By Mark Eckel | Engagement Insider
Andre Goodman was just calling his old college to see about getting tickets for their football games. Never in his wildest imagination did he think it would be the start of a new career.
“It literally just fell into my lap,’’ Goodman, a 2002 third-round draft pick of the Detroit Lions out of the University of South Carolina, said. “I’m calling for season tickets, because I want to take the kids to some games and the next thing I know we’re talking about a job.’’
Goodman, who played 10 years in the NFL for Detroit (2002-05), Miami (2006-08) and Denver (2009-11), is now the Director of Football Development at his alma mater, the University of South Carolina.
“Not at all,’’ Goodman said when asked if he thought he would end up back with the Gamecocks football program or any football program for that matter. “When I retired I thought I was done with football. If anything, the only football I thought I would be involved with would be coaching my young boys.
“I had no desire at all to coach, or be an athletic director, or go back and work at any school.’’
When he got on the phone with the people at USC that all changed.
“When the opportunity presented itself, I thought it was better to take it sooner rather than later. And once I started doing the job, I really fell in love with it.’’
Goodman, who took the NFL’s business seminars at Harvard and at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, while he was playing, thought he would get into the business world after his career was finished.
“My passion was always numbers,’’ he said. “So I always wanted to go into business. But you hear about all the stress in the business world. So I really wasn’t sure. I mean Corporate America can be a beast.’’
He’s very sure about what he’s doing now back on the Columbia, S.C. campus, back with the football team and helping the student athletes on and off the field.
“Basically in my job it’s a balance of academics and athletics,’’ Goodman said. “And it’s also career training.’’
Goodman works with the Gamecocks freshmen getting them ready for what college life will be like both on the field and in the classroom.
“There’s a big transition there that kids have to make as freshmen,’’ Goodman said. “I’m there to help them with that.’’
And he’s there to help the upperclassmen get ready for life after college and in some cases life after football.
“I’m into job placement,’’ Goodman said. “Whether it’s getting guys who are going to be drafted ready for what the NFL is going to be like, or for the guys who aren’t going to play any longer getting them jobs in their fields.’’
While Goodman says he wouldn’t feel comfortable doing his job on any other campus and likely wouldn’t have accepted the job at any other college, he does enjoy being back in Columbia.
“I do my job to the best of my ability, because I really do enjoy it,’’ he said. “I love what I do, not like, love. I look forward to it every day.’’
And that competitive nature that made him a high draft pick and kept in the league for a decade as a cover cornerback still flows when he’s watching the Gamecocks play on Saturday.
“Being a competitive person, yeah it’s great being out there again on the field and being with the team,’’ Goodman said. “I mean, it’s still my school. I get chills when I’m standing out there and the National Anthem starts to play.’’
Goodman doesn’t know what’s next for him. He still isn’t sure he wants to get into coaching, or the administrative work of an athletic director. For now he’s happy being back at USC and helping their student-athletes.
“I really don’t know where this is going to take me,’’ he said. “If an opportunity arises and it feels right, I would have to take a lot into consideration. But right now, I’m very happy with what I’m doing.’’
And it all started with a simple phone call for tickets.