1
00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,119
Speaker 1: Hi, I'm a Nis Wilton's Welcome to the NFL Legends podcast.

2
00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:11,880
Speaker 1: I'm here with Nick Ferguson. That's right, the Grinder, the

3
00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:18,079
Speaker 1: one with perseverance radio talk show coaching. You don't wanta

4
00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:22,279
Speaker 1: miss this talking about a legend in the dictionary. You

5
00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,280
Speaker 1: want to see a picture, go to the word perseverance.

6
00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,480
Speaker 1: You'll find my guests Nick Ferguson's picture. I always hear

7
00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,000
Speaker 1: people talking about him on my grind. But let's talk about, Uh,

8
00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:37,120
Speaker 1: you being the Grinder. It took four years from Georgia

9
00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:41,360
Speaker 1: Tech to dress for your first NFL game? What did

10
00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:46,360
Speaker 1: that process teach you, grol? Uh? It taught me exactly

11
00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:49,760
Speaker 1: that how to grind. You know, my dad was a

12
00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,800
Speaker 1: long shoreman. He still was a long shoreman. Uh. He

13
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,520
Speaker 1: was a stern, tough guy, and he's always taught us

14
00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,240
Speaker 1: that in order to get anything in his life, you

15
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:00,680
Speaker 1: really have to work hard for because was gonna give

16
00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,320
Speaker 1: it to you. And with that type of mentality, that

17
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,800
Speaker 1: kind of pushed me forward, because you know, I wasn't

18
00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,240
Speaker 1: a real big guy coming out of high school. I

19
00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,720
Speaker 1: think maybe as I seen, I think I weighed about

20
00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,840
Speaker 1: a buck fifty and that's not big for for the position.

21
00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,120
Speaker 1: But it was one of those type of mentalities, not

22
00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,759
Speaker 1: the size of the dog in the fight, the size

23
00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:22,800
Speaker 1: of the fight and the dog, and that was kind

24
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,440
Speaker 1: of my mentality that moved me forward. And you know,

25
00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,440
Speaker 1: we've all as players and as people, we've come across

26
00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,800
Speaker 1: adversity and adversity which is kind of stand me in

27
00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,040
Speaker 1: the face after every turn, every time I thought that

28
00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,920
Speaker 1: I accomplished a new hurdle and used, there was some

29
00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,280
Speaker 1: other barriers standing in my way. And I had a choice.

30
00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,800
Speaker 1: Either I can turn and retreat or I can searche forward.

31
00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,960
Speaker 1: So I chose to searche forward. It was a tough

32
00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,640
Speaker 1: hall trying to get into the league, but I was

33
00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,840
Speaker 1: able to do it. So he played in Canada. I

34
00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,840
Speaker 1: see the flag, the Canadian flag behind you on the

35
00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,240
Speaker 1: football and the World League. A lot of people don't

36
00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:05,800
Speaker 1: remember the World Yeah. Yeah. Was there at any point

37
00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,640
Speaker 1: where you thought this might not happen as relates to

38
00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:14,400
Speaker 1: the National Football League? Absolutely? Uh. When I signed as

39
00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,840
Speaker 1: a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals, I got hurting

40
00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,400
Speaker 1: training camp, and you know, if you hurt, you can't

41
00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:22,040
Speaker 1: really get out on the field and show what you

42
00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,080
Speaker 1: can do. And I remember when I was on the

43
00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,320
Speaker 1: bus rode heading back to the airport. The first thing

44
00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,000
Speaker 1: I'm thinking is like, how am I gonna break this

45
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,519
Speaker 1: news to my family? Everyone was, you know, just hoping

46
00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,280
Speaker 1: and wishing that this would happen for me. And then

47
00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,440
Speaker 1: I was just like, is this kind of the career

48
00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:41,800
Speaker 1: for me? So now I gathered myself, I searched for

49
00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,160
Speaker 1: I repair my injury, you know, by going to Canada,

50
00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,040
Speaker 1: and then I had another opportunity with the Chicago Bears

51
00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,880
Speaker 1: by way of NFL Europe, and I remember like it

52
00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:58,160
Speaker 1: was yesterday I made the team and I'm celebrating and

53
00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,000
Speaker 1: I'm there for a day. Then I get a knock

54
00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,679
Speaker 1: on the door. I mean, as a player who was

55
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,480
Speaker 1: an undrafted guy, you never want to get that knock

56
00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,080
Speaker 1: on the door. So it's Rick Spilman. He was like, hey, listen,

57
00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,200
Speaker 1: I need to talk to you for a second. I'm like, yeah,

58
00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:13,400
Speaker 1: you know what's going on? He was like, yeah, we

59
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,200
Speaker 1: have to make some roster moves and unfortunately, I know

60
00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,680
Speaker 1: you made the team, but now we have to release you.

