Despite What You May Think, My NFL Career Was a Success
December 21, 2015 10:34 PM Subscribe
Former NFL quarterback and current Fox Sports college football analyst Joey Harrington reflects on his NFL career.
He managed to beat the odds and play on the starting lineup on an NFL team. 0.09% of high school football players eventually make it into the NFL. Only one in fifty NCAA players make it to the NFL. For someone to make it through all that and make $435,000 a year for their family straight off the bat makes them a fucking success better than almost any hater crapping on them on shitty message boards or sports bar.
No matter how shitty a team you're on, no matter how shitty you're performing, you're still at the very top level of a game you love to play and you're doing better financially than 99% of the population. You're a fucking success and no cynical talking head asshole can take that away from you.
posted by Talez at 11:53 PM on December 21, 2015 [7 favorites]
No matter how shitty a team you're on, no matter how shitty you're performing, you're still at the very top level of a game you love to play and you're doing better financially than 99% of the population. You're a fucking success and no cynical talking head asshole can take that away from you.
posted by Talez at 11:53 PM on December 21, 2015 [7 favorites]
Yeah. In grad school there was this girl and she had a boyfriend who was really good at baseball. Like, really. He had been drafted by the Angels or whomever. He was going to have to do the whole minor league thing, blah blah blah, and she said, choose me or baseball. Pretty simple. Get your college degree first, keep me. Don't, lose me. We couldn't believe that. We were all in grad school; we were all playing long odds. In fact, we were in a small school MFA, so we were playing REALLY LONG ODDS, THE LONGEST POSSIBLE ODDS, but she put her foot down and her fellow gave it up. HE QUIT BASEBALL. What a great guy he was, but damn. What a terrible gal she was, even though she was great, otherwise. Let us play the odds, whatever they are, whenever we can. The universe does not give us many chances.
posted by notyou at 12:49 AM on December 22, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by notyou at 12:49 AM on December 22, 2015 [7 favorites]
Life-long Detroit Lions fan here, and I'm really not surprised he felt completely ruined by the organization. The talent around him and the coaching were subpar at best.
I mean, Lions went 3-13 his rookie year with Joey getting 12 starts. Leading receiver was RB James Stewart with 46 catches, and the top two wideouts were Az Hakim and Bill Schroeder with 37 and 36 catches respectively. More than 100 players from other teams caught 38 or more passes that same year. Coach was Marty Morninwheg who hasn't had a head coaching gig since his abject failure with the Lions.
Actually, the Lions next four coaches (Mariucci, Marinelli, Jauron and Schwartz) have also been shut out of head coaching gigs since their Lions failures.
I'm so glad I've got some golden years with Michigan State men's athletics right now, because I really have no idea what it would feel like as a fan if my Lions team were consistently competitive. As it is, most years we're talking about draft position by about week nine.
It's a sickness and an organizational rot. Sorry, Joey.
posted by GamblingBlues at 3:48 AM on December 22, 2015 [4 favorites]
I mean, Lions went 3-13 his rookie year with Joey getting 12 starts. Leading receiver was RB James Stewart with 46 catches, and the top two wideouts were Az Hakim and Bill Schroeder with 37 and 36 catches respectively. More than 100 players from other teams caught 38 or more passes that same year. Coach was Marty Morninwheg who hasn't had a head coaching gig since his abject failure with the Lions.
Actually, the Lions next four coaches (Mariucci, Marinelli, Jauron and Schwartz) have also been shut out of head coaching gigs since their Lions failures.
I'm so glad I've got some golden years with Michigan State men's athletics right now, because I really have no idea what it would feel like as a fan if my Lions team were consistently competitive. As it is, most years we're talking about draft position by about week nine.
It's a sickness and an organizational rot. Sorry, Joey.
posted by GamblingBlues at 3:48 AM on December 22, 2015 [4 favorites]
I'm working in a relatvely high-stress and toxic environment at the moment. Management has attempted to stab me in the back. My fitness as a leader in this space has been called into question because I asked questions that needed to be asked.
But to add the glaring public scrutiny, the consistent negativity, the lack of trust in your co-workers, the unending push to destroy yourself physically (and probably mentally)? There's NO way I could handle that.
