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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Official Titans Podcast, The OTP. I'm Mike

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Speaker 1: Keith with Amy Wells. Hello mate, ma'am, how are you.

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Speaker 1: I'm doing well? Thank you. Well, that's good. Getting closer

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Speaker 1: to football season, closer to training camp. And so we're

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Speaker 1: joined by Titans defensive coordinator Dean Peace. Thank you for

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Speaker 1: coming down the hall and joining us. Well, thanks for

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Speaker 1: having me. It's not that far. It is convenient to

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Speaker 1: your office. Oh it was great. There's a few steps

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Speaker 1: when I was here. Yeah, so actually the studio is

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Speaker 1: our wall is right up against your office. Do you

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Speaker 1: ever hear us making racket in here? Not too bad?

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Speaker 1: That's good. No, we sound proved it. Just for defensive

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Speaker 1: coordinator Dean Piece, who had one of the great experiences

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Speaker 1: this past spring. You spoke at your university spring commencement

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Speaker 1: at Bowling Green. Correct. I did. It was a great honor.

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Speaker 1: It was very humbling. I was shocked that they asked me.

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Speaker 1: My all my brothers and sisters think that they didn't

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Speaker 1: check my transcripts before they asked me. So, but yeah,

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Speaker 1: it was a great experience. I really wasn't that nervous.

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Speaker 1: I really had a great time and try to not

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Speaker 1: give a speech, try to give more of a talk,

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Speaker 1: and so it was. It was fun. You know, I've

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Speaker 1: always wondered about the process people go through, because that

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Speaker 1: is a big talk that you gave. I mean, people,

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Speaker 1: do you remember who spoke at your graduation? Yes, one

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Speaker 1: of Tennessee senators spoke at my graduation. See, people will

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Speaker 1: remember this. What process did you go through to decide

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Speaker 1: what you were going to say? Well, I just wanted

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Speaker 1: to talk to him because I think everybody gives that

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Speaker 1: same candid speech about working hard and ethic and setting

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Speaker 1: goals and doing all those things. I kind of wanted

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Speaker 1: to be a little different than that because they've really

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Speaker 1: done all those things when they graduate. I mean, you

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Speaker 1: worked hard to get there, you set a goal to graduate,

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Speaker 1: you did all those things. You obviously have pretty good

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Speaker 1: work ethic. I just wanted to talk to him about

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Speaker 1: people not ever putting a label on you and really

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Speaker 1: telling you you can't do something when you can, or

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Speaker 1: ever stereotyping you for being a certain person, and don't

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Speaker 1: let your I also, don't let your occupation or your

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Speaker 1: job define who you are. So it was my wife's idea.

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Speaker 1: But the speech was only about eight minutes long and

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Speaker 1: then I played the piano for the group. That is

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Speaker 1: so cool. So I wrote a song especially for the

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Speaker 1: graduating class, and I dedicated it to them, and I

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Speaker 1: just said that, you know, obviously, you guys all think

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Speaker 1: I'm forty seven year veteran football coach, that I don't

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Speaker 1: have any other interests in life, and while I do,

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Speaker 1: music is a very big interest in my life. And

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Speaker 1: so I wrote them a song. When did you start

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Speaker 1: playing piano? We had to everybody in my family, all

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Speaker 1: eight of us kids, had to take lessons for at

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Speaker 1: least a year. And that was kind of another lead

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Speaker 1: in the in the graduation speech was that my mom,

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Speaker 1: you know, the example was is that, you know, you

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Speaker 1: sit down your parents and your mom always fixes you

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Speaker 1: something to eat when you're a little kid, and it's

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Speaker 1: going to be broccoli or asparagus or something that you

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Speaker 1: don't like, but she's gonna say try it, you might

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Speaker 1: like it. Well kind of that's really kind of been

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Speaker 1: my goal in life is really from my mom teaching

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Speaker 1: me that. And so when I played the piano, I

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Speaker 1: didn't take lessons very long. We all the boys quit

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Speaker 1: because we all wanted to. We all thought we were

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Speaker 1: a great athlete, so we all quit. But the truth

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Speaker 1: is I really liked it, and I've always felt like

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Speaker 1: it has been another side of me that I can

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Speaker 1: go home and play the piano, put on my headset

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Speaker 1: and play that and get away from football where football

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Speaker 1: is fast paced, stressful, all this kind of stuff. Well,

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Speaker 1: you know, if you literally look at athletes, they walk

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Speaker 1: around with headsets on all the time, right, and the

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Speaker 1: music is a big part of their life. Really in

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Speaker 1: some ways, I just my different differences with me as

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Speaker 1: I play it. I can't read music, so I learned

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Speaker 1: how to write it. I just I know, I know

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Speaker 1: that sounds that's fascinating, it sounds kind of funny because

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Speaker 1: I just I started kind of really learning how to

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Speaker 1: chord and just kind of it's gonna progressed. And I've

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Speaker 1: actually got copyrights to almost thirty songs. Do you really, yeah,

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Speaker 1: how much do you practice? Now? How much do you

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Speaker 1: like to play per week? And I know it varies

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Speaker 1: in season, but you know, given the opportunity, how much

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Speaker 1: do you like to It's just hard for me too,

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Speaker 1: because I get home so late and I got to

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Speaker 1: get to bed so I can get back up in

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Speaker 1: here and get in here in the morning, So you know,

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Speaker 1: I hardly I had never write anything during the season.

