Cut Traded Fired Retired

For every marquee name in the NFL, there are thousands of names who never see their name in lights. They are the ones who keep trying and trying (and trying) to live the dream. They are the grinders. That’s Chad Friehauf. The Morgan County product from Brush had every reason to dream big: he helped turn around a football program and culture at Colorado School of Mines, a school known more for engineering than sports.

In 2004, Chad won the Harlon Hill Trophy (D2’s version of the Heisman) and led the Orediggers to their first NCAA Playoff appearance. He finished his career at Mines as the school’s all-time leader in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and touchdown passes. He started his pro football journey with the Broncos where his only appearance was taking a knee in a preseason game. Undeterred, Chad kept working at every opportunity including the CFL, Arena League, baseball and even returning to Mines to play a remaining year of eligibility in basketball at the age of 24. Eventually, he knew he had exhausted his chances and retired.

Then came the reinvention. Chad founded ReadyList Sports with Jake Plummer and they are changing the way football coaches teach and how players learn their playbooks. He has also moved back to the farm he grew up on in Brush where he is running the farm and starting a family. The grind continues.

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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He was on the Broncos Offensive Line for three different stints during his 10-year NFL career. His final tenure in Denver included a victory in Super Bowl 50. Ryan Harris grew up in the Twin Cities and was inspired to play football after attending a Vikings game as a "chubby kid." He was the big lineman and knew he had a place in the game. Over time he acquired the skills and speed to get noticed and the offers from Division I schools started showing up. Ryan opted for Notre Dame where he started at Offensive Tackle for four years and earned degrees in both Economics & Policy and Political Science.

The Broncos picked him in the 3rd round of the 2007 draft and over the next 10 seasons, he would hear many opinions (positive and negative) about his playing abilities with the Broncos, Eagles, Texans, Chiefs and Steelers. He also endured nine surgeries throughout his football career which helped him gain perspective on work ethic and belief in himself.

In retirement, Ryan is a best selling author, keynote speaker, award winning broadcaster and involved in a number of projects trying to create a better world. To find out more about Ryan and follow his endeavors, visit RyanHarris86.com

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He grew up in a very small town outside of Boise and had athletic competition from day one with two older brothers. Jake Plummer played just about everything growing up including football, basketball and baseball. It was his talent at quarterback that earned him a full ride scholarship to Arizona State in the early 90’s where he set numerous records on the field and was a two-time Academic All-Conference student athlete. His senior year as a Sun Devil was stellar. Jake earned Pac 10 Offensive Player of the Year, was First Team All American, came in 3rd in Heisman voting and was just a few points shy of a National Championship after losing to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl 20-17.

He was drafted in 1997 by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2nd round where he played 5 up and down seasons. In 2003, he signed with the Denver Broncos as a free agent and led them to the playoffs for 3 straight seasons. In 2006, for the first time in his career, he was replaced mid-season by Jay Cutler and was traded to Tampa Bay at the end of he season. He had filed his retirement paperwork before the trade and never played for the Bucs.

These days Jake lives in Colorado with his wife and 3 kids. He's also become entrenched and educated in functional mushrooms. Jake helped co-found UMBO which offers functional mushrooms in tinctures, capsules and bars. Use the code CTFR15 for 15% off. In 2021, Jake helped found MyCoLove Farm in Fort Lupton to ensure the mushrooms for UMBO were grown properly.

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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There's a reason running backs have the shortest "life span" in the NFL: the position is brutal on the body. When they get the ball, they either to try to run through massively built men or cut to one side or the other and make them miss. The hits take a toll and the cuts are knee killers. But when running backs are healthy, they can be special. Colorado native Kevin McDougal was special. When the ball was handed to him at Arvada West or Colorado State University, you knew a gain was coming, usually a big one. He set records and won awards in college, like the 1999 Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

He decided to make a go at the next level after going undrafted and made the 53 man roster with the Colts for two years. Then he got cut. He tried the Canadian Football League and lasted 2 months due to injury. On the long drive back from Montreal, Kevin was honest with himself and decided to hang up his cleats.

After his playing days, he worked in oil & gas and went through a few jobs with the up and down cycle of that industry. Today, Kevin and his wife Holli are Team McDougal Realtors with RE/MAX Advanced in Fort Collins.

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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He knew he needed a scholarship if he wanted to go to college. Gus Frerotte grew up in a blue-collar Pennsylvania home steeped in hard work and toughness. He played 3 sports in high school and despite being at a small school with barely enough boys to play football, the quarterback position gave him a full ride to college. He was recruited by many and opted in to Tulsa where he played as as redshirt freshman when TJ Rubley went down with an injury. He finished as Tulsa's 2nd ranked all-time passer behind Rubley and was drafted by the then-Washington Redskins in the 7th round of the 1994 draft.

