The Sam Acho Podcast

Sam Acho: Welcome back to the Sam
Acho podcast featuring Clif Marshall.

And as usual, we have a very,
very, very special guest.

And Cliff, I'd love for
you to introduce our guest.

Clif Marshall: Absolutely, Sam.

I'm super excited today because
we have Jeff Friday on the show.

Uh, Jeff has been a colleague of
mine, a great friend of mine for many

years, and he has over 30 years of
coaching high performing athletes.

He spent 21 seasons in the
National Football League where

he won a Super Bowl championship.

As the head strength coach for the
Baltimore Ravens, he's coached more than

40 players who were voted to the Pro Bowl.

12 of those players have been inducted
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He has a wealth of knowledge
on mind, body, and spirit.

Jeff, thank you so much for
being on our show today.

Jeff Friday: Yeah, thanks for having me.

I'm looking forward to the conversation.

Clif Marshall: For sure.

Well, I just wanted to start
with, you know, kind of what

you've got going on today.

Obviously I introduced you and
I know you've been training

athletes in the NFL for many years.

Um, what are you doing now and
who are you training these days?

Jeff Friday: So what I'm doing
right now, since my pro career has

ended, I've moved into ministry.

with a sports organization called
Athletes in Action, my last NFL

team was the Cincinnati Bengal.

So we were able to say, stay in the
Cincinnati area because a i a or Athletes

in Actions World Headquarters is about a
45 minute drive from my, from my house.

It's a 200 acre campus complete
with football fields, soccer fields,

baseball fields, a brand new $20 million
state-of-the-art basketball facility, 300

dorm beds, a sports performance center.

And so have a, a post-secondary prep.

Academy that I train, I am in
charge of their physical training.

And, uh, so these would be kids who
are taking a gap year from college.

Either they had a scholarship
that they weren't satisfied or, or

looking for a scholarship offer.

I got my start in basketball, in college
basketball when I started my, my,

my strength and conditioning career.

So basketball has always
been a, a, a passion.

So I work with them, uh, six months out
of the year because they're residential.

And so a day would include me coming,
uh, to campus to work with our

academies, which would be college,
soccer in the summer, college,

baseball in the summer as well.

And, uh, I tell you, cliff, it's um, you
know, ministry has been really good for me

because that spiritual block is heightened
for me as I've grown older in wisdom.

And what I mean by that is just.

You know, how I use my time now
is really, really important.

You know, we only have, we have,
we all have finite amount of

time, and so I really want that
time to matter, like we all do.

I just feel that right now
what I'm doing really aligns

well with the mission of life.

And so for me, it's a 45 minute drive
coming up to the, the headquarters here.

And so it's really, it's, it's a
spiritual morning as far as when I

wake up and I hop in the car, I don't
listen to any podcast or any talk radio.

It's, it's a, the drive up here is,
is the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

What does the Holy Spirit want me to
articulate to these athletes today?

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: uh, cliff, you know, we
had a really good mentor with, with

Chip Morton, with the Cincinnati Bengals
and, and how you give a message on, on

the whiteboard before, before a lifting
session, well, it's the same here.

What's the Holy Spirit saying to me that I
can build into these athletes physically?

socially, and more
importantly spiritually.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: so, uh, so that's what
I'm doing right now, working with those

athletes and, uh, you know, the NFL
was awesome, a great schedule, but the

reality cliff, and, and you know, this,
Sam, is that in the course of a, of a

season, which lasts five months or so,
it's really, it's really two days off.

It's the bye weekend.

Other than that, I mean, we're in the
facility every day, either training

athletes or going to meetings.

And so the, the, the time, the
free time is, is really something

that I look forward to, to keep
building into myself and, and,

and others as far as development.

Clif Marshall: Well, part of
that free time, Jeff, I know you

were able to write a book and I
wanted to get right into that.

As a matter of fact, I've got
it right behind me here, and

it's called Built for Winning.

It's actually setting right next to.

Sam Acho book called, uh,
let the World See You.

Right?

And here we got the Jeff
Friday Built for Winning book.

And, um, this is something that I know
you've worked many, many years on.

So can you, uh, describe for us a little
bit about this book and if someone

chooses to read it, what they would learn?

Jeff Friday: Yeah, so the, the book,
the, the genesis of the idea of the book

came in 2003 when I gave a talk, uh, to,
uh, a church group, a group of men, and,

uh, it was about physical fitness and,
and, and cliff, you know, a as a coach.

as a coach, we always try to give the
why, you know, why is it important

for, for you the athlete, why is
this important, uh, for the team?

How is it gonna make you better?

And, and so I.

Looking for my why I came across a
scripture it was Luke 2:52 how Jesus grew.

Jesus

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: in wisdom,
in favor with God and man.

So Jesus grew physically, mentally,
socially, and spiritually.

So I went into that, that talk, and
let the men in that room know that,

you know what, the physical, physical
fitness is one of four blocks, and

so you gotta pay attention to it.

And so when I gave that talk, I
mean that, that concept stayed in

my mind of just about holistic.

Total person development.

And then, uh, when it finally got to, uh,
the Cincinnati Bengal, seven years later,

I had three great encouragers that really
inspired me to, to help me grow my message

or encouraged me to grow my message.

One was the pastor of the Cincinnati
Bengals, Ken Moyer, former NFL player,

and he helped me with a PowerPoint
presentation in building these four areas.

And so for me it's like, okay, this,
this person believes what I'm saying.

That Okay.

That, that's great.

Another one was, um, Ron Ry, uh, who was
with us at the Bengals for, for one year.

And, and Ron has a decorated career as a
college strength coach, and he has a, a

book called the, the CEO Strength Coach.

So his mind is always thinking about
all these areas outside of the weight

room, and he's like, man, coach.

You know, your message is great and,
and you need to put that in writing, you

know, and so that was a, oh wow, I'm okay.

This, this college coach, you
know, believes in the message.

And another, another one was, was Cliff.

Was, was you, because you were doing speed
certifications and you always included

me in your certifications with my talk.

And so without those three encouragers,
the book would've never came to being.