I really appreciate the way stories like this humanize the players. It is VERY easy to deny their humanity and having a window into the madness that is that life is welcome.
Slight derail here, but could you imagine if Herrington had wrote this immediately after his NFL career had ended? What do you think the odds are the NFL would have pulled a Chris Borland on him?
posted by mfu at 4:33 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
But to add the glaring public scrutiny, the consistent negativity, the lack of trust in your co-workers, the unending push to destroy yourself physically (and probably mentally)? There's NO way I could handle that.
I really appreciate the way stories like this humanize the players. It is VERY easy to deny their humanity and having a window into the madness that is that life is welcome.
Slight derail here, but could you imagine if Herrington had wrote this immediately after his NFL career had ended? What do you think the odds are the NFL would have pulled a Chris Borland on him?
posted by mfu at 4:33 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Coach was Marty Morninwheg who hasn't had a head coaching gig since his abject failure with the Lions.
It's been something like the 1950s since a Lions head coach went on to another head coaching gig at another team after leaving the Lions. The Detroit Lions: the graveyard of coaching.
/sad Lions fan
posted by NoMich at 5:24 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's been something like the 1950s since a Lions head coach went on to another head coaching gig at another team after leaving the Lions. The Detroit Lions: the graveyard of coaching.
/sad Lions fan
posted by NoMich at 5:24 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's been something like the 1950s since a Lions head coach went on to another head coaching gig at another team after leaving the Lions. The Detroit Lions: the graveyard of coaching.
To be fair, one of them died (too soon on the graveyard comment then?) before he could get fired and blackballed, so I'm willing to chuck an asterisk on your stat.
posted by GamblingBlues at 5:32 AM on December 22, 2015
To be fair, one of them died (too soon on the graveyard comment then?) before he could get fired and blackballed, so I'm willing to chuck an asterisk on your stat.
posted by GamblingBlues at 5:32 AM on December 22, 2015
Short list of Lions woes in my lifetime:
- 1997: second year OLB Reggie Brown looks worthy of the first-round draft status from the year before and could be the cog our defense needs for the next ten years. Sadly, in the final week of the season he suffers a career-ending spine injury and never plays another down.
- 1991: third year starting guard Mike Utley suffers a career-ending spinal injury on a pretty innocuous looking play. He never walks again.
- 1992: in the offseason we lose fifth-year guard Eric Andolsek to a freak accident involving an out-of-control semi truck careening into his front yard
- 1991: Lions win a playoff game! Even better, it was against the hated Dallas Cowboys in a 38-6 blowout. Lions go on to lose badly to Washington in the conference finals. This was the only playoff win for the franchise between 1957 and present day.
- Have only had double-digit wins in a season five times in 58 years. Patriots had a recent stretch (that they might still be in the middle of) of almost twice that many double-digit win seasons in a row.
- Had the poor fortune to have top-two picks in 2007, 2009 and 2010. In 2011 the rookie salary cap changed so that top picks became more manageable under the cap. Picks from those prior years, however, were so expensive to sign to a second contract that having three in four years meant you almost certainly had to pick two and let one walk in free agency with little to show in return.
- Matt Millen might be the worst modern-day General Manager in sports, having drafted three WR with top ten picks in consecutive drafts. Roy Williams was the second of those and had a reasonable 262 career catches for Detroit while Charles Rogers and Mike Williams caught 73 total balls combined for the franchise.
- And, of course, only team to go 0-16 (2008).
posted by GamblingBlues at 5:52 AM on December 22, 2015
- 1997: second year OLB Reggie Brown looks worthy of the first-round draft status from the year before and could be the cog our defense needs for the next ten years. Sadly, in the final week of the season he suffers a career-ending spine injury and never plays another down.
- 1991: third year starting guard Mike Utley suffers a career-ending spinal injury on a pretty innocuous looking play. He never walks again.
- 1992: in the offseason we lose fifth-year guard Eric Andolsek to a freak accident involving an out-of-control semi truck careening into his front yard
- 1991: Lions win a playoff game! Even better, it was against the hated Dallas Cowboys in a 38-6 blowout. Lions go on to lose badly to Washington in the conference finals. This was the only playoff win for the franchise between 1957 and present day.
