We The T

Here's an interesting experiment. Try wearing a Temple sweatshirt at the 2020 NFL Combine and walk through the hallway gauntlet at the Indiana Convention Center without someone yelling, "Hey Temple."

The annual NFL audition for college players is, as expected, littered with players from football rich schools like Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Ohio State.

But you'd be surprised to know that there are probably more people with ties to Temple than any other university. The Andy Reid coaching tree has received a good deal of attention for sprouting its share of NFL talent in the coaching and personnel profession, but Temple might be able to give Big Red a run for his money.

A bulk of Owls Nation came wearing the gear of the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That stems from the fact that two former Temple head coaches – Matt Rhule and Bruce Arians – lead those teams from the sidelines. Temple is the only school in the country that can claim two of its former head coaches are now running NFL squads.

Rhule built his first staff with the Carolina Panthers with many ties to his Temple past. The list includes coaches - E.J. Barthel, Evan Cooper, Ed Foley, Al Holcomb, Frisman Jackson, Jeff Nixon, Marcus Satterfield, Jeremy Scott, Mike Siravo, and Phil Snow – and top executives - Matt Delgado and Sean Padden.

Arians has the following Owls on his coaching staff - Kevin Armstrong, Todd Bowles, Clyde Christiansen, Lori Locust, Todd McNair, Nick Rapone, and Kevin Ross.

Just last month Rhule said, "Bruce Arians once told me when he was [at Temple] and they were lifting in the Armory, 'You can sit there sometimes and think about what you don't have. But I prefer to think about what you do have. What you do have at Temple, the greatest asset is the people who are there.'

Both Rhule and Arians believe in that concept. But they are not the only ones.

Known for upward mobility, Temple has placed five straight head coaches into higher paying jobs. Besides Rhule, four other head coaches in the past decade have moved to the ACC. That includes Al Golden who is now the linebackers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.

But it's not just head coaches from Temple who are getting noticed. And Owls are getting noticed at the highest levels.

Andrew Dees (Buffalo) was once a coach for the Owls. Mark DeLeone (Chicago), Jimmy Noel (Cleveland), Britt Reid (Kansas City), Ameena Soliman (Philadelphia), Pat Stewart (Philadelphia), and Ronell Williams (Chicago) were all graduate assistants at Temple who earned their way into the NFL in either coaching or personnel.

Washington just hired Masahiro (Hagi) Takahagi as an assistant athletic trainer after he served in that capacity at Temple for eight years.

Mark Dalton (Arizona) and Bob Lange (San Francisco) learned their craft while at Temple and are now vice presidents with their respective clubs.

Even the NFL office in New York City is now home to Kelsey Boyd, Matt Falcone, and Dan Van Norton all of whom once took up residence at Edberg-Olson Hall.

There was even a Temple presence among the media covering the NFL Combine with people such as ESPN's Kevin Negandhi, KCTV's Breland Moore, and EaglesTV's Fran Duffy asking questions of a quartet of Owls' on the brink of their NFL careers (LBs Shaun Bradley and Chapelle Russell, CB Harrison Hand, and OL Matt Hennessy).

"There used to be a slogan 'We the T.' I loved that concept of we," said Rhule recently. "There is not a place in the world where I see a person wearing a Temple something that I don't go up and talk to them because you have to be a special person to go to Temple and to excel at Temple. I think when people come out of Temple – whether it be the NFL or in business - they are getting someone who does tough things, who's not afraid of hard work, that doesn't make excuses."

The brand of football being played at Temple has certainly gotten noticed on the field. There are currently 19 former Owls on NFL rosters – and another eight in the XFL and five in the CFL. A school record four players were participating in this recent Combine.

The greatest growth, however, is in former Owls players making the jump to NFL scout. Former Owl Tim Terry, who recently won a Super Bowl as director of pro personnel with the Kansas City Chiefs, has been working at this for over 15 years. He played for the Bengals, Chiefs and Seahawks after going undrafted out of Temple in 1997. He also won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 2010.

In the past year, he was joined by four other Owls – Tom Bradway (Las Vegas), Todd Jones (Houston), Jordan Martin (Detroit), and Rod Streater (Cleveland).

Bradway has football in his blood and it took him to let go of the game to know how important it was to him. Teams would be wise to accept his input, though. His father, Terry, has won championships and called the shots as an NFL GM. His brother, Michael, has won two of the last three Super Bowls with the Eagles (LII) and the Chiefs (LIV).