So for all those in the audience, man,
encouragement is a huge, powerful tool

that you can use to spur somebody on.

And so the book I, I started doing
an email series and eventually

that turned into to a book.

And basically it's, it's, it's really
about those four blocks and how

those four blocks can really help you
reach fulfillment and your potential.

And I, I share principles that
you can use for immediate results.

And I blend stories with my NFL
coaching career into it to really

drive home, drive home the points.

Sam Acho: co coach Friday.

I'm gonna hop in real quick and I know
we didn't have this question planned,

but I'm listening to you guys and
hearing about a relationship and take

me back to that moment of encouragement.

Were encouraged by Coach Cliff on
this call and what it did for you.

Jeff Friday: so just to have someone
believe in you and a message that

maybe we're working on, but we
really are unsure of the impact.

To have someone like Cliff year after
year, it wasn't a one time deal.

It was maybe, you know, three or
four years, however long they were

running this, this certification.

He, he took me giving a total person
outlook into a speed certification.

So it just showed how much
he valued the total person.

But in, for me, it's like, man,
that really spurred me on that.

You know what?

This message is bigger than myself.

Clif Marshall: I wanna
stay there for, yes.

I wanna stay there for a moment,
Jeff and, and and Sam, and think of

the four blocks that you mentioned,
spiritual, physical, mental, and social.

And I want to know, coach Friday,
if there's an athlete that you've

trained over your 30 years as
a strength and conditioning

coach that had all four of those

Jeff Friday: Well, yes, we, we all do.

Clif Marshall: right.

Jeff Friday: do.

But we all waver, we all waiver in the
amount of tension, uh, amount of attention

we give to those, those four blocks.

And sometimes it's seasons of life.

we always want to go back to be a whole
or complete person in our life, and that's

gonna give us the best chance of success.

And so if I, if I had to, to just.

name a, an athlete, one athlete
that would come to mind would be a

player by the name of Vincent Ray,
who was with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Uh, and Vincent Ray came
out of Duke University.

And when you looked at all the, all
the reports of him coming out, uh,

too small to play, wasn't fast enough.

It's, you know, we all
have a rap sheet, right?

Well, he had a rap sheet, and so he
signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a,

as a undrafted free agent, which means
that the NFL draft is seven rounds long.

And he was unpicked.

So the Cincinnati Bengals signed him.

He went through the summer, then he was
cut after the last preseason game, but he

joined what's called our practice squad.

And so the practice squad back then,
this was 2010, was comprised of eight

players that did everything that the
active RO roster guys did, except

the game and collect that big check.

So, so, so as a result.

group of players would come and get
an extra lift in the weight room.

So it was a Friday morning during the
season, and on this big grease board,

I, I drew this, it's this this, this
bell shaped curve where it's low on one

end, it increases, and then it goes,
you know, flatlined on the other end.

And it's, you know, usually with
academia, academia you see the

grades, the A's on one side, F's on
the other, and a C'S in the middle

where the most of the population.

And I, and I, I drew it on this real big
grease board, all eight, eight players.

And I said, Hey, what?

There's minimal these guys are here.

You know, give, give 'em the truth.

You guys are on the far left end
of this curve, you know, on the

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: But I said, you know what?

There's minimal separation between
you guys and the guys getting paid

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: minimal separation.

It's a tweak.

It's a tweak in your game.

It's a tweak in your life.

And so there, the strategy was
you got these four blocks, how

can you tweak the physical.

How can you tweak the mental,
how can you tweak the social, how

can you tweak the spiritual to
help you move along the curve?

And in this instance, the curve
was with making a national

football lead team roster.

I.

And so in that room we had two players.

One player, Jeremy Miles,
played five years in the league.

Vincent Ray played nine years
in the NFL three contracts.

And so what that would look like as
an example, so if we're talking about

the physical block, we're talking
about, um, anything that does with

a, anything dealing with the body.

So it's like physical fitness, it's
nutrition, it's resting, it's our

practice Habits do practice hard, you
know, what kind of grade do you give

yourself in the field after practice?

And so, you know, with Vincent
Ray, the practice squad,

they always got extra lifts.

And so he was building his body.

Remember the rap coming out was
that he wasn't big enough or

strong enough to play on a defense.

He's a middle linebacker.

So he kept building his body up physically
what that looked like mentally, is that,

uh, so, so if I go back to the physical
playing nine years, he missed two games.

Clif Marshall: Wow.

Jeff Friday: Games.

And one year, I think he was like
12th in the league, in, in tackle.

So he, you know, this guy built his body
up and you know, I, I talked to him years

later after, after retiring, and he is
like, coach, I, I really don't lift much

anymore, you know, but, but it shows
that, and Sam can relate to this, it

shows that what do you need to do that you
may not enjoy doing to get that benefit?

You know?

And so he worked really
hard in the weight room.

And then mentally, if I would go to the
mental block, the way that would manifest

itself is that then he said that he
would always go to meetings early, and he

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: he went to a meeting early.

He always found that the coach was
always talking to whoever was in the room

and kind of going over the game plan.

And then when the meeting started.

They would go ahead and talk about the
game plan in front of the whole team.

Well, Vinny said he was able to hear
that message twice mentally, and

so that allowed him to play five
different positions on the field.

And so he became a really
valuable commodity on the field.

And so that's that, that's that
mental block and that mental block

is, is your education, what I just
talked about with Vinny, it's how do

you use your education wisdom wise?

It's, it's your self-talk, you know?

What do you say to yourself?

When you're in between plays in
a game or whatever sport you're

playing or in relationship and how
does it manifest itself to others?

And then even emotion, we control
our emotion with our thoughts.

It all starts with thought.

So that would be an example
of the, of the mental block.

And then, uh, the social block
is that, that's relational.

And, and, and Vinny said that
what he would do, he would make

a concentrated effort to really
spend time with his teammates.

It, it was going bowling,
doing things together.

Uh, he just, you know, Sam, and you can
relate to this on the field, it's a.

It, you build that trust and that
real, it's, it's intentional.

