Alex Smith details his injury recovery & return to NFL, Mahomes & Rodgers | NFL | THE HERD

how lucky are we today 16 years three pro bowls multiple awards alex smith suddenly retired is our guest now joining us live we don't get many live guests since the pandemic and we've got uh alex smith today how are you alex smith you look fantastic thank you yeah thank you for having me it is good to be in person live rolling yeah good to be here and uh so let's just talk first of all joy and i had said this because we like you and i said last year okay alex smith was on television and i had knots in my stomach this is we said this we're like okay this is hard and i'm thinking you didn't you were obviously but was there a moment for you did you sense the anxiety based on your comeback and the structure of your leg did you sense there were a lot of us going all right slide alex throw it out of bounds did you sense that you know first off i i never fully imagined or expected to be in that situation you know i honestly i think throughout the the recovery i really thought i'd never get there i thought i thought the journey would end you know the pursuit's great like but i'm not actually going to get there it's just it's impossible and you know i'm so lucky you just kept going and then those final steps though absolutely were terrifying i mean to to make the conscious decision when i when i got when i got the approval to play when i got the the bill of health and it's like well i'm gonna go step back out on a football field deliberately and when you play quarterback it's not like a matter of if i get tackled again i mean you're going out there to play quarterback like it's going to happen and then the uniqueness of the year with no preseason so i didn't get to do any preseason to kind of test it right uh in camp you wear a jersey so you're you have this like cape of invincibility out there you know like you it's hard to know what's realistic it always changes a little bit when you get out there and the bullets are flying so no doubt uh the combination of exhilaration and that feeling of being alive which is what was part of the reason i pursued this you know that to get back to that but also the just sheer terror you know to be out there i'm going back out and my leg snapped the last time i was out there like literally and you know i'm running back out into that environment so a little crazy you know honestly um but an amazing feeling and and the best feeling of all is obviously to get tackled and get back up and know i was okay um that that to conquer that mentally you know the walls that i had built up and really playing football again at the nfl level to be the you know that for me my everest and and to go back and to do that and to really have you know to deal with my own kind of self-doubt in that in that moment um it was amazing to kind of push through that and work through that um i love sports i admit um the only thing i don't like about sports is to see players hurt so i have never watched your video for the second time uh the tim krumri video who joe theismann i refuse to watch it yeah i can't watch the louisville basketball player i can't watch it i just i it nothing is sadder to me so your documentary it's on the shelf and i keep thinking no i don't want to watch it i i don't want to go through that i don't want to see him hurt you're a family guy great family great kids great wife there had to have been a moment where she's like honey no like they're really really deep conversations oh without a doubt re really deep conversations about what what do i really want what do we really want and why um i'm incredibly lucky because to be honest when that conversation happened and you know for a long time football was a thousand steps away it might as well have been like going to mars you know so sure like hey babe you're doing great go go try you know this is great and i and obviously that was amazing that the real gut check came in those last moments when i got when i got cleared to play which i never thought i would get where were you oh we had just gotten back this is in the midst of kovid you know there was no off season so i'd been away still kind of just doing my rehab on my own quietly no one expected me i hadn't had any imaging done in a long time on my leg we didn't know where i was at from a healing process my bone and and i go back this is on the doorstep of camp you know a couple weeks before training camp we go back to dc and i get a bunch of imaging done and i'm really kind of expecting it had kind of been not great news all along with my with my actual my tibia healing and i'm expecting to hear you know you just it's not in the cards it's over and um you know i expected to walk into that and then i hear the news it's the exact opposite they're incomplete the team of surgeons and doctors all were in agreement that i could go play that i could do anything and i'd never heard those words that like i clean bail health you can go do whatever you want from from a health standpoint and i'm like i can go i can go ski snowboard and they're like yeah like i can go mountain bike yeah i'm not trying to think of these crazy things because for two years i'd walk around on eggshells you know trying not to even slip and fall in the kitchen or getting you know out of the shower and all of a sudden i'm like well i can play tackle football and they're like yeah you want to play you can play wow so leaving that meeting you know my wife and i we're sitting in there and we go sit in the car and i mean yeah one of the most intimate conversations i've ever had with my wife here and i'm and i'm i'm i'm so excited i can't get the grin on my face because i've got this clean belt help that i never thought i'd get again at the same time i'm terrified because the football is right there i mean it's right that line's right there and there's the next step and i i just got the green light to take that step and i'm i'm really scared and i really want my wife to tell me what you just said you know what babe life is good we're so lucky to be back here we got our we got your health back kids are great like let's let's just get on with our life and be done and for me my mind you my wife helped nurse me back to health the number of hats she wore over this two-year process uh is crazy and then in that moment for her to have the strength to give me the nudge i needed it's like no babe i i think you need to do this i think for you i think you're gonna have regret if you don't see this through you know for two years you've been working your tail off to get to this position and we're so lucky to be here now and i think you gotta go do this and meanwhile i'm hoping she tells me let's go let's be done retired you know like so uh but i needed that i needed that nudge so lucky that my wife to have that kind of strength i'm not sure i could have done it if the roles were reversed um so thankful for her to kind of give me that push and you know there's been people throughout my recovery process that have helped me with that that kind of continued to keep pushing me when i needed it all the awards you've