Michael Irvin was a player defined as much by his willpower and toughness on the field as by his physical abilities.
“The Playmaker” was the fifteenth of 17 children and had to work for everything he could get as a child. And that focus and education led him to become one of the best wide receivers in NFL history.
The native feet. Lauderdale, Florida began at the University of Miami under future Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson.
He was a first-team All-American who set Miami career records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. It culminated in the Hurricanes winning the 1987 National Championship.
From there, he was selected 11th overall in the 1988 NFL Draft. Ironically, he was the last first-round pick made by iconic Cowboys coach Tom Landry. It’s ironic because Jimmy Johnson would replace Landry just a year later as head coach.
At 6’2″ and 207 pounds, Irvin was a big, physical receiver who manhandled cornerbacks. In part because of Irvin’s ability to push around a defender with such ease, the NFL eventually changed its rules to accommodate wide receivers who emulated Irvin’s physical style.
Here’s what Michael had to say about his approach to dealing with DBs:
“It’s something you always have to think about. I tell the young guys, how often are you going to play against this guy? Let’s say your opponent is in the NFC East and he’s a big deal trying to play physical. I could probably avoid it. But since I’m going to see him twice a year, I’m going to run. through him.
“So I would attack his weakness if I want to beat him. I attack his strength if I want to break him. When someone attacks your strength and hits you, you have nowhere to go.
“When I attack his weakness, he can say, ‘Oh, okay, he conquered my weakness.’ Now I’m going to get physical.”
“But if I go out and attack that force – BAM, BAM, BAM (hits fist 3 times) – and I get physical with you. The guy says, ‘Oh my God, I don’t want to see this guy train.’
And not even that time we played with you. But if we play in the same division, you will think about that twice a year.”
Read the full interview with Michael Irvin here:
Who was the best cornerback you’ve ever played against?
Everson Walls was the best cornerback in the world. Early on when I came into the league, I remember the first time I faced Everson Walls. He walked over, acted like he was going to block me, then came back, then came back and blocked me. And I fell to the ground.
And that’s when someone said to me, “Why are you trying to go around it? Just go through it.” And that started that mentality that I mentioned.
I’m not Tyreek Hill, I’m not Julio Jones. I don’t have that kind of speed. I don’t have time to waste. I have to go through you to get to that ball.
How does it affect your day-to-day approach to life off the field, imposing your will and outsmarting your opponents, like you mentioned about Everson Walls?
Well, it’s still the same. This is the difficult thing about retiring from football. You have to understand that you are no longer a football player. I went to see my doctor because my knees were bad. And the doctor said, “You have to stop running. Your knees are gone, don’t run anymore.”
My wife and I left the doctor’s office, went home, and I started getting dressed. And my wife said, “Where are you going?” And I said, “I’m going to cum.” She said, “Didn’t you listen to the doctor?” I said, “Honey, those are recommendations. He gives them to normal people; “I’m not normal.”
I always think that I can work, I can move forward. Around the time I turned 40, my eyesight got bad. And I’m thinking, “I can fix this.” But you can’t, it’s not a football question.
I went to the doctor and he said, “Oh yeah, this is presbyopia.” That’s what happens when you’re 40 and you look at a piece of paper and see stains instead of letters. So I started using number one progressive lenses and that changed my life. I needed to know that. I was going to try to fix it myself, but it was impossible. So if that happens to you, you need to see a doctor. And ask him about the world’s number one progressive lens, varilux. essilorusa.com.
Is it strange for you to watch Cowboys games now and see another wide receiver wearing No. 88?
It’s actually not weird, I love it. Let me explain this to you, because Drew Pearson explained it to me. I said, “Drew, I don’t want to do this.” He said, “No, use it. But don’t just use it, make my ceiling your floor.”
And then he said, “Michael, if they retire it, it’s going to go to the rafters. And the only time we see the number is when I leave earth and go to eternity, then they show up during the game and talk about me, then they come back to the game. But if you use it, every time you make a play, I get my flowers.”
So now, every time Cede Lamp or Dez Bryant makes a play, they talk about me. If one of those guys drops a ball, they say, “Michael Irvin wouldn’t have dropped that.” Then I receive my flower.
Every Sunday I receive my flowers; I don’t have to wait until I go to eternity.
Faster in your “prime” – you or Deion Sanders?
Man, Deion. one of the best athletes in the world.
Who wins in a fight between Erik Williams and Mark Tuinei?
Ahh, that’s a good one! Ahh that’s a great question! Tuinei is a BAD Samoan from Hawaii, you know what I mean? But Big E is a NASTY CUP. Man, I don’t know who would win, all I know is that I wouldn’t fight any of them!
Who were the toughest guys on those ’90s Cowboys teams?
We had a lot of tough guys. And I’m going to mention someone you might not think of, but Charles Haley. He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he’s a monstrous man. Erik Williams had knee surgery. And Charles Haley told him, “I’ll tell you when you’re ready to play.”
A year later, Big E returned to the practice field. And Charles Haley said, “It’s not ready.” They called up the entire team and lined up Erik Williams and Charles Haley.
And Troy Aikman said, “Blue 18, Blue 18, HUT” and snapped the ball. And these two men stepped out of the line… and I had never seen anything like that in my life. It was so loud you could hear it EVERYWHERE.
They collided and both stood up and looked at each other. Erik Williams said, “It’s READY” and the whole team went “NUTS.”
Charles Haley was the toughest guy on those Cowboys teams.
Were you on the practice field the day Jimmy Johnson famously told your kicker, “Asthma field is over there”?
I was on the practice field. And you did NOT laugh, you were always serious with Jimmy. What tripped me up was learning years later That Jimmy had asthma! YEAH! Coach, how are you kicking that man out for having asthma and YOU had asthma?
“I wasn’t playing, he has to play. And he’s not ready to play.”
Tell me a great Jimmy Johnson story that goes unnoticed.
I came in one day, another player and I went out on a Thursday night. We would go out to eat and then go out. We arrived the next day and were late for the meetings. We entered at the same time.
And he said, “Michael, you’re my leader. I’m so disappointed in you. Get in that meeting, sit in that chair, and be a leader.”
Then he pointed at the other guy and said, “And you, grab your pads, grab your stuff and get out!” He fired him on the spot…on the spot.
That’s the kind of thing you were always aware of with Jimmy. Whenever you were with Jimmy you were always focused and ready to play.
What is the biggest similarity between Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer?
They are both great men. They just did things differently.
Jimmy believed that I have to push you and keep pushing you to get the best out of you. Barry, who is a great man, approached it from the point of view that I’m paying these guys $5 to $6 million a year; I don’t need to worry about them.
But the reality is that you do. Because not everyone is as hungry as the best. You have to hover over these guys.
Emmitt Troy and I went to Coach Johnson one time and said, “Coach, we don’t need all these pre-practice speeches.” He literally gave a speech before EVERY practice. And he said, “I know you guys don’t need it, I’m not saying it for you. I’m saying it for the 53rd man on the list and I’m not going to stop doing it.”
Favorite play of your career? When Michael Irvin puts his head on his pillow at night and thinks about his life, what is your favorite work or what do you think about again?
When I was a kid I used to throw rocks in the neighborhood and they would come to my mom’s house and say, “Your son broke my windows; it’ll never be anything.”
So when I got into the NFL and scored that first touchdown on an ‘A route’ in Super Bowl 27, the first thing I thought about was all those people. And how I just scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl in front of all of them.
And then 18 seconds later, I caught the second TD. When I lifted my leg, turned around and jumped into the end zone, it was the best moment of my life.
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