61
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,560
Speaker 1: So as I'm once again riding in the elevator down

62
00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,760
Speaker 1: to the bottom floor to get on that bus again,

63
00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,920
Speaker 1: I'm thinking, like, man, am I cut out for this?

64
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,360
Speaker 1: Why every time I seem like I get over the hurdle,

65
00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,600
Speaker 1: something else negatively happens. And once again you have that

66
00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,840
Speaker 1: time to reflect on that long plane ride you know about, Well,

67
00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,360
Speaker 1: maybe I should go in a different direction. I'm a

68
00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,280
Speaker 1: Georgia to that guy. I got a decent degree, but

69
00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:48,920
Speaker 1: still in this man, it was just that football was

70
00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:51,840
Speaker 1: in me. I said, I have to exhaust everything, I

71
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,720
Speaker 1: have to understand or even know that at the end

72
00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,560
Speaker 1: of the day, if it all was over, I gave

73
00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,160
Speaker 1: it everything that I had. What I hear is the

74
00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,640
Speaker 1: word perseverance. So what pulled you through to the point

75
00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,480
Speaker 1: where you became a starter and stayed in the league

76
00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,360
Speaker 1: ten years, Well, once again, it was just that that fight.

77
00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:13,960
Speaker 1: There was a guy by the name of Marco Coleman.

78
00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,280
Speaker 1: He was drafted in the first round by the Miami Dolphins,

79
00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,839
Speaker 1: and during this transition I would always go back to

80
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,520
Speaker 1: Atlanta because that's where I made my home, and just

81
00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,920
Speaker 1: just one chance meeting, I saw him in the locker room.

82
00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,520
Speaker 1: He was changing his gear and we sat down and

83
00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,960
Speaker 1: talked and I was asking, Okay, well, what does it

84
00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,719
Speaker 1: really take to make it in the league, and he

85
00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:37,840
Speaker 1: just sat down with me and told me. He was like, look, man,

86
00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:39,800
Speaker 1: you can make it in the league. There are a

87
00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,800
Speaker 1: lot of talented guys in the league, but they lacked

88
00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:46,040
Speaker 1: work ethic right, And he was just like, man, I mean,

89
00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:47,960
Speaker 1: I've heard a lot about you, and I know your

90
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,520
Speaker 1: story and I know how you walked on to Georgia

91
00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,200
Speaker 1: Tech and earned you your scholarship. So if you stick

92
00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,760
Speaker 1: with that work ethic, it would be possible. So when

93
00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:58,560
Speaker 1: he walked out, I just kind of set there for

94
00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:01,279
Speaker 1: like ten minutes by myself. I was like, here's a

95
00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,400
Speaker 1: guy that played at Georgia Tech, first round draft choice,

96
00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,080
Speaker 1: doesn't know me for adam, but he sat down and

97
00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,240
Speaker 1: gave me his time and this is what he said

98
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:11,840
Speaker 1: to me. And I was like, you know what, I

99
00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,120
Speaker 1: could do this and that was that was one of

100
00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,560
Speaker 1: those things that kind of pushed me forward. So that

101
00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:22,920
Speaker 1: speaks to the power of mentoring, right exactly, and that

102
00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,560
Speaker 1: that is so important in our game to have guys

103
00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,680
Speaker 1: who are able to mentor younger guys, because here is

104
00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:32,279
Speaker 1: what we do know when when we look at the

105
00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,880
Speaker 1: guys who are going to be first round guys, those

106
00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:38,120
Speaker 1: those guys are set. Everyone knows who they are. They're

107
00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:41,720
Speaker 1: set financially, but it's it's those guys that the fourth round,

108
00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:44,719
Speaker 1: fifth round, and those undrafted guys that make up the

109
00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,360
Speaker 1: league that they really don't get a lot of that

110
00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,080
Speaker 1: one on one time where guys can kind of sit

111
00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:52,840
Speaker 1: there mentor them and tell them what they're about to

112
00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,520
Speaker 1: embark on. So that part, that mentorship part, is so important.

