The Dave Pasch Podcast - Chris Spielman

nineteenth ever. It was a very emotional video that maybe some of you saw when he found out that he was going to be inducted. If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's a must. Google it or go to YouTube. It's phenomenal. We'll talk with Chris about his role with the team, how this job came about, and what exactly he does on a daily basis. Has he gotten a taste of what life is like for his brother, Rick Spielman, who's the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings.

What Cardinal fans should expect the Lions this week. The Lions being in a transition phase similar to where the Cardinals are a couple of years ago. Have Chris and the Detroit Lions taken a page from Steve Kime and the Arizona Cardinals book on transforming a franchise into a playoff contender. Plus the time I ran into Chris in a hotel weight room and it costs me for about a month. I remember how how pitiful you were. Yes, well, anybody that calls their home gym the torture chamber deserves

to be avoided at all costs in a hotel. Jem all that and much more coming up with Chris Spielman. We are presented by bet mgm, the official sports betting partner of the Arizona Cardinals, and by Hila River Hotels and Casinos. Sign up for betmgm today using code cards one thousand and get your first bet risk free up to one thousand dollars. New customer offer paid in free bets. Visit betmgm dot com for terms and conditions twenty one

and over Arizona only. Please gamble respond possibly gambling problem called one eight hundred. Next step without further ado, Here's the legend Chris Spielman. So, Chris, let's start by talking about you getting inducted into the Pride of the Lions. You're the nineteenth ever. Millions have seen the video. First of all, was so happy for you, and I saw your emotion, and I know that it's real, like people that know you know how much it means to you.

What we I mean, were you surprised? Obviously you were surprised. I guess why were you surprised? Because I thought the should have happened a long time ago. I know you're not gonna saying about that, but what was it like, what were emotions like? And how special was it to you? Well? I think it because it is something that is you know.

I always felt kind of weird about getting individual honors within a team sport because my success, whatever success I had, was directly related to defensive linement that I played with right in a scheme, and and obviously I was able to do a certain amount of things, but it couldn't be done without a lot of people involved, including a

great support system. I think the emotion just being back here in Detroit, and obviously, Dave, you and I know each other well, but this is where my late wife and I started our family and started our life together, so and I kind of she was part of that Detroit Lion journey, so that all kind of came back to me at one time, which was caused for the emotion. And you're surprised because you know, I mean, I thought I was a good player. I didn't know if I

was deserving of that, but I'll take it. So yeah, I mean four Pro Bowls three with Detroit, so obviously part of and the way you played too, you know this, the way you played, you embody, that's it. I lived there for two years. I know what people in Detroit are all about and who you are as a person, and the way you played you were like the perfect Detroit Lion. Well, I think I think it's what coach Campbell's bringing to right. It's all about that writ I

guess it's the word that he used. And I think for me, I think it was a great honor to play in the NFL, and it wasn't an honor for the NFL to have me in it. It was the opposite, And so I never took that for granted, and I always wanted to. It was very conscious of who I represented, whether it was the Ford family, whether it was my teammates, whether it was my family, whether it was the city of Detroit, the fans of Detroit. That's something that I

took very seriously throughout my whole time here in eight years. Well, for people that are listening to this at are Cardinal fans that maybe you remember you a little bit. The way you played was a lot like Wolf, and that you just you threw everything into it. And anytime that I feel like the aches and pains of getting older and my body, my body's bothering, I'll just call you and be like, hey, this hurts. You're like, oh yeah, well, here,

here's how I have to sleep. I have to get this specific position where I don't have any tingling in my arms or any part of my body to be able to fall asleep. And I automatically stopped feeling sorry for myself. I know, I know Wolf probably feel the

same way. Like that's something that you know going into like you know what you signed up to do, and you know, and I always referred to it as I always got to pay taxes once in a while, right, and taxes stuff for claiming in the NFL is certain things that you have to deal with physically as you get older. But that's I think it's important to you know,

always try to take care of yourself. I mean, you and I talk about just diet, nutrition, exercise, and just you know, taking care of your body, especially if your body's been hit and beat up for so many years. It helps, I think eas the agent process just a tad. I know Wolf struggles with how the game has changed. I shouldn't say the game necessarily, it's a way of officiating and the way the game is set up is

