Latest / Cover IV Podcast / Section IV Student-Athlete to Super Bowl Champion with Joe Gilbert

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Section IV Student-Athlete to Super Bowl Champion with Joe Gilbert · Cover IV Podcast

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Cover Four.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Section Four football fan district year five.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm coaching I'll be your home.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Our guest is Super Bowl Champion Joe Gilbert.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Joe.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Tim, how are you?
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: And uh thank you again for uh taking the time to have your conversation with us.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Super Bowl Champion has got kind of a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's got a real good ring to it.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't know if I'll ever get uh uh sick of hearing that that one that you want a Super Bowl, that's for sure.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, and that actually does come with a very nice ring.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's something that you and I are gonna discuss later because we're gonna we're gonna set up one of your brothers because I'm sure he's talked some some trash to you about some championships that he's been through.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: And uh we we I got a great story for that one, literally the night of the Super Bowl.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll share that with you that crack up about.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's what that's what we want to hear.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: We want to hear those behind the scenes kind of things that that uh people don't necessarily get to hear.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: They don't they see you either on the sideline or in the booth, and that's about it.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: But there's a lot that goes on in your profession.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, first of all, I'd be remiss if we didn't congratulate you, the Tampa Bay organization, and your family on being a Super Bowl champ.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you very much.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, really appreciate it.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was a uh just an unbelievable ride, you know, especially when we got into the playoffs and and things kind of started taking off a little bit.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And uh to win on the road three straight games and then come back and win it home and do something that no one's ever done is uh really special.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was gonna touch on that.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh when you do something that's the first, and nobody else will be able to do this, they won't be able to replicate.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: It could happen three or four more times, but they were not the first to do it.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: And not only did you win the Super Bowl as the home team, you did it very decisively with your guys, what I call the team inside the team, your guys up front on offense, and the defensive side of the ball dominated the line of scrimmage as well.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a huge uh formula for success, and we'll get into that a little bit later.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: But I know that as a as a coach, you are away from your family a lot.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're away from you, you're away from them.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I know your wife Cheryl, your daughter Mattis, and your three sons, Nicholas, Joseph, and Timothy.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: I know that you know they miss you a lot of time, and and you miss spending a lot of time with them, but your your organization is more unique than most, and maybe some do this, but your coach, the head coach of Tampa Bay, Bruce Arians, and you guys affectionately call him BA, he has a little bit of a different approach to this.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I want you to let our let us know what he actually said to you guys if you guys missed your kids' events.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh, you know, the first time we got together, and I mean, it's BA, first of all, isn't one for a lot of meetings, you know, and uh they're very to the point.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, whatever the discussion or the topic are that day, um, it's like, hey, you know, get to it and get it over with and move on and you know, maximize your time in the office.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, the one thing he said that day is said, listen, if you guys have something with your kids, a recital, uh play, uh uh music event, a sporting event, you go.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, um, I've hired all of you to do a job.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: I trust you that you're gonna do that job.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, trust you, you're not gonna take advantage of that.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but if literally if you miss anything with your kids, I will fire you.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, that's exactly what he said, you know.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it it's out of courtesy, you go down the hallway and you say to BA and Byron, because I'm on the offensive side of the ball, and say, hey, you know, I've got something with the kids or something like that.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and they're great.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, see you later, you know, because they know you're gonna get your work done, you know.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that part of it's uh very good.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that means a lot, not only to you, but obviously your family, because you get to to do that.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: But when you have somebody that you're you know, get you're leading and you treat them like that and they feel appreciated, they feel that freedom, they're gonna do uh way above and beyond what's normally the call of duty.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: So that goes that goes a long way.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: You you are correct, Tim, with that.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I think to elaborate on that a little bit, you know, um I you know, the only level of football I have not coached is high school.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And but the one thing I think, you know, you have in college is you build that connection with the guys over the, you know, you recruit them, you know, and then you go and you have them for four years, you know, or three, whatever it might be, but you have them for a considerable amount of time.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: You understand that you're kind of they're pairing away from home.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you build a special bond with them, you know.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you're here in the NFL, it's a little different in the sense that you're dealing with grown men.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but at the end of the day, the one thing that I've learned and I do think makes a difference is that, you know, they know that they want to know that you actually care about them.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is their livelihood.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I don't care if it's uh uh a guy that's on a second contract or a rookie, you know, you're dealing with guys that, you know, at the end of the day, like you said, are spending a ton of time.