Last week was one of the most memorable and gratifying weeks I’ve had in quite some time.
It started Sunday night with our NBC Football Night In America broadcast. When I agreed to work as an analyst for FNIA, Dick Ebersol, the President of NBC Sports, set it up to let me do one piece per month on a ministry I wanted to highlight. So last Sunday, we did a piece on Rocketown, a teen safe-haven in Nashville, Tennessee started by gospel singer Michael W. Smith. We showed how young people enjoy coming to Rocketown, and how such places can benefit our youth. It was the type of story you won’t often see on a football pre-game show.
On Monday, I flew from New York to Indianapolis to meet with the NCAA to discuss the lack of diversity in the college football coaching ranks, and how the NCAA might be more effective in reviewing the hiring process, much as the NFL has done. I came away from the meeting feeling that the NCAA was committed to helping boost the current numbers of minority head coaches in Division I football. (In 2009 only 3 percent of the 582 Head Coaches in all college football were minorities, and there is only one minority head coach at a BCS school.) Progress has been made in the last few years, but I think everyone who attended the meeting, from the university presidents down to me, felt there was more to.
On Tuesday, I went to Louisville, Kentucky with Mark Merrill, president of Family First, to talk to the Papa John’s Pizza team about working with All Pro Dad. I also spoke at a Chick-Fil-A event called “Desire to Inspire” in nearby New Albany, Indiana. It was then on to the University of Louisville to speak to their football team. Coach Steve Kragthorpe said that several players had started reading my book, Uncommon, over the summer, turned it into a team activity, and met once a week to discuss the book. 
I talked with the team about on-the-field topics, but focused more on off-the-field things like growing as a man, finding your path spiritually and being a role model to younger athletes. It made me feel so good about writing the book. It was gratifying to know that sharing my experience as a college student-athlete and a growing Christian could help other young men.
On Thursday night back in Tampa, the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs had a fundraiser and I was able to go and help raise support. They had a couple of young people at every table and it was great to talk with these kids and find out how much the Boys’ and Girls’ Club was doing to make a difference in their lives.
On Friday night I watched my son Eric’s team clinch the District Championship and a spot in the first round of the state playoffs.
This past Saturday, I was flying out to New York again to prepare for our show, and this time my wife, Lauren, went with me to enjoy a weekend in Manhattan. We walked around the city, had a nice dinner, and on Sunday while I was doing the show, Lauren met a friend for a Broadway play.
It was a wonderful week and illustrates why, when people ask me if I miss coaching, my answer is “No.” As much as I enjoyed coaching, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of these things during the season, and I feel blessed that I’m getting the opportunity to do them now.
