K Phil Dawson (9.19.24)

Hey, Phil, congratulations on the induction. It’s really awesome. I just wondered for you what this means to be inducted into this city, what Cleveland has meant and how it’s felt to see your position embraced by this fan base?

“Yeah, that’s hard to explain. I think anytime you get a recognition like this, it’s obviously special. But what takes it to a whole new level for me on this one is my love for Cleveland and the Browns. I was fortunate that I got to stay 14 years in one place, and not a lot of players in this league get that opportunity. And so, as a result, just the history, the relationships that I was able to form, I mean, Cleveland was my family’s home, and so it just adds this extra layer to it. And so, to have the opportunity to be recognized for my years there, I’m really struggling to find the right words to express what it means to me and my family, but we are just beyond humbled.”

 

Hey, could you talk about what that moment was like calling Jimmy (Donovan) and letting him know, that he was going to join you in this?

“Just when you think this experience can’t get any better, then I was informed that I was going to have — not only was Jim going to go in with me, which, by the way, I can’t think of anyone better to go in with, but that I was going to have the opportunity to be the one to let him know. I love Jim. He’s a friend of mine. Once again, kind of going back to that relationship piece, it’s not just some other Brown that I would have been honored to go in with. This is a guy I called, ‘friend.’ This is a guy that I’ve gotten to know, have a relationship with. Obviously, he’s going through a lot right now, and on a personal side, my heart goes out to him and his family and pulling for him. But to have the chance to make that phone call and see it bring joy to a friend just takes this thing to a whole new level.”

 

Hey, Phil. Congratulations. I’m sure you’ve been asked this a million times, but just for this Zoom call here, what is the memory that stands out most during your time as a Cleveland Brown?

“Yeah, I find myself bouncing all over the radar when people ask me that. I think to answer that question, the memories that I most cherish probably aren’t the kicks or the big wins. It was the little things, to see the fans continuing to come in those lean years and support our team. The passion, when William Green ran around right tackle against the (Atlanta) Falcons and it was our first kind of meaningful December game, and to hear the city come alive, they had been waiting ever since the Browns came back for us to pull through in a meaningful game. And just hearing that passion, walking the streets and just people always having kind words. Well, I shouldn’t say always. I shouldn’t say always. Those early years, they made me earn my keep, which I appreciate. But, you know, just the opportunity to come back and retire in 2019 meant a tremendous amount to me because I didn’t get to say goodbye at the end of the 2012 season. You know, the NFL calendar, free agency hits, and that all happened real fast, and I was a Brown, and then all of a sudden I was a (San Francisco) 49er, so I didn’t get to say my goodbyes then. So being able to come back in ’19 and kind of have an opportunity to sum everything up and express my love for Cleveland and the Browns, I think that would probably be — if I had to have one memory that I most cherish about me, it would be the opportunity to retire as a Brown. But other than that, it was just being a Brown. Had nothing to do with the kicks, had nothing to do with what my role on the team was. It was just wearing that orange helmet.”

 

Congrats, Phil. Good to see you. You mentioned your friendship with Jim. Is there a moment that you shared with him in your time in Cleveland that just really stands out to you? 

“You know, Jim had the uncanny knack to remain accurate and true and everything he said, yet still supportive. I don’t know how he found that balance. So, whether it was coming off a devastating loss, you know, I’d watch some of his stuff post-game, kind of wanted to know what was swirling around and Jim just had a knack for, you know, ‘here’s what happened.’ He’d inform the public what he saw, yet he did so with such class, and I know I appreciated it. I know my teammates appreciated it. I don’t know that there was one necessarily one moment that stands out because he was just so high class all the time. Obviously, some of his calls are legendary. I mentioned the, ‘Run, William, Run,’ a moment earlier. Personally, I like that he did it again in the Blizzard Bowl. I mean, how did he remember that in that moment? There was so much else going on, yet he just could do it. I mean, he’s calling a game and all the things that go into that specific moment, yet he never forgot about the broader context. Obviously, he understood Cleveland, and so he could bring an element to what the city was feeling, what the city was frustrated with, what the city was ready to celebrate. So, he just somehow mixed that all together, and, man, what an honor to have one guy calling every game I played as a Brown.”

 

Hey, Phil. I (Leah Doherty) work for Channel 19 here in Cleveland, but I’m originally born and raised in Round Rock (Texas), so great to meet you and congratulations. I guess, for you, I know you have a passion for coaching at the high school level, so why is that something that you have such a heart for and how do you see the game differently now as a coach than you did when you were playing? 