113
00:05:57,240 --> 00:05:59,520
Speaker 1: How does that perseverance help you now that you've become

114
00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:04,279
Speaker 1: a legend. Well, for me, that that grind never ends

115
00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:06,920
Speaker 1: as though, you know, and there's a lot of guys

116
00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:09,640
Speaker 1: who they leave the game and that transition word is

117
00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,280
Speaker 1: so so difficult for a lot of guys in our

118
00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,080
Speaker 1: business to understand. But always so, guys, remember what you

119
00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,480
Speaker 1: had to do to be an NFL player Every single year.

120
00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,880
Speaker 1: You had to fight to maintain your spot on that team.

121
00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,599
Speaker 1: And all you have to do is apply yourself to

122
00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,760
Speaker 1: a new hustle, that's all. It is a whole different hustle,

123
00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,720
Speaker 1: but keep that same grind mentality fighting for what you

124
00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:37,120
Speaker 1: want and sometimes opportunities may not come to you. You

125
00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,640
Speaker 1: may have to force those opportunities by going out, you know,

126
00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,839
Speaker 1: expanding your network. So for me, keeping that type of

127
00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,680
Speaker 1: mentality has allowed me to get to a point where

128
00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,159
Speaker 1: I have my own radio show. And let's talk about

129
00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,560
Speaker 1: your radio show. What's that been like? Well, you know,

130
00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:58,520
Speaker 1: it is interesting because you're not only competing with other

131
00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:01,840
Speaker 1: you know stations, you're competing with the guys who are

132
00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:05,560
Speaker 1: on you know your station. And for me, once again,

133
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,640
Speaker 1: coming and taking that football mentality every day is a challenge.

134
00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,760
Speaker 1: How can I make my show better entertaining by using

135
00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,000
Speaker 1: the guests that I'm maybe to bring on to inspire

136
00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,760
Speaker 1: other people? And we know that we just finished with

137
00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,680
Speaker 1: the whole COVID in and we're still dealing with it

138
00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,840
Speaker 1: in one the needest. The way I look at our

139
00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,640
Speaker 1: show is, I mean, there are a lot of former

140
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,320
Speaker 1: football players who are trying to go through and understanding

141
00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:35,680
Speaker 1: their transition, and they're inspiring stories. If we bring them

142
00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,760
Speaker 1: on our station, you know, people hear those you know

143
00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,640
Speaker 1: in stories and they get inspired to go out and

144
00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,480
Speaker 1: pick themselves up. And then also there's a there are

145
00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,360
Speaker 1: a lot of young athletes aspiring to get to where

146
00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,440
Speaker 1: we are, so they're listening. Okay, well maybe this guy

147
00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,480
Speaker 1: tell me the secret to getting to be a starter

148
00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,040
Speaker 1: on my high school team. And then maybe college and

149
00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,920
Speaker 1: things like that. So we look to bring on, you know,

150
00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,080
Speaker 1: former athletes, current athletes. We've even dug into, believe it

151
00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,080
Speaker 1: or not, Hollywood. We've had Hollywood actresses and actress on

152
00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:11,160
Speaker 1: our show. Because the whole idea is, let's give diversity

153
00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,920
Speaker 1: to this fan base because before coming to Denver, I

154
00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,520
Speaker 1: worked I worked a little in radio in Los Angeles,

155
00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,080
Speaker 1: so I wanted to bring some more of that big

156
00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,960
Speaker 1: city field here to Denver. You didn't pick your teammates

157
00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,480
Speaker 1: when you played in the league, right, it's Nick and Cecil.

158
00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,680
Speaker 1: How did Cecil end up becoming your pool holes? Well,

159
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,360
Speaker 1: there's there's a lot of you know, gymnastics that went

160
00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:38,839
Speaker 1: into it. And and just like you said, you can't

161
00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,880
Speaker 1: really pick, you know, you know your teammates, and you know,

162
00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,120
Speaker 1: you can't really pick your co host. But there were

163
00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,319
Speaker 1: some kind of wild things that happened at our station,

164
00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,960
Speaker 1: and fortunately uh Cecue he was hosting a show by

165
00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,520
Speaker 1: himself and we were partnering together, and we have the

166
00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:59,440
Speaker 1: most diverse show here in Denver and even on our station.

