You've got to make tough decisions, sometimes unpopular decisions... Whatever it is, if it's the right move at the right time, you've got to be also willing to make mistakes.
I'm probably not one of the more vocal people around, but I do watch, I do listen and I try to learn from the people I watch.
I think it's no accident that a number of coaches and personnel guys have come out of William and Mary. To me, it's a credit to the type of program Coach Laycock runs. There are set rules, there is clarity when it comes to expectations. You're expected to go to class and be a student-athlete. There are no cutting corners.
I've always had coaching in my blood. My dad was a college coach at West Chester and Ursinus so I had a feeling all along that I would coach.
It is unusual for a coach to call you, just from a fundamental standpoint and say 'hey we're watching what you do.'
I was the security guard that got stationed directly outside the Eagles locker room or on the field. I don't even know what I did. But there was Jon Gruden, Ray Rhodes, Emmitt Thomas, Danny Smith, all those guys that are legends of the game.
What I look for are guys that work hard, have a great work ethic and embrace that underdog mentality a little bit. And certainly there is no substitute for toughness.
For me coaching is about seeing a vision and trying to sell that vision to the players through a day to day teaching of the job.
I've got nothing but very fond memories of my time in Carolina, both at the Panthers and in the community with the friends we made, our experiences and vacations we took.
I think that most people who know me would say that I'm an intense individual and very driven to win and enjoy the competition aspect of the game.
What happens in college is every year, or every two years, sometimes every three, you get a new flock of graduate assistants that come in even though the head coach remains the same.