Robert Mathis still teaching Colts' pass-rushers to 'hate' QBs
Mathis, thanks to a conversation he had during his retirement party two years ago with former teammate Dan Muir, will be able to continue to do both. He just had to change job titles.
Mathis, who had a team-record 123 sacks in his 14-year career, is still doing what he’s passionate about in teaching pass-rush moves, but he’s doing it a different way. He resigned from the Colts to join forces with Muir at a sports-performance facility called Pro X. It's right next door to the Colts' training facility, about 30 minutes north of Indianapolis.
“The Colts have done a great job supporting me,” Mathis said inside the state-of-the-art facility that features a training room, football field, baseball diamond and several batting cages. “I’m still a partner with them. I’m just not a coach with the team anymore. They know my heart is in a good place, know I have good intentions and that I want the best for them. This is one of the ways I feel like I can help them.nfl nike jerseys for cheap
“It’s a win-win because I still get to do what I’m passionate about in teaching while helping guys on the team I spent my entire career with. Everything is legal. There’s no gray area. I’m ecstatic about it and so are the Colts.”
Colts coach Frank Reich understood Mathis' desire to spend more time at home.
"I just think that Robert wanted to step down and kind of focus on [family] a little bit but still consult with us a little bit," Reich said. "We just want to have a little piece of him every now and then. It’s a big jump to go from playing to coaching; it’s a big commitment. So I just think it can be a win-win where he’ll be doing his thing there, but he can still offer his wisdom and stuff to us at appropriate times and in appropriate ways.”
The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement limits the amount of time an assistant coach can train athletes during the offseason. By opening the academy, Mathis can work with them more.cheap nfl nike jerseys from china
“You can’t touch players after the offseason workouts and minicamps and things like that,” Mathis said. “That’s like the most critical five weeks between then and training camp. It can make or break a season. It’s fine for vets, but it’s still a developmental time for rookies up to like fifth-year guys. Those guys need work. From the time of their last game until training camp, that can be almost six months of not touching an O-lineman. That’s a long time.”
