Part II: Leon's thoughts on the current state
of the program, favorite things, word associations
and more! Click here to read Part I.
pC: Where’s Russell [Maryland]
now?
LS: Russell is in Dallas. He works for a software
company that sells video components to the NFL and
college teams.
pC: You played under both Jimmy and
Erickson. Did things change when Jimmy left? Erickson
ran a loose operation from most people’s
accounts.
LS: Well the years I was there, it was kind of like
Erickson was given the keys to a Porsche and he was
told not to wreck it. Everybody when I was there
understood what Jimmy Johnson had done over the years
and what he had built. We were a little skeptical
with going outside of the family with the hire
because initially Gary Stevens was a guy everybody
wanted because he was the offensive coordinator. That
had a lot to do with why Steve Walsh left because
Steve Walsh basically gave Miami an ultimatum and
said keep Gary Stevens on board and that’s why
he entered the supplemental draft. So when Erickson
was hired we were a little skeptical about his
offense, though it was a pro-style offense in a way.
A lot of long passes and decent running game. And the
one thing he didn’t do is touch the defense. He
let the defense stay where it was.
I can just remember the first time we saw Dennis
Erickson, we were all running 15x110s and I remember
him walking out on the field and seeing Lamar Thomas,
Horace Copeland and he is seeing offensive lineman
and defensive lineman blazing by him and he was in
awe of all the speed we had as a team. We were just
flying by and him thinking, man this new guy is
coming in here, just don’t mess it up because
we had just come within a yard of winning back
–to-back [championships]. Everybody knows that
wasn’t a fumble that was called against Notre
Dame and we would have been back-to-back. We had a
motto in Miami that was it was either title or bust.
It was no going to a bowl. If we weren’t
playing for a national title, our season was not a
success. So we just wanted to make sure that whoever
was brought in here, he understood what our purpose
was and he was on board for it because we felt we had
enough talent on that team to win a National Title
that year and we actually did.
pC: So would you say the players had more of
the role of running the ship than he did?
LS: Yes. We had enough leadership on
that team, that he didn’t really have to do
anything. Everybody knew their role, we knew who we
looked up to and what kind of talent we had and he
didn’t have to come in and discipline us. You
know, we had guys that had little spats but not to
the point that would jeopardize the team and what we
set out to do.
pC: They call us the “U Family”
and all the old players come back to practices, they
still work out there. How did that start?
LS: Everybody cares so much for the
program because we understand the amount of sacrifice
that was put into it. That is what we always tell the
young guys nowadays. You’re in the position
you’re in now because of what guys have done
that paved the way to this point. Jimmy Johnson did
create a family sense and guys came back. I mean
it’s hard to be a defensive tackle and not
listen to Cortez Kennedy who is a future Hall of
Famer. It’s hard if you’re a receiver to
not listen to Michael Irvin who is also a Hall of
Famer. It’s hard if you’re a running
back, to not to listen to Edgerrin James tell you
about cuts and read defenses. It’s hard to be
an offensive lineman and not listen to Leon Searcy
who was an all-pro. We had enough guys at so many
different positions and guys were saying listen and
they had no choice. They always welcome guys to come
back and it rolled over. Guys always come back and
help and we created that bond where we cared enough
about the program to not see it falter.
pC: Do you go back often?
LS: Not as often as I like. Only
because these last couple of years I was coaching, so
I was recruiting and this and that. When I was in
league I would go back and talk to guys and I used to
train down there early in my career.
pC: Did you have a nickname or anything?
LS: Michael Barrow used to call me
Godzilla because I used to always bark out calls.
Some guys used to also call me “Big Pun”
which is short for punisher when I was playing.
pC: What was the toughest place to play an
away game in college?
LS: Oh easily, Florida State. Florid
State during that time was like our little brother.
It was like looking at a mirror of yourself, only
smaller. I’m sure they’re not going to
like that, but it’s true. They always gave us
the toughest time. Most of athletes on the field at
that time were similar. If we had a receiver that ran
a 4.3 [second 40-yard dash] they had a DB that ran a
4.3. If we had offensive lineman that could bench 500
[lbs] they had a defensive lineman. They complemented
us. They complemented us in every way. I know it had
to be very frustrating for them because in my five
years there they only beat us once and the one time
they beat us we still won the title so I know it must
have been very frustrating for them at that time.
Florida State with that chomp and everything that
goes on up there, it’s tough.
pC: Who was the one guy that was really
influential in the development of your game?
LS: My high-school coach and my
offensive line coach Art Kehoe. The one thing Art
Kehoe did for me was that he kept me humble. I was
having so much success so fast from when I came in as
a freshman and then came in my sophomore year, things
just started rolling for me. I’m starting,
we’re winning titles but he always kept me
humble. He always stayed on me about my technique. I
could have an outstanding practice in my mind and
then he would tell me that that was horrible. I
understand what he was doing. He was feeding the
fire. He didn’t want me to ever become
comfortable with myself, with my technique, how I
train, how I study. Ultimately he knew I was going to
be an NFL player and if I became comfortable with
myself I could never achieve what I wanted to achieve
at the next level. He also worked on my techniques,
fundamentals, hand placements, how to shoot my hands,
how to train as an offensive lineman and all that
stuff. Coach Kehoe definitely had a great deal to do
with my success.
pC: Do you still talk to him?