different than it was when you guys played. Is that has that been a hard adjustment for you, because I know it has been for Wolf and for others of your guys era and how physical it was and what you had to do to prepare to play and then actually get through a game and then survive to do

it again a week later. I mean, I think the game is safer than it was, so I think some of the rule changes about trying to get to head out of the game makes sense because we're more educated as an NFL population of you know, concussions in the ramifications of concussions as we get older. I think the most disappointing thing is is that guys won't play with things that I played with, right, a broken thumb. You know, you put a cast on it, and you shoot it up and you go. The rule that I always had

if I was running, I was playing. Now, if you can't run, if there's something wrong with your lower body and you're not running full speed, then you're only going to hurt your team because you'll get embarrassed if you can't run, But upper body, I think there was you should always try to find a way to play. And I think that maybe nowadays because guys, you know, make

so much money, which I'm glad they do. I'm all for that, but they tend to maybe protect themselves a little bit when they should probably think of maybe I can go and play if they do this, or if I cast it up or whatever. I think guys are very cautious about playing. And I actually just had this conversation with my wife this morning, and I think that's probably been the biggest adjustment for me to get used to, is that, what do you mean he's not practicing? What

do me? And he stopped playing and you know, there's nothing The player I think has more control now than they did when Wolf and I played about when they play and don't play? What was Carrie killing you in the gym again? Is this way you had to have the conversation. She's got the same mentality. Yeah, so I she was actually just getting him out the gym and I asked, h, I said, how you actually lifted today? So that started a whole little what are you talking about?

Five days a week? What do you want? So I just remember the three years we worked together. I would time out when I would go to the gym in the hotel to make sure that I avoided you. It was like, okay, if it was after seven am, there's a good chance Spiells is done. Because one time you caught me. I came in and you're you come over, you go, look, hey, what are you doing today? Like I'm doing back Hey, let me show you something. And the next thing you know, we're in this hotel gym

and there's other people in the gym. You have me doing chin ups, pull ups, and you're under my feet pushing me up. My let's hurt for two months. This is why I hope carry's avoiding you in the gym. That was actually that was actually in Wisconsin. Uh you remember that's sad that you actually remember remember how how pitiful you weren't? Yes, well, anybody that calls their home gym the torture chamber deserves to be avoided at all

costs in a hotel job. Yeah, but in all seriousness, no, I do think I talked to a lot of X players about this, that it is important too to try to stay in shape. But guys either go one way or another, right, they either let themselves go, or they don't want to work out anymore because they've been working out their whole entire life, and or they don't watch

what they eat anymore. And I just I'm a big proponent I think of keep working out and eating healthy because I do think you it has a little bit of in your life, a little bit. We know all the problems that former NFL players deal with as they get older, and uh, you know, the lifespan isn't very long. Actually, I think that the studies will show you that. So

I've always encouraged coaches even now. I got two coaches that I work out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at six am, because you know, coaches can live an awful lifestyle just to their diet and they put all these hours in and it work so hard. I always talk to them about being balanced, about being balanced mentally, about being balanced physically and being balanced spiritually. That's six am. That that's why so late. I mean that you're being done by that. You're going if I do mine at five,

then I trained them at six. So the so I gotta bet at seven thirty. So your role as the special assistant to the owner and the CEO the president. U correct me if I'm wrong on all that you're the special assistant too. Basically when you were hired, first of all, take me through how it came about, and

then exactly what you're doing on a daily basis. So last year, about this time, about a year ago, received a phone call from rod Wood after they relieved Matt Patricia as head coach, and they asked me to be a part of a coaching search. Well, first he asked me if I wanted an interview for the GM job, and I said, well, I'm very flattered that you asked when I'm not qualified to be internal manager, but I

do think I can help in other areas. So we talked about it and we kind of came up with this role that I'm in now, and I guess the best way to put it, it's kind of been evolving. Originally it was to be one of four people on a hiring committee to hire a general manager and head coach. It was myself, Rod Wood, Sheila hamp and Mike Bisner. People in Arizona should know Mike. Mike spend some time with the Cardinals and really bright young guy and will be a future president one day. And then we ended