“Yeah, my granddad was a high school football coach. Dad was a great player in his own right and so I grew up around the game. And as early as I can remember, I’ve said this before, I just wanted to play football. And then as I fell in love with the game, when I got my chance to play, I started thinking about this coaching deal. My high school coaches were absolutely instrumental in getting me started and the lessons they taught me were the foundation to which I built a career upon. And so, I personally experienced the impact a high school coach can make. Super honored and thrilled that I got a chance, obviously, to play in college, in the NFL, and those are different, and they have their pluses and minuses as well. But when it came time for me to figure out what was next after my playing days were over, that coaching bug kind of got me, and I just knew I wanted to go back to that high school level and have an impact on and off the field. I think the higher up you go, let’s be honest, the more it becomes about X’s and O’s and wins and losses, I think at the high school level, you have a lot more opportunity to build relationship with your players and try to get them started. And I love this great game of football, but I want to use it for something bigger than just winning a game and I think high school allows me to do that. So, I was really fortunate playing the position I did. I had a little extra free time that a lot offensive and defensive guys didn’t have. So, I found myself sitting in offensive meetings, learning from NFL offensive coordinators. I’d go sit in defensive meetings and ask questions and was always trying to learn just because I loved football. And little did I know that all those experiences kind of built up the knowledge base so that when I was able to step into being a head coach, I halfway knew what I was doing on offense and defense. So it’s been a lot of fun. It’s a challenging job, but it doesn’t feel like a job to me.”

 

Hey, Phil, congratulations. I wanted to ask you about last season when you came to Cleveland, and you got to do the guitar smash before the win over the 49ers. What was that day like for you? What was that moment like? You don’t tweet a lot, but I know you gave Cleveland a shout-out that day because you’re going to be back again this year. So, what was that whole thing like to be back and get kind of reunited with the city and the fans? 

“Man, I loved it. I was afraid no one was going to cheer. There was like a delay on the jumbotron, so I came out of the tunnel, and they made the announcement and no one cheered. I was like, ‘Oh, gosh. This is not off to a good start.’ But then all of a sudden, it showed up on the jumbotron, place went nuts. That was my first game back in Cleveland, so that was really special just to get to — I had never been to a Browns game without playing in one. So it really, for the first time, gave me a taste of what it’s like. I mean, I got to pull up to the stadium when the Muni Lot was going and the fans were everywhere. I mean, y’all know me, when I was playing, I was there at 8 a.m. I was the only human on the field in an empty stadium. So, getting to see all that, obviously against the 49ers, that was a team I played for as well so that kind of added a cool layer. I knew players and personnel on both sides and just getting a chance to hear that roar one more time was really cool. I missed that roar. So that was a — I don’t know about my guitar smashing. I may need to work on that a little bit. But they told me, full disclosure, wait until the third time to bust it. So, you kind of have to take it easy on the first two, and then you hammer it on the third. And I think I got in trouble because I threw it up in the air, but I was pretty fired up, and it was great to be back home.”

 

Hey, congratulations, Phil. Had you stayed around, you would have broken Lou Groza’s record. You always talked about your respect for him. So, talk about that decision to not stay around here and break that record. 

“Yeah, that was one that would have been incredibly meaningful to me. I was honored to meet Mr. Groza. I mean, how many guys get to do that? That was good. My first training camp, I get called over to the tents and I was told, ‘Mr. Groza wants to talk to you,’ and I was like, ‘Holy cow. I can’t believe this is happening.’ But that — leaving when I did was not what I wanted. It just, unfortunately, that’s how it went. And being so close, to that record, that was a hard pill to swallow. I felt like I still had a lot of good football left in me, and hopefully I proved that in the six years I played after I left. But that’s how this thing goes. I’m just grateful I got 14 in Cleveland. So, I think now it’s competitive — now that I’m kind of out of the competitive deal, I think it’s fitting that Lou Groza remains the all-time leading scorer because he is the Cleveland Browns.”

 

How you doing, Phil? Congratulations. Just had to see you. Anyway, I just wanted to ask sort of along those lines, but not exactly. Like, when you become a kicker in the NFL, do you ever think a kicker is going to be in the ring of honor? I mean, it’s not exactly like a position that you would expect the longevity or anything of it.

“No, you’re right and that’s the job. I mean, you kind of know, coming in that your path is going to be different than a lot of other players and I had to narrow it down to, what was I trying to, quote, prove. And to me, it boiled down to, I wanted to earn the trust and respect of my teammates and coaches. And then if it grew from there, that was great. Obviously, anyone likes to earn trust and respect. I think I did that with the fans, and I think this honor this weekend shows I did so for the city and the organization. But my focus was to be a dependable, reliable player that my teammates and coaches could count on to do his job.

And I just kind of went to work. I can remember waking up like year 10, for example, and I couldn’t believe it because to me, it was a Tuesday and what do I got to do on Tuesday to get better? So, you just kind of start stacking those days and then years go by, and then before you know it, your career is over and whatever happens after your career, happens. But to have former teammates and coaches reach out to me and — I got a message from Joe Thomas this morning and the things he said to me, I can’t even believe because I was just the kicker over there doing my thing and here’s the greatest left tackle to ever play professional football thanking me for the job I did and how I helped him. So, I mean, that’s the special sauce. When your teammates and coaches could count on you to do your job, I can’t think of anything more rewarding than that.”

 

Is Shannon (Dawson) singing the national anthem?

“I hope not, because I can’t handle it. I get so nervous when she does that. Hopefully they haven’t asked her to do that because my emotions are already on edge. I’m going to try to hold it together this weekend. I don’t know if I could do it if she was singing.”

