Episode #2 - Fun interview with Coach Pat Hill who spent 15 highly successful seasons as the head football coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs as well as assistant coaching positions with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons.
Coach Hill has coached a number of players who have gone on to have successful careers in the NFL; Derek Carr, David Carr, Ryan Mathews, Bernard Berrian, to name just a few, and has coached alongside such legends as Bill Belichick, Nick Saban and Kirk Ferentz. However, you might find it interesting what he is most proud of when it comes to his career and the young men he coached.
We cover a lot of topics and hear stories about some of the all-time greats. From NIL and the transfer portal to Ozzy Newsome, Jim Brown, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden as well as a time when one of his players actually got arrested during a game. Listen in to hear how Coach Hill balanced being a head coach as well as a father, to his best experience of his coaching career as well as a few pearls of wisdom to all the fathers out there. You don’t want to miss this episode.
Episode #2 - Fun interview with Coach Pat Hill who spent 15 highly successful seasons as the head football coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs as well as assistant coaching positions with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons.
Coach Hill has coached a number of players who have gone on to have successful careers in the NFL; Derek Carr, David Carr, Ryan Mathews, Bernard Berrian, to name just a few, and has coached alongside such legends as Bill Belichick, Nick Saban and Kirk Ferentz. However, you might find it interesting what he is most proud of when it comes to his career and the young men he coached.
We cover a lot of topics and hear stories about some of the all-time greats. From NIL and the transfer portal to Ozzy Newsome, Jim Brown, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden as well as a time when one of his players actually got arrested during a game. Listen in to hear how Coach Hill balanced being a head coach as well as a father, to his best experience of his coaching career as well as a few pearls of wisdom to all the fathers out there. You don’t want to miss this episode.
pat (00:00.334)
Thank you.
robert_poirier (00:02.157)
Hey everyone and welcome to Dad to Dad's podcast. I'm Robert and I'm joined today with Adam and we get the pleasure of speaking with coach Pat Hill. Coach, welcome to the show.
pat (00:12.595)
Well, thank you. It's great to be on.
robert_poirier (00:16.101)
Coach, I've heard about you forever from Adam and really excited to talk to you. And again, I thank you for joining us on the Dad Dads podcast. 15 years as Fresno State's head coach, also spent time with the Browns, the Ravens, and also the Falcons. Compiled out of 15 seasons, I think it was 112 victories, took them to 11 bowl seasons as well, or 11 bowls.
Yeah, 11 bowl seasons. Teams were known as aggressive, always very well prepared, competitive. They just always had this swagger about them. And there was a phrase I think you came up with, anybody, anytime, anywhere, where did, I'm just curious, where did that come from? And were there certain intangibles that you were looking for when going out recruiting a player?
pat (01:10.087)
Well, we took on that mantra because we you know, we wanted to You know at that time there was the BCS and for the smaller schools you had to play the big boys and when
to be acknowledged and that's sort of the path we took. But that's what put us into position to get a lot of national TV games, get a lot of exposure and the players we recruited, they wanted to play those games. So we won 19 of them, we lost 29 of them. We could have played a softer cupcake schedule and had more wins, but that's not what it's all about. It's trying to play against the best people you can and beat them.
robert_poirier (01:50.333)
I get it. Were there other things you looked for within the player? I mean, you look at, I mean, co-host Adam. I mean, he's fast. He's not, you know, Adam, no offense. You're not the largest guy. You are extremely strong for your size. What else? Was there some grit or anything like that? I mean, a toughness character, that character trait maybe?
pat (01:56.194)
RAAAAAAAAR
You know, I worked for a guy at Baltimore named Ted March Broder years ago, and I remember him telling me once, there's a lot of guys that like everything about football except football. I wanted to find guys that liked football. There's a lot of guys in college and in the pros that, you know, they like all the stuff that goes along with football, but the actual game is secondary, and I wanted to find guys that really love the game.
And Adam's a perfect example of that guy. I mean, tough, hard-nosed, aggressive, loved to play the game of football.
robert_poirier (02:38.237)
That makes sense.
Yeah.
robert_poirier (02:47.785)
And you've coached guys doing research from the Carr brothers, Derek and David, uh, Randall Cunningham, Ryan Matthews, of course, our own Adam Jennings, Logan Mankin, uh, Mankins, Richard Marshall. You've coached just, you know, numerous players which have gone on and made the big leagues, which other ones am I missing?
pat (03:11.626)
I don't know. At one time there were 37 of them in the NFL. There's so many of them that went on to play. But that wasn't the key. The best thing that I really took out of the experience of coaching for 42 years is watching young men like Adam and a lot of the other young people that I coached just go on with their lives, become great fathers and husbands.
robert_poirier (03:16.625)
Cheers.
adam_jennings (03:17.723)
आप साइये। आद आद साइये।
robert_poirier (03:38.417)
That's great. Adam, you were about to say something.
pat (03:38.731)
Because you don't know, you know, not many of them, not many of them go on.
adam_jennings (03:41.799)
Oh, no, no, I was saying that there was one guy left out of that in which, you know, he had a, you know, a short stint in the NFL and that's, that's Rodney Wright, one of the best football players I've ever seen in my life. Like he was. Yeah.
pat (03:54.37)
Yeah, he's as tough as he came, you know, I mean, we, we, but you know, we had so many young men that, that didn't go on to the league, that had great careers and have become, once again, great fathers and great husbands and great community leaders, you know, and, and, and there's a lot of young men that came from backgrounds that you'd think, you know, they didn't have those things when they were young, but you know what, they became those type of people and they became very successful.
not only on the field, but off the field.
robert_poirier (04:26.725)
You know, coach, I was looking at the tribute on YouTube that your players, some of your players got on there and did to you for your 70th birthday. And when you look at which, I mean, that's, that's amazing too, just to have all of them come on there and, you know, wish you happy birthday. But you had guys in the league, you have guys that look like some of them in the medical profession, law enforcement, just everything. So that kind of speaks to
speaks to what you're saying. And another thing too, if I remember correctly, the graduation rate when you came on was like around 90 percent. Am I not correct?
pat (05:05.922)
No, when I came on, we were in USA today, we were rated the worst in the country. Yeah. And then, you know, we did a really good job with it. You know, our graduation rate became very, very good. A lot of the guys went on and were very successful.
robert_poirier (05:13.305)
And then...
