A Serious Man With A Serious Voice: Young Relishes Role Of Mentor
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The answer was not the one you expected from Bryant Young.
You figured he would probably say Super Bowl XXIX, San Francisco's win over San Diego to cap Young's rookie season with the 49ers in 1994. Or perhaps the NFC Championship Game win that season over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys – and former Gators running back Emmitt Smith – to get the 49ers to the Super Bowl.
Maybe Young would take you back to college at Notre Dame, where he starred for Lou Holtz's Fighting Irish teams that lost only two games in Young's final two seasons. Young passed on them all.
When asked what moment he cherishes most from his playing career, Young chose a 41-3 loss at Jacksonville to open the 1999 season. Sounds strange for a player as accomplished as Bryant, but you've got to go back to the way Young's prior season – his fifth in the NFL – ended to understand.
In a Monday-night game against the Giants, viewers witnessed nauseating replays of Young's lower right leg snapping when teammate Ken Norton inadvertently slammed his helmet into Young's shin on a play. Young dropped to the turf at 3Com Park in agonizing pain, one of the NFL's top defensive tackles suddenly being wheeled off the field toward an ambulance set to rush him to Stanford Hospital for emergency surgery to repair his broken tibia and fibula.
The gruesome injury was the kind that ends careers. But nine months later on a misty day in Jacksonville, Young ran out of the tunnel and onto the field, ready for the start of his sixth season following months of tunnel-vision rehab and dedication to return.
“That was one moment that I really remember,'' Young said. “Having a chance to come back after that was pretty cool because of all I had to endure and the obstacles I had to overcome.''
Young went on to record a team-high 11 sacks and win NFL Comeback Player of the Year, re-establishing his place as one of the best defensive linemen to play in the NFL in the last 20 years. Young retired from the NFL after the 2007 season and after a year away from football, launched a coaching career in 2009 as a defensive graduate assistant at Notre Dame in Charlie Weis' final season as head coach.
Young, 39, was defensive line coach at San Jose State last season and is now in his first year at UF, serving as defensive line coach under Gators defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, a 49ers assistant from 2001-04 who helped connect Young and Florida coach Will Muschamp.
Young made millions in the NFL and considered a pro coaching career, but opted to coach at the college level because he believes he can make a greater impact.
“Being on this level, you really have a chance to help shape and mold a young man,'' Young said. “That was really intriguing to me. The game is a little different but still competitive. We are all trying to win, but the message could be a little different in terms of steering a young man in the right direction and helping them realize they have a bright future ahead of them.
“They are able to go to school and their athletic ability has afforded them a free education. I think the message that needs to be clear is that it's important that they understand that they need to secure their future by getting their degree.''
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Young is a serious man with a serious voice. You get the impression that the father of five is very serious when he speaks of helping young players fulfill their potential on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
A website named 49ersParadise.com gathered comments from others when Young's career was coming to a close. The amount of respect those in the 49ers organization and the San Francisco Bay Area have for Young is obvious.
Former 49ers defensive coordinator Jim Mora Jr. had this to say: “He never, ever comes across with an air of a superstar, or a prima donna. You'd never know that he was a superstar.”
Frances Carter, a nurse who treated Young while he was in the hospital recovering from his severe leg injury, marveled at how important it was for Young to reach out to the kids in the hospital during his stay there.
“I just felt that was the most remarkable act I've ever seen out of anyone,'' Carter said. “When you have someone in the hospital, they're basically centered on themselves, trying to get themselves healed. But he was more concerned about the kids and visiting whoever he could.”
Young's reputation is one that wasn't lost on his teammates, who named him the Len Eshmont Award winner multiple times in his career for inspirational and courageous play. The Eshmont Award is considered the highest honor in the Niners' locker room.
Muschamp is thrilled to add a player with the experience and success of Young to his Florida coaching staff.
“Bryant Young is a walking example of what we want our kids to develop into. He was an All-American player at Notre Dame, a 14-year veteran in the NFL that included four Pro Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl victory,'' Muschamp said. “He is a young coach who has a tremendous presence about him that exudes confidence and character. He will be great mentor to our players and has a great future in the coaching profession ahead of him.''