LS: Yes I still do.
pC: You said going to the NFL wasn’t
that bad of a transition. What would you say was then
the toughest part about going to the NFL?
LS: One of the things was living up
to the first round status. Going to the Pittsburgh
Steelers and being the 11th pick overall, I was now
the highest paid guy on the line as a rookie. So,
having to live up to those expectations. Then, just
the speed of the game. We had a lot of speed in Miami
but there were so many different formations and
variations in the league [NFL]. You would have to
check out safeties, cornerbacks, twist and stunts at
the next level. The speed and the expectations were
probably the toughest.
pC; You went to the Steelers, the
Jaguars, Ravens and Dolphins. What was your favorite
stop?
LS: My favorite stop was Pittsburgh. I
love being a Steeler. Everything about it. The
hard-nosed, tough, hardhat, coming to work everyday
lunch pail attitude, the Steelers exempted, I loved
everything about it. Coach Cowher was an awesome
coach, very player friendly. He loved winning, hated
losing, tough, hard-nosed. I came in with Cowher, I
was his first pick in 1992. Everything about being a
Steeler, I enjoy.
pC: Going to the current state of the
program, why did you think it became this way, how
can it get back?
LS: I probably didn’t make a lot
of UM fans happy when I made a comment on the radio
about how Miami has become the Cal Berkley of
California. In the sense that USC has become the
staple now in California and there is USC and
everybody else. Now in the state of Florida the
tables have turned in the sense that now, the
University of Florida is the toast of the town and
Miami is in the back seat. It is true though, in
Gainesville they have this machine running. They have
two National Titles in three years, they are doing
something right. We’re getting just as much as
talent as they are, but somehow it’s not
transforming onto the field. I don’t know who
to blame. I don’t know if we should blame the
coaches, or the recruiting. Everyone says the
facilities or we don’t have the money. When I
was at the University of Miami, our weight room was
no bigger than this Applebee’s, but I can name
a lot of talent that came out of that little weight
room with one little window when anytime you need to
get air you had to open the door to get air.
You’re talking about guys like Russell, Tez,
me, Warren Sapp a slew of NFL players that came out
of the little facility. I don’t want to hear
about we don’t have the money or facilities.
Something is just not being done there. Now I hear
that if we win seven or eight games, you can’t
have those sort of low expectations and ever expect
your program to be where it used to be. I really
don’t converse with those guys as much as I
used to, but I hope they care that they want to turn
it back around. I know they are working their behinds
off but something is not going right.
pC: Do you think Randy is the man for the
job?
LS: I do think Randy is the man but
does Randy have the people around him? He was there
and I know Randy knows about the traditions and
upholding them but he’s got to have everybody
on the same page. If he has everybody on the same
page with a clear objective of getting the program
back to where it used to be then it will be back
where it should be. Right now it doesn’t make
any sense to me that over the last four or five years
we have top 10 recruiting classes according to those
publications and then not being able to transfer that
over to the football field.
pC: So you think there was a problem at least
in coaching or development.
LS: Look at this statistic. I was
watching the NFL network and the last couple of years
Miami has been squeaking out a first round pick. Now
this year we might not even have a guy drafted. When
Butch had that machine running and we were on
probation, a Butch Davis recruiting class consisted
of Ed Reed, Cliton Portis, Edgerrin James, Santana
Moss, Reggie Wayne, Bryant Mckinne, DJ Williams,
Phillip Buchanon and this is when we were on
probation. When you’re on probation and they
take 33 of your scholarships away you’ve got to
recruit and you’ve got to develop these players
if you want to compete. Look at Jimmy, look at
Dennis, look at Butch and you look at Larry and you
look at Randy. Somewhere there was a demise. If you
look at a timeline, there was no demise with Jimmy,
Erickson towards the end maybe, Butch built that
thing back up. Someone is to blame after that. I
won’t say the name but you do the math.
pC: Do you think the program can come back
though?
LS: I believe they can. I believe they
can. If they’re getting the top-notch players
you have to put these guys in position so they can
win football games. That’s what it boils down
to.
pC: What do you think about the move to
Dolphins Stadium?
LS: I didn’t like it. I know why
it was done, money. A private school, not state
funded and the Orange Bowl facilities were shammy at
best. I understand why they made the move. The whole
idea of the Orange Bowl was to have the student base
there for the games. The atmosphere is not the same
and the fans are spread out.
pC: Why the number 73 at UM?
LS: I was 77 in high school and they
gave me 73 in college. In the pros I wanted the
number 73 but it would have cost me $10,000.
pC: Who did you have to buy it from?