So it wasn't just when you coached him, it wasn't just success on the field, you were coaching for success off the field as well. Is that correct?
pat (05:33.05)
Well, there was a lot of we talked about life after football. We talked about becoming young men accountable, you know, giving them the tools to be successful after football. Because there's a lot of guys that go on and have a chance to play in the league, maybe for a little while. It doesn't last very long. That doesn't last forever. And a lot of those guys cannot handle life afterwards because they haven't prepared for it. And Adam can talk about that. I mean, it's hard after.
doing that your entire life since you were a kid and all of a sudden it's over, that's, you gotta have a plan. And a lot of people don't have a plan.
adam_jennings (06:06.412)
Yeah.
I 100% agree. It's um, you know, it's kind of a re identification of yourself and you know, your identity while you're playing football is only football, right? In
pat (06:19.436)
Right.
adam_jennings (06:21.847)
And then all of a sudden you have to become something else and you have to live with the past. And I mean, football is kind of an emotional roller coaster for me. Like there's ups, there's downs, like, and you know, just getting back in and coaching the game again has been amazing, right? You know, like I'm standing there talking to some of these kids. I'm like, it's gonna be okay, little fella. You're okay. You're not just a football player. Like you're a person. Yeah. And so, you know, for me, it's so fun.
Like I'm standing on the flag football sideline trying to help the kids Roll through those emotions. I'm like you're gonna be alright football's not forever We'll take the lesson from it. So Yeah
robert_poirier (07:05.005)
So Adam, when you're coaching, when you're coaching these kids, do you feel at times that you have Coach Hill speaking through you?
adam_jennings (07:12.031)
Yeah, absolutely. Like, I mean, like I still remember like, you know, we'd be in a chaotic environment. Everybody's screaming, the momentum's going against us. And then Coach Hill brings us all to, he didn't give a shit at the time. He'd be like, get your asses over here. And he'd bring us all together and then talk to us. Huh? What was that? In the middle of a game, yeah.
pat (07:35.668)
game. Yeah. Yeah.
adam_jennings (07:37.899)
Yeah, he'd bring us over and have us calm down emotionally. He's just like, get your shit together. It's gonna be okay. We just need to do this, this, and this. And then the game's gonna be all right. Like, you know, it's gonna continue. And I'll never forget it. Like I have to tell kids in the middle of the game, I go, take a deep breath, pal. Breathe a couple times. All right, let's think about the next play.
I don't care about what happened. Let's think about what we have to do now to move forward in the game. And for me, it's like Coach Hill and Coach Baxter and a lot of other coaches did a lot of that stuff for me where I was like, I got the wind knocked out of me. I fumbled a pun or whatever I did. He was like, it's gonna be okay. Move to the next play. Think about what happened. Don't, you know, don't.
pat (08:28.918)
Let me tell you, Adam was about as much fun to coach as anybody you could be around. Oh, he was great for you. I mean, he'd, oof, intensity, you know, high character. He was a lot of fun to coach. We had a few guys like him that were, they weren't high maintenance. They were just, it was high upkeep. You know, you had to keep the tires fresh. You had to keep the oil fresh, because they'd run forever. They'd go. And...
robert_poirier (08:34.298)
Really?
adam_jennings (08:34.833)
Yeah.
pat (08:57.47)
I mean look at him now, whatever he's going to do in life he's going to be successful because that's just the way he's wired.
robert_poirier (09:04.005)
That's true. That's very true. Very true. You know, you're talking about that, Adam, with the calming you down. Thinking back to some of the games which you guys played against large opponents. I mean, guys who, teams that had recruited and had four and five stars. You watch that today with, I hate to use this word, you know, when you see those teams against smaller opponents or...
You know, opponents with less of an athletic budget. Um, yeah, it seems like after a w go ahead.
pat (09:37.486)
That's a good way to put it.
kids are the same. I don't give a shit if you got five stars or no stars. You know, the budgets are different, but there's no difference in the player. The players can play if they believe they can play. You know, if you give a kid an excuse to lose, he'll lose. But if you always go in there with an attitude that you're going to win, the chances are that you got a chance to win. You always got a chance to win.
robert_poirier (09:44.837)
Yeah.
Yeah.
robert_poirier (10:00.393)
That's great.
robert_poirier (10:08.624)
Yeah.
pat (10:09.07)
You know, we would have got a lot more wins in those games if we would have gotten some officiating calls. And so, we play these big teams.
adam_jennings (10:16.759)
He's talking especially about Oregon.
pat (10:20.598)
deal. Over 10 years later, now that it's over, I can go through some of those things.
robert_poirier (10:25.925)
Hey, Coach, I went to Southern Mississippi and we used to play Alabama, Auburn, all those, and you already knew you're not only playing the team, you're playing the refs. I mean, there were so many times.
pat (10:37.974)
Well, I tell you what, Southern Miss did a great job. They were a team a lot like us.
robert_poirier (10:44.494)
And that's why I followed you guys, because I felt like there was a lot of identity and also you could get your games later. And yeah, that's why I followed you guys, because of that, there was a lot of similarities.
pat (10:55.67)
programs are very similar. I was very familiar with what Southern Mississippi did and you know, Appy states like that Appalachian. There's some schools, they don't just, they don't give a shit. They're just gonna play. And that's the attitude you gotta have if you wanna win those games. Otherwise, you know, when it gets out there, well, we weren't supposed to win, so it's okay. That's bullshit. You gotta win.
robert_poirier (11:18.149)
Well, and that all starts at the top too. I mean, it does. It all starts at the top. I've got to ask you a question. Um, you spent time with the Browns and you coached under, uh, Bill Belichick and along with Nick Saban, did you ever see Bell? It was Belichick wearing the short sleeve hoodies back then, or is that something that was he really?
pat (11:33.196)
Right?
