MIAMI GARDEN, Fla. (FNN) – At the beginning of 2023, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced linebacker Zach Thomas had been elected as part of the nine-man Class of 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame. Thomas is the 11th player or coach from the Miami Dolphins to earn the game’s greatest honor.
Thomas spoke with the media on his experience as a Pro Football Hall-of-Famer
(How has this experience been for you being a Hall-of-Famer and has it been everything that you thought it would be?) – “Oh, for sure. It’s been an awesome process that is humbling. Even coming back into this building right now just to be there, to represent everybody here in the whole building, all you guys. I know every one of you guys. I know every one of you was supporting us even when were asking tough questions. And even now, I know you’re supporting this team. You want this team win. For me, I finally got that win, when it comes to being a Hal of Famer, because that’s all I played for was the wins. It wasn’t for the accolades or any of that stuff. It was always just about the wins. This is definitely a win. I’m very proud and it’s good to see everybody in here and just to be part of it. It’s pretty cool.”
(Did it ever get to a point where like, maybe “Dang, it finally happened. About that dang time?”) – “Man, I don’t think I ever got to that point because looking back at it, I just always look back. When I was done playing, I was just always grateful that I played a game for so long – 28 years of football, man – and it was so good to me. And I always just look back. Any time I ever thought that. The game owes me nothing. I remember when I was 8 years old with big dreams from a small town. Small-town country boy, man. And for me to ever be like, ‘oh, man,’ be negative about something? That’s not me, man. And I know that in this game, you’ve got to rely on so many different things. I got a little lucky along the way with health, with players around me, great coaches. A great high school coach. Crazy how he taught me a read on a napkin, and it got me labeled ‘instinctive,’ ‘smart.’ Crazy, man. (laughter) You guys laugh at that because you know me. I’m not the smartest guy in the room right now, but it’s wild how it played out and the timing was perfect when it comes to that. I never really thought – because when the guys are going in, you respect so many of the Hall of Famers even going in before you. I think Jason Taylor being so dominant. You know what I’m saying? I wasn’t going to go in right after Jason. He was so good at this game that yeah, he probably – they pushed me back a little bit, right? But I’m proud to represent our teammates.”
(You played for the W’s, you played for a championship, but you didn’t get the championship. But getting this? Does it give you like, kind of a complete ending to your career, feel like that now?) – “It definitely just makes me proud because everything we fought for was the championship. I’m not going to lie. I feel like if you get that championship, it makes your road a lot easier, so you had to do something right if you didn’t get the championship. I feel like I played the game right and didn’t ever get the championship. To look back at it, I wouldn’t want to change a thing, but I wanted to win for you guys. I wanted to win for the fans. They deserve it.”
(There were a lot of years when that call didn’t come. Had you ever resigned yourself to never getting in?) – “I didn’t really think about it too long. I never let the ego get in the way, so I think when I played, I never even looked at myself that way either. I always wanted to make myself uncomfortable, get the best out of myself. A little insecurity, I would say, to get the best out of myself and even afterwards, there’s so many great players around me. But I am proud of getting here for sure, man. It was a long, long road. Had to be patient. Good things take time. I never doubted myself when so many doubters were out there, but that was the best thing about it. It just helped motivate me to be my best, gave me that chip on my shoulder.”
(Not even a moment or something somebody said that – you came in as a low draft pick, that said, “Okay, I can be a star in this league or I can make it in this league” considering you probably never said “I can be a star?”) – “Was there a moment – I think and I got back to it – I’ve said it before. That national anthem. Don’t be making me choke up. But that national anthem that first game – special. I think that one. All right, let me see here. I’ve been trying to read tips so I’m not crying when it comes to the induction and so if I look at your feet and I look at your eyes… (laughter) Oh, forgive me, but I know when I’m talking about my family, I’m going to be looking at feet. Even Jimmy (Johnson). But I think that moment of the national anthem was the time I knew I had a starting chance and I wasn’t going to let it go. So I feel like that was the moment that I knew… all right, let me drink water. (laughter) You’re right. That’s what I don’t want. I’m going first and I don’t want to take away from any of the inductees behind me because you want to respect them and their time. And I’ve got 28 years of football to thank everybody in 12 minutes? It’s not happening, but the thing is, I’m going to make it under 12 and even if I have to fumble through it or stumble through it, cry through it; I’m going to make it happen because you’ve got to respect these guys’ time and I’ll get my points in. I’m going to miss a lot of people to thank which is, it’s tough. Like I said, 28 years of football. So many people impacted me. It’s tough to thank everybody and so I might have to do some writing, call people up, I’ll thank Harvey (Greene) right now because I don’t have him in my speech. (laughter)”
(Now that you’re at camp, do you remember Day 1 at your first camp? What it was like? The vision you had for your career, the hope the expectations, just the emotion of that, becoming an NFL player?) – “Wow, 27 years ago. That’s crazy. I do remember it being hot. It still smelled of the wet grass, the dew on the grass, that early morning when they used to start before 9, right? 8:45, right, Harvey? Just being out there and just looking across – that’s Dan Marino right there man, right across from me. I’m competing against Dan Marino. And just looking back at those camps, man, I was so focused, laser-focused just to make the team. There wasn’t anything else on my mind but making the team and those were good days. Good days. It was back when the two-a-days happened. There’s no one-a-days.”