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're spending a ton of time with each other.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think that the misnomer or the part of not building that relationship at the end of the day is wrong.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I I had some unbelievable text messages after the Super Bowl from guys that I coached at the Colts that probably were the ones that are most meaningful to me, um, you know, from Anthony Costanzo and and Gazner Churles, um, the guys that that sent text messages with a note in it and just, you know, made made me say, wow, you know, I I did, I did build that relationship.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't always easy, you know, it wasn't always, you know, clear, fun, and you know, hey, you know, we had our ups and downs, just like you do with your own family.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, to have that relationship was, and now still have it, it just meant the world to me.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's probably the one thing that's a misnomer that people think, oh, you're, you know, it's strictly all business.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're coaching them, they're making their money, and that's it.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, I Donovan Smith, who I love to death, our left tackle, you know, I think, you know, um, I really built a relationship with him and and he got to the point where he trusted me and we had to change some things with his stance or whatever, you know, it took him a little bit of a transition, but probably played his best football that he's played the last eight games of the season.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: So um, and I'm excited about that.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that he bought into that and he realized that I was there to help him, not for any other reason.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And if I help him, he helps us as a team and we're better as a team, and you know, and then we turn that into wins.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that's all we're at the end of the day, we're all trying to get done.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: And that's pretty cool because you actually see what I call an aha moment with him, whether it was physically emotional, you know, on his face or in his body, when he actually got what you were talking about and and sharing that knowledge when he actually applied it and it worked.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it's great when they get those aha moments.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: I can remember a young student athlete, this was, I believe, the JV level, he was a linebacker, and I was teaching him how to watch the watch the cutback lanes when he's scraping across the back and the back's like swinging around in the backfield to watch that cutback lane because we were getting burnt, you know.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: The back had really good back, and he would put his foot in the ground and bang, he was going back to the cut up uh cutback lane.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I was teaching him to to lag just a little bit, you don't want to get ahead of him.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: And he started lighting guys up in the hole.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there were train wrecks, and he he come over to me, goes, Oh coach, he goes, I can't believe that.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: I said, Yeah, you were you actually were running uh too aggressive, you're running right past it, and and you're leaving the cutback lane.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: He says, Yeah, you come in the cutback lane, and there it was.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: So those aha moments, and you won't necessarily get them just now, you're gonna get them probably the rest of your life.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Guys are gonna call you and say, Hey, Joe, you remember when you told me, well, I applied this in business, or I applied this here, you know, or I said that to my grandkids, or you know, that kind of stuff.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's the real meaningful, I think, part of coaching is the the stuff.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you love the the camaraderie, the competitiveness, you know, you get out there and play, but there's the the other aspect of the the that kind of personal, it's just it's it just you can't put it into words.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, you're right.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's funny you said that.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: I remember uh my first coaching job ever, I was with Bob Ford at the University of Albany.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And there are two things I can remember.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: He said to us, you know, and and back then, you know, he had a um, he was known for putting a lot of guys into coaching.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And he had a, you know, we would come in and a lot of his staff, because it was division three and they had a you know a certain number of full-time assistants, and he built the rest of the staff with young coaches that he and the full-time guys coached and you know, brought us up through the profession.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll never forget, he he said, you know, there's a couple things, guys, I'm gonna share with you.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: He said, first of all, look to your left and look to your right, because two of you won't make it in this profession, you know.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's too hard, you're not gonna want to move around.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's you know, for whatever reasons, you know, it's just not gonna work.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: And uh sure enough, I look back and he was right with that one, you know, just because of the, as you said earlier, the time where you spent away from your family and and moving around and uh that part of it.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then the other one, he he was a stickler for time to be beyond time.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, there's a saying he said was to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is to be forgotten.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I say that to my own kids all the time.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing the guys that I talk to in business, uh, friends of mine, it's like you you would be amazed how hard it is just to get someone to show up to go to work on time.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, it's sad, but you know, you hire somebody to do a plumbing job or electrician job, you're happy the guy just shows up on time.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's half the battle.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, you know, I try to, I'm always early, you know, and uh I say that to my kids and they roll their eyes, but they can recite it now.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they got the they get it.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's funny you said that, but that's that's the way it is.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: We need more parents that, and I'm talking to Joe the parent, not Joe the coach.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: We need more parents that do those kind of things.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that's it's not really tough love at that point, it's really being honest and being fair and doing what you should be doing, passing forward things that that you learn.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: One of the I coach in business, and one of the things I coach is is meetings.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I hate to be in a meeting and somebody say, Well, let's wait a few minutes and let the stragglers come here.