Mentors

The Orange Crush is what they called the Broncos defense when I arrived to Denver. In 1977 the Broncos had shocked the football world by beating the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs to make it to the Super Bowl. That was six years earlier, and it was time to begin turning over the roster. We had thirteen rookies make the team including Gary Kubiak, John Elway, and me. The veterans welcomed us, showed us how to be pros, and how to be Broncos.  I still have lots of friends who were veterans on that team, but I never found a mentor. A mentor is someone who took me under his wing, answered all my questions, and held me accountable. I didn’t even know enough to look for a mentor.

I was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 12th round. The Broncos also drafted linebacker Weedy Harris in the 6th round of the 1983 draft. Including Weedy, the list that follows is a list of linebackers picked higher than me during my career with the team. It’s true that we played with 4 linebackers on the field much of the time, but most years my spot in the starting lineup and on the roster was challenged by younger, more highly rated draft choices. The Broncos drafted linebacker Aaron Smith in the 6th round and traded for rookie linebacker Ricky Hunley in 1984. Ricky was a 1st rounder, the seventh pick in the 84 draft. The Bengals couldn’t sign him so they traded him. The Broncos drafted linebackers Simon Fletcher in the 2nd round and Ron Anderson in the 10th  round of the 1985 draft. In the 1986 draft the Broncos picked linebackers Ray Phillips in the 7th round and Bruce Klosterman in the 8th round. The Broncos drafted linebackers Michael Brooks in the 3rd round, Mark Munford in the 4th round, and Rafe Wilkinson in the 10th round of the 1987 NFL Draft.  In the 1990 draft Denver picked linebackers Jeroy Robinson in the 4th round and Anthony Thompson in the 10th round.  In the 1st round of the 1991 draft the Broncos picked linebacker Mike Croel and they drafted linebacker Keith Traylor in the 3rd round. After a couple of years and too many hamburgers, Keith was moved to defensive line and had an amazing 17 year NFL career as a defensive tackle. The Broncos drafted two more linebackers in the 1994 draft: Allen Aldridge in the 2nd round and Keith Burns in the 7th round.

Out of that long list the one guy I would say I actively mentored was Keith Burns. Of all the things I did and didn’t do in my NFL career, the one thing I would do differently would be to actively mentor more of my teammates. At the time I thought that coaches should coach and the players should play. Mentoring and teaching was the coaches job. I was a gameday leader, a leader of the team chapel, a leader by example, and a team captain, but I didn’t take advantage of the opportunity I had to be a one on one mentor to young guys. When they draft someone at your position he’s there to take your job. You need to be very secure and confident to help him do that.  I’ve been retired from football for 25 years now and I’m just now realizing the opportunity I missed. I see the relationship that mentor Dennis Smith still has with his teammate and mentee Steve Atwater and it makes me think “why didn’t I.” An old football player is in his early 30’s. Most other careers give you longer to come to my conclusion and regret. Mentor a teammate or two. Your team will be better for it, and you’ll build relationships that last.