NFL Peter Sirmon's Football Journey: From Oregon Duck to a Tennessee Titan

Picture the youngest of four brothers in a sports-obsessed family, finally finding his calling on the high school football field. That's where Peter Sirmon's love for the game took root, a journey that led him from the greenery of Oregon to the roar of the NFL with the Tennessee Titans. This episode is a deep dive into the life of a man who didn't let a late start deter his dreams, as Peter shares the benefits of a multi-sport background and offers a heartfelt look at the challenges young athletes face when the spotlight shines too early.

We navigate through Peter's collegiate experiences at Oregon, where the simplicity of student life blends with the thrill of gridiron glory. His tales from a milestone game against the University of Washington reveal the stark contrast between the pressures of yesterday's athletes and the relentless scrutiny facing today's players. As we journey from the elation of draft day to the gritty realities of professional football, Peter unwraps the emotions and logistics of transitioning to the big stage, including a draft day memory that's as personal as it gets.

As the whistle blows on Peter's NFL career, we follow his footsteps to the sidelines where he's sculpting the next generation of players as a coach. Here, he reflects on the ethos that drove his transition and the unpredictability of life after the helmet comes off. The conversation takes a forward pass to the evolving NFL, the strategic shifts in gameplay, and the vital contributions of parents in youth sports. Peter's insights extend beyond the field, touching on the delicate balance of fostering passion for the game in young hearts while safeguarding their childhood. Strap in for an episode brimming with nostalgia, wisdom, and life lessons that echo well beyond the echo of a referee's whistle.

Transcript

Lacie: 0:01

Welcome to Lacie's lineup. Off-season episodes are just heating up and I am back with another exciting guest, former Tennessee Titans linebacker, Peter Sirmon. It is going to be an exciting episode, so let's not waste any more time and welcome Peter to the show. Lacie's lineup kicks off right now. Hey, peter, thanks for coming on the show today. I appreciate you being here.

Peter: 0:48

No thanks for having me, lacey.

Lacie: 0:49

Yes. So I have so many questions and I'm so excited to hear all your answers, but let's just start back from the beginning. What started your love of football?

Peter: 1:00

Well, I feel like this conversation is going to make me play rewind a lot, so there might be some pauses here. On getting back to the archives in my head, you know, looking back on football football I was the youngest of four boys in my family. My oldest brother's 10 years older than me. Then I have seven year old, older than three years older than me. So as the youngest in the family I was, you know there's a lot of travel to support my other brothers, my older brothers.

Peter: 1:29

A lot of different sports, from ice hockey to baseball to, obviously, football. So football was kind of one of those that I just kind of thought I was going to sign up for it. And I started in seventh grade, in middle school, and didn't really know much about it, but I'd watch my brothers do it and I figured if they can do it, I could probably do it as well. And you know I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. I wouldn't say I loved it, but you know, as I played it more I think I got a little more comfortable with it and with it some success and then some identity.

Lacie: 2:07

That's awesome. So did you play any other sports, or was football just kind of the one that you signed up for?

Peter: 2:14

No, we did a bunch. We were encouraged by my folks to do a lot, so I got in the ice hockey at the age of three and I played that all the way up, I think till about my 17th birthday, so that was something that was very consistent every winter. Growing up, I dabbled in basketball in middle school and in elementary school, and in baseball as well. I was on the high school golf team my freshman and sophomore year. My freshman and sophomore year I did not look like a football player, so my parents encouraged me to get into the golf. And then my last two years of high school, in the spring, I participated in the ranch track.

Lacie: 2:56

Oh wow, so you've kind of done it all Definitely.

Peter: 2:59

Yeah, and you know, kind of reflecting back on it, I think I'm very glad that that's the way it was for me. I'm glad I wasn't specialized and I'm actually quite I don't know, I would say maybe, just maybe fortunate that I was okay at football. But I was never really good at football until later in high school, which I think played a huge amount or had a huge influence on how I looked at football and how I prepared for football and the identity that I mentioned earlier. It wasn't something that I was wrapped up in growing up and I think that that's a good thing. I see a ton of young players that I recruit now and I've been at some really good schools that that you could go recruit the kids that are the very, very best all the way from, you know, from Pop Warner, all the way up to up to college, and I think there's a, there's a burden that that you know comes along with always being the most talented.

Lacie: 4:06

Yeah, I agree, just from me. I played volleyball and basketball growing up, but I felt like it was always good because you could pull certain skills from each one to make it better. And I didn't start volleyball till later in life and that's actually the one that I stuck with and excelled at. But it wasn't something that I started so early, so it was nice to kind of grow into that sport.

Peter: 4:28

It is, and hopefully, that you know coaches. You know I think they're the the main drivers that the youth coaches or the all star or the AAU coaches find maybe some common ground with some of the other sports that allow kids to dabble in multiple sports and not have to become so, so focused so early.