 

Hey, Phil. I just had a real quick follow up on the high school football front. I’ve been doing some stories with some guys who are former NFL players who are now head coaches in high school football and one of them is your former Browns teammate Jason Trusnik, who’s at Strongsville now. So, I was wondering now that you have a few, you know, you’re in, I think, your third season in charge of the Hyde Park Panthers. What advice would you give to another former NFL player who’s making that same exact transition to be a high school head coach? 

“Yeah, I think most guys coming out of the league obviously are going to have a pretty high-level football IQ and I think the tendency is to make the player fit into the scheme, and you got to recognize you’re not dealing with NFL guys that can pretty much do anything you ask them to do. So, my advice and what I’ve had to learn is to figure out who do we have, what can we do, and then fit the scheme around the player. A term I use all the time with my staff is, ‘where are we and how do we get better?’ It really doesn’t matter where we, quote, should be. I mean, that’s a waste of time, kind of whining about that; ‘We should be able to do this, we should be able to do that.’ Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re not there yet. So, where are we, how do we get better? And that requires kind of a player centric focus. You know, why was Troy Aikman — why did he transfer from Oklahoma and go to UCLA? Because Oklahoma ran the triple option, and Troy Aikman’s not a triple option quarterback. That’s a perfect example. Like, you got to build your scheme around what your players can do. And I think that’s tough, I know it was for me coming from the highest level with all the elaborate X’s and O’s and you’ve got toys to play with at that level. At the high school level, you don’t have as many toys, yet you still have a job to do. So, build everything you do around, ‘who do you have, what can you do’ and fit the scheme around the player.”

 

Hey, Phil. I was curious, what do you think when you see the Browns having some success, which they didn’t have a ton of as a team when you were here, obviously. And then even, like, when Dustin Hopkins has a great year and breaks some of your records or closes in on some of them, how do you kind of react to those things? 

“Love it. Been a long time coming. I think, as things have calmed down, I feel like the organization is kind of on firm footing and kind of knows who they are, and those were things that weren’t true when I was there. We were constantly changing everything and kind of starting over every year. I think as that foundation has been laid, now you’re seeing more stability on the field and more success. So I still watch every Browns game, and it sure does help my Sunday when the Brownies win.  So, that’s great to see.  I’m fired up for Dustin. Y’all finally got another Texas boy up there kicking the ball. Maybe there’s something to that. We grew up kicking in the wind, and, last time I checked, wind blows a little bit in Cleveland. I will say, though, and y’all know me, so this is not a slam in any way, shape, or form. They’ve closed in a lot of those corners, so I don’t think the wind blows near like it used to when I was there. So that’s my little jab at Dustin, but he is doing fantastic. I love it. It’s been tough for me seeing all the guys struggle through the years. The first time they miss a kick, they got to hear about, ‘Well, Phil would have made it,’ and I think it’s unfair to them that they had to hear that. So for Dustin to just step in, take the bull by the horns, and go, hopefully, all that will die down and now we can celebrate not only Dustin making kicks, but the Browns winning games.”

 

Okay, I think we have someone who wants to say a few words. Joe? 

 

Joe Thomas: “Hey, what’s up, Phil? Joe Thomas here.”

 

Phil Dawson: “What’s up, man.”

 

Joe Thomas: “What’s up? Murph (Dan Murphy) opened the back door and let me slide in, so I had to come in and listen in. I appreciate the words you were saying there about coaching now that I’ve sort of began my coaching career a little bit, coaching in Germany this summer and starting to coach my son in flag football, and as he’s getting a little bit older, so that was cool. But it was really special for me this week, now that you’re going into the Browns’ Legends Club, to be able to recall and recant the story that you gave to us of the Civil War flags, if you remember.”

 

Phil Dawson: “Oh, yeah.”

 

Joe Thomas: “That talk that we had and sort of the rally cry we had that season with the flag was so special, inspirational, something I still think about. I talked about it with my guys in Munich. Of course, being Germans, they probably didn’t understand the Civil War reference quite as well as we would coming from the States, you being from the south, me being from the north. But I think it still rang true and it hit home. And it’s been so fun for me to be able to kind of think about the emotions and the memories that we made as teammates, you being the OG Brown from ’99 and then continuing on for most of my career. I’m excited about you and your family to be able to be in Cleveland this weekend and rightfully join the club with the greatest Browns of all time.”

 

Phil Dawson: “Joe, that means the world to me, man and I’d follow any flag you were carrying any time. You were simply the best and we all knew it the first day you ever walked into the facility. And, you know, I was just trying to do my part. I know you had the left side nailed down and you really took the torch when (Josh) Cribbs and I kind of phased out of, you became — you were already who you were, but you really took the weight and you just led that whole organization. And it doesn’t surprise me a bit, but I really appreciated you doing what you did even after I left and I respected you already. But I know the burden you felt, and I know the weight you carried, and you did it with such class and you’re a Hall of Famer off the field. Everybody knows what you did on the field, but you’re the full package, man.”

 

Joe Thomas: “Well, I appreciate that, brother. I hope you enjoy the weekend with the family and with Browns nation. You definitely deserve it, man.”

 

Phil Dawson: “Appreciate it, man. Love you.”

 

Joe Thomas: “Love you, too, buddy.”