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I say no.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: I said, You have a one o'clock meeting, we start the meeting at one o'clock.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: If they come in or if the doors are locked and they can't get in, oh well, the message will get around and they won't do that next time.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: And it because you you send in the wrong message, you're not valuing the people's time that get there on time, and then eventually they're gonna well, they don't care about time, so I'm gonna be a straggler too.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, you're right.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of lessons to learn.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and George O'Leary was, you know, he was one that, you know, uh coach was always hard, but you know, fair, and and I'll never forget he, you know, you knew when he walked in the room the meeting was gonna start.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the meeting might be scheduled at 7 a.m., but it might start at 6:30 a.m.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so everybody on the safe side would usually sit at the round table about 6:30 a.m.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: with a cup of coffee or whatever.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And just like you're saying about the stragglers, true story.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: So we're playing, it's a seven o'clock at night game.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: We're at home and we're staying with we were staying in a hotel in downtown Orlando, and we had a 7 a.m.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: recruiting meeting.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: We weren't even playing until 7 o'clock at night, but he had a 7 a.m.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: recruiting meeting.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And sure enough, we're all most of us are sitting in the room at 6:30, knowing that this meeting was probably going to start early.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sure enough, it started at 6:45, right?
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we were missing two guys on our staff, which I won't go there.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: And um, they walked in at like a minute after seven o'clock or two minutes after seven, and he looked up, didn't say a word, closed the book and said, This meeting is over, and got up and walked out.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And and those guys just sat there and were like, and were like, you know, what are you doing?
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, and he got his message across, you know, he didn't have to do anything more than that.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't a you know yelling, screaming thing.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: He just, this meeting's over.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: He shut the book, got up, walked out.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And they knew then that they were in a little bit of hot water.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, actions speak louder than words.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: And what what team was that?
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Central Florida, University of Central Florida.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: I was on Georgia's first staff uh when we were down there.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now you alluded to this a little bit earlier, uh, but you were a part of a Super Bowl team that um won their uh Super Bowl in their home stadium and won it decisively.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that's something like we talked about, won't ever go away.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: But what I wanted to ask you is are you a booth guy or are you a sideline guy?
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm in the booth, um, but I've been both.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it's just the dynamics of how it's set up.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but uh I'm up in the booth at uh during the games now with the Bucs, where I was both, I did it both ways when I was with the Colts.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Now, for that Super Bowl game, I'm not a betting person, but I probably would take this bet that you were not in the booth when that Super Bowl ended.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: I was not.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: I was uh on my way down when I knew that that was ours.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: I was out of there.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I got as fast as I could.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: And and uh, you know, I first kind of ran into Tom and some other guys uh after the game.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then I I knew our families, um, they allowed us one family member on the field because of COVID.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so I knew my wife was coming down.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I thought they were coming out of the one tunnel where we come out for the games, but they came out of a different tunnel and and saw you know the cafetis flying, people running around the field doing snow angels in the cafetti.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, it was so much fun.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm trying to look for her and you know, get up toward the where they're gonna do the trophy ceremony, and you know, finally found her, and you know, and she's videoing everything going on on the field, and you're just trying to take it all in, you know, because you know it's gonna go by so fast, and um, you know, and then after that point, I wanted to get with my kids and my my brother George and his wife were there, and my best friend Seamus and his wife Patty.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so at that point, I wanted to get with them and celebrate with the people that were there, uh, you know, with me.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I had a bunch of uh college buddies and friends came down just to be in Tampa for the game that didn't even have tickets.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so obviously I just wanted to uh, you know, for them to be in there supporting me.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I obviously wanted to go and spend some time with them.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So then it was uh trying to get out of there and and all that, but wanted to, you know, be in a locker room for a while to see that craziness and everything going on there.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's an experience that very few people get an opportunity to have.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just very blessed.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a great segue into our next segment here.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: On February 7th, uh Raymond James Stadium, your life changed.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: You got to do something and accomplish something that very few people get the opportunity to do, and that is reach the pinnacle of your profession.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: Your life, as we talked about, will never be the same.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: You became Super Bowl champion Joe Gilbert, and it's a culmination of 35 seasons of coaching, and it's not, you know, just something you woke up and put the coaching gear your clipboard and you're gone.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you there's a lot that went into this.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you know, most people say that it doesn't necessarily hit you instantly, it takes a little while.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: When did it actually hit you and how did it hit you?