You, you, you do those things out of
enjoyment for another human being,

but the result is that when you come
together in a, in a team setting or

a football game, there's a, there's a
comradery or a trust that's been built.

And so, um, he, he did that.

What, what that allowed him to do
is, but he was voted team captain,

I think five years in a row.

I mean, the players really respected him.

And that, that's team captain
that's voted by your peers.

And so that's how that social
block manifests itself.

And then the spiritual block is just,
um, you know, it's a connection with God.

it's the most important block.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: they're all inter
interdependent, but, but the reason the

spiritual is the most important because
that determines where we go and we die.

And that's eternity.

And it gives us purpose and it
helps decipher right from wrong.

So while they're all important,
it's that spiritual block.

And so, you know, then you
would go to, you know, the

Bible studies and, and the NFL.

Is a spiritual sport.

It's a spiritual culture.

I mean, the NFL football player, if
you look at a Jobs Almanac of 250

of a of of occupations, 250 of 'em,
A NFL football player is the sixth

highest as far as injuries and the
fifth highest as far as stress.

So you're dealing in a situation.

That you're, you're, you're typically
injured or not feeling great and,

and you're under, under duress.

And so I think, uh, the
culture of football lends

itself to a spiritual realm.

And what that looks like in a
setting is that during, during

the week, you have a, a pastor or
a chaplains assigned to a team.

So you have player bible studies
or couples bible studies.

And then when you get to the weekend of
game day, you have a voluntary chapel.

And then on game day you have, you
know, all kinds of prayer going on.

It's like, it's like a, you know, it's
like players and coaches really trying

to plug their, plug their cell phone
into the outlet to get power, that

spiritual power that they may, may not,
you know, can't provide for themself.

And so, you know, Vinny would go to
these bible studies and just, you

know, he would take bible verses.

To the field with him.

And I write about this in my
book where, you know, he's a

young player in training camp.

And this is the old days now this
is, you know, well old days of 2010.

This is a while ago.

And you know, you, you got, you practice,
you got the pads, you're a rookie.

It's, it's a training camp.

It's, you know, it could be 90 degrees.

And, you know, the veterans, the
veterans want to take a playoff 'cause

they, they have the team made, you
know, they're guaranteed a spot maybe.

And they wanna take a
playoff, self preservation.

you know, Vinny says, you know, when
he was a young player as a veteran's,

like, Hey man, you go take my rep rookie.

you know, as a, as a young player,
you, you got two options you.

I'm not gonna do this rep.

Or you take the rep and get better.

And Vinny said, man, he had to go
to a bible verse, he had a Bible

refer verse that, that he recited in
his mind, kind of like a self-talk.

So he used the Bible as
a weapon for good, for

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: good to, to
do the rep to get better.

And if you add all those examples
up, that's how you get a, a nine year

career, three contracts, you know, from
someone who, you know, the press clipping

said, man, this guy ain't, this guy
ain't, this guy ain't gonna survive.

So.

Sam Acho: Hmm.

It's interesting 'cause Cliff,
as you asked that question, coach

Friday, you've won a Super Bowl,
you've coached for 30 years.

And I'm thinking, okay, he's gonna say,
you know, who's the Hall of Fame player?

Who's the biggest, fastest, strongest?

And I, I know Vinny, right?

I, I think Vinny still now is
actually now the team chaplain

for the Cincinnati Bengals.

I saw him a couple weeks ago at an event.

It's like, and I have like.

It seems as if one of the ways
to quote win at more than just

sports and more than just football.

It's not necessarily about how big,
fast, strong, or athletic you are,

but it's about being a comprehensive
human being and that's that.

That's what I'm hearing and
it's, it's just interest.

Interesting that the name you
would mention was a guy, you

mentioned practice squad undrafted.

Yet he did all those little things.

Well, he took those opportunities to
make a big difference in his life.

Jeff Friday: Yeah, no, you're right.

And I think that every
player, every person has these

unique gifts and qualities.

We have it in us, but sometimes
our potential can get thwarted.

It we don't maybe pay, pay attention
to some of those areas, and those, the

four big blocks are just big nuggets
of ways to clarify things to identify.

But yeah, you're, you're,
you're right, Sam.

I think that, you know, everybody's
got these unique skill sets and

talents that are unique to them.

yeah, Vinny is one person that I
just recognized, you know, from

knowing him, that had those four,
four qualities or four blocks.

Clif Marshall: Jeff, one question and
that is so much, uh, great knowledge,

great wisdom that I hope that our
listeners will grab a hold of.

Um, but we're talking built for winning,
the four foundations, the mental, the

physical, the social and the spiritual,
and how it related to an NFL player

becoming the best version of himself.

Could you also see this book or
this concept, uh, helping a CEO

of a company or just a normal
guy working a nine to five job?

Jeff Friday: Yeah, cliff,
because the genesis of the book

is a, is a scripture on Jesus.

Jesus is the ultimate.

CEO,

Clif Marshall: Wow.

Jeff Friday: he's the ultimate coach.

He's the role model.

And so that scripture,
Luke 2:52 was about him.

Jesus grew in wisdom.

He was, I think it's 46
times in the New Testament.

They called him teacher.

He's wise, he's got wisdom.

He knew scripture.

He used scripture.

You know, so he, he, he was wise mentally.

Uh, Jesus.

It's estimated He, he walked over 3000
miles in his three and a half years

or three years of public ministry.

It's

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: miles a day.

The dude's in shape.

Clif Marshall: Yes.

Jeff Friday: He's, he ain't drinking
coffee and bonbons He, he's eating the

fruit of land and he's, he's working

Clif Marshall: Yes.

Jeff Friday: good shape.

That's physical.

And those are just examples.

And then, you know, relationally,
you know, he had 12 disciples.

It's, it's been said where I,
I read where, you know, you're,

you're or eight closest people to,
you spend 60% of your time with,

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: of energy.

And he had three disciples that
he were really close to him.

One he loved, he had 70 people with him.

So he is building into people socially.

It's not just about him.

And then, you know, at the busiest day of
his life, he gets up early and he prays,

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: you know, he's got, he
had that connection with the father.

So, I mean, yeah.