up hiring Coach Campbell and Brad Holmes. After that process took place, I sat in with some of the assistant coach interviews with Coach Campbell and just offered an opinion. I do meet with the Ford family every Tuesday morning along with Coach Campbell and Brad Holmes and just offer a third perspective of what I saw during a game. I'm also involved with helping people in ticket sales. I've

made calls to season ticket holders. You know, it's tough to sell season tickets when you're one to eleven and one, But we're trying to get people to see the big vision that we have around here, what we're trying to build in the foundation that's being laid. The other thing I've been able to do is work with some of the young linebackers. I don't talk anything philosophically about we're

doing defense. That's not my role, but as far as fundamentals and stuff like that, I work with him before practice, I work with him after practice. Also very involved with the personnel and scouting. I talked to college scouts on a regular basis. Brad Holmes are j GM. Gives me some assignments to do to help him. Then we've always bounce IDAs off did you think about this? Or he'll ask me what I think about that? Or would you

see there? What I see there? So I'm basically and I think it's a role that will probably evolve within the NFL. I'm kind of like an outside set of eyes that just offers something different because you know, if you spend so much time around something or people start seeing the same thing. So I do a pretty good job of keeping independent thought and evaluation of what's going on within the total organization, not just the football side. Well, you by nature, Chris or somebody who you fies who

brings people together. How much of the Lions reaching out to you for the position that you have was about bringing unity and trying to get the building together as an organization. And to your point on this role evolving in the NFL. Do you think we'll see other teams hiring either former players or people that have been in other parts of football to come in in a similar role that you have. Do you think we'll see more people in the role that you have across the league?

I don't know, because I think you yet. First of all, it has to be somebody that's not motivated that one another job, right, I don't want to. I mean, that's the one thing that I had to make sure Brad and Dan understood that I'm not interested in being a general manager. I'm not interested in being a coach. I'm interested in being service, service oriented towards you guys. I told them, Look, I climb my mountain as a player. I reached the epitome of what I possibly could reach

as an NFL player. That was my goal, that was my dream. Now my whole Michigan life is to help others succeed and see them successful. And so in order to do that, you have to be humble, and you have to be able to understand that you're working with them. They're not working for you. I'm working with them. I do what they ask me to do. I offer my opinions, whether sometimes they take them, sometimes they don't, but it's just another it's another set of eyes and another voice

for them to make the best decisions possible. As far as the unification of the team, I think I've had brought some pretty good ideas. Some of them have been implemented. I think one of the things is we're in a different position here where we have the business operations at Ford Field and a football side of things is here

at Alan Park. It's been a little challenging with COVID, but one of the things I do is I'll go down on a monthly basis and I'll meet with a ticket office, with partnerships, with corporate sales, whatever organization or whatever group is down at Ford Field, and I'll keep give them an update of what's going on here at the football side of things. And it makes them feel included, and they should feel included because we're all Detroit Lions.

And that's something that I take a lot of pride in and that's something that was never present here before. Another thing is, again we go back to the health and fitness thing. We were able to put an employee weight room down at Ford Field just to let and give those folks access to the players, nutritionists to the players strength coaches, and have them set programs. So it's all about inclusion of everybody and everybody going for one common goal and one common purpose. And we understand that.

You know, it takes everybody involved to have a championship organization, not just obviously on the field, but off the field too, and how you treat people and how we treat our fans. And it's been a wonderful learning experience for me, and it's been everything I thought would be. You mentioned that when you got to call originally there was some conversation about whether you'd be interested in being the GM, and you said that interview interview for the GM, and you

said that you weren't qualified for that. Your brother Rick has been the longtime GM in the Minnesota Vikings and has been in various positions across the league in personnel for more than two decades. Have you at all gotten the taste of what Rick's life has been like, because I know you're not directly involved in personnel decisions, but as you said earlier, you're in those meetings. You're having