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it's funny.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: I the the week was kind of, you know, because then we went from that to the parade.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a little bit on the parade was kind of surreal a little bit, you know, you're on the boats with the players and you're going down the river, and there's thousands of people just, you know, and and you know, you're taking that in, and you know, I'm I think part of the fun of that was having my kids on the boat with me and my wife and seeing them have as much fun and enjoying because they were like you said, I people don't get the family part of what we sacrifice, you know.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: And my boys are all in high school and I have one in elementary school.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: My daughter was is out of college.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, when we got into the playoffs, I asked them, you know, listen, you know, because of COVID, I don't want anything to happen to mine not going back to school because we kept them out all the way through the first semester or the first half of the year.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so they were like, Dan, we'd rather see you get to the Super Bowl and everything going than anything.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: So every week we kept pushing it back, you know, my wife having a call to school, and you know, hey, we're gonna push it back, we're gonna push it back again.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, then we pushed it back to the the Monday or we said, well, the Tuesday after the Super Bowl.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: But then when we heard about the parade, we're like, they wanted to have an experience on that.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we pushed it back, and so they sacrificed for me, and they're just back in the school now.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: And um, so I I think probably when at toward the end of last week, when I went over to Fort Lauderdale, played some golf with my buddies, and kind of saw some friends I hadn't seen yet, and just the people, and then it really kind of hit.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: I was up at the Friday, we were at the Gulf Stream Golf Court, uh, I'm sorry, horse track over at Fort Lauderdale, and we were up in a box to bet on the horses and go down and watch them run.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and Tony Saragus is a good buddy of mine.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: And uh Tony came in the room and he gave me a hug and he said, Hey, welcome to the club and Super Bowl Club.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that kind of was hit it there a little bit.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: He said, because he goes, Look around, brother, there ain't a whole lot of us that got one, you know.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: And and I was like, Man, that's that's real.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: So yep.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: So that's probably pretty much what it did.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's one and one thing uh that I think I'm starting to see a little bit on social media, Joe, is different players from your team are making statements about it, it's it's not about the money, it's about we've got something special, they want to run it, run it forward.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: I think what's the term that they use, run it back.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: And that you don't see a lot of today.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of um individualism, but from your particular team, I it seems like I get that vibe that hey, we you know, and I saw uh BA was interviewed, Bruce Aaron, your coach, was interviewed, and um he was making the statement that uh you know we got something special here, and and he doesn't get involved in the money side, he's on the people side, and he says, I you know, I want obviously want them all back, but that's that would be a special thing if you guys could keep that together and come back and and have a legitimate shot to uh run that forward.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think like BA, I uh it starts always at the top, you know, and the you know, the Glazer family, even though we don't have a whole lot of dealing, it's mostly you know, Jason and obviously BA with them, but you know, they've given everything to us that we need to win.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and Jason is the GM, it's just a fantastic guy.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh his whole staff, um, you know, there to work together the way we do is just a great um uh working together environment from the personnel side to the coaching side, you know.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you get the BA that we've already alluded on, how he is a family guy and um and how I think he deals with the players, you know, he doesn't sweat the big thing, little things, you know, he he deals with them on a professional level.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: They know they he takes care of them physically as far as making sure they're gonna get to Sunday healthy, um, that part of it, and still get our work done, you know.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and then it, you know, it boils down to, you know, then you get Tom, you know, he brings in Gronk.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're around those guys and you see their work ethic and how they go about it, um, which is special.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I think that all the players realize, hey, you know, it's not just the offense either.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the defense, I mean, you look at the guys that Todd and those guys on the uh Todd Bowles, I mean, and defensive staff and you know the job they've done and the players they got on that side.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: We do have something special.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I think that at the end of the day, it's amazing when you start, you see old guys that, you know, um Tom really wants to do is win.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's contagious.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then you see older guys that, you know, Antonio Brown come in and knowing what an opportunity he has to get back his career and to play with him and to, you know, have a chance to win.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think Sue and so I I really do think that, you know, um, the older guys that get it and understand how important it is that to put a championship ring in their career, um, and know that we have an honest chance to possibly do it again.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, That that's going to play in their mind, you know.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and at the same time, you you got to respect the players because this game is so so demanding on their bodies.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody really can appreciate the collisions they take on a daily basis at practice and then on Sundays.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they only have so many shots in a body.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's only going to take, you know, um, some guys made fortunate and might be a freak of nature like Tom and play along and play for 20 years, but you ain't seeing too many of those guys.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so they have a small window to make the money that they can make.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you can't, I don't think, get upset with them, you know, when they say, hey, this is my chance.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: But at the end of the day, you know, if the money, you know, is probably close or a little bit off to have an opportunity to put another ring on your finger might outweigh, you know, um a million dollars to go and you know, play for somewhere where, you know what, you might not have a chance to win.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that that's a hard decision, I think, for them, you know, that they're gonna have to balance because they know what we have.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: We we've alluded a few times about how important family is, and I hear it in the background there at your house.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anybody there?