Yeah, him and I have very similar way we dress. We weren't very stylish. You know, I mean, he just, he's just a ball coach. He's not worried about how he looks. I'll promise you that.
robert_poirier (11:49.316)
Yeah.
What about smiling? Did you ever see either one of them smile?
pat (11:56.136)
Not very often, once in a while. Once in a while, you know, Nick didn't smile hardly at all. Great coaches, man. They were great coaches, great people to be with. Kirk Ferens was also on that.
robert_poirier (12:03.854)
Yeah.
Yeah, I was about to say that. I mean, that was just a powerhouse of coaches then, wasn't it?
pat (12:16.202)
It really was and great people. Kurt is still one of my really good friends. I stay in touch with both Bill and they're good people. They're at a very, very high level. And I was very fortunate to be able to coach with them. And a lot of the things that I tried to use in my coaching time, I learned a lot from them.
robert_poirier (12:41.693)
That's great. So another one, I believe he was maybe the GM while you were at the Browns, who I've always loved, the Wiz, Ozzy Newsome.
adam_jennings (12:42.64)
Hmm
pat (12:52.427)
He was my roommate for five years. Yeah, he's the Yeah, he's the best
robert_poirier (12:55.065)
What? Was he really?
What is he like? Yeah, he seems like he is. I mean, what's he what's he like? Yeah.
pat (13:00.874)
Yeah, very humble, you know, player every time we'd go on a way game, you know, we'd always go down to the lobby or get a drink, you know, after the meetings were done, everybody knew him. I mean, he was a legendary figure in the NFL, a great GM. But more than that, he was a great person, you know, just as humble as you could be. He was he was in the second class.
adam_jennings (13:11.431)
Okay.
pat (13:26.122)
at Alabama of black athletes to play football for Bear Bryant. So he was in the second class. A guy named Mitch, who was the defensive line coach for Pittsburgh, who was our defensive line coach at Cleveland, was the first black athlete recruited by Bear Bryant to Alabama. And Ozzie was probably the second or third. They had great stories about, you know, coming. Ozzie is from Muscle Shoals, which is a small town.
adam_jennings (13:32.591)
That's cool.
That's crazy.
robert_poirier (13:52.815)
Right.
pat (13:55.306)
Talking the stories about him going to the University of Alabama and then you know being really close with Jim Brown when I was with the Cleveland Browns Jim Brown used to stay at my house a lot because we were really close to the airport just listening playing at Syracuse and you know He was a great lacrosse player and they had to change the rules of lacrosse He used to be able to carry the ball in your net You know all the way across the field that he'd run from one end to the other just knocking people down at score and they
robert_poirier (14:07.133)
Gosh.
Wow.
robert_poirier (14:22.143)
Hahaha
adam_jennings (14:22.805)
I'm sorry.
pat (14:25.426)
Unbelievable. Brown was an unbelievable guy. You know, I've had some great experiences being around some super people during my career. Those are unforgettable times.
robert_poirier (14:38.765)
Yeah, I mean, it has to be. It's amazing who all you've been around. You know, you should write a book. You should. You should. Adam and I were talking about that the other day.
adam_jennings (14:38.779)
That's cool. Anyway, that is where I am. Thanks.
pat (14:46.658)
No.
adam_jennings (14:47.555)
Hey, I'm, I'm, I'm feeling a bit...
pat (14:51.943)
Yeah.
adam_jennings (14:53.467)
I mean, just the overall cap, like nobody wants to write a book. I like, I can't write anything, but I'm just like the stories in which probably encapsulate your football experience. Like shit, everybody wants to hear it, but you know, it comes full circle. Obviously.
pat (15:08.031)
Yeah.
you'd probably piss some people off, so I'm here.
robert_poirier (15:13.405)
Uh, you know what, that's what it's all about. I mean, you know, but just, I mean, the stories, just even, you know, knowing Jim Brown and, and having a close relationship with all these guys, Belichick and Ozzie news. So, I mean, that's, that's amazing in and of itself. And just the time spent on the road. Hey, I've got somebody I want to ask you about, um, when, so the, you were there through the whole, oh gosh, debacle of the Browns, then the Ravens. Um,
adam_jennings (15:18.043)
I love pissing people off.
pat (15:41.862)
I have. Bur-
robert_poirier (15:42.817)
Which that was just crazy, but we won't even go into that. But the Ravens, I believe it was that first year of the Ravens drafted a guy first round out of Miami, future hall of famer Ray Lewis.
pat (15:55.586)
Two first round choices were him and Jonathan Ogden, two Hall of Famers. Yeah.
robert_poirier (16:00.037)
Jeez. What was it like? Because you were coaching with the offensive line and the tight ends then.
pat (16:07.274)
Right. I went down. I went down on the trip when we worked out Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis was only about 215 pounds coming out of Miami. But, you know, everybody knows him as when he was with the Ravens, probably 235 or so. But he was a he was small coming out of college weight wise. And but the guy was just a ball of butcher. Well, the guy made that made tons of plays. I mean, unbelievable plays. We did the same thing as a pro.
Once again, another good, good person. I mean, he was, I was only there in his rookie year, both him and Jonathan. I had them both in their rookie year and then I went to Fresno, but both of them just had great work ethic. Both started as rookies. Both had really good careers, obviously, Hall of Fame careers. But the thing I remember the most about him, when I went down and I saw him for the first time without really looking, I'd already seen the tape, but if you're not looking at the tape, just looking at him, you're going, wow, this guy's not very big. And he wasn't.
He wasn't very big, I mean, but God could he play. There was another linebacker at Florida State that year. I think he played for Tampa Bay, played for years with another small linebacker.
robert_poirier (17:20.649)
What was his name Brooks? I believe yeah, yeah. Was it Derek Brooks? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Were you there when Adelius Thomas was on the Ravens? No, okay, probably miss it. So like with the Ray Lewis, he's a rookie. Could you tell then like, man, this guy is gonna be something special.
pat (17:22.73)
Yeah.