conversations with Brad Holmes, the GM and other scouts. Yeah, I kind of knew it was like because I did sitting in some stuff with Rick over the years, which kind of gave me a good perspective. I've also worked with John Dorsey, who's a senior consultant here, and we talk and bounce ideas off of each other. And you know, I think the one thing that I learned is from

their experience. I've learned a ton of different things. I think the best coolest example of learning was I was doing linebackers last year for the draft and just watching film and putting grades on him, and to my surprise, I thought everybody was awful, so so so and I would and we would give these presentations. And Dave Sears, the director of college scouting for the Alliance here, he called me up out of the blue, and I gave him a lot of credit. He said, hey, you want

some advice. I said, sure, I'm always open for advice. He said, it's been my experience over the year years that guys that play a certain position, like yourself, they're much harder on the guys that they're grating. They're not given. And I said, and I thought about that for a second,

and I said, you know, what, You're exactly right. So I went back and redid every linebacker that was on my list and came out with a total different outcome, you know, And so that was the I think the best thing that I learned, and what I also learned is that you know, Biblically it says what be quick to listen and slow to speak. And as we got in more and more into the personnel, I just kept taking in all this information which would help me better

serve the Lions. And I guess the one thing maybe I taught some scouts, because sometimes scouts can get caught up and everything numbers wise, arm length, which is important, all that is very important. And the one thing I said, here's the one thing I know is that if he's not making plays in college, it's probably not going to

make him any NFL. And so, you know, it was one guy came up to me and said, you know, sometimes we forget about the common sense part of the game, and if he ain't making plays in college, probably won't be making him up here. I just want to for Steve Kim was a tremendous help to me too when I first got this job and the interview process and was a great resource on what to look for. So Rick and Steve and Dorsey and a bunch of other

guys around the league were really helpful, which was really cool. Well, speaking of linebacker, Steve drafted linebackers each of the last two years in the first round. Isaiah Simmons did not have the benefit of preseason games last year, so last year was basically just training camp extended for him, and he's really playing well. Zaban Collins started out the year as the starter. He's barely playing, although he had a big fumble recovery on Monday Night. Football are if not

fumble recovery the on site kick. I guess it was a muff on the onside kick that he recovered. But he is in a learning phase. It's a it's a big transition. So as somebody that played the position, what would your advice be to those guys about learning the NFL game and the difference it is from a mental standpoint, not just a physical standpoint. So well, the same advice I give these guys, I think my guys, my young players,

is that every day is like is game date. Like when they're at practice, it's got to be a game. To me, there's no such thing as a walkthrough as a linebacker, even if it's labeled a walkthrough in a practice field and other guys may be walking through, your first three steps have to be bam, bam bam. I think virtual, the virtual room. My most NFL teams have virtual rooms where you can put on the goggles or put on a wall and you can play the game.

So you stand there watching the watching the film from the end zone copy, and you visualize yourself and actually take the steps on where you're supposed to be. I think the biggest part of the transition is learning how to play match defense and zone coverage, and like match coverage is kind of a mixture between man and zone, and sometimes there's different rules that you have to learn. So it's rep after rep after rep. And the last thing I tell them is, you've got nothing else going on.

This is your shot. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You have to put in extra time away from football. You just have to if you're young, especially if you're still trying to learn a system and there's nothing else you can do right now except football. And I think you owe that to football, and you owe that to yourself to give yourself the best chance to be successful, not only for yourself, but more importantly for your team. You guys are in year one of a

new era. The Cardinals are in year three. So where you guys are right now the Lions. The Cardinals were in twenty nineteen when they went away from Josh Rosen and Steve Wilkes, hired Cliff Kingsbury, drafted Kyler Murray and the first year it was a struggle. But here we are in year three. Yes, the Cardinals are lost on Monday Night, but there's still ten and three type of

the best record in the NFL. When you look at the Cardinals and you mentioned Steve has been helpful to you in your transition, is there anything specific that you've noticed of how the Cardinals have gone about things that you will draw from to try to help transform the Detroit Lions. Yeah. I mean, I think Steve's done a pretty good job of drafting players right. He saw his quarterback and his vision. He did a great job of

matching quarterback with coach. I know that. I think one of the things you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that when I was working at TV, Cliff said this that when they for Scott Kyler Murray, I thought they adopted the language of Oklahoma. So that made that. So, I mean, that's that's just smart, common sense stuff. And you know Isaiah Simmons right, you he was he struggled at times last year. I remember the San Francisco game and the opener, the first time he

was in a game. They were in man coverage and the running back did a little f angle for a touchdown on him last year, And I mean that's you know, And so I think they understand they have great players and there's a learning curve and there's there's a process to the growth. He's done a good job of maintaining the player at Buddha Baker, right, how hard does he play? How productive has he been over the years and so, and he's also done a good job of adding depth.