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Speaker 1: I just play stuff that I've already written. And the

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Speaker 1: only way I can play it. I can't put it

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Speaker 1: on sheet music. I don't know how to write it down.

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Speaker 1: It's just in my head. So I go back and

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Speaker 1: I'll play certain songs. I've written songs for all my

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Speaker 1: daughter's weddings. Um. My wife has about eight songs for

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Speaker 1: her um. But I've written for everybody in my family,

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Speaker 1: all my my mom, my dad, everybody. I just saw

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Speaker 1: a rocket Man. Yeah, have you seen it? I have

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Speaker 1: seen it? The Elton John Yeah, yeah, And I mean

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Speaker 1: his relationship with Bernie Taupin, who wrote writes lyrics and

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Speaker 1: Elton John writes the music, and he would just hear

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Speaker 1: things and be able to, you know, repeat them. Are

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Speaker 1: you like that well yourself? For a lot of us,

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Speaker 1: we the reason I asked the question is for a

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Speaker 1: lot of us, we can't imagine hearing something and then

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Speaker 1: being able to just sit down and play it. Well.

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Speaker 1: I don't get that. I don't know it's that so much.

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Speaker 1: I probably could if it took me a while, okay,

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Speaker 1: but it's easier for me to actually write a song

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Speaker 1: because I'll just sit down and just start playing, and

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Speaker 1: then I'll get a feel for what I really the

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Speaker 1: mood that I'm in. I don't really know how to

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Speaker 1: explain it, Mike, and be honest with you, I just

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Speaker 1: can and I can sit down and write a song

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Speaker 1: in ten minutes. And then on other times I'm ly No.

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Speaker 1: I never do any lyrics. It's all musical, Okay, I don't.

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Speaker 1: I don't sing. I don't do any lyrics at all.

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Speaker 1: But I can sit down. If I'm in the right mood,

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Speaker 1: I can write a song in ten minutes. And then

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Speaker 1: if I'm not in the mood, then I just get

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Speaker 1: I don't even try because I'm just not in the mood.

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Speaker 1: All right, Well, let me ask you. I hate you.

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Speaker 1: I can see your face. You know we're in Nashville.

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Speaker 1: You may be aware of that. There's some music. There's

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Speaker 1: a little music here. Have you thought about collaborating with

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Speaker 1: somebody who could do some lyrics and maybe trying to

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Speaker 1: write us, I mean, just to see if you could

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Speaker 1: do something commercial in that way in this town. Has

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Speaker 1: that crossed your mind? Well, here's the thing about that. Um,

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Speaker 1: I've thought about that. Actually over the years in a

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Speaker 1: lot of ways, even before I got to Nashville. But

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Speaker 1: I don't want anybody to ever think that that is

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Speaker 1: something I'm trying to do commercially away from the job

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Speaker 1: that I've been hired to do as a defensive coordinator,

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Speaker 1: because I've always felt like, Okay, you know, if if

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Speaker 1: things didn't go well, well, you spending more time on

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Speaker 1: the music, and he should be spending more time on football.

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Speaker 1: And I've never wanted those two to conflict. You know,

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Speaker 1: this is this is I think we know how hard

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Speaker 1: you work well, I know. I mean maybe after I

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Speaker 1: retire officially actually do retire, maybe I'll do it. But

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Speaker 1: it's just always been I never wanted anybody to think

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Speaker 1: that that my job. I'm here to do my job

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Speaker 1: the best of my ability. And music also is something

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Speaker 1: that is kind of relaxing to me, and I don't

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Speaker 1: know that I want it to ever be a stressful

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Speaker 1: situation that I have to do it or that I

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Speaker 1: have to do it. You know. That's why maybe after

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Speaker 1: I retire, I don't It really doesn't matter whether somebody

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Speaker 1: likes it or doesn't like it. What I've thought about

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Speaker 1: doing is at some point in time is maybe after retires,

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Speaker 1: give a bunch of these songs to somebody downtown that

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Speaker 1: actually could give me a dag on good opinion, and

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Speaker 1: just say, look, if you don't like it, it's no

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Speaker 1: big deal. It's not what I do. If you do

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Speaker 1: like it, hey, if you want to do something with it, great,

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Speaker 1: If you don't want to do something, that's great too.

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Speaker 1: That be cool to hear your song on the radio, though,

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Speaker 1: oh no doubt, I know, not even just for the money,

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Speaker 1: but just to say here's another mountain, Hey, that's my songs,

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Speaker 1: like the Aaron. I was watching TV and they got

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Speaker 1: this new show on called The Songwriters or something like that,

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Speaker 1: and I was thinking, how neat that would be to

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Speaker 1: have somebody you know, end up doing, you know, one

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Speaker 1: of your songs or something like that, even if they

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Speaker 1: changed a little bit knowing that it was your song,

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Speaker 1: that would that'd be cool. But I also just I've

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Speaker 1: never wanted anybody to think that, you know, I'm not

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Speaker 1: here to do my job and as a defensive coordinat

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Speaker 1: or any place that I've ever been. But goodness, the

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Speaker 1: creativity that is required to write a song or compose

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Speaker 1: music or anything like that, it has to show up

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Speaker 1: in your work. That creativity. Is that what has made

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Speaker 1: you such a successful defensive coordinator. I don't know. I

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Speaker 1: just I think, you know, God bless me with the

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Speaker 1: ability to play the piano. That's all I can tell you.