Lacie: 4:54

Yeah, exactly. So you obviously were a linebacker. Was that something you always were? Did you switch into it or how did you become into that position?

Peter: 5:04

Yeah, you know I played. I think I might have played linebacker, maybe in seventh and eighth grade a little bit, but I don't really even recall what I did. I remember where I did it, but I don't really remember the positions. And then I played quarterback and free safety in high school. So I never played linebacker in high school and the recruiting process was a projection that I was going to change positions, partly because I was a athletic quarterback. But I couldn't. I couldn't throw it as well as college quarterbacks and my stature just kind of led me to what that's that that natural progression was going to be.

Lacie: 5:46

Oh, wow, that's nice. So you went from offense to defense.

Peter: 5:50

Yeah, I played. I played both ways again, which is another thing that you know. You don't see a ton of it, you know, but I was. I grew up in Walla, walla Washington, so we had one public and one private high school and our public high school I think I'd had 15, 1600 kids in it, so it wasn't tiny, but it wasn't also so large that that you know you were a two platoon. You know you only played offense or you only play defense, it's. You know we had a ton of guys play both ways and and you know, if you're one of the better players, then you're going to have to figure out how to stay, you know, stay healthy and not get tired to play in the games, all the all the snaps in the games.

Lacie: 6:33

Yeah, that's great, all right, well, let's move on to now not have to go back so far, and talk about some of your college experience. I mean, I know you went to Oregon. What made you choose to go there?

Peter: 6:47

You know, Lacie, it was a pretty simple, you know, conclusion. It was at the time I had been offered by Oregon State University and my brother had been a walk on there. You know, 10 years ago, or 10 years prior to me getting the opportunity, oregon State wasn't a program that I was super interested in. Then I took an official visit to Washington State University that's where actually my mom graduated from and that was a school that you know, just you know, for whatever reason, just you know, I didn't see myself as a good fit there. And then third school that really pursued me was Oregon, went down there, enjoyed my game day visit. So my dad and I drove down there after one of my high school games my senior year and we really had a good experience there. And then when I took my official visit I felt like there were some guys there that shared some similarities and the atmosphere and you know, eugene Oregon was quite a bit further is about, you know, half six hours away from where I grew up, where Washington State was significantly closer, about two hours from where I grew up. So all those factors has kind of kind of led me to, you know, I think Oregon was the right fit. And then, kind of a funny story, now that I'm a college coach, is how I ended up committing.

Peter: 8:14

And so Steve Graigwood, who was the offensive line coach at the time, and at that time for any of your listeners that they were recruited in the 70s, 80s, 90s, whoever the area recruiter for that university was, that's who recruited you. You didn't have the position specific, you didn't have your position coach recruiting you. And so I took my trip down to Oregon and I didn't even know what I was supposed to do. Quite honestly, I didn't know if I was supposed to commit or what I was supposed to do. But the next weekend, after my official visit, steve Graigwood called me in the morning and said hey, we have another linebacker coming in this weekend. If you want to be here, you're going to need to commit.

Peter: 8:59

And everybody about a two second pause and I said yeah, sure, yeah, I'll commit. He's like what I said yeah, sure, yeah, I want to come. And he's like oh, go go, peter, this is going to be amazing, coach Brooks. I'm going to go tell Coach Brooks, I'm going to go tell Coach Brooks, I'm going to go tell Coach Brooks and he is going to be so excited. I want you to stay right by this phone because Rich Brooks wants to call you and congratulate you. This is huge news.

Peter: 9:26

So I hung up the phone and I sat there for about five minutes and he never called and at the time I didn't think it was a big deal and I just walked away and I committed and you know, it didn't matter that he didn't call me. In this environment, if that had happened, a young man would have thought that he can't go to school there. Or they didn't really want me, or they couldn't accept my commitment, or the head coaches will so call me. And now it's Defconn 3 and right now the world is ending. But such a simpler time, you know, such a different time definitely.

Lacie: 10:12

That's so interesting. It is different how you didn't think much of it, but like you said, nowadays it would be, but. Congratulations, though, being an organ, and all your accomplishments there is great, but let's talk about like just a day in the life of being a college athlete at Oregon. Can you take us through a day in season that you had?

Peter: 10:34

Yeah, you know it was a. I mean I would imagine it's very similar to to most everybody else's experiences. You know I had a real good friend group, you know. So we would live together or kind of be in the same apartment complex and you know it was School in the morning and then you head over to the stadium and you had your weightlifting and Position meetings and practice and then afterwards you'd have training table. You only had training table once a day back then.

Peter: 11:03

Now we feed our guys seemingly morning, noon and night, but it was just a very Uneventful experience, which I think made it all the better. It was about friendship, it was about team. I knew it was about hanging out. There was no, there was so few Media sources at the time. You had some big ones, but not the, not the Twitter availability, you know, not the tick, tock, not, not anything that that fans would ever attack you or criticize you. And you know again, just the, the differences that I I get to see from experiencing it Personally to now experiencing my players go through it, and the amount of passion that the players now have to contend with and passion is probably a not a descriptive term of it, because passion could be on both sides of it, but you know just the amount of everyday Criticism or everyday recognition these guys have. It's just a completely different time.