I mean Connor from the running back. I mean, every time I look up, that guy's making play. So Steve understands his roster, He's built that roster. He understands he got a great deal for new Hopkins. So I mean all the things that he's done has been done the right way, and it's not without making mistakes along the way. And we'll make mistakes along the way, but he had to. I think Steve did a great job of recognizing. This

is what good teams do and good gms do. They recognize when they make mistakes, and they don't keep multiplying the mistake. They correct it and they move on. And so I think that was a great lesson that you can learn from the Cardinals. You mentioned television. Is there any part of broadcasting that you miss? And if so, what is it that you miss? Like, you know, you're in it right, so you know that your partners that you work with, especially if you have great relationships, you

miss being around your friends, like I miss. I still miss hanging out with you every weekend. And you know, we did everything together. We took walks together, we you know, we had dinners. It's almost like I was poor. But but I guess the people that you know, and I want people to understand that how seriously the director is, the producers, the camera folks, they're pros and they take their job very seriously. How serious you and I took the job, and how prepared we wore And now there's

some challenges of doing live TV. And I remember, you know, I think our most memorable game. Now you might have a different thought about this, was that when you and I did the Penn State game after the whole Jerry Sandusky thing broke, and we have like security there and all that stuff, but we actually said a prayer before the game that we would do with justice. And I think we did a great job. But I mean, I enjoyed doing the games. But if I missed, it's the people.

It's the relationships, right, It's your teammates, and that's I don't know if it's a curse or not, but I think my thing is is that when I get involved with somebody, be like they're not They're like a teammate to me, and a teammate not in a sense that the world used his teammate, but like, what do you need anytime in the moment. If I could do it, I'll do it for you. Well, that game you mentioned that was Nebraska Penn State. Days after Joe Paterno was fired.

There are riots in yeah, because yeah, and obviously the Jerry Sandusky news breaking. Plus it was you, me and Urban Meyer and Urban's father passed away that week, so there was so much going on. Tom Rinaldi was with us. I remember Jay Paterno, who was you know, Joe's son and was part of the coaching staff, telling Tom in our meetings. I don't know if you remember this, Tom Rinaldi, no matter what, You're not going to make me cry. Yeah, no matter what you and he did. He made him

cry at after the game. That's why Tom's you know, he wasn't trying to make him cry. Just Tom is good at his job. But that was two thousand and eleven. You and I worked together in two thousand and nine and two thousand and ten, and it was you, me and Bob Greasy and I'll never forget Chris. In two thousand and nine, my wife has a brain tumor and

you were going through what you were going through. A Stephanie had gotten to a point where your wife was incredibly sick and ended up passing away in the middle of the season. But I remember calling you initially to tell you what was going on with my wife. Thankfully, it wasn't cancerous and she recovered quickly and she's fine twelve years later. But you would call me every day after that, very early in the morning. You call me

just to check up on me. And you were going through what you were going through, and here you're reaching out to me. And that's why I love you so much as a friend, for you being there for me. But you've been such a champion for others over the course of your life, champion for cancer research. How do you find the strength to keep at it because here we are twelve years later and you're still so involved, so caring, thoughtful, so encouraging to others who are going

through very difficult times. Well, it's it's it's hard, right because every time I talk to somebody or nobody shares good news with me. You know, people, it's always somebody has a recurrence or somebody lost somebody, right, and you

kind of relive those emotions. But I think when you serve a great or good and you can help somebody feel like they're not alone and that you understand exactly where they are and how they feel and let them know that they can get through it, I think that is I think God uses a certain people for certain reasons, and it's out of my comfort zone, but I think that I trust that God wants me where I am and what I do, and he gives me a position

