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Mac & Bone Show - Paul Domowitch Interview · Mac & Bone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Right now, let's talk about one of the all time greats,
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  Speaker 1: one of the guys who is still an inspiration to
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: these Panther players. Heck, every time they pick up their jersey,
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  Speaker 1: they see the words keep pounding on the inside of
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: that jersey, and it inspires them. And those were the
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  Speaker 1: words of the great Sam Mills as he was coaching
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  Speaker 1: the Panthers in three during that Super Bowl season, and
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  Speaker 1: as he was a coach on the staff, and it's
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  Speaker 1: going to forever be a mantra of the team. He
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  Speaker 1: also uttered a great phrase bone as he was trying
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  Speaker 1: to get a chance and people were counting him out
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  Speaker 1: as being too small in his rise in football, he
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  Speaker 1: asked for a chance to fail. And that the title
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  Speaker 1: of the book about Sam Mills that is a great read,
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  Speaker 1: just give me a chance to fail, The Life the
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  Speaker 1: Life of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Mills. It
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  Speaker 1: is written by longtime Philadelphia sportswriter football writer Paul Domowitch,
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  Speaker 1: and Paul joins us here to talk about his book,
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  Speaker 1: which is just perfect, perfect read for Panthers fans right now. Paul,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for coming on, man. How you doing.
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  Speaker 2: I'm doing well. Thanks for having me guys.
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  Speaker 1: So when did you when in what was the process
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  Speaker 1: of deciding I want to write about Sam Mills, How'd
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  Speaker 1: you come up with that? And why did you think
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  Speaker 1: his story was so important to tell?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, He's always been a guy that's been on my
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  Speaker 2: mind because I've been on the Pro Football Hall of
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  Speaker 2: Fame selection committee since two thousand and two, which was
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  Speaker 2: even before Sam was diagnosed with cancer, and I saw
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I covered him in eighty four, in eighty
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  Speaker 2: three eighty four in Philadelphia. I knew how, I knew
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  Speaker 2: what kind of player he was. But he's always been
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  Speaker 2: on my mind because I was trying to get him into.
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  Speaker 3: The Hall of Fame.
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  Speaker 2: And I took a buyout from the in Philadelphia inquir
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  Speaker 2: in twenty twenty one, and I knew I wanted to
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  Speaker 2: write a book after I was after I retired, and
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  Speaker 2: Sam was right at the top of the list of
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  Speaker 2: people I wanted to write about. I mean, I enjoy
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  Speaker 2: writing about people that are you know, that inspire, you know,
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  Speaker 2: subjects that iron move people, and Sam is as inspirational
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  Speaker 2: as anybody I've ever covered.
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  Speaker 4: Paul In order for the Key Pounding Matra to be
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  Speaker 4: what it became and what we know of him here
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  Speaker 4: with the statue and of course the Saints years before that.
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  Speaker 4: He had a pretty unique journey to even get to
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  Speaker 4: the NFL. What was it like for young Sam to
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  Speaker 4: even reach the point where he was a Pro Bowl
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  Speaker 4: linebacker with the Saints?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean not easy obviously, Guys, you know, he
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  Speaker 2: was a five to nine linebacker, always told he was
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  Speaker 2: too you know, I mean, nobody would.
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  Speaker 3: Believe their eyes.
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  Speaker 2: I mean they look at film. You know, I'm talking
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  Speaker 2: college coaches, Division one coaches that ignored him even though
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  Speaker 2: they could look at the film and see him dominate
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  Speaker 2: in high school. NFL scouts and coaches when he got
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  Speaker 2: to the you know when he was when he went
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  Speaker 2: undrafted in nineteen eighty one. I mean, they just refused
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  Speaker 2: to believe that he could play. I mean even Jim Mora,
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  Speaker 2: who ended up bringing him to New Orleans and ultimately
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  Speaker 2: presenting him in the Hall of Fame and calling him
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  Speaker 2: the uh, you know, the best player he's ever coached,
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  Speaker 2: which includes Peyton Manning.
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  Speaker 3: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: Even he didn't, you know, felt the guy needed to
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  Speaker 2: be cut originally until he was convinced otherwise. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: I mean Sam Sam's attitude was just just give me
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  Speaker 2: a chance to fail. Just give me a fair opportunity.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he didn't get one in Cleveland when they
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  Speaker 2: cut him, even though he had an outstanding camp. He
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  Speaker 2: didn't get one in Toronto. You know, the the United
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  Speaker 2: States Football League came along just at the right time.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, otherwise Sam would have gotten into high school
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  Speaker 2: teaching and coaching and we never would have heard from him.