There's Brooks.
adam_jennings (17:28.111)
Oh, there, yeah. He was great in Tampa, too.
pat (17:33.706)
I don't remember. I don't remember.
pat (17:43.986)
Well, yeah, because when you know, as soon as he got in the huddle as a as the starting middle linebacker, he just took over and I mean.
and you can see people listen. He commanded the respect of his fellow players, even though he was a rookie, because they respected his ability to play. That's him, somebody. I mean, if you're gonna stand up in front of the team and they don't respect you, they're not gonna give you the time of day.
robert_poirier (18:04.079)
Yeah.
Yeah, that's true. It's just natural born leader.
pat (18:14.698)
Well, I don't know if he's a natural born leader, he led by action. But there's certain people that when they walk into the huddle and say some, all the heads turn towards him and there's other guys, they start talking. I, you know, I sometimes I watch those huddles in the middle of the field where guys are yelling and screaming and, you know, there's a lot of guys looking to the stands and shit like that. They're not listening, but there's certain guys when they get in a room or they get in a huddle and they start talking, all the heads are focused on. And those are the guys that.
command and respect of the rule.
robert_poirier (18:48.813)
Yeah, it's good. It's good. All right, so tell me this. Most proud moment as a coach. Most proud moment as a coach. What would that be?
pat (18:55.702)
My sweat.
There's been so many a lot of money in football related you know just watching guys like Rashad virtues a perfect example a guy that Adam had a great experience with he was our full
adam_jennings (19:02.181)
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
pat (19:15.858)
that came out of Bakersfield that really you talk about a young man that didn't have a lot of parenting I guess would have said pretty much on his own. He met a young lady. You never would have believed that they'd ever get married. She was from England. He's got a beautiful family and he's doing really well. Got a nice house. He's doing really well in life. Those kind of stories are awesome. Adam, Jenny.
robert_poirier (19:26.307)
Mm-hmm.
pat (19:44.93)
Cornell Banks, a young man that I got out of Edison High School and the principal told me he'd never make it. And I used to remind him of that all the time. Not only did he make it, I mean he's doing really well in life, working for Stryker, which is orthopedic equipment for knee. I've got a beautiful wife, two beautiful sons. Those are the kind of things that I remember more than games is the success of the guys. We've got a lot of guys that have had success, not all of them.
robert_poirier (20:02.596)
Yeah.
pat (20:13.922)
We've had a few that we've had to make decisions on. I always said when it was more important to me than it was to you, it's time for you to leave. But the ones that stayed and the ones that stuck with it, most of them have gone on in life to be successful. That doesn't mean you're wealthy or that. Just successful in life means you're happy, you've got a family, you've got a job, you've got children, you're doing the right things. To me, that's success.
adam_jennings (20:16.484)
Yeah.
robert_poirier (20:42.263)
Yeah.
adam_jennings (20:42.456)
Yeah.
pat (20:42.494)
Life is life's life's top.
robert_poirier (20:46.269)
Coach, do you ever think back, reflect on, you touch the players' lives, but it's not only them, it's, you know, their spouse, their siblings, their other family members. I mean, you know, you're not just touching the guys on your team, the guys you've coached. I mean, it's amazing how that has branched out to so many others. Do you ever sit back and think about that?
pat (21:10.862)
I think so much about when they were playing their families, but after they're done playing and married and those type of things, yeah, you reach a lot then. But when they're with you, you're just trying to get through to them. There's a lot of the young men that you recruit in this game. A lot of them have been the man of the house since they were 10 years old. They haven't had a male figure telling them to do something for a long time, besides a coach.
It's a hard adjustment for some kids. You know, they're not used to the discipline of somebody giving you direction and those types of things. You know, like Nick Saban used to say all the time, if you want to be their friend, sell ice cream. You know, it's not about being their friend. It's about being their mentor and trying to give them the tools once again to succeed when this game's over.
adam_jennings (21:57.179)
Thank you.
robert_poirier (22:06.073)
You know, um, coach, you hit on it kind of the underlying premise of the show when Adam and I started talking about it was just to bring awareness to the importance of fathers being actively involved in the lives of their children. And, you know, do I now? Yeah. And it's, but it's not just, you know, when you think of fathers, a lot of times people think of biological fathers, but there's other fathers too, right? I mean, that, that are stepping in that role, whether it's an uncle.
pat (22:22.218)
Absolutely.
robert_poirier (22:35.725)
a neighbor, a family friend. A lot of times it's a coach, right?
pat (22:41.348)
I think so.
robert_poirier (22:43.333)
Yeah, are there other times?
pat (22:45.068)
It's not always a love story, I promise you that.
adam_jennings (22:48.928)
Ahem.
robert_poirier (22:49.037)
Well, and a lot of times that's, that's, that's what they need. Right. I mean, they need, I think of today, there's so many times where these kids haven't been told no, or now you can't, what are you thinking, bringing a gun to the mall, you know, somebody to slap them on the back of the head and. You know, they just don't, they don't, they don't have that. Um,
adam_jennings (23:07.247)
And honestly, I'll interject. So, you know, in my experience, like the only, the only people that had made those kinds of impacts on me when I was a young kid were, you know, young white men who were coaching me and, you know, teaching me how to do the right thing. Like my uncle called me Adam Tude, for example. Like I had a horrible attitude.
I mean, I was, I mean, I was at a, like, you think I was out of control at Fresno State? I was out of control as a kid. And so I had, yeah, you bet your ass I was, but I had, I had coaches. So John Roland, Ty Franklin, Dave McCoy, like the guy that adopted me, you remember coming to my house, he adopted me in high school. So all these different men helped me kind of hone in and get control of myself.
pat (23:57.354)
Your family was awesome. Very strong. I was a, that was a great couple.
adam_jennings (24:00.673)
Yeah.
