm up there and I you know, he said, what's wrong with you? You hurt? I'm like, no, what are you talking Bill? I've been dancing every goddamn

dance out there. Where are you talking about? Hurt? I said, yeah, I'm just I'm just looking for a little, a little love man. And he looked at me like, nah, hey, look, I can't tell you what to do, but if you think you need to take a day off, feel free to take a day off and you do your thing. I looked at it and I walked away. I said, mother, fuck you, and I walked away. I like, screw you, and I walked away and I just I finished up training camp, you know, practicing every day, like everybody said.

I'm like, damn, I said, I saw all these guys do that now here. It is my opportunity. Do you think the Vincent Brown comments he was trying to push your buttons? No, no, it was it was we were we finished five and five eleven. We you know, we we He's trying to figure out who can play um

and he was changing the culture. We talked earlier about what was the culture when he first came, trying to change it, and he needed to change the culture to what he believed the culture should be, which might, by the way, not with you, yeah, not include me, right, and uh, it was it was, it was strange. It was. It was I'm like, so, I'm looking, I love Vincent Brown to death. I'm like, so, you're gonna put him in front of me. Yeah, I'm trying to be the

you know, I'm trying to be the leader. I'm trying to do all the things. I'm I'm practicing. I ain't been hurt. I'm I'm going one hundred miles an hour. I'm like, so why do you? And but I knew his background too, so I knew that I knew Martin uh at the Giants. I knew Harry Carson at the Giants. At some point, I'm like, so why I'm different from those guys, I said, And then we were like, I'm thinking we're both Jersey guys. You know you're from Jersey.

I'm from This is how you treat your your homeboy. And I took offense to it. Man, I was like, foh, I said, you're gonna put Vincent Rounding in front of me. He's gonna call him out and anointing him. And I'm like, we saved his goddamn job. A few years ago. They were gonna cut him and we said, no, no, no, this kid is a good football player. You can't no, no, no, no. He kicking play. I said, he just you know, hadn't been in the system like like he's been with us.

I said, but this is a good football player. So he is. Fast forward six seven years later, he's stepping up and then annointing him the king and the leader and and I'm there, so this is my last year. Did you with that decision made then or did you see the writing on the wall. Then, Uh, this was like the it was like the second third, third game of the season when he when he did this, and I was just I just said, you know, I think it's gonna be short lived and I'm probably not gonna

be around much longer. And my contract was up. Sorry, I'm I'm going somewhere. I'm leaving. I'm going somewhere else. I said, I think I got two or three years left in me, So I'm gonna talk to my agent and all seasons over with. And but you didn't. I didn't. How come, Uh, Robert Kraft, Robert Kraft. It was it was amazing. Um season was over with. Didn't know he was buying the team until after everything was over with.

But he had bought the team, and he had come to me and he says, you know, I know you're your your your contract is up, and we're gonna we'll we'll do there's a couple of things on the table. You can will negotiate and finish up your career here, or we have an opportunity for you come in the front office if you like it. Take a week to

think about it. Let us know. So all of a sudden, now those pumps and bruises that have bothered me the neck, and you know, I don't feel right, and I'm like, you know what I'm I think I liked I had kind of been eyeing an opportunity because they had never really been a former player to walk off the field coming the front office, not on any of the teams that I knew about. Now, obviously they did something with Daal Stingley, but that was just you know, that was different.

But I had been keeping my eye on that, and I think Robert had got window that that, you know, I would probably like the opportunity to work in the front office, and so I chose to take the gig in the front office. I saw what was happening with Bill, and I think if I had to do all over again, I probably would have tried to play two three more years, dual contract someplace else. Nah, here he had offered. Bill had tried to negotiate and told me what was left in the cap and how much he was going to

offer me, and yet was new that year. So do you think then, so you get smacked in the face from him, not literally, but like you're saying that second or third week, and maybe what's going through your head is you know what, I know where Jersey guys are, but I'm not one of his guys. Right, I'm not one of his guys. Did you come around maybe by the end of the year and go, you know what, I don't know that I'm one of his guys. But

I still think I can play for him. And I think he respects me enough that he knows that I can play for him. Now I knew I could play. I knew I didn't want to play for him anymore. And I was talking to my agent and it was like, you know, Carolina, it was just coming around and we can work out. I'll call around and what do you want to do? And so we talked about that for a little bit, and then, you know, it just kept circling back to that opportunity coming into the front office.