won multiple pro bowls what did comeback player of the year award mean um yeah i mean i think the award was special it's not something i set out to do again i never thought it was realistic i never i never thought i'd actually get make it back out on the field what did players say to you during the season you know it was so it was so weird a ton of support it was covered so there's no fans so going back to when i played there was there was no like heightened energy there were no fans in any of the stadiums right especially at home games um so it was always a little different from a from an energy standpoint but i it definitely was it was amazing to to get a lot of the love from you know even the opposing teams when i did get to visit with them obviously over 16 years you accumulate a lot of friends across the league and then my own teammates you know they were so amazing throughout that process supporting me and all the steps you know from my first my first practice rep you know then like the game when i first got the dress and all the way to you know obviously getting to start six games um you know my teammates there to be with me and to really kind of uh to be that energy for me and you know support me along the way was was it was amazing and that's also you know the big reason you come back for that camaraderie you just can't get that you can't get that bond anywhere else and so for me it was really special and and obviously the entire year to get to get all of that back and something i never thought i could do again uh alex smith joining us for our radio audience so a couple of questions here you've had so many connections through the years let's start with this one this will be a fun one we both know urban meyer you know him really well i know him pretty well um what's going to be the hardest part of college to pro he was your college coach yeah i mean i think a couple things the big ones getting everybody buy in you know you go from dealing with 18 to 20 year old kids who in in in college football your urban meyer you're this you know big persona um you know and really you got a lot of control over these kids and they're at a pivotal age and and really you can really kind of dictate a lot about these kids buying in and being a part of the program or go packing you know um it's not like that the nfl you know like no that guy's signed on for five years so 140 you know hey that guy's 33 grown you know 12 year vet with three kids like you are going to handle guys differently i think urban i don't think that's going to be a problem for urban i think i think he spent a lot of time studying this i even think his progression as a college coach you know utah to florida and then retiring and going to ohio state i mean that was a quasi minor league team anyway right um so i think he's dealt with those personalities and i think he'll be fine with that i think guys want to buy in you know it's jacksonville they were 1 in 15. guys want guys want to win they want to be a part of the change right it's going to be able to get that momentum going and the proof's in the pudding i mean you got to get you got to start winning games and and and build it and that's how you keep guys on board um you know and then a little transition and this is less so i think this has to do with the timing is the game has changed at the nfl level from a nexus and no standpoint when i got drafted i was it was a gimmicky college offense that i ran give me a shotgun i was in the shotgun every play we were running the spread option i'm reading a defensive end on a run play that can't be done in the nfl that was a question about yeah like i got to be a pro-style quarterback i mean now it's like let's go i mean what team's not doing that what team isn't living in the shotgun um obviously the timing to get trevor lawrence i think uh you know about as bona fide of a prospect as you can get um i think all that said i think that's all stuff that i think urban's got on his side so i'm excited for him he's got i've had a chance to visit with him here you know since he took the job and and he's got so much energy i think he's got a plan laid out i think he's been thinking about this for a long time he's not a not a guy that makes rash decisions he's incredibly smart incredibly thoughtful i'm i'm so excited to see what he's going to do that was probably the hardest part with me stepping away potentially was you know that excited me to potentially go down there and be a part of that um you know but i i'm excited to watch uh what happens i think he i think he's got a great plan and a good shot at it he's the best offensive coach in college football history in my opinion the most creative then you go to the nfl with andy reid who is to me the best play designer in league history um give me the moment the epiphany the car ride the connection to andy reid and you're like oh so this is what it's all about this guy really is different as an offensive coach yeah there were probably a couple times you know forever from the outside i'm like oh he's this traditional west coast offense you know he runs the west coast and i've been in the west coast before i've gotten andy and a lot of times it's very stringent like here's your playbook this is what we're running right and we're trying to get players to match this playbook you know like it got formed obviously in the niner days we need a guy to play z like jerry rice and we need a guy to play x like john taylor and you know like we've got to get the pieces to fit into this playbook because this is what we're running and we've been running it for 20 plus years you know it works and you get there with with andy and he i mean obviously he knows his ball but yeah we're running these core west coast principles but i mean we're doing them all over the place and shifts in motions and he's he is fearless in constantly evolving and for me that was like a huge wake-up call like this i mean i know we're saying this is west coast we're not i'm in a shotgun we got a fly sweep guy we got you know tyra kills running this and kelsey's running this and how much fun that was you know and i think how much coach loves teaching like at his core he's a teacher yes he is and and he loves that and i know that was a big thing obviously as he came from philly you know wearing kind of multiple hats as a gm and doing the roster stuff really stepping away from that because he wanted to get back to teaching you know and and to hear my first install when when coach reed does the install he's a head coach he's installing the plays in front of the entire offense and this guy can coach the left tackle the center the quarterback the running back the stance and route running of the receivers i mean there's not a position on offense that coach reid can't coach and knows his stuff about the fundamentals the things that actually make a difference you know and for me forever as a quarterback if you throw a ball high of course you're gonna hear hey you gotta get it down you know and i'm like well i'm gonna hit quarterback like of course i know i gotta get it down you know you throw it out in front you gotta