Lacie: 12:12

It really is. I mean and technology plays, like you said, a big part of that right, like having all that media access. So Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed your time there, but before we move on from college, could you tell me maybe your most memorable game or moment that you had at Oregon playing football?

Peter: 12:29

Yeah, let's, I would probably take it to. You know, probably, nate, but I think it was 1990. There's 1997. We went up and played the University of Washington and you know, really, starting in 90, I Think 1994, was the year that Oregon ended up beating Washington at home. That kind of propelled them in going to Rose Bowl, the 95 Rose Bowl, where they played Penn State, which, as a as a Oregon duck, I would kind of say that that Rose Bowl from now, from there on, was kind of the modern era of Oregon football and how it kind of transition and change.

Peter: 13:16

But we went up there and it was still a huge rivalry in University of Washington was probably still Looking down their nose at Oregon, which now it's a much, much fairer fight, I guess, up there now between both, both programs. But you know, just went up there and you know Our whole team played really well. I played well, well enough to To, you know, make some definite contributions to the team and to get out there with the wind kind of going back to your home state. You know, university of Washington was a place that I had desired to go and, for whatever reason, it didn't work out for them to offer me a scholarship. So it was. You know, it was something to go up there and had something to prove.

Lacie: 13:59

Oh, that's yeah, that's awesome. And to prove it, to congratulations on that, that's awesome. All right, so let's kind of talk now. At the process of leaving Oregon and, you know, entering into the NFL, did you declare how was like that, the process and entering into the draft?

Peter: 14:17

You know there wasn't anything. You know, I really don't even remember if I formally, you know, if I filled out paperwork or something. I don't even know if there's a formal declaration, but I had expired, I had used all my my eligibility. So I read sure of my, my first year, then I used my four years of eligibility. So it was I just graduated and it was time to to move on in the transition.

Peter: 14:41

I had vetted, you know, quite a few Agents and most of them were primarily northwest or west coast kind of agents, people that kind of understood or, you know, had some had some prior relations with, with you know guys at Oregon or guys at Washington or some of the Northwest guys.

Peter: 15:03

So I ended up, you know, private and you know three or four of them, very Not a not a super in-depth process, and then that's probably kind of how I make a lot of my decisions. It's you take the information you have and you get to know the people best you can and then you just make a pretty fast decision. Then you just kind of keep on moving on so I don't get, I didn't get caught in the weeds very much making that decision and then they've just taken some of the representing me. He helped me out through my entire career and then I had had the opportunity. I was invited to go play in the senior bowl. So then I went down to senior bowl and then I went to the combine and then after that just Waited for the for the draft day.

Lacie: 15:48

That's awesome. And was there a specific team you were hoping to be drafted to? And just in the back of your mind?

Peter: 15:55

Not at all, I was.

Lacie: 15:56

I was.

Peter: 15:56

I. I couldn't believe that I was gonna keep playing football. And you know, if you had asked me in high school, do you have a dream of playing the NFL? I would probably said no, it was. You know, we had one One really really talented football player, and walla walla's name was Drew Bledsoe ended up being the number one pick in the draft from Washington State. So that was really my only knowledge of the NFL or that people could do it from.

Peter: 16:27

You know a smaller community in eastern Washington. It wasn't something that you grow up talking about. You don't grow up the Metroplex and you're talking about the Cowboys. You know, right, eastern Washington, your five hours from Seattle, and that's the nearest pro team, and the next I guess nearest pro team would be San Francisco in the Bay, so it. I don't know Oakland at the time as well, but yeah, I know, I know what were the LA Raiders maybe that time, but it was. It wasn't anything that that the community kind of lived in in breath. It was. It was something people talked about, but it wasn't anything that I remember. Any of my friends I'm growing up in middle school or high school ever say, hey, one day I'm gonna make it that fell. So that was, you know. So I didn't really have a favorite team or a favorite location. And then you know I didn't know enough about America, even though where the good spots are, the or the not so good spots were.

Lacie: 17:25

Right, but you did get drafted by the Tennessee Titans, so kind of take me through that emotions, though, when you you know, when you get that call that you're gonna be a Titan well it was.

Peter: 17:38

It was pretty. It was pretty exciting. Now I had a big weekend that weekend. So my son was born on April 15th and I was draft on April 16th.

Lacie: 17:49

Oh, that is a big weekend.

