Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman

I want to thank everyone coming out this afternoon to celebrate a great career of Chad Greenway's. How much he's meant to this organization, how much he's meant to this community, is just a fine example of how many people turned out today to wish him well. When the Wilfs bought this team 11 or 12 years ago, Chad was the first player that was drafted under the Wilf ownership. The Wilfs had an idea of what they wanted in a football player. Not only did Chad show that on the field, but his contributions off the field speak for themselves. He's been four-time Community Player of the Year. He's had over 1,300 tackles on the field. He's been a great mentor to every player that we've brought through this organization. Showing them not only how to prepare as a pro, how to be the best you can be on the field and how you help your football team win games. But more importantly, what you do off the field and how important it is for NFL players today to represent their organizations out in the community. So, as much as we're going to miss Chad Greenway on the field, I know he's going to be a big part of this organization as we move forward. Looking forward to see how that evolves down the road. Now I'd like to turn it over to Coach [Mike] Zimmer to say a few words before Chad comes up.

Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer

Usually in these retirement parties they have a lot of drinks and food and I don't see any around here. Chad, there's a lot of great former Vikings up there, maybe you should take a seat with those guys now. Chad, for the three years that I've been here, has been a tremendous help to me, to this team, to this organization. Any time I had any kind of message with this football team or the organization, he was always there to sell it and help in any way possible. He was a guy I could lean on an awful lot in the locker room. A guy I would come in and talk to a lot about things going on throughout the course of the football team. Like I've said before, I wish I would've had him when he was younger. Actually, when we were both younger, right? Chad is a true Viking, he's going to fit in tremendously with all these other great Vikings and great coaching legends that are up here right now. I'm sorry to see you go but happy for you and for the time that you have in the future.

Vikings Linebacker Chad Greenway

First off, I want to thank everybody for coming. It is an honor and it's something that I requested. There's a lot of different ways to retire. We all saw Jared Allen ride off into the sunset last year. You've seen the different ways to do it, but I just thought it would be so fitting for me. I'm so proud of the fact that I've played for this organization for 11 years. I'm so proud of the fact that I'm from South Dakota went to Iowa and played in Minnesota. I'm from this tri-state area. I'm still proud to be a part of this community. I thought that it was only right that I was able to have a press conference to thank everybody who got me to this position, helped me get to this position and helped me stay in this position for so long. I thought no better way to do it than to say thank you at a press conference. First off, Sid (Hartman) it's great to see you here. Freddy Z (Zamberletti) great to see you here. Bud Grant, Paul (Krause), Carl (Eller), there's so many great Vikings. Ben (Leber) and Jim Kleinsasser are here. I'm sure I'm missing others. I see Harry (Harrison Smith) here. It's just an honor to have these folks come and be a part of my day. You know, to be able to hold the torch for small towns not only in the upper Midwest in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, but really for all across the country about being an nine-man football player from Mount Vernon, South Dakota, population 400.

And to realize my dreams of playing in the NFL for 11 years is a dream that I started when I was five or six years old. Since, I was holding the gate for my dad when he was feeding cattle and I told him that I'm going to play professional football. He looked at me like I was crazy. I'll never forget he was like, 'It's going to take a lot of hard work, but it's possible.' And it's sort of one of those moments where you just never forget as a kid and my dad was my hero. I think when he said that it was something like, 'I'm going to try and do that.' It took a lot of work, it's taken a lot of effort and a lot of good luck. But, as I got to point where I got a little bit older and I started getting recruited you go through those times and you realize that growing up in that environment on the farm and in that community was the reason that I was able to have success at Iowa, but also be able to have 11 years of continued success here. It was all because of not only who I am, but what made me who I am by my parents, my background, my farming background and my community. That's an honor to be able to carry the torch for all of those folks across this country that grew up like that and all those kids that live in that area who have the same dream that I had. It's been an honor and a privilege.