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Speaker 1: I don't know why I can do it, or necessarily

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Speaker 1: how I do it. It just comes to me. I

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Speaker 1: think it's kind of from my genes to my mom,

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Speaker 1: my grandma. They could all play, all my sisters could play.

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Speaker 1: I just I liked it, so I kind of kept

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Speaker 1: with it. Even though I didn't take lessons, I kept

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Speaker 1: with it. But I think the football part of it

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Speaker 1: is really more of a work ethic that I really

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Speaker 1: learned from growing up on the farm in Ohio, of

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Speaker 1: learning how to work hard, don't expect anything for anybody.

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Speaker 1: You know, you get what you deserve, you know, earn

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Speaker 1: it the hard way. And I've loved every job that

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Speaker 1: I've ever had. I think that's been the biggest key

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Speaker 1: in my career is the fact that I've never looked

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Speaker 1: for the next job ever, and you've never been fired.

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Speaker 1: I've never been fired, and I've never interviewed. Wow, every

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Speaker 1: job I've ever gotten has been somebody recommended me for

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Speaker 1: that job. To somebody else and they called me and

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Speaker 1: I never met Nick Saban, I've never met Lou Holtz.

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Speaker 1: I've never met any of those people. I had met

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Speaker 1: Bill Belichick because I'd worked with his father, but all

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Speaker 1: those guys had just called me and said, hey, this

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Speaker 1: guy recommended you, and we really believe in that guy.

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Speaker 1: And if he recommend you, you know you got the job.

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Speaker 1: I've never, like I say, and I've never you know,

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Speaker 1: never been you know, let go. So I've just been

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Speaker 1: very I've been very lucky that one. How different is

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Speaker 1: Dean Pease Titans defensive coordinator from coach peas at Elmwood

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Speaker 1: High School in Bloomdale, Ohio back in the late seventies.

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Speaker 1: I hope none, because I think, you know, hopefully I've

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Speaker 1: been a good teacher. To me, that's being a good coach.

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Speaker 1: Everybody can have a title coach, you know, and guys

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Speaker 1: that sometimes, guys that played get frustrated as a coach

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Speaker 1: because they can't understand why somebody can't do it. They're

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Speaker 1: so gifted that they can't really they get frustrated with

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Speaker 1: players that can't just back pedal and do this stuff

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Speaker 1: and transition and do all these things because it was

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Speaker 1: natural to them, trust me, it was never natural to me.

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Speaker 1: So and then when you start out in high school,

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Speaker 1: it's not natural to harley any of those guys. So

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Speaker 1: you had to learn to teach them. You got what

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Speaker 1: you got. We didn't draft anybody when you're in high school.

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Speaker 1: You didn't recruit anybody in high school. You have what

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Speaker 1: you have, So you got to learn to teach them

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Speaker 1: and do the best that you can. Well, if you

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Speaker 1: keep just think about that, if you now have a

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Speaker 1: gifted athlete and you teach them in the same way

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Speaker 1: that you taught a guy that wasn't a gifted athlete,

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Speaker 1: aren't you really doing that guy a great service by

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Speaker 1: teaching him that way rather than presuming that the fact

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Speaker 1: that he already knows how to do it. Don't don't ever.

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Speaker 1: I mean even when I had ray I mean, I

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Speaker 1: you know ray Lewis at Baltimore. I mean, I'll walk

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Speaker 1: in there and go, this is ray Lewis. What am

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Speaker 1: I going to teach this guy? The truth of it is,

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Speaker 1: there is some stuff you can teach him. There's a

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Speaker 1: lot I learned from him too, But there's also don't

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Speaker 1: be afraid to tell him what your opinion is, And

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Speaker 1: there was a couple times Ray looked at me and said,

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Speaker 1: I never thought of that. I'm going, wow, you know,

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Speaker 1: but then there's a lot of things Ray told me

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Speaker 1: too that I said, yet I never thought of that.

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Speaker 1: The same way with my coach Mike in New England,

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Speaker 1: it was the same way. Smartest player I've ever coached

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Speaker 1: is Mike Vrabel, and you know, I learned stuff from him.