(Nothing like inside drill to start practice, right?) – “Inside drill was definitely physical.”
(You talk about the national anthem being that moment, but when we were following you that first year, Jimmy Johnson brought in Jack Del Rio to be his linebacker. He cut him early because he was convinced that you were the guy. How did that go? How did that conversation go with Jimmy and with Jack Del Rio, too, in a sense? How did that whole thing go because the torch was passed to you right away.) – “I talk about good time because he’s a new coach and he brought in Jack (Del Rio) to be a vet. Jack even took me to the first preseason game and he was giving me pointers. How cool is that? But I respected his game. He taught me. But back to Jimmy, for him to throw me in the mix? Look at me, man. I still don’t look the part. I was the 154th draft pick. Yeah, I was his guy, but still. To throw you in the mix before a game even starts? First game? That’s wild to me, but he saw something. That’s why Jimmy is the best. I feel like he definitely can evaluate talent when it’s on the field and so for him to throw me from the get-go, because I could’ve ended up anywhere else. I could’ve been in a 3-4, I could’ve been with one coach who didn’t believe in me and then I would’ve been a special teams guy trying to make the team on the fringe. Crazy how it plays out, isn’t it? That’s what I’m grateful for. So it wasn’t just all hard work and none of that. It was just getting a little lucky, blessed, grateful to have a guy that believed in me.”
(What moment in the Hall of Fame process so far, whether it be sitting for the busts to be done or getting the jacket, has stood out to you?) – “I think opening up the jacket when it came to the house with the kids. That was special. My kids didn’t see me play, which was good. I talked about timing. I wouldn’t have any time to be a dad during football. Maritza being here, she knows I was all in. She didn’t see me much either. I’m happy, it was perfect timing. The process of opening it up at the house, having the kids there, that’s pretty cool. Even being here at the press conference, that’s what makes me proud.”
(Talk about the process of making the bust. How did it turn out, are you pleased?) – “Oh yeah. I tell you what, they did a great job. They pretty much just had to make a square. (laughter) I don’t think it was too hard on them.”
(We’ve heard a lot of players campaign for you over the years and say how much they respect your game. When you finally got the call, who was the guy who called or reached out to you that was the most moving that you competed against?) – “I would start with Kevin Mawae. I had so many Hall of Famers that knew before they were going to announce it that called me. But when it came to Kevin, he was such a great player. For him to put me into his induction speech was pretty powerful. That’s respect right there. He’ll definitely be in my speech, even being a Jet. I think him calling me and being so happy for me, because we used to battle. I think in his speech he said we battled 16 times. He was really good at what he did. He only made me better.”
(From the moment you became eligible for the Hall of Fame, Dolphins fans were very vocal about the fact that they thought you belonged in the Hall of Fame. I’m curious what their support, both after your playing career and during your playing career, meant to you?) – “Well first, yes they were very vocal, especially reaching out to the Hall and then also reaching out to Armando (Salguero). I have to give Armando credit for taking abuse. I wish I would’ve made it easier on him. He even asked me going into this last year, ‘Zach, do you want someone else to present you?’ I’m like no, are you kidding me? I want you to present me … He did a great job with him. I’m very happy I was able to make it. But back to what you were saying, the fans, they pretty much fuel me. That love, I am not going to lie. I read some of their comments. It’s pretty cool comments, the love that they have for me.”