You know, football and sports in general you have a series of goals that you always set for yourself. You want to play for your high school football team, you want to be the best player, you want to see your name in the paper, you want to have the accolades, you want to win the player of the year or you want to be the Gatorade Player of the Year for South Dakota. There's so many accolades and goals that I've had to be able to get a Division I scholarship. I had one offer, I made the most out of it. Thank you Iowa. That was a goal. To be able to play at Iowa was a goal. To be an All-American was a goal. To be drafted in the NFL was certainly a goal and as I got into the NFL the goals just change. My goals became I wanted to be All-Pro, I got that. I wanted to be a Pro-Bowler, I got that. I wanted to be great teammate and a leader, I was certainly that.

I wanted to be able to finish my career a Viking and it's so important that Jim's here because as I watched Jim go through his career, he's a North Dakota boy and somebody that I wanted to emulate and be like. I was so happy to be able to play with him just to see him go through his career and to be able to finish a Viking after 13 years of an unbelievable career that we can all say will probably go down as one of the finest Viking players in history. To be able to watch him do that and go out his own way as a Viking with one organization and be just a proud humble guy that he is and never have to change was something I looked at too. And be like that's how you do it. My goal then became after I got to sign back my second time another was to figure out a way to have enough value within this organization to stay here until I wanted to be done. And not only to finish a Viking, but to be able to go out and have a goal to finish it my way. 

So, although I didn't win a Super Bowl, was the only goal I haven't accomplished, today is a goal I'm accomplishing. This is my final goal that'll accomplish in the NFL. Probably my final goal that I'll achieve as a player was to be able to go out and retire on my own terms doing it my way and looking back at a career where I don't have to live with any regret. I never took a day off. I never took the easy way out. I started from nowhere and I was able to achieve the highest standard of our profession. I think that I'm so proud of all of that is because of the work that you put in. I tell a lot of our young players now.

I said, 'there's a lot of people that trying to get a piece of who you are as a player, as an athlete. Whether it be financially or take your time. They want a piece of you and I said you look around at 6:00am when you're working out and you're sweating and you're grinding and you're trying to achieve all of those goals you have in front of you. You look around and see if those people are there beside you.' Because at the end of the day it's going to be up to you on what you want to do. After having an 11-year career with four years in college and then high school, it's hard to encapsulate a career with one speech and it's hard to write that down and make sense of it all.

I tried and it's tough, but the one thing I wanted to make sure I did was try to have a chance to thank as many people as I could along the way. I certainly want to start and that's the only thing I wrote down was my thanks because I knew I'd forget. But, I wanted to be able to write down a few things.

When I was drafted here Zygi and Mark Wilf were our ownership and I was the first draft pick like Rick (Spielman) said. You couldn't ask for a more perfect environment for a kid to come into, a more comfortable environment, a more family-friendly environment, an environment that really wanted to protect their young players than Zygi and Mark with what they created here and they still have here for our young guys. I had a chance to talk to both of them yesterday on the phone. They took the time out of their day to call me and talk for a long time about what I meant to this organization and what I meant to this community. I had an opportunity to thank them for not only drafting me and bringing me here, but then to stick with me and be behind me. Every community event, every foundation event, every day, every year on the football field to always give us the best opportunity to win championships.

I had a chance to thank them. So, to Mark and Zygi, thank you. Thank you to the entire ownership group. Rick, we've had … This doesn't happen in the NFL anymore. To be able to have the GM that you're with for a decade, over a decade, and to go have a relationship that I can walk up to Rick's office and be honest with him, and he can be honest with me. And you can look around and say, 'Where else does that happen in the NFL.' It's probably not happening very often at very many places, and I think to be able to have that relationship with Rick and our management team, Rob Brzezinski, George Paton, that has become a true honor for me to be able to have that relationship with you guys, and it's something that doesn't happen this day in age, and I challenge young guys to be able to put yourself in position to be a player that they can recognize as somebody they can lean on, because we're more than just players. We're more than just athletes. We can really be a part of this organization in different ways, through the community, through helping us build to win championships. So, Rick, thank you for everything. George, thank you for everything, and certainly Rob, thank you.

