My evening with Dick Vermeil and Todd Collins

GMScud, glad to hear that someone else on the wp is into football AND wine. I'm sure there are others, but it's not often (maybe never?) that the 2 topics find there way to a wp thread.

That sounds like quite a time you had, those 2 guys seem like they are interesting enough to talk to about any no. of things. Some pro athletes I would rather not meet cause it might ruin my impression of them, but Collins would be an exception. Vermiel has always been a class act.

you may have already said, is his vineyard on the west coast? Does he open it to the public for tastings, tours, etc.? Is this his first bottling?

you may have already said, is his vineyard on the west coast? Does he open it to the public for tastings, tours, etc.? Is this his first bottling?

Vermeil Wines (http://www.vermeilwines.com/) in Calistoga, CA next to St. Helena.

Collins played for Vermeil in KC, so that must have been very cool for him to see his old coach. Vermeil is notorious for the love he has for his players and the tears of love/pride he sheds when talking about them - you should have tried to get him to wax nostalgic about Todd. He was definitely a great coach and probably a better man. Thanks for the post - very cool stuff.

I met Todd Collins a few years ago. He is a strange guy, but i mean that in a great way. He has quirks about him that reminded me much of my OCD-touched brother. He was super nice to us, and he kept calling me "bro" the whole time he talked to me. If i did not watch football or the redskins, i would have had no idea who he was, because he was so down to earth and just like a "normal" person.

And yeah, he is tall as hell and in great shape. He looks small on TV, but i am 5'10", and even at 6'3" he towered over me.

Dude, you seriously you have to spill the beans tomorrow. We want to know what did Vermeil have to say?

Dont worry Matty has ways to make people talk... Dont make him go Jack Bauer on you GM... :)

Dude, you seriously you have to spill the beans tomorrow. We want to know what did Vermeil have to say?

Collins played for Vermeil in KC, so that must have been very cool for him to see his old coach. Vermeil is notorious for the love he has for his players and the tears of love/pride he sheds when talking about them - you should have tried to get him to wax nostalgic about Todd. He was definitely a great coach and probably a better man. Thanks for the post - very cool stuff.

Oh he was effusive in his praise of Todd. He said "I love this guy" more than once last night.

As far as what Coach and Todd said about the Redskins, sorry guys. It would pretty unprofessional of me to take what they said to me in a private room, off the record, and spill it on a message board that anyone on earth could read. Keep in mind this was a work function for me.

I can tell you that both Todd and Coach Vermeil talked a lot about quarterback play, and how the system and situation are just as crucial as the individual skills. Coach obviously loves Kurt Warner, and both guys talked a lot about how impressed they are with Drew Brees.

I tried to keep the conversation loose and cool, and I definitely didn't let on how enamored I was with their presence. In my experience guys like them would rather just be treated like regular dudes. We talked about wine and life just as much as we did football. They both love to fish, and Todd has a boat and mentioned something about Coast Guard certification. Coach said he liked Greg Kinnear's portrayal of him in "Invincible."

Probably the coolest part for me was when he talked about the phone call he got from Coach Gibbs prior to Al Saunders being hired. Obviously Vermeil gave Saunders high praise. He said Coach Gibbs is one of the "best men he's ever known." No surprise there. I had chills listening to him talk about Gibbs. It was amazing. One interesting thing Vermeil told me- he said he told Gibbs that Saunders would be great, but only if Gibbs "let him have the entire offense." Interesting that Gibbs didn't follow that advice.

Anyway, great night overall. Oh, I forgot to mention, John Burrell and Harrison Bernstein were there. John Burrell is head athletic trainer for the team. He took over for Bubba Tyer. Harrison is one of the strength and conditioning coaches. Both guys are really cool. I'd met Harrison before- his sister is good friends with my boss.

Since taking this job, I've had a beer with Kevin Blackistone, talked with Phil Chenier for a few hours (literally, no exaggeration), and then of course last night. Pretty cool.

Oh he was effusive in his praise of Todd. He said "I love this guy" more than once last night.

As far as what Coach and Todd said about the Redskins, sorry guys. It would pretty unprofessional of me to take what they said to me in a private room, off the record, and spill it on a message board that anyone on earth could read. Keep in mind this was a work function for me.