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, is there anybody there that would like to jump on the mic for a little bit?
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I got a couple questions.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm either for Cheryl or you know, your I'm I think that the uh if my maybe the two that are in school, my oldest son had a doctor's appointment, he he's home, but he won't get on, and I know my wife won't.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: So okay, all right.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now the little guy probably the youngest one probably would have got on in a heartbeat without question.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the youngest one is his name is Timothy, right?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's correct.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great name, great name.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: He's uh yeah, he's in uh he's in sixth grade.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we'll tell Timothy.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: So he'll listen to the podcast at some point.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Timothy, sorry we missed you on the podcast, but maybe we'll catch you on another one.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think Nick and Joey, the two, the shire ones.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: So my daughter was here, she'd jump on with you, that's for sure.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one of the things you did in the Super Bowl, Joe, that you and what I call again your team inside the team, that offensive line that you lead, you only had one quarterback sack and one quarterback hit in that game.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now, people will say, Well, that's what you're supposed to do.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, at that level, and the the professional, high-level, world-class athletes that you're going against, and they have them on your side as well, but you have them on the other side.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: And they're that that Kansas City defense was led by Steve Spagnola, who's had a lot of success against some uh Tom Brady-led teams.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: For you guys to do that, I don't think people really realize one sack and one QB hit at that level in that game.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: And to put it in perspective, you guys all year long only allowed 22 sacks in a whole season.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: I did the math, that's 1.4 per game, and you were fourth best in the NFL.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: I would say you have got your team playing at an exceptionally high level for the world championship when they call it the Super Bowl.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: That there's a lot of accolades, accolades that go into that.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: People don't realize that.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: No, and uh, you know, but part of it too, uh Tim, that that has to go into that whole thing.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they say the O line, and but you know, the tight ends are part of you know, you use them in protection, the running backs, and and a lot goes on Tom, you know, um, and getting rid of the ball on time and knowing, okay, hey, if it's blitz is coming, is it blitz one, is it blitz zero, you know, can I protect myself, or do I have to just get the ball out before the added rusher comes, you know?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And talking to a football guy like you, you understand what I'm saying.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people don't get that.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that why didn't somebody pick him up?
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you're in a five-man protection, they get they bring six.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: That's six guys on a quarterback.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: You just got to make sure you know where he's coming from, you know.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so I I think it's a it's a combination of all those things.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously, our guys up front did their job, no question.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and Kansas City's got a great front.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: They got, I mean, across the board.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: So for us to to go out there and and to play that way, run, I believe, for like 140 yards and and uh protect Tom the way we did, you know, um, that's why I think we had an opportunity to put up the points that we did as well.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was it was special.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: And from a coaching perspective, just to watch the game and see things done at a in a high-level game like that, but being done at a high level, uh, that really is uh it's it's rewarding to see that.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, you're a section four guy, you got to root for the section four guy.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: One before we get into the the the ring thing with your brother, I wanted you to just take us through briefly what I call the day in the life of you start out when you wake up as Joe Gilbert, you know, husband and father, but then eventually you hop in a vehicle and you transition into Coach Gilbert on your way to a game.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: So say take us through a day in the life of you on a dip game, a home game day.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: It it all depends.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: The the home game day is uh is based on whether what time we're playing.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you could have a one o'clock game and it's it hits you pretty quick.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you get up, you grab breakfast, pregame meal, you head to the stadium.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I usually take you know um the early bus.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and there's we have two different, usually you have two different times on a um on a weight games when you head to the hotel.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: So even a home game, I'm kind of in the mode of getting to the uh stadium about three hours prior to kickoff.