There's one guy in the scouting department that I had to single out, because he was the first person I met from this organization. He name's Scott Studwell. You might have heard of him. He's in our Ring of Honor. He's one of our best players of all time. He's certainly my favorite Viking of all time, and Scott started scouting me at Iowa, maybe, in 2003 or 2004. And he would always be around and asking a bunch of questions, and I didn't really know who he was, and then our strength coach told me who he was. Then I looked him up and I realized exactly who he was. Then when he helped draft me here in 2006, I got to be around him every day in a professional level and see how he handled himself after football. We all know his historic career and all his damn records I couldn't catch. Those shadows lurked over me, just trying to live up to, not only how Scott was as a player and the way he played the game, the respect people had for him, but also the way he carries himself professionally. I look up to you, Scott, a lot. I appreciate that example every day. I couldn't catch the records because they were way too far out in front of me but I appreciate you giving me a standard to reach for.

Steve LaCroix, he's in our marketing department, he's a Hawkeye and a guy that's had my back since day one. I would be remised if I missed the chance to say thank you Steve and that whole group, the whole marketing team that had a chance to push me, market me, the brand, who I was, our foundation over the years and grow that. They've helped in so many ways.

Coaches, start out with Coach Zim, Coach when you came here a couple years ago, it was perfect timing for me, a time that challenged me in different ways. I was in my 9th season and a time to bring new ideas. That certainly happened. Zim's mentality and the way he carries himself is something I respect whole heartedly. He's the same person every day. He is one hell of a football coach. He's the right coach for this football team and our organization. I'm so excited that he's here. I'm so happy that I got a chance to play for him. It was truly an honor. 

Coach Adam Zimmer up there, Jeff Howard sitting beside him, my two linebacker coaches these last couple years. It's not often the player's older than the coach, but in our room, that happened. And Adam handled it so graciously. He only chewed my ass once a day, rather than three, but it was so fun to play for him, because he was learning just as much as we were. And he was selfless enough to understand and know to let us be players, and that was fun. He let me lead that room. He let me be the captain of that room, and I certainly appreciated that from you guys.

Coach [George] Edwards and the whole defensive staff, thank you. Obviously, it has been a fun last three years. I got to learn so much about defense. I learned more about defense the last three years than I knew my entire life, and that's the truth. It has been fun to kind of change your game and understanding of the game you've known for so long in such a short period of time. I thank you guys for that.

I would just be mad if I didn't thank Coach [Brad] Childress and Coach [Mike] Tomlin for bringing me here in 2006. It seems like a lifetime ago, but thank you. Coach [Leslie] Frazier for really kind of letting me grow up underneath you. He's a great man, a great leader, a guy that I'd certainly like to live up to be like him, because he's a great person.

And Coach Fred Pagac – for many of you who know Fred, he was my position coach for eight years and one of my favorite people, not only in this league, but in this world. He's just a … There's only one Fred Pagac, and you know when you're around him. But he's one hell of a football coach and somebody that really gave me my career based off how he coached me, and he held me to a really high standard early. And that really allowed me to blossom and grow under him, and at the same time, he gave me the freedom to go make the plays I knew I could make.

There's just a singles of guys I want to list off – [Kevin] Stefanski, Coach 'Stew' [George Stewart], Coach [Jeff] Imamura, 'Prief' [Mike Priefer], Coach Joe Woods. The list goes on and on and on in this level of guys that were a part of my career. I can't name them all, but thank you. Thank you. Stefanski, we came in together. It has been an unbelievable ride. I appreciate everything you've given me over the years.

Our training staff, they're here today – 'Sug' [Eric Sugarman], [Rob] Roche, 'Hunk' [Tom Hunkele]. This is the lifeblood of NFL football and the organization – the equipment room, the training room, the PR staff, operations. You guys are not only people I look up to, you're like bothers to me. Everyday coming in, that's what I looked forward to. That's what I'm going to miss, being around you guys. I'm going to miss our donut club. 'Sug' said he got donuts. I'm hoping to go finish those off after this. There aren't enough for the media, sorry, but you'll never forget those times.