Cliff, um, the book is
for anybody looking to.

You know, improve their life and
get high performance in their life

because that is the role model.

I just try to help define it and
make it applicable to your life.

Sam Acho: Jeff, you, you talk
about defining it and how Jesus,

Jesus is the ultimate role model.

do you live it out in your daily life?

I mean, listen to you talk about
the car rides and the notes.

I remember, cliff, when you
and I used to train, you'd have

these notes on the whiteboard.

I would every day look forward
okay, what is the message of

the day that Cliff would write?

I didn't know necessarily
where it came from.

Now I'm getting some insight,
but Jeff, how do you live it

out on a day-to-day basis?

Jeff Friday: Yeah.

It's a, it's a checklist that is
ingrained in my mind of knowing

that I have to hit these four areas
either daily or every couple of days.

And so it's, it can be intentional.

Or it can just be a habit.

It's been said that 40% of, uh,
our, what we do is, is habitual.

It's a habit.

And the reason that habits are
good habits can be good or bad.

The reason we like habits is because
it conserves energy in the brain.

That's why you, Sam, as a, as a pro
athlete, you had these habits or routines

that you did, because what that would
ultimately do is it conserves energy

for you, that you can use the field
versus wasting it somewhere else.

And so I think it's, it's up to us to
develop positive habits or routines

and try to address these areas.

So for me, it could be.

You know, do I read the Bible on
a daily basis or a devotional?

Simple as that.

Do I start my day with that?

Do I do some type of exercise?

It could be walking, it could, you
know, it could be strength training.

Do I get that every day I'm married?

Do I connect with my wife?

Do I make an attempt to connect my wife?

Do I, when there's a argument with
my wife, do I work to settle the

argument and offer forgiveness
to make sure it's behind us?

Or do I let that creep in my
heart and that becomes bitterness?

And that's a conscious decision
that we all have to make.

That's relational.

That's just a, an example that I
think can happen every day with,

with a wife or whoever it is.

We're always in a forgiveness
mode sometimes, and, and then,

um, mentally is, you know, am I.

Am I staying sharp in my craft
or, you know, with this book or

just whatever it is in my life,
am I, it's called best practices.

That's a business term best practices.

You just keep on improving and learning
your craft, not out of selfish ambition,

but then to, to use that to help others.

So mentally, am I, I studying things?

And, that's, that's, uh, that's
kind of how, what I do, you know,

my own, in my own mind to, to get
that, to get those four blocks in.

Clif Marshall: Uh, Jeff and Sam a note.

Um.

You know, uh, for all of us really.

Um, I was encouraged so much last
week, I had a conversation with a

great friend of mine, colleague.

I would sit him a mentor.

His name is John Seroni, and I
know Jeff, you know him as well.

But we were talking about this
concept of training the mind, the

body, the spirit, and Jeff as being
a strength and conditioning coach

for many years, just as I have.

We often talk to our athletes
about getting 1% better every day.

And as I was sharing that with him,
he said, cliff, what if you took that

mindset and you said you wanted to
get 1% better in your faith every day?

And he said, do you realize that
in a 24 hour day, 1% of that

is 14 minutes and 24 seconds?

And he said, would you commit
to growing in your faith?

1% every day by spending 14 minutes
and 24 seconds with the Lord.

And that's reading the Bible,
that's praying, meditating,

listening to worship music.

And that really hit me hard.

And I've thought about
it a lot ever since.

And I actually shared it with
my wife and kids this week.

And I was, uh, reminding my
daughter this morning right after

she finished her devotional.

Now the devotional took
you about four minutes.

You still got 10 minutes
and 24 seconds left.

So she's like, okay, I'll turn on
some worship music while I get ready.

But that's so impactful.

I mean, can we commit 1% of our
day to growing in our faith?

And, um, you know, I, I think
for all of us, that could be,

that could be an encouragement.

Sam Acho: Yeah.

And even, I mean, just to that point,
even in the business world too, we,

we, it's, it's easy to break things
down to small bites and small chunks.

Everyone says 1% better, even in football,
1% better in sports and 1% better.

Okay, how do I actually do that?

That's what I love about your, the,
your book we're talking about, Jeff.

It's like, hey, here's the pillars,
but even that 1%, okay, it's 14

minutes 24 seconds can you commit?

Which I mean, you think about,
it's actually not that long.

I was on a, a business meeting
the other day and, and somebody's

like, Hey, okay, you know, business
opportunity will be once a month.

And my first thought was like once a
month and I don't have that much time.

It's like, dude, that's, that's
literally 12 hours, right?

If an hour meeting that's 12
hours, can you commit to 12 hours?

He commits a 14 minutes and 24 seconds.

You wanna get 1% better?

Here are the actual steps to do it.

Jeff Friday: That's

Clif Marshall: That's great stuff.

And um, you know, Jeff, we like
to say as iron sharpens iron,

so one man sharpens another.

And that's exactly what we're getting
outta your conversation today.

So again, thank you for your time and
specifically on the four foundations

and the Built for Winning model built.

But I did wanna talk to you a
little bit about your journey as

a strength and conditioning coach.

Can you kind of walk us through how
you got to the NFL and then once

you got there right, how you ended
up becoming a part of a Super Bowl

winning team in the Baltimore Ravens?

Jeff Friday: Yeah, so a strength
and conditioning coach is really,

I believe, someone who has a
passion for fitness and sport.

And so for me, um, uh, the fitness
passion came I think from a deep

wound where I had a family member
just make a comment when I was young,

you know, Jeff, you got a flat chest.

It's like, you know, so, but you know,
it, it, it, it was, it was a harmless.

Comment, it wasn't meant to be,
um, anything more than just an

observation, but that I think
maybe went into my subconscious.

And so what that did then, as I got a
little bit older, uh, in high school

and college, man, I, I, I hit the weight
room and building my body to increase

my self-confidence, my self-esteem.

so it came, it became, you
know, my fitness became a weapon

almost for, you know, for harm.

To be totally honest with you, it
wasn't sometimes the right reasons.

So that's, that's how I came
into the fitness profession.

so, but that love of both of
those, I started, uh, volunteering.