(You talk about playing to win that Super Bowl, playing to win the game. What are your thoughts on this current team doing exactly that?) – “I love the question. We have great talent on this roster. We have a great head coach, an offensive coordinator and probably the best defensive coordinator on the team now. But none of that means nothing if you don’t win in this building, you don’t win on that practice field. They know that. It’s a choice that they’ll make and we’ll see how great they want to be. I’m cheering for them. But I know this, you have to have talent to win. And we got it. I think Chris Grier’s done a great job with this roster. It’s exciting. I’m more excited this year than any year.”
(You said it’s a choice that they make. What do you mean by that?) – “A choice that they make is how good they want to be is off their sacrifice. Minimize outside distractions. Everything that affects your prep. Being grateful. You’re going to have days where you’re going to be negative. Reboot. You need to be positive to not affect your prep. Everybody thinks it’s just hard work. It’s smart work. Once you figure that out and take care of yourself and take care of your body and have your family understand that, ‘Hey, my focus is on one thing, and that’s to go win, get the best out of myself every day.’ When you get to that point, that’s the choice. You choose if you want to go to bed early or not so you can be better and more sharp in practice the next day or the meeting rooms. You choose that. It’s the same thing we choose with distractions. Nowadays phones, crazy. These kids, they know these distractions. Always on these phones. I feel like you choose if you want to get in the extra film work, the extra pre-hab. You choose those things. That’s what makes the difference in the end. I feel like that’s the choice that you make. You choose if you want to be grateful. I used to drive to work and I would be a little negative or something, and I would just look around and most of these people are going to jobs they hate. I’d reboot my mindset. I see people pissed of at the light. That would help my mindset. Man, I’m playing a game. What am I going to cry about after a loss or something? I’m going in to make myself great.”
(You’ve been out here for practice before. Today’s the first day fans are going to be out here. To be in front of them, what’s that going to be like?) – “It’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be more awesome for my kids being out on the practice field, seeing a lot of their heroes that they have out here. But to be out there with the crowd, the good energy in the crowd that you feed of off, it’s going to be awesome.”
(When you got the call, did you go back and look at your sacrifices? Whether it’s watching film and fingers of Cheetos on the VHS or the hyperbolic chamber you had. Or I remember the Bills game and you came out and were on the sidelines and you had a neck injury or a collision or something, and you went right back into that game. Do you think about those sacrifices now? Everything that you did to be great?) – “It really wasn’t a sacrifice to me. I feel like I was just being accountable for my teammates. I never wanted to let them down, I think that was number one, and keeping that respect. I wanted to be there for them. That was why I played through all that. Then also I had motivation from things. I might have had it in my head, but I always felt like I had haters. People that overlooked me. People that doubted me. That made me go back in the game.”
(Peyton Manning talked about you and how he would be frustrated you called out his plays while he was calling them out. You talked about preparing for work for these guys. Now that you’re gone, give us secrets of things you saw in a game or anything you remember in a game that factored into something you saw in film work that mattered? Any stories like that?) – “Peyton’s pre-snap was awesome. That’s why he hardly ever got hit. The same with Tom Brady. That’s what I enjoyed the most. I wasn’t in their playbook. But I went on The Fish Tank with Seth (Levit) and we talked about a time where – a lot of times when you get in the red zone, there’s only so much scripted plays that they have over the last year. The same with short yardage. When you knew exactly in those moments, in those types of situations, you could call out their plays a lot. But even if you know the play, it doesn’t matter. You can overrun the play. I’m not saying its overrated, but knowing run from pass is huge, number one. I feel like that’s where I got a great tip before they even snap the ball. Knowing the play, I feel like there were times I’d call it out, especially with Peyton because we’re up there in the dome, it’s quiet, you can hear their numbers, you can hear everything. You knew a play they were going to run, you let them know it. It’s all such a mind game. Then he’s like, ‘man, he’s in my book.’ I wasn’t in their playbook, and you want to react anyway as a defensive player, but knowing run from pass, that’s huge. That’s more important than even knowing the play, which you wouldn’t know anyway. On The Fish Tank, I talked about it. It was short yardage and they didn’t have many short yardage plays. They came in at 21 personnel and they don’t have many 21 (plays). They’re usually 11 personnel. So they were in 21, put the Y flexed outside and it’s always a lead. So I just called it out, it’s always a lead to a three technique, so I just called it out. That’s probably one play out of how many games I’ve known him. And you should’ve seen his eyes pre-snap. I called it out and blitzed it and made the play. You have to make the play too. I got up and saw his reaction, his body language – I used to read that body language too. He was like ‘wow, he’s in my book.’ But I wasn’t. (laughter)”
(Now that both of your careers are over, did Peyton Manning have another tell that you could be like, “I know what you’re doing?”) – “Tells are huge pre-snap. There’s so many – it’s not so much a player, especially him being so good, but they had some players on the offensive line – because they make everything look the same – that could give away run from pass. It was hard. They made everything, the press, the set up, the pass, and everything was on timing. But the pre-snap tells, it didn’t matter if it’s – down-and-distance means something when they break the huddle, the personnel means something, the depth of the back means something, the width of the tight end means something, the split of the lines mean something, especially one side from the other. It’s crazy all the tells – even where the receivers are means something to you, to tell you run from pass. When you can get that down pre-snap, that’s where I feel like I won. The tells are everything, and that’s where you win most of the time or give yourself the best chance to win on that play.”