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  Speaker 3: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: And the stars were, you know, the flame that got
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  Speaker 2: him noticed and got him attention and and allowed him
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  Speaker 2: to show what he could do. And and you know
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  Speaker 2: the rest is history, guys, including his three great years
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  Speaker 2: with the Panthers.
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  Speaker 1: You and and you talk, you talk in the book
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  Speaker 1: about the amount like Bill Pollyan was a guy that
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  Speaker 1: you talk about in the book, initially coming out of
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  Speaker 1: after he thought he was too small. Of course, eventually
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  Speaker 1: he saw the light and signed him here in Carolina.
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  Speaker 1: But yeah, he was doubted all along, but the size
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  Speaker 1: of his heart was immense. Uh, Let's talk about the
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  Speaker 1: Saint Cheers first, even though Panther fans are probably like,
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  Speaker 1: get to the Panther stuff, dang it. But let's talk
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  Speaker 1: about the Saint Hiers because man, he spent so much
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  Speaker 1: time there and that linebacking corps like they were. I know,
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  Speaker 1: they couldn't win a dang playoff game, but my god,
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  Speaker 1: that those linebackers were stacked. Talk about his time in
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  Speaker 1: New Orleans because that, you know, even though we love
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  Speaker 1: him here in Carolina, man, that the story though, that
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  Speaker 1: was a big part of his story.
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  Speaker 3: Man.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know he went there. Ricky Jackson was the
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  Speaker 2: only one of those linebackers there at the time, the
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  Speaker 2: Dome Patrol.
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  Speaker 4: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: They added Pat Swilling and Von Johnson. Von Johnson came
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  Speaker 2: with Sam from the USFL and they became, in my belief,
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  Speaker 2: the best linebacking corps in the history of the league.
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  Speaker 3: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: I mean they were just but Sam was the leader
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  Speaker 2: of that group. I mean he was I mean Vick
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  Speaker 2: Fanjo who coached the linebackers for for Jim for nine
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  Speaker 2: years there.
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  Speaker 3: Uh, you know said he was the you know, he.
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  Speaker 2: Was the physical, the spiritual, the schematic leader of that
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  Speaker 2: that that linebacker crew. I mean, he just they followed
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  Speaker 2: his lead. They he told him where that what was coming.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, he was so smart, such a voracious film
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  Speaker 2: watcher that he you know, he never was fooled and
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  Speaker 2: he was able to share that with his defense. The
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  Speaker 2: unfortunate part in the New Orleans guys is they just
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  Speaker 2: never had a very good offense and that that would
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  Speaker 2: always be their downfall in those four playoff losses. Uh,
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  Speaker 2: you know, they they just Jim Morris was a great
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  Speaker 2: coach to a degree, but he just he believed you
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  Speaker 2: could win with a great defense. And in there, in
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  Speaker 2: there they also had a Hall of Fame kicker and
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  Speaker 2: Morton Anderson that that would be enough, and it never was.
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  Speaker 2: I mean it would, it would get them to a point,
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  Speaker 2: it would get them to the playoffs. But they never
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  Speaker 2: won a playoff game under Jim in New Orleans and
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  Speaker 2: that was I think that hurt. That hurts Sam as
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  Speaker 2: far as how long it took him to get into
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  Speaker 2: the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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  Speaker 1: One one one one here, dang it bad.
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  Speaker 4: The book is just give me a chance to fail,
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  Speaker 4: The Life of NFL Hall of Fame Why Backer Sam Mills.
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  Speaker 4: The author Paul Domowitch with us. It is available tomorrow
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  Speaker 4: Panther fans and made sure you order Paul's book. You
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  Speaker 4: can tell you put a lot of heart into him.
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  Speaker 4: Looks like Sam put a lot of heart in the stuff.
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  Speaker 4: Paul's heart is in this book, Paul. We know the
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  Speaker 4: inspirational guy that Sam Mills became and still is today.
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  Speaker 4: But in your research of Sam's life leading up to
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  Speaker 4: his football career, where do you think that inspirational might
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  Speaker 4: set that big heart? Where did it come from? And
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  Speaker 4: his upbringing?
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  Speaker 2: I think his mom was a big influence on him.
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  Speaker 2: You know, she looked I mean, he probably was that
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  Speaker 2: she had five twelve children. But I you know, from
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  Speaker 2: talking to his other siblings, I think Sam.
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  Speaker 3: Was the favorite. Uh.
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  Speaker 2: She loved him, and I think she was a giving person,
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  Speaker 2: uh and and a woman of faith. And I think
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  Speaker 2: a lot of that uh uh you know was inherited
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  Speaker 2: by Sam. And you know, and I think that.