Yeah, and you know, I'm actually headed back out there this winter, but you know, we're still very tightly connected.
pat (24:12.478)
Yeah, it's like Aaron Judge's foster family and Kaepernick had a great foster family. There's a lot of ways for young people to find their stride in life through other people and that's a great, boy there's great foster families out there, but there's a lot of kids that they got to us that didn't have any of that and all of a sudden we become their extended family.
adam_jennings (24:34.127)
Yeah.
pat (24:40.014)
There's a fine line between being a coach and being like a father type, which is a very fine line because really you're not their father, but you're trying to give them the tools that a father would give his own son to be successful. And I think that involvement is really, really important, but it's hard love. I mean, you can't...
adam_jennings (24:42.744)
Yeah.
pat (25:04.854)
Like I said, if you want to make them your friends, sell them ice cream. Sometimes you got to tell them things they don't want to hear. I think that's important to know. And they might revolt a little bit, but you know, there's some guys that probably, no, I don't really worry about probably didn't like me too much when I was coaching them, but as life goes on, I get a lot of kids come back and say, you know, coach, you were, you were right on some of that stuff. Thank you. And, uh, you know, but at the time we might not have talked like camera royal, who I do the radio with.
adam_jennings (25:12.9)
Yeah.
pat (25:32.446)
I had to kick him off the team. He played in the NFL for what, six, seven years. I kicked him off the team because he wouldn't go to class.
adam_jennings (25:40.916)
Hahaha
pat (25:42.038)
I mean him, I mean.
adam_jennings (25:45.311)
You know, my freshman year, Cam choked me in the end. I don't think you remember, but he choked me. Just an incredible football player. That guy is a baller.
robert_poirier (25:46.769)
Ha ha!
pat (25:54.337)
Well, but yeah.
pat (25:59.67)
He's doing well. He always tells his coach, you know, I didn't like you at the time, but what you did was the right thing for me. I said, well, you weren't headed in the right direction, Kim. You needed a little shock. You were either going to change your lifestyle, and that meant going to class. If you just can't play football, you got to do the other stuff too. Or he's got a degree now, he's working on his masters. I mean, he's highly successful. And you laugh about it all the time, but there was about a three-year span.
adam_jennings (26:25.21)
Yeah.
pat (26:28.842)
I didn't talk to him much, you know, didn't need to, you know.
adam_jennings (26:31.534)
Yeah.
robert_poirier (26:34.561)
You know, it, one, thank you for all that you've done. And, you know, with these guys and Adam, I hope you don't mind me saying this when Adam and I first started, you know, becoming friends and Adam was sharing with me about his upbringing. He would talk about different ones and talk about the, the, the father figures in his life, and you were certainly one that, I mean,
pat (26:55.726)
Thanks for watching!
robert_poirier (27:03.373)
was right there one or two. And it's really cool to hear all the lie, to hear about you being that way. I mean, look, society, we need it. I think we need even more today. I wish you were out there even more. Or there were a lot of other ones just like you. And I do think there are some, but I think it's needed even more so today with the way we are.
pat (27:24.59)
way college football is. Everybody's out to sell their brand, coaches and players. There's too much movement. Loyalty is not a big thing anymore. Guys are always looking for the best opportunity for them. You know, I think we've gotten to a point where we're once again, like we do in everything in this country, we're catering to the 1% instead of the 99%.
That bothers me. I mean, I'm making money. I'm all for kids making my I'm all for that stuff. But the but you know, part of life is learning how, you know, when times are tough, how do you compete now? Now we just change schools or we do whatever why coaches they can leave kids after a great season. They have a great season and the reason they had a great season is because God dang players in the locker room and they leave. I mean that crazy.
robert_poirier (27:56.612)
Thank you. Totally agree.
Right.
pat (28:25.59)
that's the way it is now and I think because of that there might not be as much really that family atmosphere you're talking about we're a family and we're this and we're that and the family you know it's always getting a divorce you know I mean jeez
robert_poirier (28:41.725)
It's great. It's great way to put it. Yeah. Agree. So are you, you're not a big fan of the transfer portal or would you? Yeah. I agree.
pat (28:49.982)
at all. I mean, I think a young man if he wants to transfer there ought to be more else. You got to sit out a year. We used to have a we used to have transfer rules. There's nothing wrong with transferring if you're not happy, but there are consequences.
robert_poirier (29:05.913)
I mean, you see, you see it and you'll, you'll see it coming up with, uh, you know, the second stringers didn't get play in time and Hey, I'm going to, I'm going to transfer. I mean, it's, it's part of it, right?
pat (29:17.47)
Yeah, that's it. I don't like it, but yes, that is a big part of it now.
robert_poirier (29:23.165)
brats.
adam_jennings (29:23.183)
Really for me looking at it, like, I mean, I remember when we would have guys leave or transfer and it's like hitting the reset button as a player. You got to reset all the relationships. You got to get used to and, you know, prove yourself to a new coach. And now it's like, you know, huddle film is every, you know, all this stuff is there, but it just, the reset of the relationships is what I don't like. Like, you know, when...
pat (29:50.058)
Well, I don't know.
adam_jennings (29:52.608)
Yeah.
pat (29:53.61)
aren't as strong as they used to be. There's tons of kids going into this transfer portal. Once again, we only talk about the few that are highly successful. What about all the other ones that lost their scholarship, never got another reset? Nobody talks about that.
adam_jennings (29:56.601)
Yeah.
robert_poirier (30:07.953)
Great, yeah, great point. Right, great point, great point. You're right, you're right. Hey Coach, I think, do what Adam?
adam_jennings (30:08.589)
Yeah.
