Well the “Your Call Football” program opened up camp a few days ago with the check-in at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. 
What a fantastic place to have a football training camp.
It is truly a beautiful area with outstanding weather that makes preparing for a three game season very comfortable. (However as we took the field for the first double session on Monday we faced 92 degree weather – not so comfortable!)
But realize it is still snowing (Oh I mean “wintry mix”) in Michigan.
We started off camp with a mini combine followed by a short conditioning drill just to see what kind of overall shape the troops were in. My old pal Bert Hill was in charge of this effort. The guys who came in basically looked pretty good.
Bert is one of a kind. He and I worked together for the Lions for eleven or twelve years back in the 90’s. It was a fantastic time to be in pro football and we have remained friends over the years.
Although he occasionally steals my sayings and ideas he has saved my sorry ass more than once.
Our President Julie Meringer and Vice President of Marketing Sue Develin and their team established a fantastic operation that we are truly lucky to be involved in. They found a great place in Dodgertown to have a training camp for football.
Football is a fantastic game, but it requires hard work and practice. When you have a facility like Dodgertown to train at it creates a great atmosphere for training.
After many years of coaching it is very obvious to me that this is a first class operation and I can see the future of this endeavor – “YourCall Football” – is very bright. I don’t know the inner workings of a business operation such as ours. But I do know about great ownership and management. We have that with this group.
From the minute I talked with my friend Kurt Schottenheimer back in November and agreed to jump onto the bandwagon I knew this was a great operation.
It wasn’t two weeks later I heard from the “YourCall Football” front office. The plan for the establishment of a front line in the fantasy, gaming sports reality business was played out to me.
I then spent some time on the phone with the Director of Football operations Colin Vataha. A really bright guy who is a director of a group
that is involved with Your Call Football. The company Vataha Sports Corp is a big time company that does many things involving acquisitions of sports entities and investing in sports ventures.
****I mean a combination of Madden Football and Fantasy Football but with real players and coaches. BUT and a big BUT – the fans make the calls on the offensive plays. HOW COOL IS THIS??!!****
I don’t know much – as most of you already know – but this sounded like a fantastic idea from the get go to me. The design seems excellent – and the timing is right as well.
*****The website for “YourCall Football” can explain the idea and how it works much better than I can.*****
One thing is certain – I don’t understand how it all works. Not my area – my job is to help get the operation moving on the football end of it. So that’s what I will do.
Yup, my job is to support – not to furnish any brain power.
How cool is this though….so many great NFL coaches placed under the umbrella of coaching great Mike 
Sherman and former NFL star back Merrill Hodge. Man, what an awesome opportunity for me to expand my football coaching knowledge.
We also have a very knowledgeable group of young college coaches who are up and coming in the profession. These guys are sharp and really have some great skills.
To me this is a no-brainer ….how could this endeavor fail. Plus, what the heck – Florida….Dodgertown?? I can drive down….hang around – coach and see my coaching pals. Things could fall apart like most start ups. So then what would I do?
Get back into my truck and drive home. It’s easy for a guy like me!
Kurt and I spent several years together in Detroit and ironically we live just about 15 miles apart. Although we hadn’t seen each other for years – it was like falling back into a rhythm and we were able to organize our playbooks and other player information over a few weeks.
****As per usual – the first time thru here in Dodgertown we need to continually repair the book as it goes. Unfortunately we don’t have access to the normal office equipment. But the next time we need the playbook it will be pretty much finished and repaired.****
Kurt is one of the best Defensive Coordinators I have worked with over the years (and there have been many!). He has the ability to lead….yet he has an open mind and listens to the assistants around him – allowing them input.
He also has a personality that allows him to connect with the players very easily. Well when you are a coordinator, Special Teams coach and secondary coach for more than 20 years in the NFL you have the background.
Basically he is the reason I jumped on board. I figure if he was in charge it was going to be fun. Plus looking at the rest of the coaches it was going to be fun to sit around and tell stories.
Hell, we are all in our sixties – coached with and against each other – have so many mutual friends! It looked like a great opportunity – one just too great to pass up.
We have veteran NFL coaches and some exciting young coaches who are going far. We are also so lucky to have two former NFL greats in Chris Dishman and Martin Bayless.
Both of those guys were awesome on the field. But, since retiring they have been involved in many aspects of football including coaching. These two guys aren going to be awesome coaches in the NFL. I can see them having a chance to be head football coaches.
I’ll talk more about this awesome staff later.
Tomorrow is Thursday and we will have a limited scrimmage to test out some of our players and also our schemes.