Peter: 17:52

So I had. I had given every team that I met with at the combine and my agent had given my apartment Cell phone, or not myself on my apartment phone number, because I didn't have a cell phone. I was married, just been married to my wife, lindsey, for I mean, shoot, we got married in July, so about eight or nine months, but I didn't have a cell phone. And if I did, I must not have given it to my agent or the NFL. So when, when Jackson was being born on the 15th, I Was replaying this like they're gonna call the apartment and no one's gonna answer and they're gonna select somebody else, I had this, just this. I had this, just this gut wrenching like dude, if I Don't know I mean kind of know how it works and I still don't really know how it works, but you know if you call and you don't answer, did they just go to the next?

Peter: 18:54

So so in that, in that format, if I remember right, I think the the first three rounds were on Saturday and then Round four through seven was on Sunday and I was selected in the fourth round and I had left Lindsey and Jackson at the hospital because I was like honey, I, I want to stay with here, but I Really don't want miss the phone call if somebody wants to draft me. So I ended up going home and then it lasted one round for the fourth round and then I was selected and then I Really don't recall how fast I got back to Lindsey, but but that was the. That was the weekend.

Lacie: 19:32

That had to be so exciting. You know father and go into the NFL. That's awesome. That's. That has to be a ton of emotions. Yes, okay, so you. So now you've been drafted like what is the next? Is it training camp? Rookie camp? Is that kind of where it goes?

Peter: 19:49

Yeah, so as soon as you get drafted I think it was maybe the following weekend you went out there for your mini camp really your your rookie mini camp which was going to be the collection of all the draft picks and all the other players that had signed free agent Contracts to get out there and you started the workouts. Then they put you through the offseason conditioning, you started the meetings and really just started to kind of acclimate and assimilate yourself to the, to the, to the defense, to the program and really the, the city and everything that kind of went along with, you know, having that be your job. And then I think I was there for Probably a month or so. You know I'm trying to think April 15. I probably went there the next weekend and I was probably there for for maybe a month, maybe five weeks, and then after that Came back and then picked up Lindsey and Jack and then we eventually ended up moving out to Nashville.

Peter: 20:48

Oh yeah time to go right. Move the family to Nashville.

Lacie: 20:51

Yes well, tell me a little bit about your teammates. Like how was it? What? Was it a huge transition from playing in college, like is it faster in the NFL? And kind of how was it like with the teammates starting in?

Peter: 21:05

You know I thought the teammates, I thought we had a great group of quality men and you know I could probably say that that's, that's probably the. The norm is, you know you hear about some of the, the one-offs that that sometimes you're challenging, but to make it to that level it takes a lot. Now the first thing is you know some of the guys have just Incredible talent. They're gifted with incredible talent, but to have any duration in that, in that league, there has to be some aptitude on some behavior that that keeps you at the top, because every year you know the this is sheer number of people that are that are striving to get to that level. It's you're constantly fighting for your position, knowing that there's somebody younger and cheaper and just as hungry as you were when you first started to be able to continue to retain you know your position on the team.

Peter: 22:00

But you know just from some of the, some of the guys that the people would know the Eddie Georges, you know Steve McNair, bruce Matthews just an incredible teammate, hall of Fame I think still has the most games ever played Consecutively. I think Bruce does. You know just a lot of a lot of really, really talented people but but great teammates as well. That's awesome. Do you still keep in touch?

Lacie: 22:24

with your old teammates.

Peter: 22:28

I don't not as well as I should, or you know it's. It's one of those things that you know the coaching and then everybody has taken. You know, whatever their path is, once they're playing Gays are over. You know I'm not one for Staying socially with up with people. You know that's not Not my wheelhouse, yeah, but I'm sure it was like a brotherhood during your time playing that right?

Peter: 22:53

Yeah, it is. You know it's a. It's a pretty tight locker room and then the longer you stay there, the fewer people you've had With you the entire time. So the longer you're there You're always bringing in new people. But that core group of people you know continues to get smaller and smaller and I think as you stay longer and longer, you realize how lucky it is to be anywhere for you know any significant amount of time. That's awesome.

Lacie: 23:15

So what was your favorite game you played in the NFL? Oh, you know, we played several.

Peter: 23:25

Playoff games. You know I think it was these years are passing me up, might have been 2000 and 2000 and Two or 2003 we went up to Gillette and we went on the road and played, I think, the AFC divisional game against Tom Brady and that crew, and I've remembered us being absolutely bone-chilling frigid.

Lacie: 23:53

Oh, yes, and.

Peter: 23:55

You know, I remember telling my wife when I got home is I couldn't wear my mouthpiece that day and she was like why couldn't you wear your mouthpiece? I said, well, it was so cold. As soon as spit got into the end date indentations of your mouthpiece it iced up so it wouldn't fit. You couldn't, you couldn't cap it back on your teeth again because all the spit in your, in your mouthpiece, had frozen. And I remember getting back into bed that night and we played them the road up there and I was still cold.