- Have only had double-digit wins in a season five times in 58 years. Patriots had a recent stretch (that they might still be in the middle of) of almost twice that many double-digit win seasons in a row.
- Had the poor fortune to have top-two picks in 2007, 2009 and 2010. In 2011 the rookie salary cap changed so that top picks became more manageable under the cap. Picks from those prior years, however, were so expensive to sign to a second contract that having three in four years meant you almost certainly had to pick two and let one walk in free agency with little to show in return.
- Matt Millen might be the worst modern-day General Manager in sports, having drafted three WR with top ten picks in consecutive drafts. Roy Williams was the second of those and had a reasonable 262 career catches for Detroit while Charles Rogers and Mike Williams caught 73 total balls combined for the franchise.
- And, of course, only team to go 0-16 (2008).
posted by GamblingBlues at 5:52 AM on December 22, 2015
Coach was Marty Morninwheg who hasn't had a head coaching gig since his abject failure with the Lions.
It's been something like the 1950s since a Lions head coach went on to another head coaching gig at another team after leaving the Lions. The Detroit Lions: the graveyard of coaching.
I ran the numbers on this over on SportsFilter last month, and while that stat is bad enough, here's the reason for it: 85 years, 26 coaches (plus George "Potsy" Clark, who had two separate stints), and not one of them has gone on to lead a team to the playoffs after leaving the Lions.
Harrington was never going to be a Hall of Fame quarterback, but landing in Detroit didn't do him any favors.
posted by Etrigan at 5:55 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's been something like the 1950s since a Lions head coach went on to another head coaching gig at another team after leaving the Lions. The Detroit Lions: the graveyard of coaching.
I ran the numbers on this over on SportsFilter last month, and while that stat is bad enough, here's the reason for it: 85 years, 26 coaches (plus George "Potsy" Clark, who had two separate stints), and not one of them has gone on to lead a team to the playoffs after leaving the Lions.
Harrington was never going to be a Hall of Fame quarterback, but landing in Detroit didn't do him any favors.
posted by Etrigan at 5:55 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
It kind of sounds like Harrington isn't a "locker room guy". I'm not either, so this made me like him. He seems like he'd be really interesting to chat with. Good perspective.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:48 AM on December 22, 2015
posted by kevinbelt at 6:48 AM on December 22, 2015
If you take an elite group, half the people in it will be worse than most of their peers, same as any other group. I've got a soft spot for people who are super good at what they and also content to be a bench player (literally or metaphorically.) There was a great FPP a while ago about the shortest stints in the major leagues, like getting sent in as a pinch runner, once, then watching the batter strike out so you don't even run and that's your career. I also like the aging star who doesn't retire even though he's now a backup--he's not embarrassing himself IMHO, just doing what he wants to do for a few more years.
So I figured this would be a good read to start my day, unfortunately kind of the opposite. Harrington wasn't happy at all. He has some perspective now but he sounds like he was totally miserable, even his good days unenjoyable.
posted by mark k at 7:05 AM on December 22, 2015
So I figured this would be a good read to start my day, unfortunately kind of the opposite. Harrington wasn't happy at all. He has some perspective now but he sounds like he was totally miserable, even his good days unenjoyable.
posted by mark k at 7:05 AM on December 22, 2015
What a terrible gal she was, even though she was great, otherwise.
Chasing super-low-odds dreams is a young fool's game, not a solid bedrock for a healthy relationship. For what it's worth I commend this woman for drawing bright lines around her priorities.
posted by mhoye at 7:06 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Chasing super-low-odds dreams is a young fool's game, not a solid bedrock for a healthy relationship. For what it's worth I commend this woman for drawing bright lines around her priorities.
posted by mhoye at 7:06 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you take an elite group, half the people in it will be worse than most of their peers, same as any other group. I've got a soft spot for people who are super good at what they and also content to be a bench player (literally or metaphorically.)
