When I went on to play in college at Georgia, he joined the staff as the quarterback coach my sophomore year when we won a championship. And when I was drafted to the League, it wasn’t much later he joined the Bulls as an assistant offensive coordinator. But I can’t exactly take credit for that. Foller got to that level because he was a damn good coach who knew what it would take to keep winning.

The truth is, football is an ugly sport. You’ve got to be tough. You’ve got to be violent. And to win? You’ve got to give your grit, determination, and will. You can only do that if you’re prepared and do the work. I’m not sure why people find it surprising to find that coaches are often tough on players. They scream. They break you down. If you’re tough enough to get through it, they’ll build you back up and you might find yourself in my exact situation—about to play in the Super Bowl.

Coach did all of that. After going on to be the offensive coordinator for two more teams, he made enough of a name for himself to become the head coach of the Rebels. And his first executive decision was to make a change at quarterback that timed with my contract with the Bulls expiring.

“It’s been an honor to be coached under James Foller,” I say. “I credit him with much of my growth and success, and look forward to throwing a cooler of water on him after we get that win in two days. I’ll take the next question.”

* * *

“You know something.” Josh, my center, straightens from his bent over position, huffing. “We need to think bigger.”

I hand back the water bottle to the Rebels assistant. “We’re about to play in the Super Bowl,” I tell Josh. “What’s bigger than that?”

“No.” Josh shakes his head. “I mean about what we’re going to do to Foller after we win. It has to be bigger than a cooler of Gatorade.”

“What do you need? A swimming pool?” I joke.

Josh stares toward the sideline. “That’ll work if it’s filled with Holy Water.”

I trace Josh’s stare. “They’ll be alright,” I say when I see what he sees—Micah, my running back, and Todd, our defensive lineman standing, helmets off as Coach talks to them.

“Most of us are about to play the biggest game of our lives the day after tomorrow and he’s got us running routes in full pads.” Josh scoffs.

Full pads this close to a game—let alone the Super Bowl—isn’t a conventional coaching tactic. And conventional isn’t exactly in Coach Foller’s playbook. We run full contact practices probably more than any other team in the League. But this season, we have more wins than any other team as well.