167
00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:03,439
Speaker 1: Because obviously I'm an African American guy, He's a Latin guy,

168
00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,439
Speaker 1: so our backgrounds are really similar as far as the ground,

169
00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:11,520
Speaker 1: the grind part of it, and us being minorities, so

170
00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:16,240
Speaker 1: we can tap into certain subject matter that some of

171
00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:20,600
Speaker 1: my uh counterparts they can't really explore because they don't

172
00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,760
Speaker 1: know and they don't understand that. So we've been able

173
00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,920
Speaker 1: to based on a lot of things that happened last summer,

174
00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,319
Speaker 1: we were able to bring in a lot of individuals

175
00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:35,520
Speaker 1: like sheriffs, politicians to really enlighten audience and do things

176
00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:37,880
Speaker 1: that no one else, you know, and this market can do.

177
00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,280
Speaker 1: So talk about the difference between having a company, a producer,

178
00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:47,760
Speaker 1: bosses and then being your own filter, what your own outlet. Well,

179
00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,240
Speaker 1: he here's a great thing about having your own radio show.

180
00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,640
Speaker 1: Believe it or not, you are your own producer. Now.

181
00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:58,160
Speaker 1: We we have a designated producer for our show. We

182
00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,160
Speaker 1: have a program director, we have a sales team. But

183
00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:03,960
Speaker 1: this is where I lean on everything that I've learned

184
00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,720
Speaker 1: through the game. Right and me being an undrafted guy,

185
00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:09,400
Speaker 1: it was like, man, you gotta be a jack of

186
00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,839
Speaker 1: ball trades, right, so you have that versatility and ability

187
00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:15,120
Speaker 1: to do a lot. When I played over my team

188
00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,920
Speaker 1: or career, I became a starter and I had to

189
00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:24,360
Speaker 1: play every single special teams from year one to year ten, right,

190
00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,440
Speaker 1: So for me, I look at it the same way.

191
00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:29,720
Speaker 1: So I walk in the building. We have these individual

192
00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,080
Speaker 1: people who have designated jobs. But I understand that this

193
00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:35,840
Speaker 1: is my show and I have to control it. So

194
00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,480
Speaker 1: I booked my own guests. I come up with creative

195
00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,640
Speaker 1: content and segments for our show. I've even pitched our

196
00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:47,320
Speaker 1: sales team and kind of came up with something for

197
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:50,800
Speaker 1: my co host his obviously his name is Cecil Lamby.

198
00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:54,480
Speaker 1: He writes for our station and he goes on these

199
00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,760
Speaker 1: kind of rants sometimes, so I said, well, how can

200
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,800
Speaker 1: I capitalize that and also of ways to put money

201
00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,319
Speaker 1: in his pocket. So I came up with his campaign

202
00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,600
Speaker 1: called What's Eating c SU So every night we talked

203
00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,760
Speaker 1: about what he's writing. I'll allow him to go on

204
00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,440
Speaker 1: the rent and I just presented it to our sales

205
00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,840
Speaker 1: team as a way to go out and get some

206
00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,520
Speaker 1: kind of food company or maybe grow up of to

207
00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:21,520
Speaker 1: definitely sponsor the segment. So everything I've learned from football

208
00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:24,480
Speaker 1: man I I use and everything I do now because

209
00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:27,760
Speaker 1: the grind is real and it's it's about versatility and

210
00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,560
Speaker 1: if you can separate yourself from any other ex football

211
00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,640
Speaker 1: player who could talk sports because you can wear a

212
00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,640
Speaker 1: sales had, a program director, had a producer, had to me,

213
00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,920
Speaker 1: now you make yourself more value to the company. An

214
00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:47,679
Speaker 1: NFL broadcast bootkims Nick. They bring his sports talk radio

215
00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,640
Speaker 1: producers to discuss the format and how to keep people

216
00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:55,080
Speaker 1: listening in which topics to focus on. How did you

217
00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:59,120
Speaker 1: adjust to that unique form of media, and what's the

218
00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:05,080
Speaker 1: key to success in spots song yourself? As you said, yeah,

219
00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,920
Speaker 1: you have to be able to distinguish yourself because here's

220
00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,840
Speaker 1: what we know. Every single year, where the players want

221
00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:12,920
Speaker 1: to or not, there's a lot of guys who are

222
00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,520
Speaker 1: gonna be retired. Either you're gonna be retired due to

223
00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,520
Speaker 1: injury or the game is gonna retire you. So as

224
00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:20,640
Speaker 1: guys kind of try to figure out what they want

225
00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:22,800
Speaker 1: to do, they figure okay, well, the one thing they

226
00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,679
Speaker 1: do know they know football, they know sports. So you're

227
00:12:25,679 --> 00:12:29,440
Speaker 1: gonna constantly see more guys coming into the industry. But

228
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,040
Speaker 1: what is it that you can do to separate yourself?