At the bottom end of that curve, it's hard to understand how incredibly good you have to be, and how how hard you've had to work, to be the worst player in the NFL.
posted by mhoye at 7:18 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
At the bottom end of that curve, it's hard to understand how incredibly good you have to be, and how how hard you've had to work, to be the worst player in the NFL.
posted by mhoye at 7:18 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
He was going to have to do the whole minor league thing, blah blah blah, and she said, choose me or baseball.
my father had a similar choice to make when he got out of high school - accept the offer from the phillies or do something else, such as college - (there was no girlfriend involved)
he decided to go to college and become a school counselor (and, yeah, baseball coach)
he had no regrets and felt that his choice had been amply rewarded - that being a baseball player wasn't as important as being able to make a difference in people's lives
posted by pyramid termite at 7:46 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
my father had a similar choice to make when he got out of high school - accept the offer from the phillies or do something else, such as college - (there was no girlfriend involved)
he decided to go to college and become a school counselor (and, yeah, baseball coach)
he had no regrets and felt that his choice had been amply rewarded - that being a baseball player wasn't as important as being able to make a difference in people's lives
posted by pyramid termite at 7:46 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
> At the bottom end of that curve, it's hard to understand how incredibly good you have to be, and how how hard you've had to work, to be the worst player in the NFL.
Ages ago I had a bit of an argument with someone about Anna Kournakova when they said she "sucked." Do you, I said, have any idea how impressive it is to be ranked eighth - worldwide - in anything, let alone something as competitive and financially lucrative as professional tennis?
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:18 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
Ages ago I had a bit of an argument with someone about Anna Kournakova when they said she "sucked." Do you, I said, have any idea how impressive it is to be ranked eighth - worldwide - in anything, let alone something as competitive and financially lucrative as professional tennis?
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:18 AM on December 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
So I figured this would be a good read to start my day, unfortunately kind of the opposite. Harrington wasn't happy at all. He has some perspective now but he sounds like he was totally miserable, even his good days unenjoyable.
The "problem" is that the NFL chews players up physically (and, it seems, mentally). So it's hard for someone to relax and enjoy life as a career back-up or special teams guy or whatever. Those players just don't really exist, because you're always a year away from getting cut in favor of a cheaper, fresher model.
A sport like baseball is so different because there really are people who have careers as Triple A players who get token major league appearances from time to time. It helps that baseball has a much better players union than football, so my understanding is that even a relatively small amount of major league service time gets them some health/pension benefits when they retire, so there's that incentive to stay in to some degree.
posted by AndrewInDC at 8:29 AM on December 22, 2015
The "problem" is that the NFL chews players up physically (and, it seems, mentally). So it's hard for someone to relax and enjoy life as a career back-up or special teams guy or whatever. Those players just don't really exist, because you're always a year away from getting cut in favor of a cheaper, fresher model.
A sport like baseball is so different because there really are people who have careers as Triple A players who get token major league appearances from time to time. It helps that baseball has a much better players union than football, so my understanding is that even a relatively small amount of major league service time gets them some health/pension benefits when they retire, so there's that incentive to stay in to some degree.
posted by AndrewInDC at 8:29 AM on December 22, 2015
It was interesting to watch http://www.buzzfeed.com/rickysans/regular-people-try-to-catch-passes-from-an-nfl-quarterback recently - the QB was Warren Moon, who is 59, just to get an illustration of the difference in talent levels.
While it was a *long* time ago I remember enough about the NFL strike affected season to have seen a clear illustration of the gulf between the regular plays and everyone else. Personally I'd gladly pay my GamePass subscription over again to watch the 53 "worst" players in the NFL line up against their loudest online critics. Surely someone on here can make this a reality TV show?
posted by DancingYear at 8:29 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
While it was a *long* time ago I remember enough about the NFL strike affected season to have seen a clear illustration of the gulf between the regular plays and everyone else. Personally I'd gladly pay my GamePass subscription over again to watch the 53 "worst" players in the NFL line up against their loudest online critics. Surely someone on here can make this a reality TV show?
posted by DancingYear at 8:29 AM on December 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
At the bottom end of that curve, it's hard to understand how incredibly good you have to be, and how how hard you've had to work, to be the worst player in the NFL.