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  Speaker 3: The struggles he endured during his career early on as
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  Speaker 3: a you know, growing up and then you know, in
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  Speaker 3: high school and in college, I think a lot of
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  Speaker 3: that helped shape him.
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  Speaker 2: For what was to come.
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk about the years here in Charlotte. There were
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  Speaker 1: only three years, but it was enough to get him
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  Speaker 1: honored with a statue. That's how much Jerry Richardson that
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  Speaker 1: how much everybody with the organization thought of him. I
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  Speaker 1: guess at that point there were probably there were probably
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  Speaker 1: people thinking he's too old. You know, maybe that became
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  Speaker 1: maybe they proved, hey, at this size, I can play.
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  Speaker 1: But I think at that point maybe people were still
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  Speaker 1: surprised to see that defense that he played with in
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  Speaker 1: that ninety six season, the second Panther season, that that
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  Speaker 1: was a special season here for Panther fans.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, making it to all the way to
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  Speaker 2: the NFC Championship Game in the second season of your existence.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Sam was I mean, he was thirty five
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  Speaker 2: going on thirty six when they signed him, thirty seven
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  Speaker 2: in that ninety six season, and as the first team
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  Speaker 2: All Pro that year. I mean, that's just that's just
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  Speaker 2: like boggles the mind. Aside from quarterbacks, I don't know
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  Speaker 2: that there's been very many other players that have been
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  Speaker 2: that old and been first team All Pros. But I mean,
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  Speaker 2: he was just such an important part of that defense.
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  Speaker 2: You know, one of the most telling interviews I did
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  Speaker 2: was with Kevin Steele, who was the inside linebackers coach
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  Speaker 2: on that team. You know, Kevin came from the college game.
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  Speaker 2: Don Capers had hired him, and you know, he had
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  Speaker 2: never coached in the pros, and he said he learned
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  Speaker 2: more about coaching from Sam in those first two years
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  Speaker 2: than from any of the coaches on the staff, including Dom.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, and having a guy like that to rely
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  Speaker 2: on just made made Kevin that much better a coach.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, he talked about a time when he forgot
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  Speaker 2: he was supposed to be he was the guy that
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  Speaker 2: called in the plays and he forgot. He just completely
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  Speaker 2: blew a call once forgot it, and Sam just you know,
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  Speaker 2: unfazed on the field, just looks at him, realizes that
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  Speaker 2: he forgot it, just turns around and calls the play
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  Speaker 2: that he expected Vics fans you know, to call anyway,
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  Speaker 2: and it was the right call. They made a stop
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  Speaker 2: on the play.
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  Speaker 1: That's tremendous. Paul.
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  Speaker 4: How much impact when he was coaching did he have
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  Speaker 4: on current Panthers GM, Dan Morgan well.
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  Speaker 2: As Dan points out in the book, a lot. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: they became close friends, even though that you know, the
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  Speaker 2: funny thing is Dan was the first round pick, you know,
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  Speaker 2: who didn't need to make people believe he and you
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  Speaker 2: give him a chance to fail. Like Sam. Sam's an
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  Speaker 2: undrafted player who had to go through a spring league
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  Speaker 2: to get into the NFL, and yet they bonded. You know,
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  Speaker 2: that was the kind of the beauty of Sam as
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  Speaker 2: a coach. He could he could relate to players that were,
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  Speaker 2: you know, high pedigree, and also the players like himself
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  Speaker 2: coming out that were undrafted.
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  Speaker 1: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I thought one of the best interviews, one
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  Speaker 2: of one of my favorite interviews in the book is
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  Speaker 2: he is the one he did, is I the one
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  Speaker 2: I did with Steve Smith. I mean, Steve Smith's a
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  Speaker 2: wide receiver on that team, but you know, Sam's the
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  Speaker 2: linebacker coach. And Sam realized that, you know, Richard Williamson,
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  Speaker 2: the wide receiver coach, was kind of being hard on
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  Speaker 2: on Steve, and Steve was not reacting well to it.
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  Speaker 2: He wasn't getting on the field as a wide receiver
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  Speaker 2: as a rookie. And Sam kind of took him under
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  Speaker 2: his wing and and and helped him deal with the
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  Speaker 2: adversity early on. And Steve never forgot that. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: his interview with me was I was touched. I mean
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  Speaker 2: it was when I when we got done, and he
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  Speaker 2: told me the story about you know, his son dying
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  Speaker 2: Arab being born, Sam dying the day before his son
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  Speaker 2: was born.
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  Speaker 3: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: And you know he still remembers that every year, you know,
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  Speaker 2: every year he celebrates his son's birthday. He remembers Sam's
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  Speaker 2: death is just amazing.