I knew I wanted to coach at a young age,
so I, I volunteered in different settings.

Uh, one of 'em was, um, with
A-N-A-I-A women's college basketball

team in, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
where I went to my undergrad.

Yeah, because I knew I wanted to coach.

Uh, and then, and then my undergrad
degree was in physical education,

which is coaching and teaching.

And then I went to graduate
school I got my master's degree.

And so, uh, after my master's
degree, there was a job at

Northwestern big 10 School.

was a basketball job.

Uh, and uh, back then,
this is, uh, back in 1992.

And so the strength profession
back then is not what it is now.

Nowadays you got like five
strength coaches for football.

And, you know, at, at that, at that
time it was one strength coach and

the whole university, and it would
be me as an assistant, you know,

basketball actually gave, they
eliminated a secretarial position.

have a budget for a, a strength coach.

And so I go into this interview with a
men's basketball coach named Bill Foster.

He used to coach at Duke University
at the end of his career.

And he's looking through my, my
resume and he said, Hey, hey, Jeff.

You know, me about, uh, Cardinal
Stretch College, this women's

basketball program NAI program.

Now, mind you, this is before Title ix.

this is, this is, this is long
time ago when women's basketball

is not what it is today.

And so I, I'm like, man, this,
that's kind of, I'm thinking to

myself, coach, that's really odd.

Ask me about women's basketball.

You know, this is, this is, this is Big
10, you know, basketball, come on, man.

And, uh, so anyway, what
happened was I found out that

was 120 applicants for this job.

They brought in four of us.

what separated me from all the
other applicants was that the

basketball coach at Cardinal
Stretch College, the woman's team.

Okay.

You got that coach, you got a coach,
bill Foster from Northwestern.

a mutual best friend by the name
of Rick Majerus, who was really

Clif Marshall: Wow.

Jeff Friday: basketball circles.

Clif Marshall: Right.

Jeff Friday: That connection me,
it separated me from everyone

else and got me my first job.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: So I, I don't know,
you know, cliff, I think, I think

the message there is that for the,
the pe young people out there, know,

every, it's relational, I think, um,
you gotta, you gotta put yourself

in, in position and get out there.

I I, and I'd like to think that my heart
was good as far as, you know, I did

things, uh, for the purity and that just,
just happened to get the job that way.

And so I met Northwestern and.

You know, I go to Bill Foster,
I say, coach, do you mind if I

travel with the basketball team?

You know, I wanna be the
guys, help out all that.

You know, he's said, Hmm,
yeah, you, you can travel.

So, you know, whatever, whatever
city I went to, I always try to

meet a strength coach just to
learn and, and take in information.

so we go play the Minnesota Golden Gophers
and we, I had just, I just happened to

have a buddy in town and he had a car.

So I called the Minnesota
Viking Strength Coach.

The, the facility was in Eden
Prairie, a suburb of Minneapolis.

So the game's on a Saturday night,
my buddy and me go visit the strength

coach for an hour on a Saturday,
the end of the visit I said, this

strength coach guy named Steve Wetzel.

I go, Hey Steve, would you mind
if I come back during, during

training camp watch you train guys?

So Chicago to Minneapolis
is a five hour drive.

You go, yeah, sure.

So that's what I did,
you know, training camp.

I go up there.

Back in the old days training
camp was at the local colleges.

Nowadays it's at the facilities
of the, of the teams NFL teams.

But back then they, they took the show
with them and back then what they would

do for the weight room is they would
put up a, a tent next to the practice

field and you bring your own equipment.

That's just what they did back in the day.

And so I go to, I go to Mankato State,
I got my cup of coffee, it's about noon.

That's what time the strength
coach told me to get there.

uh, the strength coach had a system
where he would have two players

come to the tent every five minutes.

And so Coach Dennis Green, the head
coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

got, he eliminated a second practice in
the afternoon just so guys could lift.

This is before all those rules.

This is, this is, this is prehistoric.

So this is back in the day where there was
very few rules and you know, coaches were

really beating the heck outta players.

And so it was a four hour training
block because two players would come,

you'd go down this assembly line and
you had a coach at every other exercise.

So it was beautiful.

It was like supervision.

You get a workout card, adjust the
seat height, put the weight on.

It was great.

So the young guys were the ones that
came in first because the veteran

guys could take a nap, rest up, come
in later in the afternoon, and that

bleeds into dinner and evening meetings.

And so the part-time help that
day they, they didn't show up.

all of a sudden, Hey
Jeff, I need your help.

And I'm like, oh, you know, so
I'm, you know, end up coaching.

So I'm doing this, I'm, I'm in this,
this four hour block doing my thing,

and the last guy to walk in is a guy
by the name of Chris Carter Hall of

Fame wide receiver that Chris Carter.

because he was the last guy to come in,
I ended up spending half the workout

with him because everybody else is done.

I'm just doing my thing.

He leaves the tent, he's walking outta
the tent, and he yells at the head

strength coach Steve Wetzel goes,
Hey Wetzel, you gotta hire that guy.

Clif Marshall: Wow.

Jeff Friday: So, hey, two years
later, two years later, Wetzel

calls me, he said, Friday, he
said, you're number two on my list.

The first guy's at Michigan.

But he's not gonna take the job
because his wife has a good job.

If he turns it down, it's your job.

I got the job,

Clif Marshall: Wow.

Jeff Friday: got the job.

I became assistant strength coach
in the Minnesota Vikings in 1996.

And when I was with the
Minnesota Vikings, we went to the

playoffs three years in a row.

1998, we draft a wide
receiver by of Randy Moss.

You got Randy Moss on one side.

You got Carter on the other side.

You got two Hall of Famers.

got a running back in the back field
by name, Robert Smith, Ohio State

Kid, who was a track and field guy who
could score from anywhere on the field.

You got three first round
picks in the old line, and your

quarterback is a strong arm.

Older.

Randall Cunningham, deep
Ball Randall Cunningham.

So 1998, we score the most points in the
history the National Football League.

We go 15 in one.

We win by an average margin of 17
and a half points by a game or per,

you know, I think by by per game.