Ethan Albright was okay with it (despite what his Internet alter ego had to say about it).
posted by Etrigan at 8:31 AM on December 22, 2015
Ethan Albright was okay with it (despite what his Internet alter ego had to say about it).
posted by Etrigan at 8:31 AM on December 22, 2015
Harrington was never going to be a superstar, but it's a shame more people won't read this and realize the conditions a player has on a team are as important as his talent. Perpetually bad teams happen to be like that because for one reason or another, they setup their personnel to fail. Meddling or cheap owners, GMs with bad coaching and personnel decisions or bad at drafting, Stubborn coaches that either fail to adapt to their players or are terrible at picking assistants...
I've seen countless discussions on how the Bears should have drafted Rodgers. At this moment he would have become a backup roaming the NFL or out of the league, not a chance he would have survived the incompetence of the Lovie Smith years offense.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:10 AM on December 22, 2015
I've seen countless discussions on how the Bears should have drafted Rodgers. At this moment he would have become a backup roaming the NFL or out of the league, not a chance he would have survived the incompetence of the Lovie Smith years offense.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:10 AM on December 22, 2015
lsmfsilva: That's exactly correct. And it goes the other way, too. Tom Brady is great, but it didn't hurt that he had the league's best defense to cover up for his mistakes as he learned on the job. Had he gotten his start with the Lions or the Browns, he'd have as many Super Bowl rings as I do right now.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:49 AM on December 22, 2015
posted by kevinbelt at 10:49 AM on December 22, 2015
...it's a shame more people won't read this and realize the conditions a player has on a team are as important as his talent. Perpetually bad teams happen to be like that because for one reason or another, they setup their personnel to fail. Meddling or cheap owners, GMs with bad coaching and personnel decisions or bad at drafting, Stubborn coaches that either fail to adapt to their players or are terrible at picking assistants...
As a 49ers fan who has found it baffling how Colin Kaepernick has gone from the hottest new thing in the NFL who was a play away from a Super Bowl win (and the following year just a play away from a return trip to the Super Bowl) to a guy who is basically now a pariah just a couple years later (I mean, a guy doesn't just magically lose all of his talent overnight, right?), I think you are exactly right.
posted by The Gooch at 11:17 AM on December 22, 2015
As a 49ers fan who has found it baffling how Colin Kaepernick has gone from the hottest new thing in the NFL who was a play away from a Super Bowl win (and the following year just a play away from a return trip to the Super Bowl) to a guy who is basically now a pariah just a couple years later (I mean, a guy doesn't just magically lose all of his talent overnight, right?), I think you are exactly right.
posted by The Gooch at 11:17 AM on December 22, 2015
Brady on any other team might even have as many regular season starts as us. Most 6th round compensatory picks on a non-rotation position end up on two or three practice squads before calling it quits and returning home (or going to Canada).
Colin Kaepernick has gone from the hottest new thing in the NFL
Same thing with RGIII, where everyone, from Snyder to Shannahan to RGIII himself, sabotaged his situation to the point I wouldn't be surprised if he joins the LA Rams for a conditional 5th or is cut and ends up on the Eagles or Cowboys. Like Kaep, he was the hottest thing for a while, and the whole mess following his knee injury turned him into just another guy.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:44 AM on December 22, 2015
Colin Kaepernick has gone from the hottest new thing in the NFL
Same thing with RGIII, where everyone, from Snyder to Shannahan to RGIII himself, sabotaged his situation to the point I wouldn't be surprised if he joins the LA Rams for a conditional 5th or is cut and ends up on the Eagles or Cowboys. Like Kaep, he was the hottest thing for a while, and the whole mess following his knee injury turned him into just another guy.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:44 AM on December 22, 2015
Do you, I said, have any idea how impressive it is to be ranked eighth - worldwide - in anything, let alone something as competitive and financially lucrative as professional tennis?
Especially when you're lucky to hold a single service game in a match. Very impressive.
But for reals, elite athletics is insane; the levels demanded extraordinary.
posted by smoke at 6:50 PM on December 22, 2015
Especially when you're lucky to hold a single service game in a match. Very impressive.
But for reals, elite athletics is insane; the levels demanded extraordinary.
posted by smoke at 6:50 PM on December 22, 2015
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I had forgotten Harrington played for the Falcons. I guess like a lot of Falcons fans I've been blocking out 2007. He seems like a good guy. I'm glad he's landed on his feet.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:15 PM on December 21, 2015