He took time away from football after playing at Temple. "Before I really jumped into this I needed to know how it would feel to get away from it," he said. "And I think I knew the first week in being in medical device sales that I'm a football guy, I just want to get back. I've been with the Raiders for the last seven months. I do basically anything and everything they need me to do. Just trying to figure out who that next person is going to be to help the Raiders win. Anything that can help us get better. I report to [general manager] Mike Mayock. There is so much to learn and there is a lot of experience in that room. It's been fantastic."

Jones' skill set as a player matched his name – very common. What separated him was his willingness to work and his attention to detail. Those traits earned the former walk-on a scholarship as a senior. Geoff Collins wanted to make him a graduate assistant when he moved on to Georgia Tech but the coach knew that Jones wanted to be an NFL scout.

"It all started for me when Haason [Reddick] and Dion [Dawkins] were coming out and I saw all those scouts at practices. I thought I could do what they were doing. I knew I didn't have a future playing football because I wasn't playing much at Temple so that dream faded early for me. It was a long journey. I went to the Senior Bowl my senior year just to meet people and network. Then I got a text from Coach Collins and he said he would connect me with one of his former players [James Liipfert] who works with the Texans. I must have made an impression on him because we stayed in touch and he offered me a job the day of the NFL Draft."

Martin was a single-digit player at Temple which might be all you need to know. His tenacious attitude on the field has translated to a never-quit mentality off of it. After graduating from Temple in 2011, he worked in real estate and retail while carving out a career in football. Those roles led him to the Washington University (St. Louis), University of Houston and Oklahoma State University before landing a scouting position with the Lions in 2019.

"When I was at Houston, I was a [graduate assistant] in a coaching/recruiting role and just had scouts come in. I knew a little bit about it because my brother [Denzel] started in scouting with the Steelers, but he always wanted to coach. So I knew a little bit about it so I would talk to the scouts when they came through. I met Patrick Mularkey who is a scout with the Lions in 2017, we kept in touch and he always told me 'send me your resume and keep me updated.' Then in 2019 something opened up and they flew me in for an interview. With Coach Golden on the staff [at the time], he put in a good word for me as well. All those things were aligned and factored in for me. I'm loving the opportunity to be at the highest level of football but still learning and climbing every day."

Streater is the most accomplished player of the group. Streater, a 6-2, 195-lb. wide receiver, played seven seasons in the NFL. He began his career with Oakland (2012-15) before stops in Kansas City, San Francisco, Buffalo, and Cleveland. After sustaining a neck injury with the Browns, he turned his attention towards scouting.

"I'm on an internship program in scouting. I've been mostly on the pro side. Being in the game I feel I have a lot to offer. I was a big film guy. Coming into the league I had Carson Palmer as my QB and he pretty much taught me how to watch film. I feel like it was natural for me to watch film and breakdown corners and safeties and wide receivers. Becoming a scout was a natural transition. Getting used to evaluating the offensive and defensive line is still a little foreign to me but thankfully I have a bunch of guys to help me here. I'd like to become a bit more well-rounded."

"Temple TUFF, man," Streater said proudly. "It's not always the fanciest things we do but we work hard. Temple does a great job of instilling mental toughness and you can take that anywhere. You apply what you learn from those college dog-days and apply it to your regular life. That's half the battle – your mental side. Temple does a good job each year of recruiting tough players and putting tough guys in the league. Once you are done you can take those same habits into the real world."

Bradway summarized the feeling almost everyone had. "There's a reason why you walk around this place and there are so many people here from Temple. People really learn how to work there. There is a culture of accountability and hard work. With Coach Rhule, he ran his program like a pro program and taught us how to be pros and take care of our business and be accountable. Really work hard, not strain in uncomfortable moments. Nothing that comes along now in the job, is a stressful situation. You feel like you're ready. And then working for Coach Collins, his line was 'how you do anything is how you do everything.' That's rang true through everything I've done so far. Whether it be the smallest task or something super important. You have to make sure it's done at a high level."

This author would like to apologize in advance if anybody was omitted. Please contact Rich Burg if that is the case so he can add your information.

Temple University Athletics

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Tom Bradway

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Chapelle Russell

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