I was almost like stay exactly where you are and work for it. Yeah. No, I was just like, my thought was, you know, cause like I had so many tough times at Fresno state where, you know, like I'll never forget when Frank Signetti told me it was like, you're never going to start on offense for the remainder of your career. He said this in, in our meeting, our, our January meetings where we would meet the year and I was like, that's a perfect time for somebody to be like,
like hindsight's 2020 is a perfect time for somebody to be like, ah, I'm leaving, but I had nowhere to go. And I knew where I wanted to be. And.
pat (30:51.154)
that's why you're fighting and you still went on and played in the league. I mean there's there's a lot of things and yeah.
adam_jennings (30:59.279)
Yeah. You got to stay where you're at, dude. You can't keep flipping cards and changing directions.
pat (31:05.85)
I agree, I mean, but it happens all the time. I mean, yeah, I don't know the transfer portal kids, you know, we only talk once again, we only talk about the successful ones we never had like when we talk about the NFL, we're only talking about the highly paid guys. We're not talking about the everyday grunt guy, special teamers, you know, guys to do all the practice squad stuff, do all the scout team stuff, all those guys that put
adam_jennings (31:10.445)
Yeah.
pat (31:32.162)
The only ones we ever talk about are the ones that have the huge contract. It's a show. It's more of a... Anything else?
robert_poirier (31:37.197)
Yeah, I think you said it best with the transfer portable. It's a divorce of the family every year.
adam_jennings (31:39.126)
Yeah.
pat (31:43.31)
divorce all and not only yeah it's the children are divorcing the family and the father's divorcing the family happens all the time it's just even you know in my early days of coaching it was very rare for anybody to ever leave a staff I stayed at Fresno for 15 years I had chances to leave and then you know I'm gonna well then you stay too long and they get tired of you you know what do you do
robert_poirier (32:09.729)
Yeah, and now, I mean, gosh, just looking, I was reading news the other day. I mean, you know, there's always an assistant leaving at the end of the season or a lot of times even before the, well, once the season's over with, you know, it's announced. You know, this guy's leaving, that guy's leaving. And you think about Saban and how he's been picked over through the years too with his coaches from Alabama.
pat (32:32.096)
Yeah, but that can also get the top assistants anywhere in the country. I mean after the game I lost five coaches that Monday and we still had two games and a bowl game to go.
robert_poirier (32:36.131)
Yeah.
Yes.
pat (32:43.798)
I mean it's hard, I lost 38 coaches in 15 years, a lot of them, three of them went on to coach offensive coordinator was Saban. I mean I had eight offensive coordinators in 15 years, I mean I was always replacing coaches, that's hard to do. It's very hard to do that now.
robert_poirier (33:00.998)
Yeah, I bet it is.
So let me ask you this, I think of coaching, long hours, you know,
pat (33:12.842)
Yeah, but when you're doing it, you don't realize that it's just part of the job. You just get used to it. It is long.
robert_poirier (33:20.633)
You know, there's long hours, there's especially now moving, uh, you know, moving, uh, locations, you know, different universities. I just think of it like, it could be a drain almost mentally, emotionally and physically at time. Like how did you balance being a coach as well as, uh, being a dad to three sons, how, how, how, how, how did you do that?
pat (33:44.526)
That's the answer. I had a great wife. She raised those boys and a lot of times I'd come home, they'd be asleep. When I'd go to work, they'd be asleep. They were young. She did a great job. She did it. She moved across the country with three babies, a dog. She just did what she had to do.
robert_poirier (33:55.046)
Yeah.
That's amazing. It takes a special person, right? Yeah, yeah. I mean, you've got three successful sons too, so.
pat (34:05.914)
I have a strong partner. Gonna be a coach. Coach Ian.
that uh... delinquent use and another one's going to be a surgeon so you know
adam_jennings (34:27.351)
He's out here. He's actually out here in it.
robert_poirier (34:32.849)
So are you a grandfather yet?
pat (34:34.094)
I got six, six records now. And Zach, work.
robert_poirier (34:36.693)
You have six. Wow. All right. So, so, all right. So as a dad and also a grandfather, drop some pearls of wisdom, like for dads and those that maybe find themselves in. Hate to put you on the spot, but, you know, for those that maybe find themselves in a father type role, what are some words of wisdom, some pearls of wisdom you could drop?
pat (35:00.962)
Well, it's not just spending time with your kids, it's quality time, you know, where you actually listen to them. You know, a lot of times as a father or as a coach, you do all the talking. Sometimes you gotta let them talk. And sometimes, you know, you gotta have an environment where they're comfortable enough to talk.
So I think listening would be one of the biggest pearls you could have. Listen to your children, listen to their problems. Just a lot of times, if they don't think you're gonna listen, why would they open up to you?
robert_poirier (35:40.529)
That's great.
pat (35:42.219)
that a father needs to have or a grandfather. Somebody that a kid can talk to.
robert_poirier (35:49.357)
Well, you obviously those pearls of wisdom, words of wisdom, uh, Adam will bring up the conversation. You'll be like, well, coach Sheila used to say, so you obviously dropped that in your coaching a good bit. You know, that reminds me coach Sheila used to always say this coach. Sheila used to, I mean,
adam_jennings (36:11.615)
You know, if you show up to breakfast in the morning, there is no yawning allowed. You cannot yawn or else the shit storms. Do not yawn. Just don't do it. I don't want to see you yawning. I don't want to see it.
robert_poirier (36:17.437)
Hahaha
pat (36:25.547)
We are not. They didn't get into three in the morning. Or that was two or four. No, you were gone. Yeah, you were there. The Kansas State game with when Scrolls was a kid.
adam_jennings (36:36.659)
Yeah, yep, exactly. We went out there and beat their asses like they stole something. But when we showed up, somebody, I think it was Chico, like somebody roomed with Chico Mackey and he was late for the breakfast. And people were, there were a couple of guys yawning and was like, no yawning!
pat (37:01.103)
Right.
Yeah.
robert_poirier (37:04.582)
All right.
adam_jennings (37:05.251)
And then honestly, like here's the best part of it. It was like Chico showed up late in his roommate. I think it was roommate didn't take care of him. Like just he showed up on time and left Chico in the bed. Right? And so coach was like, what the? He was like, why would you leave your roommate in the bed? Like do not leave your guy behind. And so he shows up late, everybody else is on time. And I was just like.