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Speaker 1: But I also hope they think that he learned some

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Speaker 1: things from me, and so I don't think there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of difference Mike. I hope when I stand up

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Speaker 1: in front of the room, I hope if a guy

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Speaker 1: from norm One High School walked in and go, yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's the same guy. I knew. What was your subject? Well,

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Speaker 1: I started out in English, but I didn't I didn't

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Speaker 1: like that too when all the papers, oh yeah, that

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Speaker 1: was way too much work. And then but actually I

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Speaker 1: end up going to pee because what I could do

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Speaker 1: is like get all the football players in there and

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Speaker 1: the liftball all the time. I can't imagine. I'm I'm

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Speaker 1: glad you said that because with all the stuff about

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Speaker 1: education and piano and I mean, you just you just

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Speaker 1: almost came across as two cultured So thank you for

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Speaker 1: finding body. Thank you David's Motorcycles that it makes you

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Speaker 1: feel like, no, but I just I think it's so

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Speaker 1: great too because I think about my teachers in high

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Speaker 1: school and and some of them I'm actually friends with now,

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Speaker 1: which is crazy to me. But they they meant so

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Speaker 1: much from the standpoint of yeah, they taught me, you know,

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Speaker 1: stuff in class and whatever, but they taught me more

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Speaker 1: things about how to learn, about how to be organized,

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Speaker 1: about how to act in certain situations. You know, they

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Speaker 1: guide you. And when you have those sorts of relationships

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Speaker 1: with people as a coach, particularly with prope players, that's

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Speaker 1: so valuable. What did Kenny Vaccaro tell us about Dean Peach. Oh, yeah,

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Speaker 1: of course, I mean that's you know, that's the the

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Speaker 1: to me, the ultimate compliment is that connection that you

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Speaker 1: make with a teacher. What did he say? He said,

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Speaker 1: You've got that first of all. That one of the

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Speaker 1: primary reasons he came back was you because you're the

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Speaker 1: first guy who's ever basically played him at safety and

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Speaker 1: just let him play safety. You do a lot of

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Speaker 1: things with him, but he's a safety, so he feels

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Speaker 1: like he can be his best and the fact that

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Speaker 1: you just sort of get him, yep, and that you

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Speaker 1: kind of get one another. He told us that in

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Speaker 1: an interview, and I just think that that's that teacher

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Speaker 1: part of it is is the really great teachers get

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Speaker 1: you and they form that connection to where whatever you're doing,

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Speaker 1: they can make you better. And that doesn't change whether

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Speaker 1: it's high school or the NFL. It really doesn't, you know.

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Speaker 1: It really is all about people, and everybody learns different sure,

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Speaker 1: and everybody doesn't have the same background, and so the

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Speaker 1: thing of it is is learning how to adapt to

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Speaker 1: every buddy. And when you're in high school, when you're

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Speaker 1: a teacher in high school, you got all kinds of

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Speaker 1: kids from all different kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of things.

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Speaker 1: Everybody doesn't learn the same. But it's your job as

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Speaker 1: a teacher to get them all to the same ending point. Okay,

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Speaker 1: well that's the same job that we have here. Bottom

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Speaker 1: line is to get them to the ending point of

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Speaker 1: playing good defense and winning football games. And so everybody

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Speaker 1: didn't learn the same. And I think the other part

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Speaker 1: of it is is people genuinely and players especially at

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Speaker 1: all levels, know if you genuinely care about them other

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Speaker 1: than just beating a football player. If all you care

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Speaker 1: about is, hey, just trust me, I want to win

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Speaker 1: every football game. But also some of the best feelings

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Speaker 1: I have is when guys call me back that I

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Speaker 1: coached in college and say they're doing very successful in

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Speaker 1: life outside of the NFL. Or I appreciate this coach,

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Speaker 1: and you know, you helped me get through college, and

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Speaker 1: you gave me a scholarship and we graduated and I'm

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Speaker 1: doing this. Those are the things that mean just as

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Speaker 1: much to me. And that also makes you feel like, Okay,

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Speaker 1: well I taught them something other than in life, or

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Speaker 1: other than just football. Well being a teacher. You are

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Speaker 1: being recognized for all of your accomplishments, and I think

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Speaker 1: a lot of that is all of the people that

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Speaker 1: you've been able to teach over the years. You're being

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Speaker 1: inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall

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Speaker 1: of Fame. It's their fiftieth Hall of Fame class. What

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Speaker 1: does something like that mean to you, That honor, that

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Speaker 1: recognition that I'll be honest with you, when they called

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Speaker 1: me last year and told me that, I kind of

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Speaker 1: lost it a little bit, because you know, growing up

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Speaker 1: in Ohio everybody kind of thinks their state's the best, obviously,

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Speaker 1: but growing up in Ohio, Ohio high school football is big,

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Speaker 1: and especially back when I grew up in the sixties,

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Speaker 1: it was really big. And you know, just to kind

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Speaker 1: of think about going out in the barnyard and kicking

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Speaker 1: the football or the top of the swing set and

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Speaker 1: thinking I was Louke Gros or somebody, you know, and

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Speaker 1: just you know, in the plane in the backyard and

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Speaker 1: thinking I was Raymond Barry catching a pass or as

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Speaker 1: Johnny United is throwing a pass, or you know, one

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Speaker 1: of those guys. And it just then playing high school

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Speaker 1: football in Ohio and then going you know, to college

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Speaker 1: in Ohio, all that stuff. It's just I just have

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Speaker 1: so many friends and so many connections back there. It's

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Speaker 1: just I was overwhelmed by and I'm just really humbled

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Speaker 1: by it. It was in Miami of Ohio was the

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Speaker 1: cradle of coaches. Isn't that what they used to call it? Yeah? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: So I had to started out the University of Findlay

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Speaker 1: there in Ohio and then Miami of Ohio, and I

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Speaker 1: coached at the University of Toledo in Ohio, head coach

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Speaker 1: at Kent State in Ohio. So I've recruited a lot

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Speaker 1: of Ohio kids and no, almost every been in probably

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Speaker 1: almost every high school in the state. When you got

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Speaker 1: the Kent State job as the head coach, might have

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Speaker 1: been one of the worst programs in the country, and

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Speaker 1: certainly it was in bad, bad shape, and you got

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Speaker 1: it built back, you had it in good shape, and

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Speaker 1: then you just decided to leave and try Pro Bowl.

