THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1998
Q & A
'You Have to Do Your Part'
There's more to Anthony Munoz than just his Hall of Fame career with the Bengals.
Anthony Munoz at his retirement announcement.
(Enquirer photo)He's also a devoted husband and father, a dedicated Cincinnatian and Christian, a television analyst and very likely a future coach. Munoz's various interests and pursuits have kept him busy since his retirement after the 1992 season. Though being inducted into the Hall is a crowning achievement for Munoz, it hardly defines his life.
Munoz, who turns 40 on Aug. 19, recently discussed his 13 Bengals seasons and other topics with Enquirer reporters Chris Haft and Geoff Hobson. Excerpts from their conversation follow:
What do you think made you and the Bengals such a good mix?
Right from the beginning, there was just a natural fit, having met Forrest (Gregg) before I got here. He was really the only one that worked me out (before the 1980 draft), that put me through football stuff. Then when I got here, (offensive line coach) Jim McNally and I started in the NFL together, so it was kind of nice building from that first year and staying together the whole time. Thirteen years with the Bengals and 13 years with the same line coach -- that is rare in this business. I think that was a big part of it, dealing with the same guy the whole time. Even though we had a couple of different head coaches, we basically had the same system . . . Not to mention the guys I played with. Anytime you can play with a line for six or seven years, that's going to help.
It seems like you guys had not only continuity, but also camaraderie.
THE MUNOZ YEARS 1987 Suffered an injury to his rotator cuff in left should against Miami on Nov. 8 but did not miss a non-strike game. . . . Caught two catches for 15 yards and one touchdown. . . . Earned second NFL Alumni Association Offensive Lineman of Year award and short-lived NFL Offensive Lineman of Year award given by MIller. . . . Started all 11 non-replacement games. . . . Credited by coaches with allowing just 1.5 sacks all season. . . . Earned seventh straight Pro Bowl invitation, but did not play because of shoulder surgery. 1988 Started all 16 games at left tackle and was named Offensive Lineman of Year by NFL Players Association for the third time. . . . Unanimous choice for All-Pro honors. . . . Eighth straight Pro Bowl selection. Especially when Boomer (Esiason) got there (in 1984). I'd hate to see what he ended up spending on us in his career on Thursday nights. He'd take the linemen and tight ends out to dinner just about every Thursday night, and it gave us a chance to be together away from football. From early in the morning to early evening we were together in meetings and practice and it was all football; all of a sudden we had a chance to spend an hour or tw"'' football games on Mondays. You do different things like that and it helps build camaraderie. You get to know each other, other than just on the football field and I think that's a key. I think that's one of the things that might be missing these days.
Cincinnati seemed like it was a good fit, too.
It's very family-oriented. A very comfortable community. People are very involved in the community. It wasn't like we moved here with the master plan of, "Here's what we're going to do with the community." It just happened. Because of the people, that made it natural to get involved. After I retired, it wasn't like we had to stay here. Because I wasn't tied to something here as far as employment. But this is home.
You're the franchise's first Hall of Famer. As humble as you are, how does that make you feel to have had a definite impact on the team?
It is a thrill and it's nice but it's not something I think a whole lot about. It's nice that that happened. Even a bigger thrill than that is to be in there with a guy like Paul Brown. I guess standards are the way I look at it -- the guys that are in there already and all of a sudden here I am going into it. It's one of those things that's unbelievable.
How do you compare your development as a player at USC with your development as a Bengal?
I think there was a good foundation set at USC. The (offensive line) coach we had there, Hudson Houck, who's now with the Cowboys, did a lot of things that I carried over to the pros -- like the use of the hands, which wasn't big at that time. People call USC the school of tailbacks, and figure all we did was run-block, but we worked just as hard on pass-blocking drills. That built a good foundation for when I got to Cincinnati and worked with McNally.
You certainly have left the impression that you want to be a coach.
I think you have me pegged. It's got to be the right situation. I loved every minute of coaching the (Moeller High School) reserves last year. I was satisfied with that, being my first year.
Just like as a player, you have to have that confidence and belief in yourself -- I believe I'll be successful in whatever I do, not in an arrogant way but in a confident way -- and I believe if I was to take a job right now on whatever level, as the line coach, I could do that . . .
I'd love to have a co-worker, two of us who could do that. There's guys I played with who I'd love to (work with), a guy like Bruce Kozerski, or a guy like Max (Montoya). I think that would be a blast . . .
That was the neat thing about Jimmy (McNally). Late in my career, he'd go, "OK, I got the guards and centers; you take over the tackles." He gave me an opportunity not only to concentrate as a player on what I had to do but also to explain some things, and that really helped me a lot.
He allowed me to communicate what I was taught, and that's all I heard, before I went into coaching: how you communicate. You can know a ton of stuff, but if you spend an hour with these kids and they come out of the meeting not knowing what you said, you're not going to be a coach.
I have confidence in being able to communicate with people . . . And the neat thing about it is that I'm convinced you can teach high school kids stuff that you do in the pros and they can pick it up. Because they did it last year.
Why did you go into coaching?