Somebody yawned, it was, I mean, that was probably one of the best pregame meals I've ever been a part of. Yeah.
pat (37:39.246)
I wanted to take over that one. That was the one didn't didn't. Geron Fairman knocked that kid out at the 50 yard line, just punched him at Kansas State.
adam_jennings (37:50.327)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, so we were going through our warm up, but we were doing our pregame warm up. And like this guy, I think his name was like Eric Berry. He was a D-tap. Yeah, it's pregame. So like I'm jogging through, we're doing our little, you know, our little pregame warm up as wide outs, doing our catches.
robert_poirier (38:00.349)
This was pregame. Oh gosh.
pat (38:00.788)
Yeah.
adam_jennings (38:08.535)
And one of the guys from K-State kept nudging up against people, right? And so we're from California, and I can describe the conditioning in which we were. Like we're like a bunch of psychopaths in the line. So we're catching the ball, he keeps bumping into guys and Jaron eventually keep bumping into a couple more dudes. And Jaron took a full on sprint and hit this kid, this D tackle square in the back.
pat (38:35.85)
Oh wow, it was.
adam_jennings (38:37.579)
Oh, he hit him so hard. And then, and then, so we got like the dude started the fight and we were just like, all right, like stop hitting us, like stop and he kept doing it. I don't know where the guy was from, but Geron took a full sprint and hit this.
pat (38:50.99)
The Terons with Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
adam_jennings (38:54.291)
Yeah, Jaron hit him so hard in the back and then like, you know, things started to go. Those K-State guys, in all honesty, they were a really tough football club but that day they just, they didn't have it. Yeah, like, that was a great fight, dude. That was a great fight. That was a good fight.
robert_poirier (38:56.989)
sure is.
Adam, um...
robert_poirier (39:15.189)
Adam, you think of Coach Hill, what do you think of? And maybe give me a story on Coach Hill, something people won't know. It can be embarrassing, but let's be respectful.
adam_jennings (39:26.555)
I'll tell you. No, no, it's like, well, no. One of my favorite stories, man, is like, we used to go back and forth. The energy and momentum always shifted with us in Hawaii. So, they would come to Fresno and we'd just beat the crap out of them, right? They'd have to, you know, they'd have to fly.
five hours get there drive to Fresno and we beat him 70 to 14 and 20 I think it was 2004 there was one year there was one year that we went out there and I think it was 2003 where we played him on the rock and and so we we had one of those momentum shifts right this is halftime
So just envision we're down at halftime. We got all these, so we had Bernard Barion, we had Bryce McGill, we had all these really good football players on our team. And I'll never forget this because it was so funny. We're down at halftime and Coach Hill's trying to turn the tide, right? So he's trying to get us motivated. And so he says, he's like, he's like, Bryce, come on, let's go. He's like, Bernard, do something. And then he looks back.
This is where the Pro Bowl is hosted. So these are big ass lockers. And he attempts to push one over. Yeah, so he attempts to push it over. And so he gets like about a quarter of the way there. Then he stops. He has to regather himself. This guy's relentless, right? He's relentless. And he ends up regathering himself and pushing this locker all the way over. Gets it down and he's like, boom, the job is done.
pat (40:52.461)
Okay.
robert_poirier (40:53.874)
I'm sorry.
adam_jennings (41:13.267)
The job gets done, but he looks back at us and he's like, that locker's heavy. And watch. That's exactly how I remember it. He's like, dude, he tells all of us to get our shit together, do something, get dumpster. And that's like one of my favorite memories. And it's relentless. It's consistent. He's going until the job gets done. And he's gonna do it the right way. And it was, I mean, that's.
robert_poirier (41:23.453)
Hehehe
adam_jennings (41:42.203)
You had to be in that locker room and to see that happen, that was fucking awesome. Hey, those lockers were heavy as shit though. And it took a while to pick that thing up. A couple of guys picked it up after the game.
pat (41:56.172)
Yeah, that was.
adam_jennings (41:59.843)
Thank you.
robert_poirier (42:02.753)
Took one coach to push it over and another and a few guys to pick it back up, huh?
adam_jennings (42:05.423)
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
robert_poirier (42:16.733)
That's too funny. Hey coach, I am not gonna let you get away without telling me, again, I've known Adam in a professional sense. I did not know him when he was playing ball. But I am sure you have some sort of story or memory of Adam as a college kid, as a player. What was it like to coach him? I mean, what was it? What was it like?
pat (42:42.562)
guy man and we used to call him he was angry he was always angry we used to you know I mean he comes out as a freshman he takes our best receiver he throws him on the ground is gonna strangle him and we have to pull him off him he's always you know he didn't he didn't avoid confrontation at all he was an amazing guy but one of the one of the great stories on Adam is aggressive as he is that fullback I was talking about early or Rashad Bercher was a
robert_poirier (43:06.767)
Right.
adam_jennings (43:07.759)
Hehehe
pat (43:10.126)
And now he was probably five, ten, but he was bowlegged. He would have been six, three, but that's how bowlegged he was. And he was probably about 240 pounds and just yoke. He was our fullback when fullbacks were a popular deal. And I mean, he he could block his tougher nails. I mean, but very quiet, didn't say much. And Adam started teasing about his little girlfriend from England because we used to teach him all the time and act like, you know, he's King Kong. And for that, they'd be.
He was an interesting guy, Rashaun. Well, Adam picked on the wrong guy in the locker room. And but Adam wasn't going to back down and Adam gave him about two jabs right in the face. Rashaun Vircher didn't even budge. He. Had left him.
adam_jennings (43:57.99)
I'm telling you, it didn't work. It was a bad idea.
robert_poirier (44:01.681)
Hahaha
pat (44:02.686)
Yeah, that was a bad idea. That was the wrong guy, but you know, that's typical of him. He didn't know how to back down. He wouldn't.
robert_poirier (44:13.306)
That's great.
adam_jennings (44:14.023)
I'll tell you right now, I jabbed him twice and he just looked right at me and I was just like, oh shit. Hopefully, like, I was like, hopefully Big Lou and these people can break this thing up.
pat (44:19.659)
Oh.