LS: Justin Strzelczyk, he was an
offensive lineman of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was
the first round pick making all this money and I just
assumed I would get my number. I asked if I could
have my number and they said well someone has it. I
said I need my number and they said you need to go
talk to him about it. So I went to him and said would
you like to switch numbers, I have been 73 my whole
career. He told me ‘it’s going to cost
you’ and I said how is it going to cost me? He
started it up at $25,000. I said you can keep that
and he told me ‘alright you can have it for ten
grand.’ I said I’m not going to give you
ten grand for a number. I’ll just be 72 and
I’ll make it famous.
pC:I say a word and you tell me the
first thing that pops in your head:
Randy Shanon: Onion
pC: That was his nickname?
LS: That was his nickname
pC: Why?
LS: The rumor was that he would make
the girls cry but I doubt that. That’s what
they used to call him.
Larry Coker: Good guy
The Orange Bowl: Tradition
Dolphin Stadium: A waste
Sebastian the Ibis: Crazy as they come
Art Kehoe: Genius
Coral Gables: Too expensive
The Fiesta Bow: Robbed
Ohio State: Hate ‘em
Jimmy Johnson: Outstanding
Dennis Erickson: Aight
pC: Do you follow the NFL now? You follow a
team?
LS: I follow the Steelers. I played
for a couple of teams but the Steelers seem to be the
only ones interested in me after football. They
contacted me last year because it was the 75th
anniversary of the Steelers franchise and they called
me and said that I made the all 90s team and they
wanted me to come. They send my son stuff and stay in
contact with him. The Jaguars, I have yet to hear
from them and they were my most recent team.
pC: Why did you end up going to the Jaguars?
LS: This is a funny story. I’m a
free agent just out of the Super Bowl. My agent is
Drew Rosenhaus, enough said there. I’m a little
cocky and I’m in the Bahamas. I’m
resting. Drew Rosenhaus calls me and says ‘Leon
we have a deal on the table.’ I say from the
Steelers? And he says ‘no from Jaguars.’
And I said the Jaguars? Come on now.
This is why I left Pittsburgh. Drew Rosenhaus got the
Steelers on the phone. Drew told me at the time that
the money we were asking from Pittsburgh didn’t
think I deserved it. You’ve got to remember at
the time, I am 24, 25, a pro bowler and teams are
telling me that I don’t deserve [the money]. He
said ‘Pittsburgh doesn’t think you
deserve the kind money you are asking for.’
They said you’re too young. I said I
don’t believe you, you’re lying. So Drew
got them on the phone, and I am on the phone
listening. Drew is ranting and raving and saying Leon
is going to leave and they’re saying we
don’t care we have someone to replace him. So
that was probably the worst thing that could have
happened to me.
pC: They didn’t know you were on the
phone?
LS: No. They didn’t. They
didn’t know I was on the phone and Drew
negotiated with them. You don’t want to hear
negotiations. For one, I’m 25 years old, you
don’t understand the business. His job is to
get as much money as he can and their job is to keep
as much and we’re supposed to meet somewhere in
the middle. But Drew did not explain that to me. He
just explained that they don’t want you for the
money you’re asking for. So, I’m on the
phone and I’m hearing them say Leon is only a
starter for us for 3 years and we can’t give
him that kind of money because Dermontti Dawson is
this and he will be a future Hall of Famer. We love
the kid but we can’t pay him to be the highest
offensive lineman. So I am listening to this. I am
fuming mad. I said the hell with Pittsburgh.
I’ll go somewhere else and prove myself. As
soon as we hung up the phone, Drew had the Jaguars
right there. He had already staged the whole thing
because the Jaguars wanted to make me the highest
paid offensive linemen in the NFL at that time. So,
Drew said don’t worry about them, I’ve
got a team that wants to make you the highest paid
offensive lineman in the NFL and I said who’s
that? He said the Jacksonville Jaguars. I said,
let’s go. I was fuming mad from that point on
but I didn’t understand the nature of the
business. That’s how the business is. I would
advise any guy who is a free agent, that is young to
not listen to the negotiations between your agent and
the team. They want to strip you down and he’s
going to build you up and they’ve got to meet
somewhere in the middle. You couldn’t tell me
that, not at the time. The way they were stripping me
down. He can’t do this, he can’t do that,
he’s got limitations. It was so tempting to
just say something on the phone. I was holding it in.
pC: Favorite Food?
LS: Seafood
pC: Top tunes on your iPod?
LS: R&B, old school, Prince,
light rap
pC: TV show you can’t miss?
LS: Law & Order and Cold Case
pC: What you do in your spare time?
LS: I try and spend as much time as I
can with my kids. I have two daughters and my son.
When I’m not doing something, I want to be with
them. It was tough when I was playing ball because I
was so busy. I saw my kids get raised without me. I
was traveling and doing this and that. I was still
wild and out there. So, now that they’re
growing up, I want to spend as much time as I can
with them. My daughters live in Atlanta, my son lives
in Orlando.
Click here to read Part I of our
interview with Leon Searcy.
We at proCanes.com would like to thank Leon
Searcy for being so gracious with his time to do this
very insightful interview for our new feature
"Tracking proCanes." We would also like to thank his
son Leon for his patience and input during the
interview.
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