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Speaker 1: I've always been intrigued because you could have I mean,

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Speaker 1: you absolutely could have stayed. They were clearly pleased with

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Speaker 1: the direction, and you said, I want to try something different.

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Speaker 1: What led you to do that? Well, I had actually

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Speaker 1: had an opportunity earlier than that. But you know, having

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Speaker 1: six kids in our family, really have had three of

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Speaker 1: our kids graduated from Kent State, Okay, and the youngest daughter,

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Speaker 1: arn was actually a volleyball player there at Kent State,

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Speaker 1: and so it was great to you know, not only

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Speaker 1: see the kids there at school, but also they'll kind

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Speaker 1: of watch her play volleyball. And I just felt like

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Speaker 1: at that time, all the kids were out of the nest,

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Speaker 1: they were all out of college, they'd all gotten through college.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of like back to that old thing. Hey

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Speaker 1: try it. You might like it. You know, I'd done.

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Speaker 1: I loved high school football, loved it. But then I

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Speaker 1: got offered an opportunity in college, and I said, oh,

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Speaker 1: try it. I don't like it, I'll go back to

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Speaker 1: high school. And so I thought, hey, I'll try the

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Speaker 1: NFL if I don't. I mean, I'm fifty some years

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Speaker 1: old at the time I do this. It wasn't like

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Speaker 1: it happened overnight. And I thought, you know, I think

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Speaker 1: I got good enough reputation that if I don't like

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Speaker 1: the NFL, I can go back into college somewhere. But

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Speaker 1: you're a head coach, doesn't It doesn't everybody. I mean

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Speaker 1: theoretically everybody wants to be there, not all it's cracked up.

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Speaker 1: What's the worst part about it? You don't You're not

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Speaker 1: a coach half the time, you know, that's the part.

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Speaker 1: You're you're talking to alumni, you're raising money, you're recruiting,

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Speaker 1: you're doing all these things, organizational meetings, just all this

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Speaker 1: kind of stuff. Is really hard to do all that

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Speaker 1: and really be deep down into football. And you also

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Speaker 1: got a different rapport with the players. You know, when

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Speaker 1: you're the head coach, you know you're you're you're the principal.

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Speaker 1: You know, you're you're the guy that got to go

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Speaker 1: to the office that you got to make a lot

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Speaker 1: of tough, tough decisions. And you know, it's part of

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Speaker 1: the reason why I kind of never had any interest

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Speaker 1: in this league of doing that because I don't I

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Speaker 1: don't want to cut somebody. I really, that's gotta be

387
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Speaker 1: the toughest job in the world for a head football

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Speaker 1: coach to sit there and cut a guy that you love.

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Speaker 1: I mean, he probably needs to be cut, but it's

390
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Speaker 1: hard the old guy in the eye. I didn't want

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Speaker 1: to do that. And college was a little different because

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Speaker 1: you're recruiting the guys, but it was the same way.

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Speaker 1: You're always dealing with the discipline problems, You're dealing with

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Speaker 1: all that stuff. I just like coaching ball. I want

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Speaker 1: to be around the players. I want to be around

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Speaker 1: the coaches. I want to do X's nose and have

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Speaker 1: fun with the guys and enjoy them. And sometimes as

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Speaker 1: the head coach, you're you're the tough guy. You know.

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Speaker 1: We've been talking a lot about teachers, but who were

400
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Speaker 1: some of your teachers? Who are some of the people

401
00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,280
Speaker 1: who influenced you throughout your career as a coach. Well,

402
00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:47,560
Speaker 1: there's there were basically a couple of high school coaches.

403
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Speaker 1: And it's kind of funny you asked me that, because

404
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Speaker 1: you know, everybody kind of sees where I've been and

405
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,119
Speaker 1: they see Lou Holtz, and they see Bill Belichick, and

406
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Speaker 1: they see Nick Saban, you see all those named Gary Pinkell.

407
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Speaker 1: But really probably two of three of the guys that

408
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,359
Speaker 1: are probably the most influential in my life are going

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Speaker 1: to actually be at this Hall of Fame thing for

410
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Speaker 1: me as my old high school coach who's retired in Florida,

411
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Speaker 1: he's coming back. Toughest man I've ever known, but we

412
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Speaker 1: went undefeated on a football high school football team with

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Speaker 1: twenty five players, whoa twenty five players kind of the

414
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Speaker 1: everybody quit because he was a dagon, mean and tough.