I looked at it as an opportunity to teach more than just football. At any level. You've got pro athletes who are maybe a little older, but mentally they haven't really had to do a whole lot on their own. You have a chance to mold these guys and hopefully teach them something more about just football. About life. That's the thing for me, personally, why I did it and it's still a desire to someday do it. Just think of all the time you spend with these guys and hopefully have an impact on what they do not only on the field but off. That's what's exciting to me.
In college, your religious beliefs blossomed. What prompted that?
It was because things were going well. I thought I had everything you needed in life. What more could you ask? Playing at USC, I had just gotten married, I had gone through one knee operation. But I realized there had to be more to life. Winning games and being popular was not going to spur me on.
I realized I had to grow up, look at my life and see what was significant -- what really meant more than playing ball or going to school or being married. I had to look at the spiritual end, which I had never really looked at. I think God was working in my heart, (saying) "You have to be a total person. You can't leave the Scripture out of your life."
It's not that once you do that, there's not going to be any problems, but believe me, it makes things a lot easier when you have everything in perspective and you realize you can't do things alone. And I think there comes a point in time in everybody's life when they're searching for something. I just realized there was more to life than the gift I had in athletics, and I wanted to acknowledge that and I hadn't until my sophomore year in college.
Did your faith help you keep things in perspective on the field?
I guess the thing I kind of chuckle at, because we heard it quite a bit when we were playing in the NFL, was, "Oh, you're a Christian, so you're soft now; you're not as mean and intense." And to me, it was just the opposite. The dedication, the motivation, the purpose in what I'm doing.
God gives us this gift; he's done his part. Now we have to do our part. We have to go out and make the best of it -- lifting, running, studying, being with your kids -- and I don't see how when you become a Christian, your intensity's going to be lowered. It should be increased, if anything.
Do you have a favorite Biblical passage?
Well, there are a lot. But one that's not very long is Colossians 3:23 -- 'In whatever work you do, do it with all your heart . . ." It doesn't say in some jobs, in some areas of your life, it says in all your work. And it doesn't say do it half-heartedly.
'. . . As for the Lord, not for man." To me, that's what it's all about. In living my life, I want to give it everything.
How do you see football today -- the good things, the bad things?
I guess like any fan, let's start with the bad things (laughs).
I think some of the work ethic is lost, the dedication to the game. I'm all for the guys making as much (money) as they can; I think that's great and it's going to continue to go that way as long as the TV money is there.
But I guess the thing that is really an area I don't like is that they're making all this money but I don't think they're as committed to the profession as they should be. I just don't see it. For guys to come into camp out of shape, to have this or that problem, I think it's obvious that they're not as committed and that's the one area I do not like . . . It's a team sport but it appears to be more of an individual sport, worrying about the next contract or endorsement or whatever.
What's good about the game?
I love the athletes, the physical abilities. You look at guys like (Tennessee's) Eddie George, who can run like he can as big and strong as he is. You look at guys with the speed of a (Seattle's Joey) Galloway who can catch the ball. You look at linebackers who can run like crazy . . .
I guess the thing I've always loved about the game is, you can take a guy who's 300 pounds and a guy who's 190, and they can play the same game. And you can see the speed, the quickness, the strength, the explosiveness, the athleticism, all in one game, and that's the thing I love about it. You don't all have to be the same size to play the game.
I still love the game. I love the strategy end of it, the technical end of it; I love to see the underdogs, the 'small, little Denver offensive line" dominate the Packer defensive line (in Super Bowl XXXII) . . . I like seeing guys like (Tampa Bay coach) Tony Dungy get his opportunity and do a tremendous job.
How do you see offensive line play developing?
You have very few guys with the explosiveness. They're so big now, you see more 'shield" blocking, just kind of position blocking, staying in their face. I still love watching the Dermontti Dawsons (of Pittsburgh), the guys who are more of the 290-, 305-pound guys who can stay low and go through a guy -- your exceptions like (Dallas') Erik Williams and Larry Allen.
It might be different the last couple of years, but I saw kind of a lack of technique through the two years I was doing the NFL (on Fox Network telecasts). I would like to think it's continuing to improve, and I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the defenses that are changing. They have to make adjustments to that.
Do you see any lineman who reminds you of yourself? A lot of people compare Jacksonville's Tony Boselli to you.
I'd have to put him right up there at the top. In his rookie year (1995) I had a chance to do one of his games. His pass-blocking was so technically sound. Then in his second year he elevated his run blocking. I'd have to say he's probably one of the guys I love to watch the most right now. Other guys haven't shown me the consistency Boselli shows me, week-in and week-out.
Are there any lessons you learned from football or athletics that would apply well to life?
I think there's a lot, everything from work ethic and goal-setting and responsibility, even though a lot of things (in sports) are taken care of for you.
How tough was it to stay positive through the three knee operations you underwent in college?
It was tough, no question about it, especially after that last one my senior year . . . I guess when you're young and the previous two times you came back stronger than you were before, the desire was still there.
And with the help of your wife, DeDe, and your religious faith . . .
That was huge. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't had both of them. Who knows where I'd be now. I very easily could have thrown in the towel and said the heck with this.
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