Peter: 24:29

I was still cold but it, you know, a bunch of us didn't wear sleeves just because it's a I don't know frame of mind type of thing, but you're all lubed up with every kind of, every type of substance you can put on that's not illegal on your, on your arms. We had, remember we had, and I'd never been anywhere that had played that cold. But our equipment guys bought brought anti-perspirant spray To spray in your arms or any exposed part of your skin, because if you keep the sweat off of your skin you could keep the cold off your skin.

Lacie: 25:06

That's interesting. I wouldn't even thought of that. I know the stuff you learn and you're gonna free your ass off, yeah yeah, as a fan watching, right, you know, okay, it's cold and you see like the everything coming off, but I can only imagine and then, on top of that, getting hit while you're that old yeah. I just recently that Kansas City game. I think that's been like coldest game, right the one yes, andy, reed's was literally frozen.

Peter: 25:31

Yeah, it was frozen as well. So those are. Those are memorable days.

Lacie: 25:37

Yes, for sure, was there a loss that hurt the most during your time?

Peter: 25:41

Well, we had we played Rich Ganon out here in Oakland and that was must have been 2003 dish and that was an AFC championship game and they ended up going on that next week and playing that's when John Gruden and Tampa one with Warren sap and that group of guys. Yeah, but you know, we were within one game going to Super Bowl and that was, as that was, the closest that I personally had the opportunity to get with the AFC championship game, played in several wild card, several division games, but the the conference championship was was the one that you know You're like that close right.

Peter: 26:21

Absolutely, absolutely.

Lacie: 26:24

Well, congrats on your career. I mean, everything that you've done is just, it's just awesome. So congratulations on all your accomplishments.

Peter: 26:33

Well, I've been very fortunate, you know, I think I think the the, the timing of things, the people that come along in your life, that kind of help you Either navigate or maybe prevent you from going down the wrong path. I think, I think there's a, there's a whole list of people that I can, I can think of and I would, I would give credit to to, to get to anywhere of High achievement.

Lacie: 26:57

Yes, well, it's definitely always somebody there with you, but, Okay, well, so after all that, after leaving the NFL, you began coaching. Was that something you wanted to do, or is that something that kind of presented itself?

Peter: 27:13

That's something that kind of presented the self after I was done. So I think I submitted my paperwork, or the retirement paperwork, nfl, I think right around my 30th birthday, if I remember right, and that was a that was a good run for me. I had finished out my second contract with Tennessee, you know, and and I never. I never had the ambition of Of makings making so much money that that I would be retired from doing anything else, and a lot of guys you know and this is, you know, personal preference on what people do, but I enjoy working. I don't know what I would do or what kind of example I would have been to my kids had they seen that their dad never worked a day in his life prior to knowing him. So that was something that that I was ready the to transition. Now the transition didn't go right into Into coaching.

Peter: 28:04

So I think about two weeks after I retired I Ended up getting my residential real estate license in Nashville. There and this is right around 2007-2008. So anybody that's old enough or was an adult there in 2007-2008, the last thing you probably wanted to be in was probably real estate for your job. So that that was one of those you know, I guess, based on kind of the Atmosphere at the time of what that was going to be like and the kind of some of the uncertainty and then really realizing what it meant to be a Real estate agent for me, that's something that probably wasn't going to Drive me every day. So I think there could been some other avenues in that in that space, but just the real estate agent was something that that wasn't gonna be my long-term play.

Peter: 28:57

So I did that for, think about it, almost the full full year and Then the kind of the itch to get back into the football world I'm pretty not presented but kind of revealed itself right. And then from there I I called all the contacts I had in college and and there was basically every door that I thought could open didn't. So it was very Frustrating but thankfully ended up. I was offered a volunteer job at a division to school it central Washington University and the only reason I got offered that job is the head coach at the time actually grew up down the street from my family and walla walla, so there was, there was familiarity, oh.

Lacie: 29:50

That's awesome.

Peter: 29:51

Mm-hmm and then from there any shoot. Yeah, so after central Washington, went to University of Oregon and GA for a year, then I went to University of Tennessee, ga, for a year that I got hired on as the inside linebacker coach there and then Then I left and went to two years the University of Washington and then another two years at Southern California USC and then I left SC and went to Mississippi State and then went to Louisville and now I'm out here at University of California Berkeley. Just finished out my six year head in my year seven here.

Lacie: 30:29

That's awesome, and you were able to coach your son this year, correct?

Peter: 30:32

I was. So the last two years Jack and I Were able to work together. So out of high school I was at Louisville and he wasn't interested in attending Louisville. He chose University of Washington and Then he spent four years up there and then he graduated. So that was really just the year before the. The transfer portal just went kind of wide open so he had to be a grad, a graduate, to transfer, to not have to sit out. So he was a grad transfer and then the last two seasons Jack played for me.

Lacie: 31:07

That's awesome. That has to be a fun, fun time being able to coach with your son and I heard he did have a great job too.

Peter: 31:15

Yeah, he was a, he's a. He's a talented player and he's a extremely hard worker and, you know, exemplifies all the things you'd love to see in in a player from from a coaching perspective, and he's a good kid, my son.

