By Jim Gehman, Player Engagement Insider
It has been proven, once and again, it’s just a matter of time.
As a rookie with the Los Angeles Rams in 1985, outside linebacker Kevin Greene knew he belonged on the field for more than being a backup and playing on special teams. One problem – head coach John Robinson wasn’t convinced.
“I was really biting at the bit and remember always going up to Coach Robinson, ‘Hey, I can play. Put me in, I can play.’ And he got so mad at me one time, he said, ‘If you ask me one more time to play football, I’m going to send your country ass back home to Alabama.’ Just like that. So I kind of stopped asking,” Greene said with a laugh.
“But that second and third year, I kept asking. ‘Hey, I can play. I can play better than the guys you’ve got starting in front of me. I can do better.’ And so after so many times of hearing that, he just got (ticked) off at me. He wasn’t ready to play me. But that fourth year (in 1988) when he finally started me, that’s the year that I had 16.5 sacks and ended up second in the NFL behind Reggie White. I didn’t let him down.”
Greene didn’t let anyone down. A two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, he played 15 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, posting 160 career sacks, which ranks him third in NFL history behind Bruce Smith and White.
Why was Greene able to have so much gridiron success?
“I think a couple reasons,” he explained. “I was obviously blessed. I think to play 15 years and never have a knee operation, no major injuries, I think that’s just the hand of God right there. And I was able to maintain my productivity because I essentially figured out how to pass rush. I studied film and figured out how to rush against an individual that outweighed me 80 to 100 pounds sometimes. I figured out how to put them in a position of failure.
“I kind of found out through trial-and-error on my own. I thought I’d try this and I’d try that and there was really one thing that I did pretty much my whole career that really had a high rate of success as far as rushing the passer. And once I kind of figured it out that they can’t block this specific move, I really refined it. I really started to hone up on this one specific move that I thought was practically unblockable.
“I think that I played with passion. And I think it took me all the way to really that 15th season before I finally said, ‘You know what? I’ve really got a peace about my production and what I did as a player.’”
Much like his early days with the Rams when he waited to be a starter, Greene has waited for the nod to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And in this, his 12th year of eligibility, he got it.
“(My initial reaction) was one of relief, to tell you the truth, because I’d been a finalist for like five years, I think,” Greene said. “And they were voting people into the Hall of Fame that didn’t play as long as I did and weren’t as productive as me. I saw them putting guys in, these guys had Super Bowl rings and all this other stuff, and I knew I made a bigger impact.
“I just was scratching my head. The criteria for the Hall of Fame was a really, really gray area about what really qualifies, what they’re really looking at to be enshrined. So I was just confused. I couldn’t understand it. So when I finally got (voted in), it was just a relief.
“I’m looking forward to obviously getting my gold jacket. I’m looking forward to saying a couple words to the public; just tell them where I’m coming from. I’ve penned a lot of it over the years. I’ve been putting down thoughts and so I was able to go back and refer to a lot of notes. I’ve kind of refined it and got it down to where I think it needs to be. It’s a one-time deal. I’m going to do my best to do it right because it does have some gravity to it.
“It’s the right time in my life for this to happen. It’s neat. It’s going to be fun. I’m looking forward to the festivities and the parade and everything and just the enjoyment that comes with being selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Greene’s presenter at the enshrinement ceremony on August 6 in Canton, Ohio will be Dom Capers, who was his defensive coordinator with the Steelers and Panthers, and who was also instrumental in Greene coaching Green Bay’s outside linebackers for five seasons [2009-13].
“I don’t think there was really a question of who was going present me. He has had a remarkable impact in not only my football career, but my life and my family’s life. It had to be Dom.”
Having helped the Packers win Super Bowl XLV, Greene wouldn’t be against returning to coaching in the right situation. However, in the meantime, he’ll continue to enjoy another job which is much more important.
“Just being a dad that loves his son and daughter very much and loves raising them,” Greene said. “Gavin, he’s a freshman at the University of Southern Mississippi. So I’m going to go and watch him play some football this season. Gabrielle just turned 17, and she is between her junior and senior year (of high school). She wants to be a veterinarian.
“And just being a husband to a wife (Tara) that just loves me and has just meant the world to me over the last 24 years. It’s like the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. I can say it’s just been a wonderful ride.”