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  Speaker 1: No, that's a tremendous part of the book, no doubt
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  Speaker 1: about it. Panther fans, it's it's a read you're going
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  Speaker 1: to love. It is just give me a chance to fail.
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  Speaker 1: It's the life of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Sam Mills,
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  Speaker 1: and it's written by UH sports writer playing.
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  Speaker 4: Watching Louke Keikley go in. Have this book right there.
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  Speaker 4: You can celebrate both guys. One percent. I also have
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: to bring this up to you. One of the parts
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  Speaker 4: of the book that that cracked me up is that
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  Speaker 4: Sam when he was done his playing career here in
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  Speaker 4: Carolina and retires, and of course he did it with
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: an announcement after his last game. He didn't want a fanfare.
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  Speaker 4: Of course that's the way he was right. But he's
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  Speaker 4: trying to decide what do I do with my life now?
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  Speaker 4: And I guess it was between like staying in football
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  Speaker 4: and the way you write it is. Jerry Richardson told him,
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  Speaker 4: you name the job, you want the building, you're gonna
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  Speaker 4: get it. But it was beating that and insurance salesman,
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: what was what the it sound like? His own family
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  Speaker 4: had to tell you you can't sell insurance.
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  Speaker 1: Why what was up with that? Do you know why
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  Speaker 1: that was a possibility for him?
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  Speaker 2: You know, I got to believe that he you know,
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  Speaker 2: somehow or there was an insurance man that he liked
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  Speaker 2: or had an effect on him. He thought it might
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: be a job he'd like. But yeah, his own family.
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  Speaker 2: Same thing with being you know, when he when he
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: was with the Saints, he worked as a in the
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: in Tom Benson's car dealerships, and he thought that might
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  Speaker 2: be a future for him and his own family was
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: one of his sons had a hilarious story about you
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  Speaker 2: know that if Sam ever became a car salesman, he said,
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  Speaker 2: my dad would my dad would probably tell the guy, hey,
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  Speaker 2: you can go down the street and get this car
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: for a thousand dollars two nice too nice to do exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And it was the same thing with he definitely picked
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  Speaker 2: the right profession when he decided to get in the coach.
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  Speaker 1: My got you talk about you know Morgan at Smith
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  Speaker 1: and what he how he impacted them, and then you
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  Speaker 1: had to keep pounding moment in three when he has
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  Speaker 1: the cam So, I mean, what an impact MA think
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: he had made the right choice.
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  Speaker 4: What what do you think Sam would say today if
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: he was around and he was in the Pro Football
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: Hall of Fame, but also that the key pounding speech
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: would resonate, you know, twenty plus years later like it is.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, he'd be very humble, I'm sure you know.
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  Speaker 2: I mean one of the the interview that that that
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  Speaker 2: I'll never forget is the one I did with him
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  Speaker 2: seven months before he died, guys, where he said how
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  Speaker 2: blessed he was. You know, I'm standing there thinking to myself,
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  Speaker 2: you're dying at forty three, you were you know, you
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: were diagnosed with cancer. How can you feel blessed right now?
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  Speaker 2: I'd be wallowing and self pity. And this guy was
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: just I mean, that was that was Sam, as you
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: guys know from how he was as the player and
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: coach when he was alive there that you know, he
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: just never there was never a negative thought that ran
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: through his body.
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  Speaker 3: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that's the you know, he would he
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: would look back on all this and just be honored
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  Speaker 2: and humble everything that's happened to him as far as
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: you know, how he's how he's remembered down there twenty
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: plus years after his death, you know, in the Hall
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  Speaker 2: of Fame, in his last year of eligibility. I mean,
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: it's just he would be he would tell you he
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: feels blessed.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's awesome. He deserves.
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: We have a lot of Texters, Paul, that are going
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: to buy the book, which is a testament to the
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: work that you've done. And also it's really something mat
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: that a lot of our Texters are buying a book.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: So this is really it's really a lot of work
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: you've done here, Paul.
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah, check it out.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: Tell tell them if any of them are going to
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Canton for Kickley's induction, I'll be out there signing books.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Make sure they come by and say hello.
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  Speaker 1: Nice. So, any other specifics you want to give, I mean,
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: I assume Amazon and anywhere you can buy books. Any
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: other specifics you want to give on this.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm going to be down there at some point,
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  Speaker 2: probably in September for a book sign at least one
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  Speaker 2: book signing, so I hope people will come out and and.
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  Speaker 1: Say hello, awesome. All right, great work, Paul, Thanks for
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: thanks for joining us to talk about Good luck with
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: it man.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me on to talk about it.
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Guys, takes care,