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Young is finally settled into his new office and recognizes several familiar faces, including Weis, Quinn, offensive line coach Frank Verducci – he was on Weis' final Notre Dame staff, too – and Terry Jackson, the former Gators running back who spent several seasons as Young's teammate in San Francisco. Jackson is currently UF's director of player and community relations.
Early in his NFL career, Young didn't give a future in coaching much thought. However, as he got older and became a father and worked extensively in the San Francisco community, he saw a real need for positive role models. Coaching gives him a chance to teach young people and remain in football.
“It's what I've done most of my life, so it's almost a natural transition,'' Young said. “But just because I was a good football player doesn't mean that's going to make me a great football coach. I'm always a work in progress as I was as a player. I'm always seeking to improve and get better in every phase of the game.''
Young has never been to a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but he was on the 1991 Notre Dame team that beat the Gators in the Sugar Bowl. And in an oddity, three of his most memorable moments in the NFL have connections to the Sunshine State.
The 1999 season opener in Jacksonville, San Francisco's Super Bowl win over San Diego at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, and the last home game of Young's career in 2007. He was carried off the field on the shoulders of teammates Jeff Ulbrich and Ronald Fields after the 49ers' 21-19 win over the Bucs.
Young had quite a ride as a player. He hopes the ride continues as a coach at UF.
“I had a lot of respect for the program,'' Young said. “There's been a lot of success, a storied program and a lot of tradition. I knew this was a winning program and one of the top programs in the country, so I held it in high regard.
“I'm excited to be here.”
BRYANT YOUNG Q&A
Q: Who had the greatest influence on you wanting to pursue this career path after your playing days finished?
A: A lot of people did. I was able to be around a lot of great football coaches. Obviously, playing at Notre Dame and having been around Lou Holtz for four years, being in his program and just the positive effect he had on me made a major impact on my life. And having a chance to be in the league -- although Bill Walsh didn't coach me, having been in the league and talking to him, and guys like Pete Carroll, who was my defensive coordinator for two years, and George Seifert and Steve Mariucci, Dwayne Board, my position coach, and Dan Quinn as well. A lot of people definitely had a big impact on my decision to coach.
Q: How did you land at UF?
A: Being around Dan, our relationship kind of opened the door for me. You never know the people you come in contact with in your life, how it can reconnect.''
Q: What have you learned in your first two years as a college coach that's different from the NFL?
A: Definitely patience [laughter]. I think on any level you need patience, more so in high school than in college, but on the college level you still have to have patience. In the league, you expect the guys to know it a little bit more. But in college you are really teaching them some things they may not already know or reinforcing some things they might know a little.
Q: What makes a great defensive lineman in your view?
A: If he's good, a guy who is willing to remain teachable and a guy who's willing to learn and who works at it on and off the field – that's in the classroom and in the weight room. Also, practicing and doing the little things the right way. On the collegiate level, realizing your opportunity and getting your degree and doing it the right way – the total package.
Q: What's your initial impression of the Gators' defensive linemen?
A: Young and not a veteran group. The guys are eager to learn and they are doing everything that you ask them. They are coachable and they want it. I'm excited for them. It's a fresh start for them and just learning each guy in the group and understanding who I am and building that trust. It's a fun group.
Q: Guys my age know about your playing career, but what about 18- and 19-year-olds?
A: Some know of my past. I think having the opportunity to play in the league kind of opened some guys' eyes because a lot of guys aspire to play on that level. They may take to you a little bit. That's almost like an 'in' sometimes.
Q: What's a perfect vacation?
A: Anywhere with my family is a perfect vacation. Anytime we're off and together, that's a perfect vacation no matter where we are. [Young is married and has kids ages 11, 9, 7, 5 and 7 months].
Q: What's a perfect meal?
A: Any meal with good company and great conversation.
Q: You have a favorite movie?
A: “Tommy Boy.” It's an escape comedy.
Q: Favorite music?
A: I'm kind of a jazz guy. I like blues, I like gospel music and a little R&B. I like old-school hip-hop.
Q: You're from Chicago, so Cubs or White Sox?
A: I'm both. Actually, I've been to more Cubs games than Sox. I like both. If they are doing well I'm cheering for them. Normally, if you are on the Southside, you are supposed to root for the Sox.
Q: You spent your entire NFL career in San Francisco, so if someone only has a day there, where do you tell them to go?
A: Go to Fisherman's Wharf, take a tour of Alcatraz and drive down Lombard Street.