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, based on uh the time and the weather, I'll try to get outside and walk the field for a little bit and just kind of chill out, take it all in.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, you go in and get your coaching gear on and get ready to rock and roll when the the whistle blows, you know.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's part of it.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: If it's a little bit of a uh night game, it just depends.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Staying in a hotel room is brutal during the game, you know, uh it's awful because you know, all you do is you put a TV on and you listen to all the pregame shows, and then you're like, okay, I can't listen to this stuff.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you just kind of um try to find something to occupy your time.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: If if it is a late game, if it's not a um usually if it's a six o'clock or we get one of the late games or like a Monday night football game, um, then we'll have a meeting.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have a morning meeting uh right around 10:30 for about a half hour, uh, where you know it could be a position meeting, it could be a unit meeting that we might go through for half hour, and then the guys is you know around their own at that point.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it just depends because of all the different time slots, you know, from that standpoint.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: So um, but I was home games about three hours ahead to the game.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: And um, this year it was a little different, Tim, because of COVID.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: We had we were mandatory to stay in the hotels.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: So we did not stay at home um the night before the games, which normally I would um being so close to the stadium and just being down the street.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, but this year, because of the NFL bubble, and we would get tested, we'd go to practice, and then pretty much we were when we came back, we went right back to the hotel and we were locked in there for the time you know kickoff started.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually got tested again as we went into the stadium each morning uh for a home game.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they did a great job with the protocols and and made sure that you know all you guys were safe, not only at the time of the competition, but you weren't taking things back home to the family as well.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that goes a long way.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: Now, here's a segment that I was really interested in talking about.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: And this is your uh championship is not the profession first professional football championship in the Gilbert family.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, from far as I know, it's the third.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: Because your brother George experienced two of those championships when he was playing in the USFL for Philadelphia, and then the team moved uh to Baltimore.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: So and actually his first one was in Tampa, not at the same stadium, but was in Tampa as yours was.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: So there's some commonality there as well.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: And like I alluded to earlier, I have a few good friends that are from Horseheads, and I remember seeing George's ring he showed to me there at Beef Eaters, which is the local uh establishment there in Horseheads.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: But this one is different, Joe.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think from my perspective, this flips the family bragging right scripts forever.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and I the way I draw the comparison is you know, you've got somebody that's holding a microphone and they say something that is so compelling that there's nothing else you can say, and they do what they call drop the mic.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think you could have what we call drop the ring, but not literally drop the ring.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: This could be one where you're sitting around the the table uh at a family function, and maybe maybe it's not George, maybe it's somebody else starts to hit you with it.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think you just kind of don't say anything because acts speak louder than words, you just lean back in your chair and you take that Super Bowl ring that I'm sure is polished up, and you just set that right on the table, real calm, like, and call and I call it dropping the ring, and discussion is over.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it it was funny.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, as you were saying about the rings, you know, George wears his and and the whole thing.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: And um, so we we got on.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: I I had a uh a uh limo bus for my family to get to and from the game.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I get on a bus afterwards with them, and and my friend Seamus is on there, and George is George's got his ring on with whatever, and and Seamus goes, Hey George, after Joe gets his ring, you might have to put that little tiny wedding ring you wear back back in the door.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: And uh uh he said, I'm sure that Super Bowl ring is gonna drop dwarf whatever you got on.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it was funny um on that.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: And uh uh so that that was uh that was the one time that that Seamus said it for me.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't have to say it.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, but we got a kick out of it.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: We were laughing in the in the car after the game.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, there's uh, you know, people will laugh about it, but there that means a lot, especially between siblings.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, that that means a lot.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, gonna shift gears just a little bit here.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: What advice would you give to a young student athlete who is considering the coaching profession?