Lacie: 31:31

So does it differ? Being it like? Is it differ being a coach compared to a player? Now that you see both sides of it, it couldn't be any more different.

Peter: 31:42

You know you're, you're all, you're participating in it. You're kind of in that same, you're in that same comp. You know competitive environment but the, the things that you consider and you take time to, you know work through as a coach or significantly different than we did as a player. As a player, I can still remember you know everybody referred to themselves as independent contractors In that locker room and then fell everybody's a collection and everybody's putting you know whatever is best for them while pushing forward for what the overall objective of the team is. But you know it's all about taking care yourself.

Peter: 32:18

You're not overly concerned with the other side of the ball. You know it's you kind of. You focus and you put your your time and effort into things that you can control, and that's usually you and maybe one or two people in your position. Other than that, you got a group of grown-ass men and everybody needs to do their own job. But the coaching side it's it's all about how can we utilize all these different skills and abilities and have them come together. Because as a coach, you're all about one thing and that's the, that's the product on the field. As a player, you're all about your own personal accountability, and that was my experience.

Lacie: 32:54

That is true You're worried about. Yeah, I like that. I like hearing that. Now I know that you've continued on and your career is still in the game that you played, but is there times where you do miss playing?

Peter: 33:08

No, no, there's really not. You know, I think I, if I look back on it, there might be times that I that I miss the camaraderie that went with all the other parts of it, but you know the amount of time and effort and the Consistency that is required to play at that level. I don't, I don't miss, I don't miss all the the hundred percent of of the time and the effort to be able to go out there and play at a high level and play to help your team win.

Lacie: 33:41

Right, well, that's good, well, it's fun still to be a coach, though Definitely playing in the football.

Peter: 33:48

Football is a great sport and I think it continues to attract some of the very best competitors that we have. Obviously, the fan bases haven't probably ever been as passionate as they are now, and I think it's the transfer portal, the NIL, the bowl games, the combine on TV you know all the different things that are now associated with college and NFL. There's just so much content and people seemingly just love it, and you know I'm very fortunate to be around, be around it as well, and there's some, there's some challenging parts, but I'd say 98% of football is just a blessing.

Lacie: 34:27

It really is. I mean, you can see it. It's a huge passion for me. I never, obviously, got to play the game, but I love it, I love talking about it and that's one of the reasons I started this podcast, that's great.

Peter: 34:39

I mean, there's so many. There's so many different ways for people to be involved. Yeah, I think that's a great thing about the sport as well.

Lacie: 34:45

And I am a diehard Dallas Cowboy fan.

Peter: 34:48

You probably had no choice. That's all right.

Lacie: 34:50

Yeah, I was born into it, but yes, yes, yes, we've been frustrated for a long time. But let's kind of move on. Before you guys, or before I let you go, just a little talk about the current NFL season. Like what did you think of the 23-24 season? You're kind of your thoughts on it.

Peter: 35:08

You know, I still think you know the NFL and the way the owners set it up. Boy, it's become so QB centric that you know the value of finding an elite quarterback I still think is paramount. You know you can continue to build with very talented defenses, but the rules, the way that the quarterbacks protected, the way they protect the skill players, you know is such an offensive minded product that you just kind of see that that continual level and then the quality of play really on both sides of the ball. You know it was years ago that they renegotiated the CBA, the Collective Bargain Agreement, which implemented some pretty radical changes in the offseason program. Some of the stipulations on when guys can be there limited the amount of time in the facility and limited the amount of the types of practices you could have and I really thought at the time that could be a deterrent in the quality of the product. But boy, that is not the case. These guys are thrown in catching better than they ever have.

Lacie: 36:26

They really, really are. It definitely is a from a defensive side, though. Do you feel like they aren't? They aren't as defensive minded when it comes to the penalties. Are they not letting them play anymore?

Peter: 36:39

Well, I think it's different. It's just different with you, know, and that's a you know, not a.

Peter: 36:45

I don't mean that in a, you know to brush it off, but you know I would personally, I would get on my I don't know my podium. I still I think there needs to be. You know, as the rules have changed, the style of play has changed. I think there needs to be a before and an after of when the quarterbacks have been protected, because the prior, you know, really up in the early 2000s, there was virtually minimal, there was minimal protection for the quarterback position and you saw the great quarterbacks they were.

Peter: 37:24

They were a different style of athlete overall, overall, than they than they are now. They were typically larger, you know, built more because of you know they had to get, I mean, they had to take hits. Now, and the receivers, they were built with a little more durability, bigger men, because you, you could hit them when they went across the middle and it wasn't a penalty on on the defense. So I think those, those types of those types of players, it's, you know, it's now, it's, you know, continuing. You know you've seen these guys. They've always been fast, but now, like even the combine, you know they're even the combine. You know the, the, the speed. Is this continuing to be you think. Every time you watch the combine you think, well, that that's one that's never going to be broken.

