“Thanks be to God for Tom Moore”
-Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl-winning, 4-time Super Bowl champion
At this year’s fantasy football draft, an obligatory question emerged amongst me and my friends, just as it likely did at fantasy drafts all around the nation.
If Andy Reid wins a third straight title, becoming the first head coach to ever do so, where would he rank among the greatest NFL coaches of all time? It’s what we do as a people, we rank.
We all agreed he’d still rank behind Bill Belichick but then things got a little muddier with names like his, Chuck Noll’s and Bill Walsh’s entering the picture.
That’s not the point of this post.
While those guys get all the glory, fame and recognition from the casual fan, there are countless more who deserve credit yet rarely get it.
When’s the last time you and your buddies ever argued about the game’s best assistant coaches? I’m guessing never.
That’s because you probably don’t know that many. That’s also probably because there’s only one right answer.
That man’s name is Tom Moore.
If you’ve spent any time watching the NFL over the last 45 years (that’s how long he’s been in the league!), you probably recognize the silver hair, the rounded readers, the hulking body and the casual grimace that only a lifetime of football can provide. A man who grew up believing “that winning football is about the players, not the plays” and who brought that philosophy into his coaching style.
With the assistance of Tampa Bay Times sportswriter Rick Stroud, Moore has finally put his life story into print, a man of grace and gratitude, humility and attitude, a man for whom football has meant everything. His new biography is entitled The Players’ Coach: From Bradshaw to Manning, Brady and Beyond.
As you’d expect, his bio contains classic stories from a man who has been around a while and has earned the utmost respect from anyone who has been around him. His is the story of a man who has seen it all yet admittedly still has plenty to learn. “I’m a football lifer, the assistant my entire career in coaching and that’s okay. I’m the players’ coach. My job was to make the best even better. If you read my story, you’d know why I believe in guardian angels. I’m the most fortunate guy that God has ever created.”
Moore coached for, and with, greats too numerous to mention. His is a fabulous tale, taking him from Iowa to the Army to Korea where he first coached football, to Dayton, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and the University of Minnesota, where he’d help recruit Tony Dungy. He’d go on to work with those championship Steelers teams where he’d become an assistant under Chuck Noll, under whom he learned that bettering oneself is a never-ending process. “When you think you can’t get any better is when you start to tail off.”
Imagine dreaming of becoming a football coach and having your first gig be on those championship Pittsburgh Steelers sidelines coaching Terry Bradshaw, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris and Mean Joe Greene! Moore reveals some great Chuck Noll stories. “One time we were going to San Diego and a reporter asked Chuck ‘What’s your philosophy about going out west? Do you go two days early or one day early or what?’ Chuck, in a very nonchalant way, said, “I don’t really care when we go. Just make sure Joe Greene is on the plane.”
After leaving Pittsburgh, it was off to Minnesota, Detroit, New Orleans and ultimately Indianapolis where he tells the story of taking Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf, which believe it or not was a question back in 1998. When Colts owner Bill Polian asked for his opinion on which quarterback to draft, Moore replied “If you draft Ryan Leaf, you’ll always wonder what it would’ve been like if you had drafted Peyton Manning. If you draft Peyton Manning, you couldn’t care less.”
These are the kind of nuggets you’ll read in A Players’ Coach, as one would expect from a man who has been in the league for so long and worked alongside so many.
After leaving Indy, he’d work for the Jets, Titans, Cardinals and ultimately land in Tampa Bay where he’d coach Tom Brady and win yet another Super Bowl ring. “Somewhere along the line, you’ve got to have a player who takes ownership the way Brady did. He held everyone accountable. He took every practice rep seriously. He had high expectations for his coaches and his teammates. Players had to match his energy and his effort. Immediately, you knew he was only about winning.”
Moore discusses his relationship with Tony Dungy who he’d coach, and coach for. As he started aging and walking with the use of a cane thanks to two bum knees, he turned down jobs from younger coaches in organizations who wanted his expertise. He didn’t want to cheat the game or any prospective employers willing to pay him a premium for his knowledge. But his resume is one of the most impressive ever. He also spent the mid-90s in Detroit coaching Barry Sanders, perhaps the greatest running back and character men to ever play the game.
Overall, Moore would coach for nine NFL teams and work closely with countless Hall of Famers, for each of whom he’d share a story you’d never heard. The Players’ Coach is loaded with experiences from a guy who’s been around the NFL since the late 1970s. It was time for him to tell his tale. In a day and age where coaches come and go never to be heard from again, Moore’s is a lesson of leadership, how to treat others, earn their respect and leave a lasting mark on those around you.