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I I would say number one, like I came up from division three doing it.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: And it took me a lot, maybe longer, uh, I guess is maybe the word you put in, or however, with my career to get where I wanted to go, which I always did want to coach in the NFL.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I was consistent.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think I did a good job.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: I moved up the ladder, I, you know, at jobs at certain times.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I would tell them to, you know, if that's your dream, uh, to stick with it.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's you're gonna have some up and ups and downs in this profession.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, Coach Ford told us one thing if you stay in it, three things will happen.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: You'll win them all, you'll lose them all, and you'll get fired at least once.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, I I've lost them all, I've been fired at least once, and and I've I've one game away from winning them all, but I won the big one, you know.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll I'll take that as winning them all.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: But so I I I think they got, I think part of today's society, everybody wants everything like fast food.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: They want it right now.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's not, you know, unless you you're extremely lucky and you know, you get with somebody that can kind of ride their coattails to the top, it's gonna take you some time.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the one thing I would say to someone that's doing it, um I would not trade my experience in for anything because everywhere I went, uh I've learned something from it.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have got tremendous contacts and friends that I've met along the way.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh and so I I wouldn't want to miss that.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I would just tell them to be patient, get your head down, uh, work hard.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: The next job will come.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: Don't look for the job, the next one will come.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: You do do what you do well and put your time in and and and be good at what you're doing.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: Study, you know, learn.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's not just going into the office and okay, come home and do not you put that extra time in, and that's what's going to accelerate you along, with whether it's knowledge or practical experience, you know, you know, soak it up and get what you can get.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, completely true.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now, do you have any other funny stories for us?
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: And this could be any level of football, it's a situation you experienced, you witnessed, or you initiated.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, I as coaching online, which is, I think, besides being a tight end coach for a year and starting off coaching a D-line for one year, I've been an offensive line my whole career.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I'll never forget, I was coaching at the University of Illinois, and uh, and this happened in a game, um, not in practice.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, you're saying, okay, you're playing, you're coaching in the Big Ten, uh yeah, great coach, all that kind of stuff, you know.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: And and I'll never forget we were running um a one-back power play, and and what made me remember this was what you said about your two backs running into each other.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, both guards pulled, and they was a collision.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, it was like, and I'll never forget, Ron Zook looked at me like, Are you kidding me?
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we're and I'm like, oh God, you know, and and I can't remember exactly.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think what what it was is that we, you know, whether we called it one way and we were gonna flip it, and the quarterback flipped it to go the other way, and the one guy didn't get it or whatever, and they both pulled.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: And you talk about they just it were like two moose running into each other and just bang, they just blew up both of them on there, and the quarterback hands the ball off, and the you know, running back got freaking drilled, and I'm like, Jesus, you know, and then you you know how you the you know the film's gonna get shared to everybody.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, exactly.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, you know, and the old saying, you know, you are what you put on tape.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, no different as a coach.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking at this going, oh my God, you talk about being a you know, a clown show, you know, one of them.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so I would say that was one from a coaching standpoint that was not one of my finest moments, and and uh, but yet you look back at it and you laugh because that stuff happens, you know.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: Miscommunication, half the time, you know, besides someone just getting beat one-on-one, a lot of times it's just some miscommunication between whatever, and you know, that's how a bad play happens, and good or bad for the other team.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: Did either of those guys get injured on that play?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: No, but man, I'll tell you what they they got their butts ripped when they got to the sideline.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: I can I can assure you that one.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_01: I can imagine.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: I can imagine.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's good stuff, boy.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: And they'll never forget that.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're probably telling that story, you know, many times each year to people.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the one guard played for me at the Colts, and I used to bring that up all the time.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he's like, We got to really share that.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's not one of my finer moments.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Yeah, no kidding.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, it's it's good-natured fun, it it's it's just good stuff.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: Well, listen, Joe, I I really appreciate your time and all the information and insight, and it's just great stuff that you'd shared with us.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to also give the best to you and your family and continued success in the profession that you've chosen.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_01: And you've given us some good examples uh to lead us.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I want to say take care.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I as a Dallas Cowboys fan, this is hard to say, but go Bucks.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it, Tim.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: Really enjoyed this.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, hopefully, you know, hopefully it goes well and people enjoy a couple of stories here and there.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, and I always love back home, you know, and then uh wouldn't want to trade that in where I grew up.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Horse Heads was a great spot, great place to grow up as a kid.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, uh, like I said, I got a warm spot in my heart for that back home.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I just appreciate you taking the time and the effort to look me up and uh and hopefully uh, you know, it was uh what you were looking for.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: Joe, have you uh seen what's going on weatherwise here?
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I've I've looked at it on the news.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry if I turned my camera.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking out at the palm trees right now at my house.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's I took a walk down uh Bay Shore this morning and it was about 78 degrees already and uh pretty nice out.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know where I'm going after this?
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: Shovel snow.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_01: I got a date with our snowblower.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: Good luck with that.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, listen, thank you very much, Joe.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: Appreciate it.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to click the subscribe button.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: And remember, tell your friends, Coach Smith says visit cover4.com and get involved.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: In football and life, it's not where we line up, it's where we wind up.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening.