When you walk in the door at Green Bay and see the murals of all the football players you knew as a fan, it can get to you. I grew up being Bart Starr and Paul Hornung on the playground.
I was teaching history and coaching both tennis and track along with football. I felt like I had the best of both worlds. I was pretty comfortable. I thought I would be doing what I was doing for the rest of my life.
I'm a football coach. It seems the league is cyclical and hiring young guys... but experience in the NFL still means a heck of a lot.
The important thing, I think, going into any organization, is that all of the principles, all of the decision-makers are pointed in the same direction, with the same motives, the same desires, and then you have a chance.
My football do-over is when I went to Seattle and had both jobs as coach and general manager.
When I was coaching, I was out there, and you're doing press conferences, and the fans see a lot more of the head coach than they do either the general manager or the president.
I left Green Bay for Seattle in 1999. I wonder what would have happened had I stayed in Green Bay, where I've got one of the best quarterbacks of all time in his prime.
I'm very proud of the fact that we dispelled the myth about black athletes not being able to survive in Green Bay.
People ask me often, 'Why did you leave Green Bay? You had the best quarterback, you were going good and all that.' But I've always been one for challenges. Try to build something up, try something new, challenge myself.
I took a leave of absence for a year to coach at San Francisco State under Vic Rowen, fully intending to go back to high school.
I've always wanted to buy a bookstore. You know, sell some of those muffins and a little coffee. I don't care if we make any money. I don't want to lose a lot of money, but we could visit with people and get books.
I had a rule - I didn't have a lot of rules - and one of them was we're going to operate from a mutual respect. I won't embarrass you, and I don't expect you to be embarrass me.