And I just after it was all set and done, I just said, you know what, I think I'm gonna retire. I think I'm gonna step down. My body's talking to me a little bit, and uh, I'm gonna take this opportunity to come into the front office. You said something that I hadn't heard before, which is amazing that I hadn't heard the story before, but you mentioned the Craft buys a team, and he offers you this opportunity to

the front office. Can you go back a little bit and and relay this, relate the story about when you found out the Craft about the team. Wow, well, you know, it was funny. We had heard in all season and a couple of my teammates and I we wanted to go play golf. We were actually down at the breakers and we had heard Robert had the team, and so we're we're we're playing golf, and all of a sudden we see a group of older gentlemen pull up behind us and they get out the cart and want to

see what's to hold up. And we said, well, there's a group out there, and says guy says to us, guys look like football players. I said, yeah, yeah, we you know, joking, I said, we a little bit. So where said um, New England Patriots, New England Patriot. And before he could finish New England Patrees, he says, Bobby Kraft. Goddamn, he said, Bobby Craft bought that team. That kid can turn ship and to go. We fell out on the tea box like it was nobody's business. And I laughed

so hard. And it wasn't until later on I think I retired, that they did the retirement ceremony or the press conference, and well March or April or something like that, when I finally decided and I tell the story to Robert, he falls out laughing. He's had me tell that story

twenty times throughout the year. And and but these guys had us and it's been true, right, And the funniest thing about it, though, hindsight being in twenty twenty one, I heard them say that m and I watched him through the years with the building of the new stadium, getting Belichick here, accomplishing the things that he said in

his opening press conference. I bought this team to win championships, and it's been he turned shit into gold and it is the funniest thing, and I love telling people about it. And but these guys were something else, man, And obviously they've had some kind of business dealings with them, and they've watched him from afar because they immediately knew his pedigree, and I didn't know how involved in everything that he was doing. I always saw him in Myra around town

at different functions, charity events. They loved coming to concerts. I'd see them at a concert or something and go over and say hello. And and I didn't even know him that he had the entrance and interest of owning the team at the time. And I mean I'm talking like eighty three eighty four. I met him one time when he was here. He brought to Ashton Martin out and he and Pat had been talking. I think that

was around eighty seven eighty eight. Well, he started buying land here in eighty five, and so he was angling to buy the team. You know people always talk about, you know, well, he wouldn't have bought the team if Bill Parcels wasn't the coach. And I said, whoa, he

was angling to buy the team for several years. Absolutely, I think, I mean, I've never asked Robert this, but I have to think the salary cap and that whole he said, financial structure says But Tip, you're in the unique position of where you talked about how Robert or how this gentleman um very interestingly described Robert's business acumen. But you literally saw that you were here when this

place was nothing. Absolutely, And is it amazing to you to see from where you came and where it started again thirty seven continuous years of service, which is unbelievable, by the way, unbelievable, but thirty seven years a continuous service to see where it was and what it's come to their kids who come in today and go, oh yeah, Patriots, super Bowl champions, you know, and they can't appreciate what this was like. You can, absolutely, absolutely no, in your right.

I pinched myself a lot, and I laugh. And and the fact that he's blessed me with the opportunity to be here this long, it's been awesome. And he and I we we often chat a little bit, just you know, he thanks me for being here, and I'm like, oh, no, no, I thank you for the opportunity. And it's amazing because, as you say, I was here from nineteen eighty two until now. And I again, I was in the old stadium.

I got in my car and we drove a mile to to practice, and uh, for lunch, we had to take a ride down the street and go buy a sandwich and bring back to the to the locker room to eat. And I fight for for socks and and and I'm like, all of a sudden, now you know, we we got the TOADJM. Hall of Stadiums, and we have a dining room. We have a dining room that I can go down now. And I tell the guys about the dining room story and they're like, no way.