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Speaker 1: But I really learned a lot from him. And doing that,

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Speaker 1: I mean you you had to go through heart. I

417
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,280
Speaker 1: mean you had to want to do it. And it's

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Speaker 1: I love Dad. And then for a guy named Dick

419
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Speaker 1: Strom who's in the Hall of Fame College Hall of Fame,

420
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Speaker 1: he's the head coach at University of Family, got four

421
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Speaker 1: national championships. People don't know that name maybe all across America.

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Speaker 1: Guy's phenomenal coach. And I had lost my dad early on,

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Speaker 1: my dad and really didn't get a chance to ever

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Speaker 1: see me coach, and so Dick kind of became in

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Speaker 1: a way a little bit of a father figure for me.

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Speaker 1: And then I went to Miami will Highland coach for

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Speaker 1: a guy named Tim Rose, who just there. I've never

428
00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:04,440
Speaker 1: been around somebody that just loved football more than that guy.

429
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,639
Speaker 1: And so all those guys coupled with all the guys

430
00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:13,440
Speaker 1: that I've worked for, Mike, John, Harball, Lou all those guys, Nick,

431
00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,760
Speaker 1: they all I've all learned a little something from all

432
00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:19,000
Speaker 1: of them. But one of the things I kind of

433
00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:21,280
Speaker 1: learned early on is just to be your own person.

434
00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,919
Speaker 1: Don't try to be them. Don't try to be Nick Saban,

435
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,520
Speaker 1: don't try to be Lou Holes You're not. You're never

436
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,040
Speaker 1: going to be them. So just be yourself, take what

437
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:33,640
Speaker 1: you like and use it. What's the one similarity between

438
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,400
Speaker 1: all of those coaches that you see that relates directly

439
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,840
Speaker 1: to their success. All the names you've thrown out, there's

440
00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,480
Speaker 1: got to be one trait that you can name off

441
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:45,199
Speaker 1: the top of your head that every one of them

442
00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:50,680
Speaker 1: had detail detail. They're all detailed. There's nothing left out

443
00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:55,400
Speaker 1: there kind of gray, you know. It's it's like, if

444
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,000
Speaker 1: there's a problem, Okay, what is the problem? How do

445
00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:01,080
Speaker 1: we solve the problem? What do you do? It's not

446
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,840
Speaker 1: like scave over it and move on to something else.

447
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,399
Speaker 1: It's we're gonna fix that thing before we go to

448
00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,200
Speaker 1: the next thing. And they're very detailed in what they do.

449
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,400
Speaker 1: They're very organized. Everything is detailed, whether it be recruiting,

450
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,960
Speaker 1: whether it be X's nose. Mike is very much that way.

451
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,480
Speaker 1: He was that way as a player. That's why I

452
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:20,920
Speaker 1: knew he was going to be a great coach when

453
00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:24,040
Speaker 1: he became a coach. He is detailed. We're not going

454
00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:28,280
Speaker 1: to leave something hanging out there. We're gonna answer it,

455
00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:30,239
Speaker 1: and we're gonna be detailed about it. And that's what

456
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,840
Speaker 1: they all have in common. I want to ask you

457
00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,480
Speaker 1: about Mike's first year because I've been around several first

458
00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:39,960
Speaker 1: year coaches myself in a variety of sports. I don't

459
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,399
Speaker 1: know that I've ever been around a first year coach

460
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:46,520
Speaker 1: who was as natural in the process as Mike Vrabel.

461
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,639
Speaker 1: Have you seen one that sort of stacks up in

462
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:53,560
Speaker 1: that way. I guess I'm asking you to agree or

463
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 1: disagree with what I'm saying, but at the same time

464
00:23:56,119 --> 00:24:00,280
Speaker 1: asking a second part is if you agree, Are you surprised? No,

465
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,359
Speaker 1: I'm not surprised. I don't think I would Mike I

466
00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,320
Speaker 1: would compare him to anybody, because I don't think i'd

467
00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,439
Speaker 1: be fair to ever make a comparison. But here's what

468
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:11,199
Speaker 1: i'd say about Mike as I'm not surprised because I

469
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:16,439
Speaker 1: think Mike, in his own way, when he was a

470
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,200
Speaker 1: player and I had him in New England, was already

471
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,880
Speaker 1: programming himself to be a football coach and to probably

472
00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,639
Speaker 1: be a head football coach. I don't think that he

473
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 1: probably said, well, I'm going to be a head coach

474
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,320
Speaker 1: at this particular time or on this team or anything

475
00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:34,200
Speaker 1: like that. I think he knew I'm going to be

476
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,680
Speaker 1: a coach. I'm gonna probably be defensive coordinator, but someday

477
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:39,600
Speaker 1: I want to be a head coach. I think he

478
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:43,240
Speaker 1: has programmed himself and playing this all the way along,

479
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,600
Speaker 1: and I think he knew before he ever got here.

