Marshall Faulk won a Super Bowl as the centerpiece of the “Greatest Show on Turf” with the St. Louis Rams. He owns a gold jacket as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as one of the top running backs in NFL history.
But in the middle of the second chapter of his life after football, Faulk searched for something different. He’s found it in his first year as running backs coach for the University of Colorado, working under good friend and head coach, Deion Sanders.
“One of the things I’ve thought about is, are you going to die with all this information?” Faulk told me. “You’re not going to give it to somebody? You feel compelled to teach, educate and make sure these guys understand the landscape of the game, on and off the field, and how to play it.”
To effectively do that, Faulk said he reached out to a deep Rolodex of former coaches throughout his playing career to get a better understanding of what he was like as a player. Those former coaches included Houston Roughnecks head coach Curtis Johnson and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, both of whom coached him in college at San Diego State.
Along with those two, Faulk reached out to a pair of his running backs coaches in the pros, Glen Huey of the Indianapolis Colts and Wilbert Montgomery of the Rams, plus former Rams head coaches Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz. Faulk said those coaches contributed to a foundation established by his high school head coach, Wayne Reese.
“I had to grow the belief that I’m out there to help them,” Faulk said, when asked about working with his players in Colorado. “Once they understood that coach wants to see me do well, they understand the extra running and constructively criticizing them. And let’s just be candid, we’re talking about a lot of young black men who may be fatherless and don’t have a good relationship with another male.
“And so how you talk to them, how you teach them and how you secure the relationship to have them believe you’re out for their greater good, it takes a lot of work. I didn’t just walk in with my credentials, and they were like, ‘Yes coach.’ … So, I’m trying to make sure that I remember what it’s like to be in their shoes.”
Twenty years ago, Marshall Faulk was finishing up his Hall of Fame playing career with the Rams. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Faulk spoke courtesy of Super Bowl Slots, a virtual mobile casino game created by Aristocrats in partnership with the NFL.
“With all the other virtual experiences that you have now, Super Bowl Slots provides that,” Faulk said. “It’s another way to push the game and get it in front of you, but in a healthier sense because you’re not losing a lot of money. It’s not the Vegas atmosphere.”
One of the attractions of getting into coaching for Faulk was working with Sanders and a talented staff that included former NFL players like Warren Sapp, Andre Gurode and Domata Peko. While Sanders has generated headlines for his flashy persona, Faulk said the Colorado head coach makes a great impact on his players on a daily basis.
“From the outside perspective, you get the glasses, the chains, the sayings and all that,” Faulk said. “But he really cares about these young men’s lives after football — whether that’s after college or after the pros — that they have what is necessary in order to live a full life and take advantage of what this game does for us as players.”
As for the resurgence of the running back position after a historic season by Saquon Barkley and outstanding performances by players like Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Kyren Williams last year, Faulk said it’s up to elite runners to continue to earn their keep.
“It’s what the players make of it,” Faulk told me. “If you are a running back, and you allow other players to play and you don’t say anything about it, then you’re going to get paid like that. When you do what the premier backs in the league are doing, then they reward you. Even a Derrick Henry (who’s 31 years old), you get rewarded.
“The boy in Buffalo (James Cook), you get rewarded. They will reward you, because they understand the regular season is one thing, but in the postseason, you’ve got to have a guy that they respect back there. Running backs will not get paid if they’re not guys. If you’re a Fugazi, or you’re one of three, nah. You’ve got to be the guy.”
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.
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