I'm like, yeah, wait, wait, wait, And I said, it's a constant reminder to me that you know how cool it's been. And I share it with all my old teammates and they because they're always how is it tip? And I said, man, if we had had this opportunity, I said, no telling how good, how far we may have gone. Let me go back a little bit, because I would be remiss if we didn't ask you about Lawrence Taylor. So you mentioned you weren't one of Parcels guys. Well,

clearly LT was one of his guys. Here's a quote from Eric Dickerson, Hall of Fame running back, talking about you. He was a great, great player talking about LT. But I think Andre Tippett was as great a linebacker as LT. Uh Hall of Fame guard Joe Delamellur. A lot of guys thought he was better than Lawrence Taylor. He's definitely one of the best outside linebackers who ever played. The comparisons to LT. What's your thought on those Well, you know,

it's just like wringling circus. You know, you want to bring attention to the party. You want to you want to get in that that conversation with people. And I I originally when when I when I first made the statement, and and and someone asked me, you know, what do

you see yourself? And and I think that I threw it out there that you know, um, I basically was looking at it as I do the same things that he does, I said, And I didn't even go to the point of, well, he's consistently had a great offensive line, great defensive backs to support him, scheme that supported him. And you know I often talked about I just played straight left outside linebacker and I wasn't a designated rusher.

I wasn't an edge rusher or anything like that. I was part of a three four defense that sometimes I dropped into coverage, sometimes I played the run, sometimes I was asking the but and I just took pride in the ability to be able to get that done. So all of a sudden, you know you're seeing LT obviously, you know, coming in in nineteen eighty two, LT came in eighty one You're watching the things that he's doing and I'm like, whoa, it's really not much different than

what I'm doing. And so with that being said, you know, all sudden we you know, not that he and I ever personally go at it or anything like that, but the media is picking up on it and they're talking and they're like, well, do you think you're consider yourself to be as good as LT? Absolutely? Absolutely. I once had a defensive coach her mind said to me. He looked at me one time and he said, if I ever ever here you compare yourself to LT, I'm gonna have a problem with you. He didn't mean it as

and you shouldn't be doing that. He was saying other things, and I didn't, you know, I just I saw I've left. I've never really shared that with people, but he said he said some things to me and it and after he said that, I stopped having the conversation with anybody ever again because you felt good about it. I felt good about what my defensive coaches said to me. And I'm like, okay, all right, all right, well, but it's it's it's kind of an easy thing to figure out.

You know, you're a part ones playing in the media capital of the country, right, Okay, who then becomes gets on a team that had some The team has success. You had it one year, really, you know, they won a super Bowl in eighty six. He's got a Superman cape in Jersey on and part of that team. They went in again in ninety and he's off to the races,

you know. But the comparison was not fair, though it happened, and he waltzes into the Hall of Fame because he's LT and the Giants and everything like that, and you gotta fight and you gotta scrap and you gotta wait.

Were you pissed in the beginning? Yeah? I was, because I was like, you know, I'm like I thought I did everything that I needed to do, and you know, I you know, I learned a lot through the years, and you know, I ain't putting anybody on the on the spot, but I knew when we were playing doing that era at the time that I was on, I knew guys had guys that they could if they needed to make a phone call and let them know and share information with these guys and different things like that.

Within the media. I was never like that, I know, had I maybe had I. You know, I'm like, did I miss out on something? We were you in a hole? You know? Yeah, I said, And it wasn't an a hole, but uh, I was quiet, and there were times that I'd be off the standoffice. But you know, I knew guys, a lot of guys that are in all of aname. I knew they had guys that would carry their water for him. And I didn't have. I wouldn't anybody's boy I didn't have. I didn't I wasn't you know, I

didn't have that guy. I didn't have somebody that is that a pride thing? Did you take pride in that? Maybe that you didn't have anybody to do that for you? I believe so because I would hear guys in the locker room, and you know, I would hear conversations that take place. I would read articles in the newspaper, and I said, well, the only way that could be in a newspaper was somebody in this locker room. And I said, I'll never put myself in that position to do that.

And and I know a lot of guys that did. And you know, so the politics of the whole process that probably soured you. Where you learn when you're talking about learning a lot, you know the politics of Hey, it sounds to me what you're saying is, you know what I played for twelve years. I'll take what I did in twelve years, franchise leader in sacks. We did what we did thirty five over a two year period. Right,

I'm gonna let my statistics speak for themselves. But I'm not going to go up to this guy or that guy or ask call this one or you know, that's just not who I am. And if that's the way it falls, that's a shame. That's a shame. It really was.

And and I heard a story and and just not the name names, but the situation went like this, in a meeting, select selection meeting, articular player that wasn't the person that spoke on behalf of the player was lived in one town in the player played somewhere else, and that particular media person stood up and said, he said the player's name, rattled off some statistics, and he said he doesn't get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I'm gonna quit, and he walked out the room. The

person got in first ballot. I thought I'd heard something about that, like with Elway that's somebody that whoever was presenting Elway then he just stood up and said John Elway and sat down. Yeah, I've heard that story too, So I didn't have anybody that went to bat for me. The person that said that should have been the person that, when it was time to present me, that put up a fight to say, you know what, this kid here deserves it. This kid here has worked hard to get

to where he's at. So it's become a huge production now, as is with everything in the national Football leagues you've seen over your career, where now the president of the Hall of Fame is trolling through hotel lobbies and if you get a knock on your door, if you get a knock on your door, that needs you get in, but if the phone rings, it means you get out. It's really kind of convoluted. But I think Brian and I were fortunate enough to be at a point in

time where we're in Arizona. It's Super Bowl forty two, and we're in the hotel lobby, you know, and it's a Saturday before the game, and naturally the focus is on the game because the Patriots are playing the Giants that first Super Bowl and everybody's thinking about that, can they cap off the perfect season? But there's I don't know, tip twenty of us, forty of us and we're standing around what this thirty five forty inch TV in the hotel lobby and you have no idea whether you're going

to get in or not. And you're sitting there. You're like a nervous canary in a cat house, you know. And it was I'll never forget it whenever, Like we're watching this that doesn't happen today. I understand its twelve years later. But here's a guy who's literally waiting for his Hall of Fame fate to be announced, and you're finding out live on television. Right, We're talking about arm still up in the air? Right? What was that like

for you? Whoa that was? It was? It was amazing because it was well one, it was the greatest greatest moment in my life, man. I mean, There's been a lot of special things that have happened to me, and I've been really fortunate to be in the right place, right the right time, but that supersedes everything, man, because it was amazing. It's the highest honor that a former player can receive after he's retired from football when he's done.

There isn't anything else you can you can get after you you're done playing the game, and if you've played it at a high level, then to receive that that that Hall of Fame call. So I'm out with the kids and we're playing and and and all of a sudden, someone says, well, you're not getting ready to make the announcement. I didn't even think much about it at that time, and the like, and they said, you want to go

see it. I'm like, yeah, so we're gonna sit out in the in the lobby down and that's let's just sit right here, and the same of TV or and I was. I was chomping at the bench and it was. It was special. When I heard my name, I cried like a baby. It was, but I tell people I cried like a baby the year before and I was

at home by myself. My wife and the kids had gone out and done some things, and they're like, said, I'm gonna just sit here and watch and and I literally when they made the final announcement in oh seven, I was sitting in my house, in my living room. I had tears and snoted coming out of my eyes, and it was it was it was just I was like, all right, all right, okay, you all right, get over this.

So next year, oh eight, it happens again. I'm crying like a baby, snot coming out of my nose and I'm just you know, so both times good at bad. You know, it was it was awesome. I appreciated the opportunity. It really was cool. I sent thank you notes and No. Seven terry voter who voted for me, and I didn't care the fact that I got that opportunity to be considered at that time, thank you, and I appreciate and I don't know. It was a bunch of people that

probably didn't vote for me, didn't care. But I did the same thing. And oh eight, I took thank you notes after I'd gotten in. We were in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl when they were gonna introduced this thank you notes. Sat in my hotel room. My wife's like, we're going up to dinner, said I need, I need, I need another hour and then we can go out to dinner. And I handwrote thank you notes to every voter on the committee. Just this is what it meant

to me. But that's that's your mom that's your mom telling you what to do, what's right, And that's a kid learning from a parent like this is the right thing to do. And that's a lesson that I guess, I'm not guessed. I would bet that that's a lesson you've passed down to your kids. Absolutely, Absolutely, anytime they get anything you don't, you don't miss that opportunity to think the person that did whatever they did for you

goes a long way. So Andre, you know you and John Lifelong Patriots and Bonaconti Haynes, and now we've had some other guys like Bill Parcels and Curtis Martin and Randy Moss. Last year, Tay log goes in the first one from the Super Bowl era teams. Obviously Tom will go in, Bill will go in. Do you think any other Richard's a finalist this year? Richard seem Moore, Yeah, do you think anybody? Do you think Richard gets in? And then anybody beyond Tie, Bill and Tom. I think

that Richard gets in. I like to think that Richard gets in this year. You know what a football player, and I mean you look at his credentials, I mean you look at everything that he's done. How does he not get it? Now? I understand that. You know, it comes, it gets close, and I know that if they're two guys at the same position, sometimes one you can exit each other out. So that me and what been what happened last year, the fact that he's again finalists, I've

been rooting hard for him. I like him. I like him as as as a football. I like what he did here and I like his credentials. I mean, you look at what he's done, man. I mean he on a team with a great defense. He was the best defensive player on that team. Now we didn't have the stats because he had to take on two guys. You know. One of my favorite stories about Richard, and I've told him this was in two thousand and three, Lawyer Maloygan has traded. You know, he's in his what third year?

Lawyer Malloyga has traded five days before the start of the season, signs with Buffalo. They go to Buffalo loose thirty one to nothing. The following week, Tom Jackson's on ESPN makes the famous they hate their coach comment. And they go out in Hammer Philadelphia that day in a four o'clock game, and all the talk in the locker room was not about the game, but about Tom Jackson's comments.

And that week Richard stood up and became a leader on that team and really had bills back and talked about the fact that we don't care what anyone outside says. We know what we think and that's a bunch of bull. And I thought that was a moment for Richard where

he became a voice of this team. He was maybe the best player on the field, defensive player on the field his rookie year in the Super Bowl, so he was already a really good player, Pro Bowl player, and I thought that's when he became more than that, Right, Nana, I agree with you. I mean the guy you know, he's a good football player who who played great. I think that he would make anybody that played with him look good. And so do you guys make players around

him better? This Richard? Did you make players around you better? I like to think the players around me made me better when I was playing. When we write about so I'm gonna from a media perspective when I'm writing about, you know, the guy who plays opposite you, who was Don Blackman, Right, Okay? If I was covering those teams, I mean be Don Blackman might be playing well, but that's because they had doing this to Andre Tippo. So in that way, your make other players better because they

have to game plan for you. You could ruin the game. As Bill would say, did do you think did you have that Effected Richard have that effect? I think Richard had that infact. I mean this guy was a man child out there. I mean, you put your hands. I used to run up behind him and touch him, and he felt like a block of steel. And I don't say that, you know, to sound funny or but he was. He was when I touched him one time. He and I we used to do the videotapes technique stuff and

I had him, Yeah, I had I had. I had him out there one day and we were out there for about an hour, and I just said to myself, Man, if I had to go against this guy for forty snaps and play for sixty minutes, I'd be shaking in my boots at some point because at some point he's just gonna run over you. And it was just you know, to see him, to be around him, to know him like I do, and then to see him play. Um, yeah, guys, got you can make you can make guys look good,

So he gets your endorsement. He belongs in the club. I absolutely believe he does. So, Brian, let's wrap this thing up here, and I'm going to wrap it up with a quote that I'm pretty sure Tip's familiar with with his from his boss, and that's Robert Kraft, who is very fond of saying about himself, not bad for a kid from Fuller Street when you look back thirty

seven years, continues to the organization. Okay, maybe you didn't win the Super Bowls when you were playing, but you've been a part of something really really special here, Tip, do you look back and say not bad for a kid from Newark? Not bad for kid from Newark? I truly do. I mean I grew up in an era in a time where didn't have a whole lot and it was things wasn't easy for me in my life.

I mean I could have I could have been somebody sticking somebody up, but I chose to be a good listener as a young man growing up, I I develop a passion for something that after being cut that I enjoyed. I'm like, I think I can play this game. Never playing Pop Warner or never any of that stuff. Didn't play until high school, having an opportunity to follow my my, my, my, my passion, play with a purpose, and I was fortunate

to be around some right people. And I'm still around right people right now, and while I'm still here, specifically right now, specifically right now, and not bad, not bad at all. I mean, I pinched myself a few times and it's amazing. And I represent New Jersey, I am. I like to think that I'm an example of what

comes of good decisions in your life. And you know, as a youth, as a young adult, as an older man, I still like to think that I've set the example and I'm just fortunate to be part of this party. His name is Andre Tippett. He is Brian As the executive director of the Hall of Fame, the best defensive player in Patriot's football history. Tip thank you for your time today. Thank you, guys, appreciate Thank you for downloading this podcast. Subscribe on Apple, Google Play, and everywhere else

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