I'll never forget those times, and it was just an absolute honor to play for you guys. And thank you for getting me back on the field. Thank you for dealing with me. Thank you for … I harassed you all the time, but there's nobody in this league better than you guys, and you know that, how you handled the players, how we can trust you, we can lean on you and thank you for that.

Player development – Les Pico and Don Patterson. I think you're in the room somewhere, but they helped, not only me, but my family through a lot of struggles over the course of the last 11 years, and they over and above their job and title of just developing these young players and making them mature and getting them into educational programs. They do more than that. I think you'll hear that throughout my talk is with our organization, we just go above and behind, and it starts at the top with Rick. It starts with our ownership, about their staff can do their job, and they do it well. And they take care of us.

Dennis Ryan, thank you. The equipment room, again, is one of those places that we see and deal with every day. Dennis is a legend at this game. He has been in the NFL for 100 years, it seems like, and he looks so young, he could probably do it for 100 more. Everything you've done for me over the course of my 11 years, I wouldn't be the same person and player if it wasn't for you. Adam [Groene], [Aaron] Neumann, I can't thank you guy enough for what you've done for me. Every day, it was something. Every day, you're helping me. I always ask for too much, and you guys are always there to provide, and I'll just miss those opportunities we have a chance to drink your coffee and lean on the cooler back there and BS. So, I appreciate you guys. 

Operations staff, 'Deener' [Chad Lundeen], [Luther] Hippe and Paul Martin. Paul and I have a great story. When we got drafter here in 2006, Paul, I think it was one of his first days working here, Jenni needed some kind of eyeliner, mascara or something. Paul was like, he had no idea where he was going. He's from Little Falls, [Minnesota]. He's not from the city. He has no idea what he's doing, which is a story we talk about all the time, about just kind of starting this thing together. He's going to go on to have an unbelievable career in the NFL, and I just thank you for everything you guys have done for me. I appreciate it.

All the weight room [staff], one of the things, when you come out of the University of Iowa, you live in the weight room, and our weight staff here at the Vikings over the years, Coach 'Sal' [Brent Salazar], he was in here trying to make Harry [Smith] throw up here 10 minutes ago. He's an unbelievable coach. Hurd, Jeff Hurd, Chaz Mahle, Evan Marcus, who's now in Cleveland. Tom Kanavy, Martin Streight, those guys were here for eight years of my career, helped me build me knee back, put that thing back together, get me back on the field in 2007 and then play 120 some games in a row because of the weight room and the things we're able to do in there. It's a special place in the building, a place that we can go and grind out. It's a notorious place for football players to lurk and be around. I had a lot of fun, a lot of reps in there.

A special thanks to Geji [McKinney], up in the cafeteria. We all know Geji. She has been awesome over the past 10 years, 11 years. Kim Klawiter, thank you for securing us everywhere we go. You're the man. Brad Madson, standing over here right now, a lot of you guys know Brad. He's our community director, and he's the real MVP for guys like me who were able to have a foundation and be able to do things in the community and build relationships, that's Brad Madson, and the things he has done for me in the 11 years for our foundation, you can't name them all – from getting tickets, to giveaways, to jerseys, to getting people to come to my events, to … It goes on and on, and I hope you know you're not done working with me for the next 15 to 20 years and our foundation. So, thank you for everything and all those relationships you're helping me build over the last 11 years. Because, without you, it wouldn't have happened.

Finally, for support staff, our PR staff, they're probably over here right now, going to tell you 'two more questions' after you're done when I'm done talking. Bob Hagan, Tom West, my guy, Jon Ekstrom, Sam Newton, Jeff Anderson. These guys are close friends they're not just somebody you work with or other employees. There's not an identification number on us.