229
00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:35,000
Speaker 1: Like you are a Hall of Famer? Right, I'm not

230
00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,720
Speaker 1: a Hall of Famer already know that that's not gonna happen.

231
00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,120
Speaker 1: But what can I do to kind of separate myself

232
00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,760
Speaker 1: because you know, you're larger than life persona what you

233
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,320
Speaker 1: did on the football field. So I have to come

234
00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,080
Speaker 1: with a variety of things that I can do that

235
00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,320
Speaker 1: a radio station or a TV station say well, okay,

236
00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,800
Speaker 1: well we like this, so we don't have a spot

237
00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:56,920
Speaker 1: for you in front of the camera. Maybe we have

238
00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,839
Speaker 1: a spot for you behind the camera. And going to

239
00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,760
Speaker 1: broadcast boot Camp, Man, it really helped a lot because

240
00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,040
Speaker 1: I had an idea that I wanted to do this,

241
00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,440
Speaker 1: but I didn't really have an idea of how to

242
00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:13,160
Speaker 1: piece it together. So through Broadcast boot Camp, I met

243
00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:18,079
Speaker 1: people like Annie Hoffman, James Brown, Jerry Manilan and also

244
00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,200
Speaker 1: Mark Watts. All these people I still stay connected to

245
00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,360
Speaker 1: now and any time might do anything, I'll send it

246
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,520
Speaker 1: to them and say, hey, well tell me what you

247
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,800
Speaker 1: think you know, what what can I improve on? And

248
00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:30,840
Speaker 1: that's why I always tell guys, man, you have to

249
00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:35,000
Speaker 1: expand your network of people, because the more people that

250
00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,800
Speaker 1: you know that that never people say hey listen, hey Nick,

251
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,480
Speaker 1: there is a station maybe in Wichita. I know you

252
00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,160
Speaker 1: know you don't want to do anything in what you talk,

253
00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,920
Speaker 1: but they're looking for an NFL guy and they don't

254
00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:49,480
Speaker 1: have one, would you be interested in doing it? And

255
00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,280
Speaker 1: you can do it via zoom. So for me, I don't.

256
00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,880
Speaker 1: I don't turn anything down right if there and there's

257
00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,920
Speaker 1: if there's an opportunity to talk right, hey, listen, sign

258
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:01,680
Speaker 1: me up and just tell me where I need to be.

259
00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,760
Speaker 1: But those for me are the key factors of of

260
00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,400
Speaker 1: of success. Once again, looking at my football experience, how

261
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,640
Speaker 1: I enter the league, what allowed me to stay around

262
00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:16,520
Speaker 1: for a long period of time is having people on

263
00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:19,680
Speaker 1: your side because you know, I've had an opportunity to

264
00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:23,200
Speaker 1: do a lot of coaching internships and when John Lynch

265
00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:27,400
Speaker 1: got the GM job with the forty niners, that afforded

266
00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:30,040
Speaker 1: me an opportunity to kind of really break into coaching

267
00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,240
Speaker 1: because it was kind of difficult, especially being a former player.

268
00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:36,000
Speaker 1: But I've said in those meetings and I know what

269
00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,480
Speaker 1: it is that you know those guys are looking for.

270
00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,560
Speaker 1: So I just tried to bring a little that you

271
00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,320
Speaker 1: know to my radio show and I've been successful thus far.

272
00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,640
Speaker 1: So as the coaches there, you went to broadcast book camp.

273
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,760
Speaker 1: Was there any type of program like that that the

274
00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,840
Speaker 1: league offered you took advantage of as relates to coaching, well,

275
00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,520
Speaker 1: the only one was, you know, the coaching internship, and

276
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,320
Speaker 1: it's gone through a couple of names like the Bill

277
00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,480
Speaker 1: Wash Fellowship, and you know, I guess that's what they're

278
00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:09,280
Speaker 1: calling it now. But it allowed, you know, me as

279
00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,360
Speaker 1: a former player to see, you know, football from a

280
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:14,800
Speaker 1: different standpoint, Like on the field, you just see the

281
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,880
Speaker 1: exces and those Once you get into that room from

282
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,680
Speaker 1: a coaching internship standpoint, you see it's real business. And

283
00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:23,240
Speaker 1: I can tell you this. When I was with the

284
00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:26,040
Speaker 1: forty niners, I mean, I'm getting up at five in

285
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,600
Speaker 1: the morning, uh, at the facility by six am, cutting

286
00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:34,600
Speaker 1: up film. So it kind of changed my perspective of

287
00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,080
Speaker 1: how I see the game. Because now here's a funny thing.