put it on him yeah thanks you know like i knew that already coach reed is one of the first guys to constantly be like well well why was that ball high you know hey maybe you were you were a little too spread apart right here with your legs let's be getting back into an athletic position teaching constantly like well helping me helping me get the ball down you know like not just stating the obvious so uh that's what i loved about him and he loves ball i mean that's contagious when you're when you're head coach just loves football he loves coming to work he loves being around the guys um that that feeds out throughout the throughout the building so alex smith joining us if you're listening on radio what a pleasure for us we could take you for next four hours we should just cancel the rest of the programming today i'll just talk to alex smith so um you know we've been talking about the jordan love situation there was a pandemic no preseason i have no idea what he looks like but i do believe that if somebody is special you see glimpses of it so peter schrager had told me a year and a half mahomes was like in camp like the first ota and he's like i'm hearing stuff about mahomes and i'm like well he better be pretty good because alex smith has made the playoffs so go back to the first couple practices with mahomes did you see the magic oh without a doubt that year you knew you knew he could play football i think again going back it's hard as a quarterback when you got the jersey on um ending your practice and you're untouchable to really kind of fully see how that translates to the field especially with patrick who a lot of the play a lot of the magic happens and he's so good at it has such great instincts so you could see that on the field and then he saw the confidence i think for me i remember like midway through the year and we would compete at everything like quarterbacks it was it was a fun fun time there coach nagy was still there and we're rolling we would compete hard you know we'd be doing individual drilling just you know it was like who could be who over there and i remember you know he's he jumps in for some reps running scout team against our defense we had a good defense at the time and like remember the first couple times he starts whipping around no look passes and you're like that's not that's not normal you know like just from a confidence standpoint like who has the confidence to just like whipping in no look slants like the only guy i've ever seen that's brett favre ever do something like that and really then you know that that final game week 17 to watch him you know we had clinched and we couldn't we couldn't do any better so i wasn't playing and he got he got to go out and play and to see it live in action i mean it was like yeah this kid's got it because i don't care what your physical tools are at the nfl level and obviously those are special but you you got to have you got to have it up here you got to be able to process fast you got to be able to play fast and and really it's a mental game at the nfl level and and patrick had it and you know and that was clear i think throughout the season his work habits he could process information and then you know you you obviously pair that with like a crazy skill set and he's you know this is what we've gotten the guy that i really think one of the unique players in nfl history especially today you know winning the mvp that early on and a super bowl so uh fun it's fun to watch i mean for me just to have like a little sliver to have been there with it with him in his rookie year it's fun i'm such a big fat fan of patrick's and also just because of the person he is he's such a great dude i mean especially in the face of this kind of limelight um and stardom to have maintained the good person that he is is is even you know i think makes it more special final question how surprised are you how ugly aaron rodgers and the packers has become it's inexcusable it's absolutely in it i think what do you mean how they ever got to this point i mean aaron's been there 16 years what he's given to that organization and been there and for them i think to what happened last year during the draft and and i'm going to talk to aaron about this so i don't want to like put words in his mouth but clearly to watch the interview and him talk about it's about the people and it is and aaron's been there that long and i don't think it was the fact that they drafted jordan love in the first round i mean i think the fact that you just how do you have a guy like aaron and you don't go make sure beforehand you aren't going out of your way to make sure that he knows that he's loved that they want him there that we may be taking a quarterback in the first round we want to make sure you're okay with it this is maybe what we're doing we're thinking i mean how you haven't treated him the right way leading up to that and the fact that from my understanding it's kind of like it was a bit of an unknown a bit blindsided you go from potentially thinking you may be taking a receiver you know you're you're thinking you're a move away from the super bowl right and then blindsided with a pick i just don't understand how an organization he how is he you have how you haven't addressed that beforehand when you make a move like that and really made sure that everything is is tightened up and everybody's feeling good about that because if it's not you're not doing it in my opinion you're just not it's just not the way you you run a business it's not the way you're treating people um 16 years this guy's been there you're on the doorstep of the the super bowl and you don't go out of your way to communicate that and to show that he's you know that hey you're wanted this may be something we're doing sorry and you know but like you don't make sure that everybody's on the same page and feeling good about that i think you know it's not just football that's any business or team yeah did kansas city give you a heads up on the homes yes without a doubt with a hundred percent i mean that's something that was talked about throughout the draft process not just by coach reed um everybody involved in the personnel apartment yeah without and i mean and i'm talking multiple times hey this really might be something we're doing are you okay with it this is going to be the situation this is i mean you know like there were no surprises i mean it was it was absolutely laid out for me um and and i think that all helps you know that when that stuff's communicated um it does make a difference how you treat people yeah hey what a pleasure to have you today yeah thanks for having me it's good to be here it feels so lucky to have you you've been such a credit to the league and whether you go to a front office or a broadcaster or coaching don't go to coaching you want life your kids i'm not sure my wife would let me but uh alex thank you so much yeah thanks for having me thanks you bet hi everybody thanks for watching subscribe here to get the latest from the show also be sure to check out more of the best clips from the herd or go watch a few segments from other shows on fs1