They're friends, they're like brothers, guys you work with for every day for the past decade and I'm going to miss those relationships. I hope you know I'm going to bother you as much as possible. The things that come out of our mouths in the locker room and in front of the media comes from these guys. They help us, they helped me today. Just to find out how unique today was to have a press conference, Bob said he's only done a handful, maybe less than that, of players being able to come up here and have their own final press conference. I appreciate you guys putting this together for me.

Circling back, I'm almost done, I'm sorry. Growing up in a small town and you're community-based and everything is built around that community. Myron Steffen, my high school football coach, a legend in our community and a guy that gave me the belief that I could go do something bigger. Eric Denning, a guy that put the thought of being able to do something bigger than playing small town college football. To really go play at a high level and let my skill go and develop. My entire community in South Dakota, the small town, for anybody in here from a small town, you understand that when something like this happens, you build around each other. You build people up and there's so many people in my community I couldn't thank them all. But I bet they've all got something signed, or at least it seems like it.

University of Iowa, Kirk Ferentz, the late Norm Parker, Phil Parker, Chris Doyle, Reese Morgan, James Dobson, none of this happens in the NFL without the University of Iowa. First of all, they were the only team that drove out to Mount Vernon in a snow storm to come take a look at me. They were the only ones to send a scholarship offer to me, and believe in me. They were the ones with the foresight to move this high school quarterback to safety and then to linebacker. They were the ones that built me into a 240-pound player when I was going in there 195 pounds. They were the ones that gave me this dream and this opportunity and they're also the ones that encouraged me to finish and get my degree. So now that my playing career is over, I can go on and do something else. The respect I have for not only that program but those men that I just named, is incredible. It's not very often you get a chance, I played 11 years, Kirk Ferentz is still there doing his job and that's because he's one of the best in the world at what he does, at coaching young men and making truly men out of them. Boys to men, and that's something he's done, he did for me. I appreciate that.

My family, this is where it'll get hard for me. So many aunts and uncles, cousins, both my grandfathers who are still alive, who have been to games and supported me. Thank you for everything. Our life is built around sports and our families. I have a cousin that plays on the University of Minnesota football team right now. It's just our life is football, growing up in that environment, we all wanted to have this career. I'm so proud to be able to carry the torch for my family. It's an important responsibility when you're the person from the family that makes it and has that name. Because now you're carrying that name and you want to have a chance to make them proud of you. Not only your small town, not only your community but also your family. That's something I always think about every day in the decisions I make. I truly want to make them proud.

My sisters, Kelly and Jenny, their kids, Reed, Reg and Cooper. Thank you for everything. It's been incredible, this journey. My parents, my mom, a lot has been written about my parents because of my dad's passing a couple years ago. I can't say enough about the people they are and the …… kids they raised. They gave us every opportunity we wanted. They let us set sail and go achieve those dreams. They gave us intangible quality that I have and my sisters have, to go achieve our dreams. I am a microcosm of my parents. The work ethic that has led me to the consistent player that I have been over the course of the last 11 years, is, and only, because of them. None of this would be possible without them.

(Long pause)

But my mom, she still runs the family farm on her own. The courage she shows on an everyday basis of running that thing with my dad gone, having four daughters, is such an amazing thing for me to watch. I'm so proud of her for that. The example she continues to give us. I just can't say thank you enough.

(Long pause)

Got to pull it together here, hold on. 

My dad, seeing him battle through the cancer for two years and having him watch my career, now I know he's looking down on me. The most amazing man in the world, hands down. I'm so proud to carry the name that he gave me and hold it to a high standard. I'm so proud to be his son. It was hard losing him but at the same time it's fun to be able to carry on his name and his legacy with my own kids.

To the little ones down here, obviously you're my life. I was going to have, my daughters won a state basketball championship last weekend. I was able to coach her, which was awesome. If you're going to ask me what I'm going to do next, I'll be a coach, and probably a championship coach it sounds like, with these guys. I'm so proud to be their dad. It's the number one job in my life. I enjoy it every day and I'm looking forward to doing it more and more. You guys are incredible.