480
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,399
Speaker 1: Here's how I'm going to run the ship. Here's how

481
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,240
Speaker 1: I want to do it. This is the way that

482
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,800
Speaker 1: I want to do it. I've learned from Belichick, and

483
00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:56,760
Speaker 1: I've learned from probably O'Brien and urban Meyer and all

484
00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:00,119
Speaker 1: those guys. Here's how I want to do it. And

485
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 1: he knew how he wanted to do it. And I

486
00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,320
Speaker 1: think that's why it's natural. It's not like, you know,

487
00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:09,400
Speaker 1: when guys commence sometimes they start feeling their way, saying, oh, geez,

488
00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:11,320
Speaker 1: I wasn't ready for that. Oh I wasn't ready for

489
00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:13,480
Speaker 1: the draft. I really, you know, you start and so

490
00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 1: it kind of looks a little awkward. I think in

491
00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:20,040
Speaker 1: his case, I'm paying attention to this because when I

492
00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,440
Speaker 1: become a head coach, here's how I'm going to do it.

493
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:25,200
Speaker 1: And that's why he's so detailed. And the air part

494
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:30,840
Speaker 1: of it is he is a guy that there's a

495
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:35,000
Speaker 1: bunch of talented NFL players out there that can't necessarily

496
00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 1: be coaches. They're talented and they're good players. He's a

497
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,600
Speaker 1: guy that worked hard at everything that he got and

498
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,320
Speaker 1: it that's the way he coaches too. He exists, he

499
00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,800
Speaker 1: expects that out of us as coaches, he expects that

500
00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,679
Speaker 1: out of his players. He expects everybody to play the

501
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:57,040
Speaker 1: way he played. Tough, hard, smart. That's what he wants.

502
00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,920
Speaker 1: So his success that he had in his first year,

503
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,359
Speaker 1: and I say success by measuring a bunch of different things,

504
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:05,879
Speaker 1: not just the success that the Titans had on the field,

505
00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,040
Speaker 1: but him as a coach overall, had a I think

506
00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,680
Speaker 1: we can all say a successful first year. Does that

507
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,119
Speaker 1: surprise you at all? It didn't surprise you in the

508
00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,960
Speaker 1: least bit, not a bit, not because I mean, you

509
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,119
Speaker 1: guys dealt with a lot of stuff. You had some

510
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,919
Speaker 1: weird things, I mean from the first game on, and

511
00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:26,160
Speaker 1: then your situation that came up in Indianapolis, and other

512
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:30,160
Speaker 1: injuries and all sorts of strange things happen, and yet

513
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,480
Speaker 1: the team just you're in it until the fourth quarter

514
00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,399
Speaker 1: of the last game with your backup quarterback going up

515
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,720
Speaker 1: against the hottest team in the NFL, and you've got

516
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,000
Speaker 1: the ball with a chance to tie the game. Right.

517
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,760
Speaker 1: Like I say, I'm not surprised because Mike handles that stuff.

518
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:52,720
Speaker 1: He handles adversity, you know. I just think his experience

519
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,760
Speaker 1: as a player too, plays a big role on that.

520
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:57,720
Speaker 1: You know, there's been ups and downs. There was a

521
00:26:57,720 --> 00:26:58,919
Speaker 1: heck of a lot of ups when he was a

522
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:03,679
Speaker 1: player at New England. But you know, leaving the Steelers

523
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,679
Speaker 1: had going to New England. I mean, any you know,

524
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:10,000
Speaker 1: there's just he knows how the NFL works. He just does,

525
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:17,560
Speaker 1: and I just think he's I'm just not surprised at anything.

526
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:19,840
Speaker 1: And be honest with you, I wouldn't have joined him.

527
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,080
Speaker 1: I wouldn't come out of retirement if I didn't think

528
00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,640
Speaker 1: that about him. Well, and you're someone who has enough

529
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,640
Speaker 1: NFL experience. I think you've been around for a while

530
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,160
Speaker 1: and you've been a part of some super successful teams,

531
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,960
Speaker 1: and some teams have won Super Bowls. My question to

532
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,840
Speaker 1: you is every offseason, people walk around the building, and

533
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:38,760
Speaker 1: I think this happens at every team in the NFL.

534
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,960
Speaker 1: They're like, I feel it this year, I feel something.

535
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,119
Speaker 1: Something's different. You know, everybody's spidy senses are tingling that

536
00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:48,000
Speaker 1: they're gonna win the Super Bowl. At what point in

537
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:50,280
Speaker 1: the season do you know that you have something special?

538
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:52,600
Speaker 1: Do you know that a team is coming together and

539
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,359
Speaker 1: gelling and clicking the way that you need to to

540
00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,320
Speaker 1: be that successful. I don't know if I can answer.

541
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:06,080
Speaker 1: There's a set time during the season. I think if

542
00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,000
Speaker 1: you're in the thick of it, when December comes around,

543
00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,000
Speaker 1: then you feel like Okay, you know you can get

544
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,840
Speaker 1: on a run and you can make it. I don't

545
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,960
Speaker 1: know that there's ever a particular time you say we

546
00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,200
Speaker 1: got something special. I think you always feel like that

547
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,879
Speaker 1: as a coach. Probably everybody feels like thirty two people.

548
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:27,720
Speaker 1: Teams feel like that every year that they got a chance.

