06/17/2004
Interviewer – Gene Ramsay
Format – Phone
In the short time I have
had to talk with various Vikings players and personnel, one thing always came
through…Mike Tice is “the man”. He’s
a “player’s coach”. In most
of my interviews I have asked the players to, in one word, describe Coach Tice.
Many pause in thought before they give their answer while others just
deviate from the question all together for fear of not being able to do their
Coach justice in just one word. Then
it finally happened…I got the opportunity to talk to the Coach himself.
He took the time out of his day to talk with me over the phone for a
chance to take on my “blitz” of questions.
Before I go any further, this fact alone should impress people about the
kind of delegate for his team that he is. I
don’t work for any of the “big boys” in the sports media, but he took the
time out to give me minutes out of his day. Thank you Coach Tice. Onto
the interview…
GR:
Coach Tice, thank you for your
time today. I know you have some
things lined up so I’ll get right into it…<at this point my cell phone
decides to die and I lose the Coach. I was panicked so I called right back in hopes that I had not
irritated him. I was able to find a
better spot to talk with Coach Tice and I called back.
He was gracious enough to continue our conversation>.
Sorry about that Coach.
OK, the first thing I want to talk about is your Tice Brother’s
Football Camp coming up next week. I
know you and your brother run it, but of the players who come who is the best
coach?
MT:
Well, the players are
mainly there to sign autographs. Most of the younger kids sign up just for the autographs and
to meet the players that come out. The
guys don’t do much “coaching” per say, but they do a good job mingling
with the kids and such. In fact, if
the players who come out do not mingle they don’t get invited back.
If you are really wondering who does the best job of coaching I guess it
would have to be Matt Birk and Michael Bennett.
Daunte love the kids too and does a great job with them.
They all really help out quite a bit.
GR:
I noticed in your football
past that you played quarterback. I
know you later became a tight end. That
seems like an odd jump. How did
that take place?
MT:
Well I had had a shoulder
injury and I couldn’t play. It was either change positions or quit, so I changed
positions. It took about three
years for me to be comfortable playing at the tight end position and for the
team to really use me.
GR:
I know you and your brother
work together. Did your teams ever
face each other?
MT:
Yes. We faced each other a
couple of times. We never got to go
against each other on the field since we were both tight ends.
But our teams faced each other in the King Dome when I was in Seattle.
I think they beat us. He
played for the Saints. I think we
might have played each other again at some point, I can’t remember.
Maybe we beat them the next time or something.
GR:
Well, how about today?
What if you guys ran the 40 against each other?
Who would win?
MT:
I don’t think either one
of us could finish it.
GR:
Coach Tice, I have had the
opportunity to ask some of the players to describe you in one word.
I have gotten some different answers to no answer at all.
In one word, describe yourself.
MT:
Smart.
<silence>
GR:
OK, that was quick and to the
point. Thank you for that.
ON the Vikings, who is the “funny man” on the team?
Who is the jokester?
MT:
There are plenty of guys
with a good sense of humor on the team. I
don’t hang around them all that much so it’s hard to say.
I guess if I had to pick one guy that stood out as a funny guy it would
be Kelly Campbell. He’s always
doing something funny or trying to be funny with the guys.
GR:
OK, what about “Mr.
Serious”? Who is all business?
MT:
Well, Kevin Williams is
pretty serious. He’s all business
on the field. Bryant McKinnie is
pretty serious out there too. They
are both very focused.
GR:
So who wins the “toughest
man” competition?
MT:
I have to pick somebody
from my line. I would say David
Dixon or Chris Liwienski. Both guys
are very tough.
GR:
When you were a kid, who was
your football idol?
MT:
Joe Namath.
GR:
If you could meet anyone in
the world, who would it be?
MT:
Bruce Springsteen.
GR:
“The Boss”.
Excellent. So what is
something that would surprise most people about you?
MT:
I like flowers.
GR:
Yea.
I saw the thing they did on “NFL Total Access” about you and
saw that. That was a good piece, by
the way. What is the best advice
you have ever received?
MT:
It’s like most good
advice that I wish I would adhere to <laughs>, but it would have to be
“think before you speak”. Like
I said, I wish I would adhere to that more than I do.
GR:
What is the most memorable
moment in your life?
MT:
That would be the day I
married to my wife Diane. Another
would be the birth of our first daughter, Adrienne.
We named her Adrienne after our first date.
We saw “Rocky”.
GR:
Excellent.
So, what do you and your family enjoy doing together?
MT:
We like to eat.
GR:
OK.
Describe yourself as a Dad.
MT:
I’m a coach.
I coach them when they get up in the morning and when they go to bed at
night. I’m not as tough as my wife is.
She’s definitely tougher on them than I am.
GR:
Everyone seems to raving about
the new strength and conditioning program this year.
What has Kurtis Schultz implemented that makes it so special this year?
MT:
The program is excellent.
We are very pleased with it. It
has brought variety into the workouts. It’s
common sense stuff. Most of the
things he has them do pertain to football and they are geared for the football
athlete. We are really excited
about it and the guys seem to enjoy it too.
GR:
Is there anything
“unorthodox” about it? Is there
anything unique in the program that stands out?
MT:
Not really.
It’s geared more toward like what a personal trainer might do for you.
There is a lot of metabolic training and working on core strength.
You know, they use those big exercise balls and stuff.
Like I said, it’s just common sense training and the guys really like
it.
GR:
I have noticed on interviews
you have done, that you wear what looks like a championship style ring on your
right hand. What exactly is that
ring?
MT:
The ring was given to me
and is a very special tribute from my community in Edina for the support we give
the community youth athletics program. You
know, usually they give you a plaque or something like that, but the community
wanted to do something different. They
all got together and went to Josten’s and had them design a ring for me that
is a mock Super Bowl ring. I have
it on right now as a matter of fact. It’s
from my community and means a great deal to me.
GR:
What do you think about the
new turf in the Metrodome?
MT:
Oh, I love it.
That old turf was an accident waiting to happen.
This new stuff is the latest thing.
We have it in our indoor practice facility already and we love it.
It seems to be going in all over the league.
GR:
OK Coach, last question.
There has been a ton of hype about certain coaches in the league. Some of these coaches left and came back in like Parcells and
Gibbs and Green. What is it about
these particular coaches that make all this hype happen? What is it about them?
MT:
It’s
their history and their records. I
think each one of them has something like a hundred wins or close to it.
They all have winning records and proven track records.
They are great coaches.
GR:
Coach Tice, thank you so much
for your time today. I know how
busy you are getting ready for the season.
I know we will see the Vikings at their best come game day and I can’t
wait. Good luck as camp
comes around and we will all be cheering you guys on.
MT:
OK.