I almost made it the whole way without crying.

And my wife, Jenni, thanks for everything. The most talented person I know. She let me live out my dreams while she put hers on the back burner. I was telling her last night, 'It's her turn now.' I don't know if she was overwhelmed by that or excited by that. She's an amazing person. I've been told a long time ago that life will always be okay if you marry right and I certainly married right. I love you and you're an amazing person, thank you.

So, I think I got through everything except for two more. You guys, the media, thank you. You guys have always been there for me over the course of my career. You've always been at my events. You've always wrote, for the most part, positive things. Mostly because I didn't give you any negative things to talk about. Thank you for always being there for me and I appreciate it. Sometimes people look at media as a bad thing, but you guys have been there for a lot of positive stories over the course of my career.

The fans, South Dakota fans, Iowa Hawkeyes fans, obviously the millions of Minnesota Vikings fans, thank you. Thank you for everything. I've been so proud to be your linebacker for the past 11 years. So, thank you.

Q: There was a strong likelihood that you were going to retire, but you put it off. Over the past two months, what did you weigh and how did you arrive at this decision?

A: I was about 90 percent retired after the season in my mind and I wanted to make sure. It's one of those decisions you don't make and come back from. I wanted to make sure that I was prepared to be retired. I wanted to make sure that I was in a position where when I decided to be done, there wasn't this thought in the back of my mind that I should keep playing. Not necessarily for me, but for the people around me, they want their dad to be home and be happy and be content with who he is and his lot in life. Not having any regrets with his career, that's certainly where I'm at. I was told, I think this morning, Tim Smith from KMIT radio back home told me, 'Now you have to grow up and decide what you're going to do when you grow up.' I've been playing a game for so long and enjoying myself for so long, it doesn't even seem possible. But now it's a chance to put that degree to work. I had to meet with Coach Zim and Rick. I was in a position at that point that I knew I wanted to retire.

I just told them, basically when I sat down, that was my intention, that's what I wanted to do. Never had any conversation about contracts, it never got to that point because I didn't want it to. It was just a time that I knew was right. I don't want to play football anymore.

Q: We know what you're going to miss. What are you not going to miss about playing football?

A: I'm excited to have an August. I'm not going to miss training camp. There's a lot more that I'll miss than that I won't miss. I love this game. I love everything about it. I love the way it challenges you. I love the people, I love the teammates. So many great teammates over the years. I can't go through them all and thank them. That's the part you miss. The locker room, our equipment room, our training room, our PR staff. That's the stuff that's going to be tough. I don't want to tackle anybody anymore, I'm not going to miss that. I'm not going to miss Sal [Brent Salazar], our strength coach, trying to make me throw up every day. Those are a few things I won't miss.

Q: How grateful are you to be retiring healthy?

A: Yeah, having four children, I'm very grateful for that opportunity to walk away healthy. I'm healthier now than I was when I was 25 or 26 and playing every snap. I think the role that I was able to wrap my mind around these last couple years and try to make the best possible full player I could be as a role player, essentially, helped preserve my health in a lot of ways too. It was something that really ticked my off when I first had to do it, because I'm a competitor and a player and a guy that played every snap for so long. But at the end of the day, it ended up being the best thing that happened in my career. I'm proud that I was able to overcome my ego as an athlete and embrace those roles and try to just be as good as I could be in those roles and try to better the football team rather than worry about myself. So, I'm proud to be walking away healthy and happy and I'm ready.

Q: What is next for you?

A: Well, Rick's not any good so I'll probably move into that role in the next couple years. I'm already angling. I don't want to have any plans, that's probably the part right now, I want to sit back and enjoy. As most of you guys know, it's been announced that I'm going to be a part of the Super Bowl Host Committee for Super Bowl LII, I'm the captain of the volunteer program which is going to be a sweet opportunity for me, I'm looking forward to it. Believe it or not, there's people that want to hear me speak, on leadership, teamwork, what it takes to kind of pull yourselves up from a lower level and finish high. So, I work with Nationally Speaking, to get out things that I've learned and want to get out. So, I do a lot of speaking as well. So, the next step is that for now.