288
00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,080
Speaker 1: My family will not watch football with me. They will

289
00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:48,320
Speaker 1: not because I'm sitting there with a pen. Yes, yes,

290
00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,760
Speaker 1: and I got the remote in my hand. I'm charting

291
00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,200
Speaker 1: plays eleven personnel. What's the formation if it's a run

292
00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,800
Speaker 1: to the right of left? Was it a screen? Positive? Negative? Plays?

293
00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,840
Speaker 1: And my wife said, you know what I mean, you

294
00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:02,600
Speaker 1: just taking enjoyment out of the game. And I'm just like,

295
00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:07,160
Speaker 1: this is how from going through the whole coaching process,

296
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:10,680
Speaker 1: I watched games. Now so you know, I'm happy about

297
00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:13,040
Speaker 1: the experience. And I would tell any guy, if you're

298
00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,760
Speaker 1: serious about football, uh, you're gonna have to put in

299
00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,240
Speaker 1: those coaching hours, but if you love it, I mean

300
00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,720
Speaker 1: do it, because the best part of it was being

301
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,720
Speaker 1: back around the game, just to smell that grass once again,

302
00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:29,360
Speaker 1: that fresh cut grass, and then going, man, that's taking

303
00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,239
Speaker 1: me back to my playing days. But then you realize, oh,

304
00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:34,560
Speaker 1: I can't get back out there and play because my

305
00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,400
Speaker 1: body is in a certain position or whatever it is.

306
00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,360
Speaker 1: But it was just great being around guys. And you know,

307
00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,000
Speaker 1: when you coach a guy up on something and he

308
00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,720
Speaker 1: goes out, he does it well, and then he tells you, hey,

309
00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,240
Speaker 1: coach for you know, hey, thanks for that that work.

310
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,120
Speaker 1: It just validates you for what you've accomplished at that point.

311
00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,880
Speaker 1: So I'm happy for everything that I've been through. Was

312
00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,200
Speaker 1: it easy or tough to relate to the new breed

313
00:16:58,240 --> 00:17:03,400
Speaker 1: of NFL players coach? No, No, it wasn't because I

314
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,200
Speaker 1: just took the same approach as though I took when

315
00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,320
Speaker 1: I was a veteran and we had young guys coming in.

316
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:13,199
Speaker 1: I mean, try to tap into, you know, things that

317
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,240
Speaker 1: they liked. And I remember as a young player. One

318
00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:18,720
Speaker 1: night I went from the practice squad of Buffalo to

319
00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,200
Speaker 1: join the actor roster with the Jets. Bill Parcel set

320
00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,040
Speaker 1: me down. He told me something. He said, Well, when

321
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,520
Speaker 1: it comes to players, you have to sit down and

322
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,800
Speaker 1: talk to them, because each individual player is motivated by

323
00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,720
Speaker 1: something different. So what I would do, I would just

324
00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,520
Speaker 1: kind of watch our players, watch what they do, watch

325
00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,119
Speaker 1: how they dress, watch what they listen to, and just

326
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,280
Speaker 1: try to tap into that. And when you're able to

327
00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,280
Speaker 1: do that, they no longer see you as being some

328
00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:48,479
Speaker 1: kind of authoritative finger as a coach. They're like, okay,

329
00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:50,879
Speaker 1: well I could talk to him about xs and ohs.

330
00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:53,960
Speaker 1: But for me, you know, I would talk to guys

331
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,640
Speaker 1: about life after football so much that and San Francisco.

332
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,240
Speaker 1: The Forest Buckner. He would always call it for Friday's right,

333
00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,080
Speaker 1: and for Friday. The guys would come up to me

334
00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:07,640
Speaker 1: and say, hey, man, what's the word for the day.

