today is about a term called ma foo
which is the term I started some years
ago like like Mandy said I Jack came out
from Chicago and I’m glad Jack’s here
Billy’s up there to life Billy just
comes out of nowhere sometimes but I’m
glad easier Geno’s here
my son Danny’s here so got a good good
rip Scott played for me he’s here
Mandy’s husband
anyways so this term muffled what it
means is mental toughness attitude
fanatical effort unity Andy the M really
comes from ability to make changes you
know you only look for the cans not the
cannot da is all about attitude your
attitude your attitude is all about how
you get up in the morning what kind of
attitude you take when you go to work
for our football coach you need to make
sure your minds right before you meet
with your coaches in the morning and
before you meet with your players so you
better make sure when you get out of bed
you better make sure your minds right
fanatical effort is all about vision
what is your vision like when I took the
job here at Utah their vision was
different than my vision their vision
was we don’t want to be embarrassed by
BYU and if you can just finish in the
middle of the pack and not embarrass us
that would be that would be great and
you know you know what my my rebuttal to
them was fu you know what I mean and and
so that’s just an common everyday and
ladies if I swear a little bit you got
to forgive me all right so
so I was thinking and I had a I had a
vision for what the University of Utah
could be and I knew exactly what it
could be and I knew exactly how to get
there and so I had it I had a vision and
he had to go about it in a fanatical way
and the unity was you’ve got to be
invested everybody has to be invested
your administration has to be invested
your assistant coaches have to be
invested the players have to be invested
and everybody has to be on the same page
and the locker room is this important is
anything what the players say to each
other when you’re not around is more
important than anything let’s talk about
let’s go through these terms where did
it originate from is your originated
from University of Arizona when I was a
line code sir we have played a really
bad game and I watched the film and it
was a BS film it wasn’t good the guys I
put the play for me were terrible so we
said that in that in that meeting room
on Sunday morning watching film and I’ve
said okay what do you guys what are you
guys gonna do about this I said you guys
better come up with a way you’re gonna
play and you got to tell me how you’re
gonna play so what they did is they came
up with this term muffled you know
mental toughness attitude fanatical
effort unity in in tongue in it means
heart and someone it means junk and in
and in World War 2 admit admit you’re a
deserter okay but in our terms of
Imperia a period after a new period okay
that’s what the term is and that’s how
you that’s how I live my life today it’s
the same with the same principles let’s
talk about situations okay so we’re
going to take you to a game against BYU
down there I think it was around 2000
okay Steve Smith who a lot of you know
played 15 years in the NFL
was holds every receiving record in the
history of the Panthers he gets hurt in
the first quarter he comes out I said
all my neck hurts
I said what’s wrong with you like he
said I don’t know I said can you play he
said yeah I could play I’m gonna play I
said okay the trainer he’s ah he’s okay
so he played the next three quarters had
a great game so I didn’t he call it
called me on Sunday and he said coach my
neck really hurts I said okay we’ll go
to the doctor on Monday so come to find
out on on Monday he had a he played
three quarters that game with a broken
neck you know and and the only thing
Steve was worried about he said I said
Steven you got a broken neck he asked
the doctor well how soon can I get back
your play says I don’t know if y’all
ever play again Steve looked deficit I’m
I’m gonna play next week and I said why
it’s gonna take a little while longer
than that but you know 15 years later
he’s still playing but he was mentally
he could handle anything and he was a
street kid you know I came from Compton
he used to ride his bicycle back and
forth to the junior college work at
McDonald’s all that kind of stuff and
then when you talk about attitude it
goes to a guy named Joe Tom Meyer who
played for me at the University of
Arizona and Joe gave his life to the
game you know and I’ll go through that
as we is like but we were playing you
know Joe had a bad game against UCLA and
Joe was a three-time all-american he was
the he was the most valuable lineman in
the pac-12 and his senior year offensive
or defensive lineman and the Moores
Trophy winner and so he had a bad game
against UCLA you know I believe it
wasn’t in so to watch the film and I and
I dug custom a little bit you know or a
lot maybe however you want to put at it
whatever so anyways
I could tell from from Monday on what
kind of game he was gonna play on
Saturday he didn’t talk to me he just
said work to me all week long and all he
did and and this was towards the end of
the season and we had and he he was real
quiet guy but every practice was was a
fight you know every practice was
physical no matter if if coaches said
hey wait hey we’ll calm it down we got
to get you know we’re towards the end of
season stay healthy I could tell when we
went to Seattle that Washington was
going to be in trouble Joe never talked
to the team ever because it’s quiet we
got to Seattle he got up and talked to
the team for the first time this is how
you’re gonna play this is how you do
things in this way it’s gonna be
and on that day in a rain-soaked game up
and up in Seattle we kicked we kicked
them right into the lake that’s behind
the behind us behind the school up there
and Joe had 22d cleaners on that day
against an all-american nose guard I
mean he played a attitude game he kicked
that guy’s butt all day long it was a
non ending ass-kicking okay
okay ladies apologize again okay all
right now and some gentlemen if I said
you know if there’s a lot of that LDS
people I apologize too okay okay but
we’re not in church yet it’s not Sunday
so on the first day okay so let’s go
let’s go to fanatical effort this is
really a good one because I can still
see this game visually and I think this
was in 1984 I believe something like
that I’m coaching the offensive line at
that Wisconsin and I’ve got a good group
so what he Hayes and that group are
coming in to Camp Randall to play us and
our head coach had worked with woody in
that group and so before the game
right there and they’re telling my head
coach how they’re gonna kick us around
and this guy Byers is gonna win the
Heisman Trophy in that day and they’re
gonna be the number one ranked team in
the country and blah blah blah on
national TV game so I had the pregame