Q: Do you have a favorite memory to describe your Vikings career?

A: It's so hard to encapsulate it all with one memory. I think, people look back at our 2009 season, 2010 game in New Orleans when we played down there and lost in the title game. I don't look as that as a negative. We lost the game, we didn't score enough points, but the reality is that was the peak of my career, now that you look at it from a game standpoint. Playing in that game, being a part of that game, and it being such a great game, was an incredible memory. Winning the playoff game the week before was an incredible memory. The best memories, the ones you'll remember forever, they won't be the tackles, they won't be any of the interceptions or plays, it'll be rooming with [Ben] Leber for five years and spending time with the guys and having those friendships that grow over time and become more than just teammates. That's something you can't ever equate. * *

Q: When you got hurt in the preseason your rookie year, did you ever think there would be a 10 or 11 year NFL career ahead of you?

A: In 2006 when I got hurt, it was, obviously, a shot. I had gone through it before, which was a benefit. Our training staff did an incredible job of bringing me back, but to think I'd be sitting here 11, 10 years later – or 11 years later – and have the career that I have, I could say that's something I knew was going to happen, but the reality is, I knew I had to take it day by day and become that person that got me into the NFL, consistent guy that went to work every day and just gave it everything I had. That's the only way I could make it work. I'm not going to fool anybody by trying to go half speed. And that's not something I think I ever did. So, to say that I knew I'd have this career would be kind of a stretch, but I'm proud to have had it.

Q: If you had not played in Minnesota, how different would your NFL experience have been?

A: Yeah, tremendously different. I think because I grew up in South Dakota to Iowa to here, I had so many fans, so many family members that could come to games, college roommates that were able to come up and just be a part of my career and kind of let everybody experience it, sort of, rather than just if I had played somewhere else, it wouldn't have been the same experience. So, thinking back to 2006, my wife, her goal was to be drafted by anybody south of Iowa. There's like three teams, four teams, [north of Iowa], and we go to Minnesota. But now looking back, it ends up being an incredible opportunity, and it has been awesome.

Q: Even though you came from a small town, you mentioned the Super Bowl. There are a lot of people across the league that know of you that haven't met you that speak well of you. Does that blow you away, first of all, and has anybody surprised you by contacting you that you didn't think even knew who you were?

A: No. I just think the thing I've always appreciated over this last 24 hours, really, is just the feedback and support I've had from my current teammates and former teammates. They've just been so appreciative of the leader and person I was on the football field and in the locker room, and you always want to be revered by the people you're around every day. I think you want to be respected by those folks, and you strive for that, and you try to come to work and be an example, especially for the young guys who are trying to have the career that you have had. You try to explain to them the right way to do it. You try to show them, in some cases, the right way to do it, and sometimes, you have to go out in a game and show them how to do it. And I think that's something I've enjoyed, and I think that's the feedback that I'll cherish the must, just from my current teammates and former teammates. I guess they're all former teammates now. (Executive Director of Public Relations Bob Hagan: Time for two more.) *There you go. *(laughter)

Q: Are you going to be crazy enough to go into coaching?

A: Somebody called me a smart person once. You never say never. I was told that a long time ago, too. So, I'm not going to say, 'never.' I don't know. The reality is, I love coaching my kids. I love watching them compete. I love being able to be there for those moments with them. So, yes, I am coaching. I will continue to be a coach. To what level, I don't know, but to be able to be there every day to watch them achieve their dreams and goals now is something that I'm truly going to cherish and thank the NFL for putting me in a position that I can do that. That's the best part. I told you, she [daughter] wanted to bring her trophy in here. It's as tall as her. She's pretty proud. One more. You've got to have one more. Sid [Hartman], you're not going to ask me anything? (*Hartman: You want to coach someday?) (laughter) *That's how it should end. I appreciate it guys. Thank you.