335
00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,320
Speaker 1: What's the conversation? So I would say, okay, if football

336
00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,160
Speaker 1: in it for you right now, what would you have

337
00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,359
Speaker 1: to fall back on? And the guys would think, you

338
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,199
Speaker 1: know what, I never thought about it that way, and

339
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,600
Speaker 1: I'm like, you should think about it. And then I

340
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,280
Speaker 1: just walk away from them, giving them time to kind

341
00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,199
Speaker 1: of think about it. And throughout practice, each one of

342
00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,920
Speaker 1: them was sliding next to me, obviously still watching practice,

343
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,280
Speaker 1: so it's not a distraction, and they would just kind

344
00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,320
Speaker 1: of tell me, Okay, well, coach, I would do this,

345
00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,200
Speaker 1: I'll do that to me. That's what it's about. It's

346
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:43,520
Speaker 1: about passing on information and knowledge to the next generation.

347
00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:49,120
Speaker 1: A few quick hit questions, what is in your legends

348
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,320
Speaker 1: to kid about this, coach? Okay, stuff you learned as

349
00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:58,800
Speaker 1: a player that you use every day. Okay, well, never

350
00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:02,919
Speaker 1: take no for an answer, right, because never take no

351
00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:06,439
Speaker 1: for an answer, because in life you're always going to

352
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:10,400
Speaker 1: run into a situation where uh, no, we can't use you,

353
00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,440
Speaker 1: or now we're good or something like that. So once again,

354
00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,120
Speaker 1: taking the approach being a defensive back, if you play

355
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,359
Speaker 1: long enough, you're gonna get run by a run over. Right.

356
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,600
Speaker 1: But when that happens, do you just stop and dush

357
00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,000
Speaker 1: yourself off and throw your hands off and say you

358
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,280
Speaker 1: know what, I'm done? I quit. No, you keep surging forward.

359
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,680
Speaker 1: So for me, every time I would hear someone tell

360
00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,480
Speaker 1: me no, it would only stoke the fire and more

361
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,480
Speaker 1: to say, you know what, I gotta prove that person wrong.

362
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:47,600
Speaker 1: Best NFL city for food, Oh, I would say Chicago. Yeah,

363
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,240
Speaker 1: they have this festival every year. I don't know what

364
00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:53,280
Speaker 1: COVID now they may not be doing it, and it's

365
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,359
Speaker 1: kind of like a food festival they do it. I

366
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,760
Speaker 1: think around Soldier Field and some of the best food

367
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,720
Speaker 1: that that that you can have. And I was only

368
00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,240
Speaker 1: in Chicago for a couple of coffee, like I said earlier,

369
00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:08,439
Speaker 1: but but I got a chance to go ahead and

370
00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,960
Speaker 1: uh and dine on some of their food. But Chicago

371
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,639
Speaker 1: will be best other than that. The only other place

372
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:15,879
Speaker 1: that I would say other than Chicago, and I should

373
00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:22,879
Speaker 1: have said this first is New Orleans and it is

374
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:27,159
Speaker 1: something about crawfish and and and to fe all of

375
00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,600
Speaker 1: that stuff. You got me right now, man, and then

376
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,119
Speaker 1: those of course, but you be in the New Orleans guy,

377
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:39,399
Speaker 1: those bien Yas, man, Yes, yeah, you know what it's like.

378
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,760
Speaker 1: It's like the Benas would be equivalent to that hot

379
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:46,359
Speaker 1: sign at Krispykrean. That's what it's like. Oh, there's no

380
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:50,240
Speaker 1: doubt about it. And they still open all night exception,

381
00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:57,399
Speaker 1: right which superficial item close houses, cars, jewelry that you

382
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:01,600
Speaker 1: loved as a player you have lost interest in. As

383
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:06,280
Speaker 1: a legend, I would say it would be kind of

384
00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,840
Speaker 1: like jewelry or something like that, because you know, we

385
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,800
Speaker 1: all have our advices, and my advice was watches, right.

386
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,000
Speaker 1: I love a good watch, right. And obviously when you're playing,

387
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,240
Speaker 1: you have that residual income to kind of go out.

388
00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,600
Speaker 1: And I'm not saying that I'm going out buying a

389
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 1: Rolex or nothing like that. I'm I'm a real frugal guy,

390
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,119
Speaker 1: so I kind of keep it in a certain price range.

391
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:33,480
Speaker 1: But it was always watches, And now it's just like,

392
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,200
Speaker 1: I'm like, you have one watch, you have another. We

393
00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:42,359
Speaker 1: really cares, right, Yeah, was the legend who matters most

394
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:47,960
Speaker 1: to you that you still talk to every chance you get, man,

395
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:51,800
Speaker 1: that would be It was actually two guys, Kevin Mawai

396
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,760
Speaker 1: and John and John Lynch right and Kevin and I

397
00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:01,680
Speaker 1: have an interesting story because he played center, I played

398
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:03,879
Speaker 1: in the secondary, and they would occasionally sent us on

399
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,520
Speaker 1: blitzes and offensive linemen. They say, I was in linement.