I can tell you that both Todd and Coach Vermeil talked a lot about quarterback play, and how the system and situation are just as crucial as the individual skills. Coach obviously loves Kurt Warner, and both guys talked a lot about how impressed they are with Drew Brees.

I tried to keep the conversation loose and cool, and I definitely didn't let on how enamored I was with their presence. In my experience guys like them would rather just be treated like regular dudes. We talked about wine and life just as much as we did football. They both love to fish, and Todd has a boat and mentioned something about Coast Guard certification. Coach said he liked Greg Kinnear's portrayal of him in "Invincible."

Probably the coolest part for me was when he talked about the phone call he got from Coach Gibbs prior to Al Saunders being hired. Obviously Vermeil gave Saunders high praise. He said Coach Gibbs is one of the "best men he's ever known." No surprise there. I had chills listening to him talk about Gibbs. It was amazing. One interesting thing Vermeil told me- he said he told Gibbs that Saunders would be great, but only if Gibbs "let him have the entire offense." Interesting that Gibbs didn't follow that advice.

Anyway, great night overall. Oh, I forgot to mention, John Burrell and Harrison Bernstein were there. John Burrell is head athletic trainer for the team. He took over for Bubba Tyer. Harrison is one of the strength and conditioning coaches. Both guys are really cool. I'd met Harrison before- his sister is good friends with my boss.

Since taking this job, I've had a beer with Kevin Blackistone, talked with Phil Chenier for a few hours (literally, no exaggeration), and then of course last night. Pretty cool. Big fan of Chenier. He's a great local color guy. I don't think he could pull off a national job but at the local level he gives you everything that is good. Conversational and informed. Good all around.

Big fan of Chenier. He's a great local color guy. I don't think he could pull off a national job but at the local level he gives you everything that is good. Conversational and informed. Good all around.

Chenier didn't know Mike Miller's nickname is Spanky (T-mac gave him that moniker). When I told him he thought it was hilarious. He said he was gonna tell Buckhantz and use it during a game. I don't know if he has yet, but he said he was gonna give me credit on the air for telling him. I doubt it will happen, but anyway. Chenier was a cool cat for sure.

Oh he was effusive in his praise of Todd. He said "I love this guy" more than once last night.

As far as what Coach and Todd said about the Redskins, sorry guys. It would pretty unprofessional of me to take what they said to me in a private room, off the record, and spill it on a message board that anyone on earth could read. Keep in mind this was a work function for me.

I can tell you that both Todd and Coach Vermeil talked a lot about quarterback play, and how the system and situation are just as crucial as the individual skills. Coach obviously loves Kurt Warner, and both guys talked a lot about how impressed they are with Drew Brees.

I tried to keep the conversation loose and cool, and I definitely didn't let on how enamored I was with their presence. In my experience guys like them would rather just be treated like regular dudes. We talked about wine and life just as much as we did football. They both love to fish, and Todd has a boat and mentioned something about Coast Guard certification. Coach said he liked Greg Kinnear's portrayal of him in "Invincible."

Probably the coolest part for me was when he talked about the phone call he got from Coach Gibbs prior to Al Saunders being hired. Obviously Vermeil gave Saunders high praise. He said Coach Gibbs is one of the "best men he's ever known." No surprise there. I had chills listening to him talk about Gibbs. It was amazing. One interesting thing Vermeil told me- he said he told Gibbs that Saunders would be great, but only if Gibbs "let him have the entire offense." Interesting that Gibbs didn't follow that advice.

Anyway, great night overall. Oh, I forgot to mention, John Burrell and Harrison Bernstein were there. John Burrell is head athletic trainer for the team. He took over for Bubba Tyer. Harrison is one of the strength and conditioning coaches. Both guys are really cool. I'd met Harrison before- his sister is good friends with my boss.

Since taking this job, I've had a beer with Kevin Blackistone, talked with Phil Chenier for a few hours (literally, no exaggeration), and then of course last night. Pretty cool.

Did you tell him their was a guy who goes by Firstdown who loves to fish/boat and he could come here and PM me some time to go fishing. The Coast Guard Cert. is probably as a reserve and when they have a big event on the water they ask them to come out and help with boat trafic. The only other thing is when the CG comes on your boat to check safty equipment and gives you a little sticker for having all the safty stuff.

gm, cool stuff. and thanks for sharing