(You mentioned the kids didn’t get a chance to see you play. What’s it going to be like for them to see you go into the Hall of Fame? What do you think the reaction is going to be, yours, the family and just how wonderful that’s going to be for you guys?) – “We’ll have to find out. Look at them. Yeah, we’ll have to find out. I just feel like I’m just going to be proud that they can experience something. They might look back when they get older and be like, ‘Wow,’ you know what I’m saying? ‘We’re proud of you, Dad.’ I think right now as kids, they’re just ready to go take a picture with Tyreek (Hill) or Tua (Tagovailoa), they’re not even thinking about Dad. (laughter)”
(Are they big QB Tua Tagovailoa fans?) – “Oh yeah. Oh yeah, right? We’ve got two Tua (Tagovailoa) jerseys on right now.”
(You spent 12 years here in Miami. Was there a particular jersey that you always enjoyed playing in, whether it was the orange or the aqua? Which jersey stands out to you the most?) – “I think most of them. The orange wasn’t what I – especially when you have our d-linemen, they looked like pumpkins in front of you, man. (laughter) I was just trying to be funny there. I really don’t know. When it came to that, the jersey better be dirty by the time you get to the end of the game, I know that.”
(Do you remember the moment where you first started thinking, “I might be a Hall of Famer?” Was it while you were playing and maybe a media member mentioned it to you? Was it after your career? When did that moment occur do you think?) – “I think when I was getting texts. I wasn’t ever – even when I played, I wasn’t thinking Hall of Fame, I was thinking trying to get the best out of myself and this team. I was in the moment. I think when I started getting nominated and they started talking about it, then once I got closer to the Top 15, that’s when I knew I had a chance, especially when it was back-to-back years. That’s when I started thinking about it, but after not making it, I tell my family they can vent for a day, but I don’t need to hear it. Come on, it’s all ego for you as a player to think, especially in a team game, to act like, ‘I deserve this.’ You don’t deserve this, man. There are so many people that deserve this, and that’s why I’ll say I deserved it, but I want everybody that had a part in it to deserve it with me. Do you get what I’m saying? I don’t even know if that even makes sense, but take that where you want it.”
(What would be your message to a high school player here in South Florida or even on Texas who might be a little undersized, might be a little down on himself? What would be your message to him to motivate him?) – “Well, hopefully I give them a little hope. For somebody who’s undersized, when it came to talent or anything like that, to never give up if you love something. Success is just finding something you love, but it’s up to you to find that, not anybody else. If you love something, keep straight ahead. Don’t let all the outside noise from everybody doubting you, well if you want to use it as fuel, yes; but don’t let it affect your path, because I could have gave up on myself a lot. I got doubted the whole way, but I used it as fuel. So I feel like if you love something, that’s success, man – stick with it. Who cares? You don’t have to please everybody. You’re not going to. You just have to please yourself, and that’s by putting in the work, betting on yourself and no matter the results, you’ll go out a winner forever. That’s how it is, so you don’t ever have regrets.”
(What was the first time you visited the Hall of Fame? Unless this coming Friday is going to be your first time?) – “Oh, it was special. Thursday we’re going to visit with my family, but to see the bust of Junior Seau, it was awesome, man. Love that guy. Seeing Jason (Taylor) and seeing all the other 10 Dolphins in there is cool, too, man. So it’s a special moment.”