And we go to the NFC championship game.

We're playing the NFC Championship
game against the 14 and two

Dirty Bird Atlanta Falcons.

Fox Sports says it's the second most
exciting SE championship game in

the history of the National Football
League, and we lose in overtime.

And so our head coach, Brian Bill,
excuse me, our offensive coordinator,

Brian Bill, the orchestrated the
offense that night after the game.

He goes and interviews with
a Cleveland Brown, Cleveland

Browns in downtown Minneapolis.

don't seal the deal.

The next day he goes to
Baltimore, he gets the job.

Two days later, this
is before cell phones.

Two days later, I call his home.

I talk to his wife, you know, Hey, if,
if, if Brian's looking for a strength

coach, I'm, you know, I'm interested.

And she's like, well,
he's at the Senior Bowl.

I'm sure he'd like to talk to you.

Seven o'clock the next morning, I get
the call from Brian Billick, basically

offered me the job, so I become the head
strength coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

Two years later, we win the Super Bowl
that year, we give up the fewest points

in the history of the National Football
League, a record that still stands and

probably won't be broken because of
rule changes, 10 po, 10 points per game.

So all these adjectives of
this great defense, strong,

powerful, you know, tough.

was basically the same strength
program from Minnesota.

Adjectives of speed, explosiveness,
quickness with the Baltimore

Ravens and different adjectives,
but different beautiful human

beings with different capabilities.

And so, you know, we won that Super Bowl
through adversity, a lot of adversity.

But we won.

And then, um, that kind of
propelled, propelled me in my, my

NFL journey, which lasted 21 seasons.

Sam Acho: Such a great story.

Coach.

I just want to cliff, before you hop in.

Uh, to me it's like, oh
man, you know, we won.

We won, we won.

What was the adversity
like that season for you?

Jeff Friday: Yeah.

Well, if I can speak on the team's
behalf, we had a historic defense, so

you knew that you can't waste that.

Because that's histor.

It's, it's not gonna happen again.

And we went five games the
middle of the season without

scoring offensive touchdown.

That's adversity.

We won, I believe we won three
of 'em because of our defense

and our special teams, but it,
it, it could not have gone on.

So in those moments, I didn't
hear boom from players.

That team, we had 20 players
that were 30 years or older.

So we had veteran players who knew
their job and knew their role and

were unified despite what happened
between the offense and the defense.

And the head coach, man, he,
he made a quarterback change,

so he inserted the backup.

Who was Trent Dilfer.

Trent Dilfer went to Fresno State,
was the sixth pick in the draft.

When he came out gr
really good quarterback.

He was with a Tampa Bay Buccaneers
and, and his contract ran out

and they didn't extend him, so he
signed the Ravens as a backup for,

back then it was a million bucks.

Headlines, Trent doer signs
back up a million bucks.

So his his first start as
the starting quarterback.

We lose at home to the
Pittsburgh Steelers, nine to six.

Same old, same old.

But he was a guy who was a team
first guy players loved him.

He, he wore his, he wore his heart sleeve

and we'd go and win 11th straight
with him as our starting quarter.

He was the perfect quarterback for that
team all the way to the Super Bowl.

So that's adversity.

During the season and we overcame that.

Clif Marshall: Jeff, I wanted to ask
you, um, in addition to the adversity

you felt your coaching journey, what
sticks out to me is there's two.

Opportunities that you had to
volunteer and work for free.

The first was with the N-A-N-A-I-A
women's basketball program.

That got you that job at Northwestern.

And the second was a five hour drive
to the Minnesota Vikings training

camp where you volunteered basically
to help out in the weight room.

There's a sermon in that, I
believe there's a lesson in that.

Can you share with our, uh, audience about
what it means, not necessarily to pay your

dues, but just in other words, you know,
get out and hit the road and try to make,

um, you know, opportunities for yourself.

'cause you created those opportunities.

Jeff Friday: Yeah, I think,
um, what I would like to

stress to the audience is that.

It wasn't outta selfish ambition.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: It wasn't, um, I was
trying to get something, uh, I was

really just trying to serve and
learn and bring in the case of the

Viking, just bring information back.

I never thought I'd be a strength
coach in the National Football League.

I thought that.

And so would, I would tell people,
the sermon to me would just be,

you know, be authentic, real.

Uh, but be intentional about developing
relationships because relationships

is how things travel through.

I mean, if you look at the gospel
message that travels through

people, that's relational.

And so just, just check your heart
when you do things and, and put.

Put the work in and be intentional
about growth, be intentional

about growth, so that, those are
some things that come to mind.

Cliff,

Clif Marshall: Good stuff.

I gotta ask you, what was it like
training Ray Lewis in the weight room

and did he bench press more than I do?

Jeff Friday: where do
you bench press Cliff?

Clif Marshall: Not near as
much as I used to coach.

Jeff Friday: Um, yeah, so, you
know, the, at the intro there you

mentioned 12 Hall of Fame players.

And so I came in the Baltimore
Ravens in 1999 and Ray Lewis

I think was drafted in 96.

And so I think that was his
fourth year in the league.

And, um, the year we won
the Super Bowl, we had.

A veteran by the name of Shannon
Sharp who was in the Hall of Fame.

We had another veteran by the name of
Rod Woodson who was in the Hall of Fame.

And those three guys were together a lot.

And, and what I mean by that is
that, you know, Ray, who was younger,

still still a great leader, but he
was under their leadership learning

they were building into him.

And even when, after a Super Bowl run, we
had Randall Cunningham, who I mentioned,

he came to the Ravens, Randall's, he's
doing bible studies with, with those guys.

So Ray is being built
into as a young player.

So that's, that's what I remember.

But then as his career escalated, you
know, Ray, to me, he drew people in.

leadership.

So what that meant was
that it didn't matter.

From my vantage point, it didn't
matter if you're a rookie, you're

a free agent, it didn't matter who
you are, he's gonna draw you in.

And so I remember in the, in the Ravens
weight room, we had this really big mat

on the floor where we did core work.

And Ray had this, this ab routine
that he would, once in a while, do,

you know, a list of 20 different
exercises, whatever it was.