Yeah. A couple really quick shots in on him. Didn't even, he didn't even budge twice. His face went like that probably. That's a big call.
robert_poirier (44:30.161)
Didn't even phase them.
adam_jennings (44:35.199)
He just, like, as I think Jaron said, he was like, he ate both of them. He was just like, mm, mm, mm, and then proceeded to tackle me into the locker. And I was just, I was hoping for survival. I was like.
pat (44:43.278)
You're on.
the game at the hotel. Oh man that was you know that you mean you deal with things like that were before the game I got to go to the locker room until drawn what's happened. And so he gets out of his uniform and all of a sudden it's the fourth quarter and here comes strong number 18 coming down the ramp and we put him in and he scored and but you know just you know there's so many memories of so many different things that happen you know in 50 years of Fresno State that's
adam_jennings (44:56.109)
Yep.
pat (45:20.546)
That's four or five complete freshman classes rolling through there. So that's a lot of guys.
robert_poirier (45:27.325)
That is a lot of guys.
adam_jennings (45:28.932)
I still have that Fresno beat picture of him celebrating. Yeah, yeah, I have it. I gotta send it back to him. That was a crazy minute. He scored on a fly sweep over to the left. That was crazy.
pat (45:33.246)
Oh, do you? Yeah, that was a...
Yeah, there's also.
pat (45:48.314)
Yeah, and then there's the tough times where, you know, I had a big offensive center that in 2006, you know, I was an all conference center like two years in a row, senior year. That's the one year that we didn't have a winning season in 06 and had a bad year, tough year. So he wasn't a big, he didn't like to go to class anyway. And, uh, he wouldn't go to class. I mean, great player. I mean, but.
adam_jennings (46:09.679)
and y'all call young.
Yeah.
pat (46:15.266)
That's the way it is. You're not going to go to class. Um, then you're not playing. So, and Marcellus Armstrong probably could have been a great player at Fresno State. He started both ways and punt returned as a freshman and, uh, he wouldn't go to class either and pretty soon it gets to the point where you put them on a three strike deal, three strikes and you're out and they don't quite understand that you're serious, I guess. And as soon as three strikes are there, you're out. Doesn't matter who you are, you know, and you got to have that because if you don't then, uh,
There's got to be an or else factor in life as a child, as a player, as a coach, as an employee, as an owner of a company, you've got to have an or else factor or...
adam_jennings (46:57.027)
Yeah, in my correctance, coach Baxter told me this story. I think you may have told him, Marcellus got, he was the guy that got arrested and hauled out at Rice, right? For what?
pat (47:09.566)
I mean, or all of a sudden, I'm hey, where's Marcellus back? There's punt return and he points over towards the tunnel and the police are handcuffed him in his uniform, taking him up the ramp. Yeah, you got.
adam_jennings (47:22.584)
I'm sorry.
robert_poirier (47:22.592)
Really?
adam_jennings (47:26.804)
Dude, that's crazy.
robert_poirier (47:28.913)
Just.
pat (47:29.055)
If you're around it long enough, you see some strange things.
robert_poirier (47:32.913)
Oh, I can't imagine. I can't imagine, you know, but like you're talking about all the tough love that you gave out and.
pat (47:40.182)
Yeah, it's. It's.
robert_poirier (47:41.345)
You're preparing them for life. I mean, you said it with work with, you know, whether you're presenting a proposal to a, to a company. I mean, you don't get a second chance. I mean, you've got, you have to be prepared. You know, for that first opportunity, that one opportunity.
pat (47:50.682)
Go.
Listen to a lot of people talk about tough love and when it comes down to it. They're soft not easy to Tell kids things they need to hear if you know you want to you want them to like you But it's not a matter of them liking you It's a matter of giving them direction in anything whether you're if you own a company you got to be the same way If you sugarcoat it all the time, you're never gonna get the production that you need
robert_poirier (48:24.177)
That, that is so true. You know, I told him, I have two boys that are both in middle school and we had a talk not too long ago. I was just crawling all over both of them about something. And, um, I just told her that, you know, they were looking at me so odd. I'm like, look, I'm not your friend. I'm your parent. I'm your dad. One day we'll be friends right now. I'm your dad. And this is the way it is. And I feel like right now with parents.
pat (48:49.559)
That's good.
robert_poirier (48:53.606)
So many with parents, it's this friendship. Yeah, I'm kind of the superior, but I'm also gonna be your best friend. And I think that's hurting a lot with society.
pat (49:00.913)
Oh.
country right now.
robert_poirier (49:07.845)
Yeah, exactly, exactly. That and all the participation trophies. Well, coach, I cannot, we cannot thank you enough. I mean, it has been a pleasure. Adam has, again, I know I've said it numerous times, he's spoken so highly of you. I get it, I understand. I mean, you know, when Adam and I were talking, I told him, I said, look, I have three or four pages of questions I could ask him. And hopefully we'll see you again on here in the future. Would love to have you back.
pat (49:10.894)
Yeah.
robert_poirier (49:37.685)
I've got questions from when you were with the Falcons, the different players there, just so many more. But again, thank you for joining us.
pat (49:46.766)
Well, I'm going to tell you what, I did a visit to that guy right there, Adam. Adam's one of those special guys that you'll remember for the rest of your life. I love that guy.
adam_jennings (49:52.325)
Thanks.
I appreciate you coach. Thank you so much. And I'll tell you right now, the fight has just started. I'm back on the football field and I'm a maniac again.
pat (50:05.838)
coach coach Jennings. Alright guys.
robert_poirier (50:08.773)
There you go, Coach Jennings. Coach Hill, Coach Jennings. All right. There you go. All right, thank you all for listening to Dad Dad's podcast. You can find us on Spotify, Apple podcast, as well as on YouTube and Instagram. And don't forget to hit that subscribe button. Thank you all.
adam_jennings (50:12.314)
They have no idea what's going on in the southeast. Yep.
pat (50:17.679)
We're trying to find a picture.
pat (50:27.606)
Alright, see you guys.
adam_jennings (50:28.559)
Hold on, let me see if we can't. All right.