549
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,640
Speaker 1: But I think it's when you're in. If you get

550
00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,280
Speaker 1: to December and you're in the thick of it, that's

551
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,199
Speaker 1: when I think you start to feel it. I mean

552
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:36,760
Speaker 1: it's kind of like when we were at Baltimore in

553
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:41,680
Speaker 1: twenty twelve. I mean we Ray was out for ten games,

554
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 1: Sugs was out for six or eight games, I can't

555
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,480
Speaker 1: remember how many. I mean, it was like a roller

556
00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:48,360
Speaker 1: coaster that year. I mean we got hot and then

557
00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,320
Speaker 1: we were cold, and we were hot and we were cold.

558
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 1: The bottom line was everybody said, well, you limped into

559
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:55,200
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Well, I don't care if it limped in

560
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:57,600
Speaker 1: or not. I'm in. All I know is we got

561
00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:00,200
Speaker 1: hot in the playoffs and beat four good teams. We

562
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,080
Speaker 1: beat Luck, Brady, Manning, and Kaepernick and that's a pretty

563
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,880
Speaker 1: good run. And really, did I think we have something special? Yeah?

564
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,080
Speaker 1: After we beat New England, I thought we had something special,

565
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 1: so you know, and so I you know, I don't

566
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:15,640
Speaker 1: know if there's a time. It's just the bottom line

567
00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,120
Speaker 1: is that get yourself into that position to make that

568
00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,680
Speaker 1: run at the end. Can this defense be something special

569
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:25,040
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen for the type I think we can.

570
00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:29,280
Speaker 1: You know again, we you know, it's it's always Mike,

571
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:32,479
Speaker 1: you hope nobody gets hurt. There's always a lot of

572
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:36,640
Speaker 1: intangibles that come into play. You know, somebody gets hurt,

573
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:41,200
Speaker 1: you lose a couple of guys here there. You know,

574
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,400
Speaker 1: it's a team sport. I mean, we got to do

575
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,520
Speaker 1: our part on our side of the ball. The offense

576
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,360
Speaker 1: got to do their part. Special teams got to do

577
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,800
Speaker 1: their part. It's never ever gonna be about you. I

578
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:52,160
Speaker 1: mean you look at New England. I mean they've won,

579
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,440
Speaker 1: they won some Super Bowls when the defense was not

580
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,400
Speaker 1: very good and then when then then there's been time

581
00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:00,680
Speaker 1: teams that had number one defense league and didn't make

582
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,080
Speaker 1: the playoffs. I mean, it's just it's a it's a

583
00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,160
Speaker 1: team game. That's why everybody's got to be able to

584
00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:06,960
Speaker 1: play it too. I think we can be special. Yeah,

585
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,320
Speaker 1: but I there's probably been never been a year I

586
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 1: didn't think that was the case. It's funny because ninety nine,

587
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,680
Speaker 1: the year we went to the Super Bowl here, we

588
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:19,080
Speaker 1: were actually seventeenth in the league in total defense, but

589
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:23,600
Speaker 1: plus eighteen in turnover ratio and had over fifty sacks. Sure,

590
00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,680
Speaker 1: so it's like the numbers don't always that was a

591
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:30,040
Speaker 1: good defense regardless of what the you know, the overall

592
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:33,160
Speaker 1: numbers said. They made plays at times where you had

593
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,320
Speaker 1: to make plays, and everybody kind of gets caught up

594
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,240
Speaker 1: in the stat thing anyhow. And it's like I've heard

595
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:40,600
Speaker 1: a couple of times about like, well, you know, we

596
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,120
Speaker 1: didn't have enough stats last year or sacks last year

597
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,880
Speaker 1: at thirty nine, Well, you know, New England had thirty, Right,

598
00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:49,880
Speaker 1: I'd rather be where they were at the end of

599
00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:53,040
Speaker 1: the year and where we were. And then Kansas City

600
00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,280
Speaker 1: had fifty two, but they were ranked thirty first on defense.

601
00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:59,480
Speaker 1: Well I'd rather be ranked eighth on defense and have

602
00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,280
Speaker 1: thirty in sacks, then be thirty first on defense and

603
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,520
Speaker 1: get fifty two sacks. But your defense, but your defense

604
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:08,840
Speaker 1: was a good defense. You got off the field, it

605
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,400
Speaker 1: helped you win games. That's really what defense is. At

606
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:14,520
Speaker 1: bottom line is scoring, Right, the bottom line, you can

607
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,200
Speaker 1: talk about total yard, you can talk about I mean, yeah,

608
00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:18,400
Speaker 1: you want to be off. You gotta get off the

609
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,440
Speaker 1: field on third down. All that. The bottom line is

610
00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 1: if you don't give up points, if you're good in

611
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:23,680
Speaker 1: the red zone and you don't give up points, you

612
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:25,640
Speaker 1: got a chance to be pretty good. You're so good

613
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:27,360
Speaker 1: to come in and talk to us. This was so

614
00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:30,160
Speaker 1: much fun. Yeah, we just got to football in the

615
00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,720
Speaker 1: last five minutes. We could I know, but I could

616
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:36,000
Speaker 1: have talked about music and teaching and everything else for

617
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,480
Speaker 1: two hours. Good stuff. Dean Peace, thank you, Thank you

618
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:42,520
Speaker 1: Titan's defensive coordinator for Amy Wells. I'm Mike Keith. We

619
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:51,240
Speaker 1: thank you for joining us for the o