And you know, he would, Hey,
come on, do do this with me.

Do you know, do this with me.

You see all, you know, 10, 15,
20 guy, whatever it was, you

know, doing this ab routine.

And the rookie, I'd say, I'd say, if a
rookie goes, I say, Hey, just so you know,

you're gonna probably get some soreness.

So just be, just, just so you know.

But he brought, he drew
people in as a leader.

And so from, from our, from the time I
was with him, I think we had six defensive

coaches become head coaches in the NFL.

Okay, so he took your team and
he elevated it by his passion and

drive and work ethic and standard.

So that's what I saw.

And from a fiscal standpoint, Sam,
you can relate to this man, tough.

Tufts University, they did a, they did a
study and they equaled a hit the National

Football League to that of standing
on top of the crossbar of a goalpost.

And that crossbar is, is 10 feet high
and doing a swan dive into the turf

with no pads standing and getting hit
by a car moving six miles per hour.

So that's what a hit by a 240 pound
linebacker feels like in the NFL.

And that's what Ray
Lewis did for a living.

And he did it for 17 years.

And Ray Lewis' stats is he has over 2000
combined tackles and 1,500 solo tackles.

So you add it all up and
that's like almost 4,000 hits.

So when you think about the physical
sustainability what he did to take care

of his body, of not only participating in
the weight training program, but finding,

you know, avenues outside of the program.

Kickboxing.

You know, back in the early days, in
the early days, we had a 16 week off

season program and it was a paid program.

Players got paid to train.

And so because of the length of the
program, a lot of those veterans,

they don't want to, they don't wanna
start running in March or April.

Back in the day, they started running
later the off season as it got closer

to the season to conserve the joints.

so with Ray, you know, he liked to
bike and so there's, it's called

spin cycle, the heavy flywheel.

I brought a spin cycle instructor
and bikes into the facility for

him and for other veteran guys.

So they would do that
as part of the routine.

And so, but you add up all these layers
to the routine, you're always tweaking

and that just gives you sustainability.

And that's what I think about Ray,
I think of his leadership and the

fact that he played 17 years at a
high level, won two Super Bowls.

That's what I think about it.

And, and, and that national
Football League's been in

existence over a hundred years.

And he's your star in linebacker on
your a hundred year anniversary team.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Sam Acho: Hmm,

Jeff Friday: player, good player.

Sam Acho: coach, I want to go back
real quickly and I know we're coming

to a close, but I did want to get
back to a point that you made in a

story you told when you were younger.

I.

You said a comment was made and
somebody said, okay, I got a, you

have a flat chest, and you started
working out and training and getting

in the weight room, but you said
you started to use that for evil.

How did you begin change that to good.

Jeff Friday: Self-awareness.

I heard people, I heard a friend.

So my senior year in high school,
a buddy of mine led the student

congregation in a, an assembly.

He organized it the whole school,
it's the whole student body.

He organized it in the gymnasium.

I wasn't there.

I was in the basement lifting weights.

I hurt my friend.

So that's, that's an example
of using it for harm.

It supersedes other blocks being
there for my friend and just over

time learning how to place it in
the context of the other blocks.

And so we get mi we get mixed messages.

I think about importance of things and
even at church I went to is like, man,

if you, if you wanna be a high achiever,
you gotta devote your whole life to this

one thing at this time in your life.

And I'm not so sure about that.

I think you can achieve all
your dreams by having a full,

abundant life in all these areas.

And so that's, that's what I would preach.

there might be seasons of life where,
you know, you may have to shore up a

relationship or shore up a physical
activity routine or just whatever it is.

But the more you can
combine all four in or.

Basis, I think the more fruitful
you will be as a human being.

Clif Marshall: That's really good, coach.

Really good.

I had one more question for you.

Um, I want to know as I sit here
in my office and I've got so much

memorabilia and uh, championship balls.

I got championship rings,
conference championship rings.

I don't have a Super
Bowl championship ring.

Uh, but like you do.

But I want to know, did that Super
Bowl, did that championship ring,

did it bring you fulfillment?

Jeff Friday: The championship
ring was just a, a symbol, just

a symbol of an accomplishment.

That's all it was.

We, um, the, the championship ring was
from the 2000 season and in 2020, I.

The Baltimore Ravens wanted to bring
us back to Baltimore to celebrate,

but because of Covid, we, couldn't.

So they did a Zoom call and so on the
Zoom call and hearing the life stories

of all the guys that were on that
team, you just realized how special the

human beings were that just happened
to be together in that one moment of

time, playing the sport of football.

That's all it was.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: That's all it was.

Special human beings together.

Clif Marshall: well you've mentioned
earlier, you know, in, in our

podcast, you know, it's, it's more
than just the physical, right?

And one of my favorite bible verses
actually a Bible verse that changed

my coaching philosophy is from one
Timothy four eight and it says, for

physical training is of some value.

But godliness has value for all
things holding promise for the

present life and the life to come.

And you talked about eternity, right?

And I think that the rings are a
sign of achievement to your point.

But a friend of mine said,
cliff, don't chase rings as a

coach, chase eternal crowns.

And I think what that means is the
relationships, like you talked about,

uh, that we develop with athletes,
with coworkers, with colleagues.

Those are things that will remain forever.

I say it all the time.

Results are temporary.

Relationships are eternal.

So my cliff note today is
don't chase the temporary ring.

Chase the eternal crown.

Sam Acho: Hmm.

That's so good.

And, and I, you know, cliff
usually give the cliff notes.

This is, I don't if it's Sam know,
I don't know what we call it, but,

but man, Jeff, after listening
to you, I hear a message of

Like, I hear this message of,
okay, if there's some stuff

that you've been holding in.

It'd be wise to address it
before it hurt somebody.

You didn't physically, because of
your strength or size hurt someone.

But you talked about that emotional
piece of not being there for your

friend because of something else
that was totally not related to

your friend, but related to you.

And just the reminder is to
heal, like take the time to heal.

You talk about those 45 minute drives.

You're not listening to music
or podcasts or whatever.