Channel: The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Views: 200,223

Rating: 4.9390531 out of 5

Keywords: fox, fox sports, fs1, fox sports 1, colin cowherd, cowherd, colin, the herd, sports, news, joy, taylor, joy taylor, nfl, football, alex smith, recovery, injury, story, kansas city, chiefs, patrick mahomes, andy reid, aaron rodgers, green bay, packers, Patrick Mahomes NFL, Mahomes NFL, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs NFL, Packers NFL, Green Bay Packers NFL, Kansas City Chiefs NFL, Aaron Rodgers Packers NFL, Aaron Rodgers Packers, Rodgers Packers NFL

Id: 2vFGlRm3qDc

Length: 19min 37sec (1177 seconds)

Published: Wed May 26 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/eightinthebox]

A great man. I'm glad he came out on the other side okay. Thank you for all you did for Kansas City Mr. Smith. We owe you a great deal.

[u/ZakalwesChair]

Watched the whole thing, absolutely fantastic. I didn't realize he thought about going to Jacksonville. I would have been so sad lol. Can't stand Urban Meyer.

[u/Dankraham-Stinkin]

I love this man. I would love to see him be a qb coach with us, if he wants to.

[u/factoid_]

His stance on the Aaron Rogers situation doesn't surprise me.

Especially when you see him as an example of how this can be done correctly. I'm sure Alex wasn't happy about Patrick being drafted. Nobody wants to train their replacement. but he's a high character guy, he's always said he signed up for a team sport and he was goign to do his job. And it paid off for him. The competition drove him to his best season, and he got a better contract from Washington than he'd have gotten from KC most likely. All gauranteed money.

Now obviously the injury didn't go his way, of course, but from a professional standpoint he did well, and it's because he was good person at the core.

Now you see the same thing happening with Jimmy G. They were up front that they'd be drafting a QB. They're also probably giving him some input on where he'd want to be traded if someone wants to come offering.

​

But with Aaron, green bay fucked everythign up. Now don't ge tme wrong, Rogers is being kind of a whiny bitch about the whole thing too with his whole "forget about the contract I signed, I'll just do what I want" attitude.

​

Big picture I sort of side with Rogers on that whole thing, but he makes it really hard to like him sometimes. Whereas I don't know anybody who doesn't like Alex Smith.

[u/Woffle_WT]

That's my quarterback.

[u/Biggest_Cans]

swoon

[u/U-N-C-L-E]

Alex could do so many things post-football. Coaching, announcing games, tv analysis, politics...the sky is truly the limit.

[u/Hungry-Ad-2965]

Solid class act!

[u/Senior-Solid-7510]

legend