Gators defensive coordinator Quinn recalls Seau's toughness and non-stop energy
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 | General, Football, Scott Carter
The shocking news of former NFL star Junior Seau's death prompted countless posts on Twitter and cast a somber mood in the Florida football offices on Wednesday afternoon.
Gators head coach Will Muschamp and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn spent the 2005 season coaching Seau with the Miami Dolphins, the last of Seau's three seasons in Miami. He spent the last four years of his 20-year NFL career with New England.
Seau retired after the 2009 season as one of the NFL's most celebrated linebackers, earning 12 Pro Bowl trips and named an All-Pro six times.
“He was an absolute fearless competitor,'' said Quinn, Miami's defensive line coach in 2005 and '06. “It came out in the way he practiced, the way he played, in the way he prepared. There was toughness and a hardness about him that was rare and really cool to see. In a world full of the best, he had this rare ability above everybody.''
Muschamp spent only a year in Miami as a defensive assistant on Nick Saban's staff before returning to the college game as defensive coordinator at Auburn and later Texas. He took with him film of Seau practicing to show his players as a teaching tool.
When Quinn and Muschamp reunited at Florida, Muschamp asked if Quinn if he still had any of those tapes. Quinn didn't have any left but they still draw on lessons they learned coaching Seau to help teach the Gators about playing with toughness and an urgency in practice like in games.
“He totally lived in the moment,'' Quinn said. “He showed clips of him practicing to show how at any stage of your career, you always work your skills. That's a pro. He just always stuck out to me in that way. He loved ball. He loved being around his teammates and interacting with the coaches and players.
“I remember him taking scout team reps wanting to get extra work. He was just a really unique dude.”
Quinn learned of Seau's death on Wednesday from his brother Brian, who lives in San Diego.
Quinn, Muschamp and defensive lineman Bryant Young chatted for a few minutes in Quinn's office about Seau once the news broke.
Seau only played seven games for the Dolphins during the 2005 season, hampered by injuries. However, he never slowed down at practice and would always be the one with the most energy in the building. Quinn recalled how Seau used to fly from Miami after a Sunday game to spend Monday at home in San Diego. He would then be back at practice on Tuesday as fired up as any player on the field.
“He was such a positive guy,'' Quinn said. “This is not going into any of the things that he did off the field for the kids wherever he lived. It was a real cool experience to get to work with him. He made a big impact on a lot of people. Speaking just as a coach who got to work with him, he had all my respect for who he was, what he stood for and what he was about.”