You're just praying.

allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you.

You're, you're, you're
spending time with Jesus.

You're not afraid of like, I gotta
go all through all these things.

No, I, God, what do you have for me today?

letting that permeate into your mind,
your body, your soul, and all of a sudden

it can direct your past and direct your
day and have different conversations

that you wouldn't have had earlier
about volunteer opportunities took.

I mean, that's how those doors opened.

You didn't go there saying, okay, I'm
gonna go in, I'm gonna train Chris car.

You go, Hey, I just, I wanna observe,
you're observing, someone calls you in.

You do a good job.

You don't, you're not trying
to go at, you just do your job.

You, you give it your all and all of
a sudden one of the best players on

the team is like, let's hire this guy.

And notice it wasn't like two
weeks later you got hired.

It was two years.

Clif Marshall: Wow.

Sam Acho: so for me, just as a thank
you for me to you, thank you for

taking the time to go and heal from
a comment that was made, right?

I wrote about this in, in, in the
book you showed earlier, cliff,

let the world see you, man.

Like those things that we hide, there's
healing that, that needs to happen

for us to not just grow for ourselves,
but grow for the people around us.

So, so, so Jeff, thank you so much for
not just doing the hard work of healing,

but sharing the hard work of healing.

Jeff Friday: Yeah.

If I could just piggyback off
that, that's a great point.

And, and I, I do wanna make the point
that there's this, there's a phrase

or saying off the field, on the field.

And I just wanna make a point that
I, I feel that's a manmade line.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: There is no off
or on the field, and it's your

point, Sam, when we step on that
field, we take everything with us.

Very few players can compartmentalize,
compartmentalize their life.

And so what I mean by that is that
one of the teams I was with, we had a

second round draft pick, very talented
player, but he had trouble stringing

together consistent performance.

And so I was talking with our
sports psychologist and I said,

uh, you know, why, why is it
this, this player's so talented?

He's, but he's up and down, up and down.

This is a sports psychologist
now this is science.

He said, you know, coach, he goes,
it's really hard to stay focused

for a sixty minute, three hour game.

So there's moments when.

Your mind takes to who
you are off the field.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: And so if your life is in
shambles, maybe it's alcohol or maybe

it's you're a single dad, whatever the
situation is that comes into your mind

and everything we do is for emotion.

The act of making a tackle or
scoring a touchdown, it's an

act, but you get emotion from it.

Well, this player, this board psychologist
was saying, you know this, the player

just has a hard time emotionally
getting joy because he just keeps

on coming back to, is off the field.

And so to your point, Sam, there's
the more things that we can heal

and address, the more free we will
be to really reach our potential.

Sam Acho: Oh.

That's

Clif Marshall: Jeff,

Jeff, one one.

One more.

One more thing as, as you're talking
about that you shared this wisdom

with me when we were working together
on the Bengal Strength staff.

You told me, you said, cliff, all
problems in life are spiritual,

all problems in life are spiritual.

And, um, as you, as you talk about
that, you know, um, drug addiction,

alcoholism, adultery, infidelity
problems in the workplace, um, it's

all because there's spiritual warfare
that we're dealing with each and every

day within our marriage raising kids.

And I think, um, the common
denominator in that is that we all

deal with it and we all know there's
evil and we also know there's good.

And so I just want to reiterate the,
this book built for winning, the, the,

the spiritual component, you said is the
most important component in the book.

That we would all continue to fight
the good fight of faith because we

are certainly every day when our feet
hit the ground in a spiritual battle.

Evil with Satan.

He comes to steal, kill, and
destroy as it says in John 10 10.

But it goes on to say that Jesus comes
to give us life and life to the fool.

So for our listeners out there, uh,
Pete fighting the good fight and um, you

know, we can win this battle together.

Jeff Friday: Can I add something?

Sam Acho: Yes.

Jeff Friday: um, and I write about this
in, in the book, um, but from being

in a, in a, the a FC North with the
Ravens and the Bengals, we would face

the Pittsburgh Steelers twice a year.

And one of their players, uh, on the
field was a safety by the name of Troy

Polamalu, who is a Hall of Fame player.

And, um, one thing I noticed, you
know, being on the sideline is

that he would, he would make the
sign of a cross between plays.

This, this is a generational player.

He is all fan player.

And so as I did my research, I
found out that he accompanied that

sign of the cross with a prayer.

And it wasn't a prayer like, oh Lord,
you know, why did I miss that tackle?

It was, you know, Lord, thank you for
this opportunity to play the game.

And so in an NFL football game, roughly,
on average, about 65 plays per game.

So this player, this player saying
a lot of prayer, and it cliffed

to what you said, he viewed the
sport as a spiritual battle,

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: a physical battle.

So

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Jeff Friday: I, I would like your
listeners to know that they can take

prayer with them anywhere they go.

And I think, cliff, you said it, God's
God's, anywhere everywhere, pray anywhere.

Clif Marshall: Mm-hmm.

Amen.

Jeff Friday: the green light
to do that in your life.

In any circumstance you are in,
whether you're on the football

field, on the basketball court,
at the dinner table, boardroom,

bring, bring, bring Jesus with you.

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Sam Acho: Hmm.

That's so good.

Well, coach Friday, thank you so much.

Not only for sharing.

This message, but also sharing
your book Built for Winning.

We'll have all the information,
Fred, anyone wants to learn more.

Uh, it'll be on the podcast.

We'll have it in the show notes as well.

Go to sam macho.com

and all the information will
be there on the podcast.

Coach Cliff as well, thank you for
sharing not just the Cliff notes,

but also these relationships.

I mean, I'm just listening.

It's like, man, cliff, you said
you, uh, coach Friday said you

were a big encouragement to him

Clif Marshall: Hmm.

Sam Acho: a time he needed it most.

You've been that for me.

You've been that for countless of
other players, and so thank y'all so

much for listening to the Sam Macho
podcast, featuring Cliff Marshall.

Thank you Jeff Friday for being our
guest and for writing your book.

Everybody go make sure,
check out Bill for winning.

It'll be all over the podcast as
well, and we'll see you next time.