400
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:11,040
Speaker 1: Say two things. They have the smartest guys and they

401
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:15,560
Speaker 1: never hold and they never hold both A totally right,

402
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,120
Speaker 1: the totally untrue. So I'm going on the Blitz one

403
00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:23,280
Speaker 1: time and then Kevin grabs the v of my jersey

404
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,040
Speaker 1: to hold me, so you can't really see that I'm

405
00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,520
Speaker 1: being held. Great veteran move, but I didn't like it.

406
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,440
Speaker 1: So you know, there's a little altercation starting in practice.

407
00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:37,160
Speaker 1: But but I never knew that that altercation will lead

408
00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:40,800
Speaker 1: to maybe a longtime friendship that he and I have

409
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,919
Speaker 1: and John Lynch extraordinary player. When I was coming up

410
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:46,679
Speaker 1: in the league, I told my agent, I said I

411
00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,639
Speaker 1: wanted to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he

412
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 1: was just like, well, they're already set with Dexter Jackson

413
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,960
Speaker 1: and John Lynson. Why would you go there? And I

414
00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,120
Speaker 1: was just like, I mean because I wanted to play

415
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:01,240
Speaker 1: with John right and I wanted to play in that

416
00:23:01,359 --> 00:23:05,240
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay you know defense. But years later John would

417
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:09,880
Speaker 1: come to Denver and I told John this story when

418
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:11,320
Speaker 1: he came on our show, and this was the first

419
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,679
Speaker 1: time that he ever heard it. As I as a

420
00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,520
Speaker 1: young player, as I was trying to figure out, you know,

421
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,040
Speaker 1: life as a football player, but I was also trying

422
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:23,159
Speaker 1: to figure out life off the field as well, and

423
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,600
Speaker 1: I was dating and I was trying to say, okay, well,

424
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,200
Speaker 1: I know I'm ready to be married for a long

425
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,719
Speaker 1: period of time. But what does that look like? And

426
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,879
Speaker 1: one day after practice John John and his son was

427
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,480
Speaker 1: on the field and his son was running wind sprints

428
00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:40,879
Speaker 1: with him and I just sat there and I watched

429
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:44,199
Speaker 1: them for about five minutes. Right, not that I'm a

430
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,560
Speaker 1: stalker or anything, but but I watched them and I said, well,

431
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:50,800
Speaker 1: that is what I'm searching for, right to get to

432
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,679
Speaker 1: that point where I can enjoy my career, I can

433
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,919
Speaker 1: share with a young lady, and I can have my

434
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,720
Speaker 1: son understand what I'm doing. So you know that that

435
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,560
Speaker 1: moment watching John really changed my life off the field

436
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:08,200
Speaker 1: because you know, I said, look, man, I gotta date

437
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,320
Speaker 1: one person. I gotta figure this thing out. And you know,

438
00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:15,600
Speaker 1: long behold man. I've been married almost fourteen years. Shout

439
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 1: out to John as well in the Little Hall of

440
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:22,320
Speaker 1: Fame induction class as well this year. He's the last question.

441
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,640
Speaker 1: How can people tune into the Dick and CSO Show

442
00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:30,920
Speaker 1: and find out what's eating cecil? Well, un listen, We're

443
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,960
Speaker 1: on every night here in Denver is seven pm, two

444
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,960
Speaker 1: ten pm uh Nick and CS Show. If you miss

445
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,359
Speaker 1: any of our amazing guests, you can always go to

446
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,360
Speaker 1: Denver Fan dot com and search us and look for us,

447
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,679
Speaker 1: look for our podcast and you can also find me

448
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:53,280
Speaker 1: on Twitter, Instagram at Nick Ferguson Underscore twenty five, I

449
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,560
Speaker 1: just looked at the Addictionary next to the word perseverance,

450
00:24:57,119 --> 00:25:02,720
Speaker 1: so I picture of you man. This is ben awesome, Nick.

451
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,280
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Coach Nick, the best is yet

452
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,520
Speaker 1: to come. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for

453
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:15,439
Speaker 1: having me. This has been the NFL Legends podcast. To

454
00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:19,080
Speaker 1: provide feedback or request a topic for discussion, email us

455
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,280
Speaker 1: at NFL Legends at NFL dot com, m