speech that day before the team so I get
up and I say I turned all the lights off
I got on top of all the lockers and I
said boys this is the way it’s going to
be today
I said Byers is not going to finish the
game and their defense is not going to
finish the game they’re going to quit in
the fourth quarter and you’re gonna make
them quit so we get into the first the
first drive and I can still see it’s
about 10 degrees right and so the first
series stops all the offensive lines
stayed on the field the head coaches
screaming I’d get you guys off the field
and you could see their breath yes
screaming at the defense of Ohio State
just boom boo-boom boo-boom boo-boom and
refused to leave the field so I finally
I got him off we took a delay a game I
said what the H is wrong with you guys
hey coach
I just let him know all day long and the
fourth quarter you guys will not be
around and they were not and it was one
of the one of the most fun games and I
could still see it I can still see that
all-american defensive end for Ohio
State just you know gets quitting
anything hey I’m through dude okay no
more No Mas as a boy Roberto durán would
say hey hey Roberto 9 no more bro but so
and then when you talk about unity it
goes back to the University you thought
1994 we’re in a team meeting in it and
just like I’d be talking to you guys in
the front row of tell you okay here’s
what we’re gonna do in the summertime
here’s how it’s gonna go
I want no problems I want this I want
this okay so all of a sudden Mike McCoy
who’s who’s the was a head coach of
Chargers and now he’s worth Arizona
he says up coach we got it I said what I
mean we got it he said you have no
problem with his football team Luther
Ellis who was probably the most
influential player in the history of
University you thought football he’s the
guy that created the locker room at Utah
he created the attitude at Utah he
created the way you’re supposed to play
the game at Utah he was the single most
important player to ever play at Utah he
stands up and he says I got it coach did
we have problems in the summer yeah we
had some problems but guess what they
walk in but he had this problem over
here it’s taken care of
we already got the discipline of the
player we already got this they took
over every event yeah I had a couple of
fights during summer I had a couple of
problems here guys not going to class I
do they took care all of it and that was
a really good football team because they
were really together and they it should
have been an undefeated football team
and they end up late to the country and
I tell you what what a great group of
kids and so when you look at it you know
all those things the middle toughness
the attitude the fanatical effort the
unity and another thing is honesty so
I’m recruiting a kid down in Mississippi
DB in Greenville Mississippi his
grandmother lived in a trailer she was
she she helped raise 18 kids and a
hundred and eight grandchildren so I’m
sitting on his trailer talking to her
and she says coach what are you going to
give me I said I will give you I’m gonna
give you a education what else he going
to give me I said well I’m gonna
guarantee is his degree well she said so
I was gonna put a new roof on my trailer
so I’m so here is gonna buy
is gonna buy my groceries all year long
so I’m so here’s gonna give me this I
said I’m sorry I can’t I said it I won’t
do that because that’s not what the
truth is the truth is I can’t guarantee
he’s gonna start I can’t guarantee
anything except his education any
scholarship she looked at me she says
coach he’s going with you she says I
don’t even know where you taught yes but
wherever it is that’s where he’s going
so so I said that’s great you know
another thing about mental toughness
you’ll like this story because I know
we’re running out of time but I got so
many stories so so anyways so I’m
looking for a place where I could take
my team when I first took the job at you
thought that they wouldn’t like that
they would hate the coaches would hate
and it was uncomfortable so I’m driving
around the state rather I said finally I
go down to camp carbon right oh there’s
nothing going on their helpers all
boarded up looks like in the coal mines
are all in bad shape
I said hey in the fields terrible and
the dorms are terrible and it’s not a
fun place to be
I said this is the place so I said hey
boys we’re going to camp Carvin they
said where’s that I says don’t worry
about it I said there’s only one way in
and only one way out and there’s no
buses that leave there so that was that
was and I said it looks just like
Laramie Wyoming so so we’re taking that
bus down there and they get out and they
should they looking at the field they’re
looking and the coaches look at this oh
man and I said and and I tell you what
every and there’s a couple guys that the
Scott was one of the first ones
and he goes camp carbon and and so it
wasn’t wasn’t fun was it no thank you
so but that’s where we develop toughness
in the Utah football program because you
thought was a soft fast program you know
I’m saying ladies what was SOF T soft
right so what we’re gonna do here come
out there as being a physical program
and we did and that was really the
beginning of how Utah football should be
played and you when you look at it like
I have a foundation now it’s called the
ROM McBride foundation really a
foundation that Lavelle and I started
three years ago and it’s for education
in the state of Utah
and as as recruiting all these years of
what I looked at I looked at what is the
problem how do you solve these problems
so I’m looking at the grammar school I’m
looking at the junior High’s you got to
get to these kids when they’re young we
have a lot of problems opioid addiction
you know just effective you know not
enough food for our kids you know help
what we call healthy learners the way to
help our kids be there’s a lot of
educators here today and they know what
I’m talking about
and so my big deal now is I’ve dedicated
my life to the young people of the state
of Utah Utah is is giving me opportunity
to to do my profession and so I give
back to what they gave me they gave me
an opportunity you got to realize that
not every day you know like for instance
the lady from Montana that spoke earlier
you know she was she she had some tough
times but she endured and she lived
through it and she got to a better place
you know which is really important you
look at every everybody has a story but
if you live this this this you know
muffle thing the middle toughness the
attitude the fanatical effort and unity
if you stay with it you’ll find a way to
get through the bad times
good times anyway I appreciate it a lot
and hope you all enjoy the day you had
great people here thanks Mandy
and Jack and Billy I’m glad you’re
rolling here today thank you
[Applause] [Music]