Beyond The Helmet

On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by former All-American tight end and NFL athlete, Chase Coffman.

Chase was a prolific pass catcher at Missouri where every year he contributed to their high power offense. By the end of his collegiate career he was an All-American and Mackey Award winner en route to being drafted in the 3rd round to the Cincinnati Bengals. 

Coffman ultimately played 8 years in the NFL for a number of different teams. After his career ended after the 2016 season, he decided to pursue a career as a financial advisor. He took the time to speak about his football career and some life lessons he learned that he brought to this next chapter of his life. 

Check Chase out on social media and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by All Pro NFL running back/full back, Leonard Weaver.

Leonard is now the Head Coach of Coral Springs High School Football in Florida as he heads a brand new program. While we discuss his road to get to this point, we certainly has his work cut out for him. During COVID it has been incredibly difficult to get his team together and fundraise so if you listen to this episode we humbly ask you to check out [email protected] PayPal or Zelle or $ColtsQBBoosterClub on Cash App to help his cause.

Weaver has been in coaching since 2013 when he officially retired from the NFL. A gruesome knee injury cut his career short, but it doesn’t detract from his unlikely story the least. He switched positions twice in DII football to become an All-American and then he made the Seahawks switching his position again as a long shot to make the roster. He is truly an unbelievable story and a man of great character

Check Leonard out on social media and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by former Broncos Ring of Fame linebacker, Karl Mecklenburg.

Karl had an incredible journey to get to the NFL. He left a 1/3 scholarship after two years at Augustana College to walk on at Minnesota. It was there he caught the eye of NFL scouts and was drafted in the 12th round. Karl relentlessly pursued making the team and ultimately learned to play all front 7 positions on defense.

Mecklenburg would go on to play 12 seasons in Denver. He totaled 79.5 sacks (3rd most in team history), 1,100+ tackles and played in 180 games. In his time since playing in the NFL, Karl has become a sought after keynote speaker. 

Check Karl out at karlmecklenberg.com  and share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by former NFL offensive lineman,  3x Super Bowl Champ, and football media personality, Randy Cross.

Randy has dedicated his life to this game with over 50 years dedicated to this sport. He was an All-American at UCLA and was drafted in the second round to the San Francisco 49ers in 1976 and that is where he spent his entire career. In his 4th year, Bill Walsh took over as head coach for the team and a dynasty was under way.

By the time Randy retired after the 1988, he was a 3 time Super Bowl Champion. He also was either selected to a Pro Bowl or was All-Pro player 6 times. After his borderline Hall of Fame career on the field, he jumped over immediately to media and covered it. By now he is over 30 years in the media covering pro and collegiate football.

Check Randy out at randycross.com where you can see his podcast and share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by the woman who broke the gender barrier in professional football by becoming the first female coach in 2015, Dr. Jen Welter .

Coach Welter has always loved football. There was just never a path for her to be near the game. It wasn’t until she was 22 years old that she had a chance to play in a woman’s league. She went on to earn 8 Pro Bowls in that league and win 2 gold medals in women’s football for team USA. This led to her being the first woman to play in a  men’s league in 2014. 

After earning the respect of her peers she became the first woman to coach in men’s professional football on that very same team’s staff. Next she forged a path into the NFL forever giving young girls a role model. In the 5 years since then Dr. Welter has been extremely busy between coaching the Australian National Team, authoring a series of children’s books called Critter Fitters, launching the Gridiron Girls football camps and more! Check out jenwelter.com to learn more about her journey

Check Coach Welter out on social media and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by NFL running back, Super Bowl Champ and host of the Turbo Talk podcast, Robert Turbin.

Robert was drafted in the 4th round of 2012 to the Seahawks in the same draft class as Russell Wilson, Bruce Irvin and Bobby Wagner (among others). This class played a pivotal role in the Seahawks franchise making two Super Bowls in the first 3 years these teammates were in the NFL. Before heading into his fourth year he was let go by Seattle.

Turbin bounced between Cleveland and Dallas before landing in Indianapolis where he played 2016-2018. IN 2019 Turbin was back with Seattle. While he prepares for his 9th NFL season, he also launched Turbo Talk, his own podcast. We talk about his career path, the podcast and the business side of the NFL that the players see.

Check Robert out on social media and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by former tight end, NFL Coach, and most recently the Head Coach/General Manager of the St Louis Battlehawks of the XFL, Jonathan Hayes.

Coach Hayes has lived an incredible ride through football. From playing under Coach Fry at Iowa, to playing in the NFL for Coach Schottenheimer and that coaching tree he had an amazing run as an athlete. That is second only to coaching with former Hawkeye teammate Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, to coaching tight ends with Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati for 16 seasons which led him to the XFL. An incredible career that is still being written.

Jonathan has a lifetime of insights into what makes successful athletes and teams. I did the best I could to dig into his road to success and what tips he picked up along the way. We dive into what made other coaches great to better understand how has become such a successful coach in his own right. It was a very insightful conversation 

Check coach out on social media and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by former All-Pro defensive back and football coach, Cris Dishman.

Cris is a football lifer. He started playing at an early age and worked himself into a pro bowl player for the Houston Oilers. He came in toward the end of their ‘House of Pain’ days and was with the team through Warren Moon’s spectacular play and the last year of the organization being in Houston. His 13 year career ended with him in Minnesota playing against Cris Carter and Randy Moss

Dishman took a few years off before he started his coaching career in NFL Europe. He went on to coach in the NFL, CFL, collegiately, the XFL and now he is at IMG Academy. On top of his four decades in football, Cris also operates GoatSkills.com where he puts out content to help athletes.

Check Cris out on social media and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by former 3-time captain of the Washington Football Team, Darrel Young.

Darrel was recruited to Villanova to play running back. He ultimately switched to defense where he earned a chance to compete to make a NFL roster. It was only after Coach Shanahan at Washington suggested the move to Fullback that Darrel was able to carve out a 9 year run in the NFL. He now is working in Player Engagement for the NFL.

Young helped multiple teammates make it to the Pro Bowl in Washington as he prided himself on his ability to help skilled position players hit their goals. As an athlete Darrel has been involved with the USO tour and has continually focused his efforts to volunteer and give back. Most recently he has been working with Warrior Rising to help veterans returning home.

Check Darrel out on LinkedIn and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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On this episode of the Beyond the Helmet we are joined by 7 year defensive tackle in the NFL, Akeem Spence.

While the podcast normally dives into how to achieve success and overcoming obstacles, there is a different tune this time around. Akeem came in with a full head of steam!

Akeem is one of the very few active NFL players openly speaking out against what is going on. He shares some of his strong feelings on:

- How the NFLPA is failing the players
- The lack of safety/health protocols for COVID
- Why most player won't speak out like him
- How the NFL has failed to support it's players on race issues

I did my best to help guide some of the opinions Akeem wanted to share, but I mostly tried to stay out of his way so he was able to speak his mind - something, again, that few players are doing.

Check Akeem out on social media and be sure to give us a follow + share this episode with someone who will enjoy it.

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