Lacie: 38:12

And then the next year. I think worthy just broke it yeah.

Peter: 38:14

And then the next, the next year, some kid or some offense alignment or some tight end you know, sets the record again and just the, the skill in which is happening and the improvement in skill is just amazing. But you know the, the, the style of play, I think, is significantly different. And now they're playing, you know, an additional game, you know 17. So I think some of those you know, you see, like, during this time of of year you'll see so much comparisons between the current draft class and then the other guys, or even sometimes they even reach back, you know 20, 30 years for a long, long time. It was always who the next Lawrence Taylor was, if you remember that.

Lacie: 38:55

Yes, that was always the reference.

Peter: 38:57

This guy's the next Lawrence Taylor, and that's that's subsided a little bit, just because I think you know time separates you from that. But you know it was a, it was a different sport and those, those offensive skill guys were not protected. You know, 20 years ago to the, to the capacity they are now, and I think that that probably leads to some unfair comparisons between the, you know really the whole NFL up until probably year 2000, 2001.

Lacie: 39:26

Yeah, for sure. So what do you think of your Titans though? What do they need to do to kind of get back in that post season run again?

Peter: 39:34

Oh boy, for me to give an opinion would be an uninformed opinion because I don't know, I don't, I don't follow them enough. You know I root for them, but I couldn't tell you enough about that, that that roster, to give you any good feedback.

Lacie: 39:48

Yeah, no worries. Well, what is the Cowboys now? I'm just checking.

Peter: 39:52

I think everybody knows that roster but nobody wants to talk about it unless you're in Dallas.

Lacie: 39:57

But um all right. Well, last thing, though what do you think of Super Bowl 58? Did you think it was? Who were you rooting for to win that game?

Peter: 40:05

Oh boy, I didn't have a dog in that fight. You know, for me I think it's just, you know, looking for competitive games and, and you know, I mean I don't know if you could get a more competitive matchup than you had, with overtime and kind of all the drama that went along with that how the overtime rule has continued to change and I think that really put it back in the forefront. But I think the NFL has continued on a fantastic job of engaging its fans, making a great product. I think the players are as talented as they ever have been and, you know, hopefully that just keeps going in the right direction. And you know, the consumers keep loving and keep loving the storylines and, and you know, even your team, you know, keeps you coming back every year.

Lacie: 40:52

You know the heartache, the heartache.

Peter: 40:55

Every year. You're feeling it and you know, and and I say that tongue in cheek, but you know, the passion is there. If you guys had won the Super Bowl or you had fallen short, the passion and the and the opportunity to talk about the next year in the draft class just makes it a year round, you know, a year round passion.

Lacie: 41:14

It really does. I mean NFL they're. You know you talk about it all year even though the season isn't a year long, right Like you have the draft and then everything and all the trades and deadlines coming up. It just keeps everything exciting for sure.

Peter: 41:27

Yeah, yeah, what you learn when you're in the locker room is you never want to get in the way of the NFL owners making money. That's the one thing. Doesn't matter their background on how they got to that that ownership. But they had to do something very, very special to have the, the, the means to be able to do that. And I think what you've seen them continue to do is you know, you break open and you get another while or get another playoff spot.

Peter: 41:54

Now there's only one team that gets the buy. You know the way they've set the calendar from. You know the, the, the Super Bowl going into the modified Pro Bowl, whatever that thing is now. Yeah, all those different things, but you know it's, it's something to talk about. And then you transition into made for TV NFL combine, which didn't happen 20 years ago, right, and then taking the first round into prime time on the draft to make it another made for TV event and that's a, you know, a three day event. Now, it didn't used to be like that. So they've done a fantastic job of continuing to understand that there is seemingly an un, an un, endless amount of attention that that people will give, and they find new ways to to, I guess, scratch the edge and give people the, the product they want without having to play a game.

Lacie: 42:50

They really do. Well, peter, I appreciate you coming on all your accomplishments, telling us stuff. It was so interesting talking to you and I just appreciate you taking that time. But I do have one final question, and I do love that you didn't start till seventh grade, because I have a 12 year old son who is a just loves football, his passion. He kind of double doubled in some other sports but he's starting, you know, school ball and this is kind of where it's getting serious. So what advice would you have for you know, him and other kids that you know? Their dream is to one day play in the NFL.

Peter: 43:28

Well, I would probably jump over the the child and I'd probably go to the parents first, because the kid is still just a kid. How you talk about it at home, you know how much pressure you put on on a player. You know if you put too much pressure on a kid, well, I want you to play quarterback, you know. I see I see more parents hurt their children in the, in the, in the football path than help them. There's, you know, it's you know the parents get so involved that it becomes a week and there's obviously the wee part of it.

Peter: 44:06

But I think letting a young man, you know, just kind of cut his teeth into it and he's. Most players are not going to be really good when they start and I think that's just fine and a lot of kids love football. Until the first time you get absolutely rocked Right and like it feels like your teeth fell out of your mouth and like you don't know what hit you. And that's a moment that everybody comes across at one moment in their early career and it's either shoot, okay, okay, here we go, or holy smokes, I don't ever want to do that.

Lacie: 44:45

I'm never going to be the same.

Peter: 44:47

I'm never going to be the same. And then you know it's, if you don't have a solid temperament for violence and not necessarily doing to somebody else but receiving it, it's going to be a tough, a tough battle for a young man. And I think that's where just letting kids mature into what they are, without all the pressure and the you know we got to get to your inside linebacker, trainer, coach and the kids in ninth grade it's like you know, let them go through puberty. You know, before we start, before we start, you know training them and putting his soul focus. Because when you put your soul focus, anything is a young person that becomes your identity.

Peter: 45:31

And sometimes those soul focuses they don't play out the way everybody dreams them to be. And when you, when you make somebody one track, in my opinion you start to tie their identity to it. And when they're young, if it doesn't go the way it should, I think that's a big challenge for people to overcome, when something becomes your identity and it doesn't go the way you want it to go. So my biggest, my biggest thing would be make sure, like, whatever the environment that he's playing in, you know in middle school that at the end of the year that player wants to come back and do it the next year.

Lacie: 46:17

That's great advice.

Peter: 46:18

Are you enjoying yourself? Let's do this next year, because you can't want it more for them than they want it for themselves. I know that's a dead end. Sometimes it's a short term play with you know, just to hang in there and you love football and the kids like I don't really love football but you try to tell me I love football, so maybe I do love football, but then I'd probably go back to you know, you started volleyball late, you said.

Lacie: 46:43

Right.

Peter: 46:44

And I think football is a talent sport, not necessarily a skill sport, and what I mean by that. I don't think you can make the PGA tour if you're not playing golf by probably the age of six.

Lacie: 46:56

Right.

Peter: 46:56

And investing 2 million muscle memory reps and all the competition and all those different things. Tennis probably as well. It's a super repetitive skill where I think football is more of. You have to acquire skill and you have to develop skill. But if you don't have the prerequisite talent, you can be as skilled as you want, but if you can't run fast enough to get open, it doesn't matter how skillful you are. If you're a linebacker and you're not strong enough to tackle somebody, it doesn't matter how smart you are as a football player. You have to have the some necessary tools to play at whatever level you're at, and I think you know a lot of the time when these young guys go in.

Peter: 47:46

I didn't go through puberty until my junior year in high school. My first offer was going into my senior year of high school. At that time that was pretty normal. Now if I was recruiting somebody that didn't have any offers after the junior year, I would think there's something wrong with them and I think that's a lonely spot to be in, because some of these guys, if their parents didn't redshirt them or hold them back, you know I jokingly say you know, the kid was redshirted as a kindergartener, you know, and they're, you know the families are forecasting, you know.

Peter: 48:20

Can I get him? You know, because you're doing the same thing, can I get him physically mature a little bit ahead of the curve to maybe give him some different opportunities for the sport? But I think he's got to let the kids enjoy the best, best you can keep them safe. Try to surround them with good instruction, motivational instruction, guys that are good dudes to be around, that aren't going to do silly drills to hurt them. And then, ultimately, do you want to do it again next year? And if they say yes, then keep doing it.

Lacie: 48:54

That's great advice. I love that perspective on it, so I appreciate you sharing that with us. Yeah Well, thank you so much. It has been such a pleasure talking with you, hearing about everything and just listening to kind of your experience, so you're always welcome on the show. I'd love to have you on again, but I appreciate you being with us today.

Peter: 49:15

Well, thanks for having me on. I love talking about football. I love I really enjoyed. You know I could. I could talk for 45 minutes just on that last, that last little bit of you. Know a parent, parents have a young man that loves football or he's starting in football? What kind of guidance and I think that's I think we're so focused on we have to do, we have to make a choice that we're not allowing kids to kind of enjoy some of the competitive spirit kind of some of the competitive maturity that we all developed. When the calendar changes and your uniform changes, you're not a one, you're not a one uniform person year round. And I think that I look back on my time as a young kid thinking that was awesome and I'm glad I didn't ever make a decision to be one sport in middle school or high school.

Lacie: 50:07

Well, that's awesome. I feel your passion, and the University of California is lucky to have you as a coach, because I can see the way that you care about your kids, so that's awesome.

Peter: 50:19

Well, I appreciate your time and thank you for inviting me and allowing me to spend some time with you.

Lacie: 50:26

Of course. Thank you and good luck next season and take care, All right.

Peter: 50:30

All right bye.

Lacie: 50:34

That was Peter Sermon, former linebacker for Tennessee Titans. We appreciate him coming on the show and sharing his journey with us. Stay tuned for more exciting guests in the off season with Lacey's lineup. Until then, your girl is signing off.