A Father’s Day message to the NFL

This op-ed originally appeared in The Washington Post on June 16, 2024. 

Each Father’s Day, we reflect on fathers’ devotion across America. Being a father to my own children has been my most challenging coaching job, but it is also the greatest privilege life has bestowed upon me. As a former head football coach, I hold dear another profound role: being a father figure to my players.

Football has taught me wonderful lessons in fatherhood. It’s about making tough decisions, experiencing loss and discouragement, and most of all, making personal sacrifices for the team. I’ve coached countless players who grew up without a father in the home, and I made it my goal to build good players and also to build good fathers — fathers with the courage to rise to the occasion and embrace responsibility.

I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care. More fulfilling to me than winning a national championship was seeing my players break the cycle of fatherlessness that plagues our country.

Read the full op-ed in The Washington Post here.