He had some good years in Washington and was a Pro Bowler after the 1996 season. Then in 1997, he celebrated scoring a touchdown by ramming his head into a wall on Sunday Night Football. He sprained his neck, fell out of favor with Washington and moved on to the Lions. After one season with Detroit, he was released and landed in Denver to back up Brian Griese. He led the Broncos into the playoffs in 2000 after Griese was hurt, but after two years in Denver, was told he could move on. Four more teams followed (including two stints with the Vikings) and Gus eventually retired in 2009. Gus credits his ability to recover from setbacks and move on to his wife Annie and his support system.

In retirement, he's been a high school coach and entered the business world. Currently Gus runs NFL Alumni Ventures Podcasts, a podcasting platform for NFL Alumni giving former players an unfiltered way to tell their stories.

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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"Good luck with that." Nick Ferguson vividly remembers hearing that when he was trying to catch on at Georgia Tech after playing at Division II Morris Brown College. He not only made the Yellow Jacket's team, he also made it to the NFL. Like college, Nick made the next level transition the hard way: as an undrafted free agent. Impressively, he stayed in football between the NFL and CFL for 14 seasons. Most of Nick's career was spent with the Denver Broncos where he started 44 games at safety for Denver’s D and picked off their opposing quarterbacks six times.

In retirement he tried his hand at coaching which he enjoyed, however he relishes working in the media in both radio and TV. Nick is fueled by a drive that has him and his contagious energy moving forward at all times.





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Bill Romanowski was a polarizing player: if he was on your team, you loved him, if he wasn’t, probably not so much. From an early age, Romo set goals and every time he achieved a goal, he set his sights higher. He won awards as both an athlete and a student during his college years at Boston College. He was drafted by the 49'ers and won Super Bowl rings his first two years in the league. From San Francisco, he was traded to the Eagles. The Broncos signed him in 1996 where he won two more Super Bowl Championships. After being shown the door in Denver, Romo was determined to stay in the AFC West to prove a point and finished his career with the Raiders.

Over the course of 16 years in the NFL, he played 243 consecutive games and has plenty of stories about football and life. Retirement has been anything but boring as he’s very involved in his Nutrition 53 and is the Director of Business Development for REV Social Network.

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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Greg Myers prefers to stay out of the spotlight, however he has accomplished just a little bit too much and his story should be told. A graduate of Windsor High School where his #3 football jersey is retired. A stand out student athlete at Colorado State University where his football skills earned him the Jim Thorpe award in 1995 as the nation's best Defensive Back and in the classroom he earned the WAC’s Best Overall Student Athlete award in 1996.

After being drafted in the 5th round by the Bengals, Greg played in the NFL for a few years. After retiring, he went back to school: medical school and today he’s an anesthesiologist. He’s in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, CSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. Tough to stay in the shadows with those accolades!

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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He was a walk-on quarterback at Tulane University with no aspirations to play in the NFL. In fact, when the Broncos came to New Orleans to work him out, Steve Foley declined and said he wasn't interested. The Broncos drafted him anyway. Under Defensive Coordinator Joe Collier, Steve was converted into a defensive back and eventually a safety. He became a hard hitting force on the Orange Crush Defense with a knack for catching the ball from opposing quarterbacks. He still holds the franchise record for most career interceptions with 44.

After 11 seasons with the Broncos, Steve hung up his cleats (on his own) and tried to figure out retirement. Through his faith and an aptitude test, he eventually found a career he loved and has been very successful.

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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Sonny Lubick is an icon in Fort Collins, Colorado. The football field at Colorado State University has been in his name at two different stadiums. His first stint at CSU was as an offensive coordinator under Leon Fuller in the early 80's after he was fired from Montana State. He left Fort Collins then when Jack Elway asked him to be on his coaching staff at Stanford. That lasted until Jack and his staff were fired after the 1988 season. From there he joined Dennis Erickson's staff in Washington State for a few weeks before Erickson took the head coaching job at the University of Miami. Sonny followed and was part of two National Championships with the Hurricanes.

He became CSU's head coach in 1993 where he guided the Rams to 6 conference titles and 9 bowl games. Everybody loved (and still loves) Sonny. On November 26, 2007, CSU beat Wyoming and it was Sonny's last game coaching the Rams. Fans at the game didn't know their favorite coach was being fired, but Sonny, his coaches and a few others (including the host of this podcast) did. His firing was made official a few days later.

In Part Two, we start in 1993 and dive into his 15 years as the Rams head coach, his stunning firing and the new paths his life has taken since.

Hosted by Susie Wargin

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