to make a difference in somebody's life, even if it's small. And that's something that I take very seriously. Don't like it all the time. It's not comfortable, it's hard. I lose sleep over it. I'm all, you know, I'm always around it. But it serves something much bigger than me, and so and I know that I can help people, and so I guess that's the payoff. I think. The other thing, Dave, is that you know, Stephanie was incredibly strong and would would do the same thing when she

knew she was dying. I mean, I would catch her over a computer at nighttime praying for people that wrote to her, you know, and when she's doing her own battle, yet she's praying for their recovery, knowing what her outcome is going to be, which is really remarkable. And so I kind of owe it to her legacy to keep it going and to do what I can do. My oldest daughter works at the development office at the James

Cancer Hospital. I worry about her because ever since she's been a you know, a little girl, it's been part of her life, man, and I just I worry about her getting burned out on it. But she feels a calling too, and so you know what it's like when you have that calling. No matter what you do to try to resist, it doesn't matter. If God wants you to be there, You're going to be there. It's it's like a Jonah man, right, he kept trying to run away and the work You ain't running, man, so you

might as well just obey. I guess well, I appreciate your time. I know you got to run, but I do want to get a couple in here on the organization before you go. What should Cardinal fans expect from the Lions? How will this team look? I'm sure people will look at the records and automatically you say it's gonna be an easy win for the Cardinals. But I know the way coach Campbell does things and the way you guys are doing things this this is not going

to be easy. So what should Cardinal fans expect from the line week? I mean, we you know, we have eight guys on a COVID list that I don't know if they're gonna make it or not to the game. We've have probably fourteen major contributors that are on IR or on a COVID list, So you're going to see a lot of young guys. But I think with our team, I think what you'll see is guys that will fight to the very end. I think that's been evident throughout

the whole year. There's a couple of games where we didn't play very well and got blown out Cincinnati Philly last week against Ever, but every other game, you know, it took a sixty six yard by Justin Tucker to Baltimore Ravens to beat us. We had the vikings down and they completed two passes at the end to kick a long field goal to beat us. We missed a forty seven yard or game winner in Pittsburgh. So every

game it comes down. Usually most of the games that comes down to the fourth quarter, and it's just a credit to coach Campbell and motivating these guys and they're they're they want to win. There is some young talent on here, but you know when you're when you're kind of starting over, there are some struggles. But the cool thing is I think the fans, the Cardinal fans, will

appreciate the effort that our team gives. No matter what the record is or what the score is, They're going to play and they'll play as hard as they can appreciate the time. Brother, Thanks Chris, Thanks day man. I just love talking to Chris. Of all the people I've worked with over the years, he's at the top of the list of my favorites. As you can see, where's his emotion on his sleeves. A guy that cares so

much about other people. He's been such a champion for cancer research, having gone through so much personally losing his first wife, Stephanie some twelve years ago after she battled the disease for twelve years. And now Chris was such a help to me when I was going through a difficult time with my wife's health back in two thousand and nine. Also, Chris had some great stuff on transforming a franchise into a playoff contender and what he saw Steve Kim and the Cardinals do that has helped him

and the Detroit Lions. Also Chris talking about the emotions of being inducted into the Pride of Lions, which is the Detroit Lions Ring of Honor, becoming the nineteenth Ever. Again, if you haven't seen the video of Chris when he got surprised and found out that he was being inducted, it's just fantastic Google it, check it out on YouTube, and also some funny stuff from Chris, his crazy schedule of getting up at the crack of dawn to lift waits and how I used to always try to avoid

him in a hotel Jim. I figured it was after seven am. I had a good chance, but one time I missed, he was still there and he absolutely crushed me. We are presented by bet MGM, the official sports betting partner of the Arizona Cardinals, and by Hila River Hotels and Casinos. Based on what Chris said, the Cardinals should get a hungry Lions team on Sunday as Arizona tries

to go to eight and O on the road. We'll talk to you Sunday for the game, and then we'll talk to you next week on the Dave Pash Podcast