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Hey friends,

Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to spend time on Radio Row at the site of the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. 

There, I interviewed several bright minds throughout the college ranks, NFL level, and in the media landscape. 

Through all of the content my team and I created, one conversation that continues to stick with me is with ESPN NFL analyst Marcus Spears. 

The 40-year-old first earned his breakthrough as a dominant defensive end with Nick Saban at LSU from 2001 to 2004. 

With the Tigers, Spears won a national championship in 2004, while becoming a consensus All-American behind nine sacks and 17 tackles for loss. 

Through my conversation with Spears, we tackled Nick Saban’s sudden retirement and his jump into the media realm, all while discussing how he’s overcome adversity. 

Here are three main points I took away from my sit-down with the ESPN personality.

Like most in the media space, Spears is a proponent of college football’s recent alterations. 

From players monetizing their name, image, and likeness through NIL engagements to a free agency model mimicked through the transfer portal, Spears thinks the sport is finally putting its players first. 

Just days after the national championship game, Alabama head coach Nick Saban created monumental offseason headlines when he shockingly retired as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. 

Spears, who played for Saban for four seasons at LSU, touched upon his former head coach’s departure from the sidelines. 

“It was bittersweet, man,” Spears told me. “I don’t think we can run from the landscape of college football probably being a big reason [for it], but he’s 70 [years old].”

With the Tigers, Saban excelled in his third head coaching gig after heading Michigan State for five campaigns. 

In Baton Rogue, which is also Spears’ hometown, Saban amassed a 48-16 record, with his win total being the highest five-year total in LSU history. 

“I know him personally, and I think a lot of it was just seeing how this thing is changing,” Spears said. “Coach has always been about being able to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s the athlete, that’s the school piece, that’s also having control and authority over how things are happening around his program when I was at LSU.”

As a former analyst on ESPN’s SEC Network and SEC Nation telecast, Spears is still plugged into the college game. 

Eventually, he believes the sport will be fixed for the betterment of its overall product. 

“It’s going to correct,” Spears said. “I’m not in a panic like everybody. The NFL had free agency come about, and they had to figure out ‘How is this going to work?’ It will get figured out.”

Following the 2013 NFL season, Spears announced his retirement from the league with an interest in landing a gig in media. 

Initially, Spears decided to pursue print journalism. After an eight-year run with the Dallas Cowboys, he quickly picked up an intern role at the Dallas Morning News as a writer. 

“I played in Dallas, so I was very familiar with the media,” Spears said. “And, I interned with the Dallas Morning News when I got done playing because print journalism was always interesting to me, and I used to always get frustrated when sports writers write the wrong thing from football.”

Spears thought journalists without NFL backgrounds would place blame on the wrong defensive players, and he thought his knowledge of the game could enhance the newsroom’s NFL coverage. 

However, Spears quickly realized his personality was better suited for an on-camera role. 

“I realized that was boring as hell,” Spears said. “I was going to a cubicle every day, I had this little badge I was buzzing in… and then you start looking at the account, because you’re done playing in the league, and I’m like ‘I don’t need this.’”

“I always wanted to do something else,” he added. “I was 30 [years old] when I retired. I knew I wanted to do something not only to occupy my time, but something that I could get into a really go after it like I was trying to be a pro football player, and that became TV for me.”

To Spears, choosing a second career built on a passion and drive for the role made the ultimate difference in his mindset. 

Between his days with the SEC Network and now his desk role on-air on ESPN staples including NFL Live and First Take, Spear’s authenticity has always remained steady. 

“I started at SEC Network, my first show ever was a live show in the elements at South Carolina. I leaned back into what I know, and I know me. I know football, I know me, and I know how to make people laugh… The magic in this is authenticity.”

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After leaving Baton Rouge as one of LSU’s most decorated defenders in program history, Spears began his NFL Draft training process as a sure-fire top-15 selection. 

But, shortly after transitioning into his pre-draft workout mode, Spears suffered a debilitating setback. 

“For me, I suffered my first real injury getting ready for the combine,” Spears told me. “Unfortunately, I tore my meniscus training to get ready to go to the combine, and it was just horrible timing. But, I had a praying mother, a praying grandmother, and the people that were in my support system never let me think that this is going to derail you to the point where you’re not going to be able to realize your dream.”

Spears ended up with the Dallas Cowboys as the No. 20 overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he started 10 games, accumulating 31 total tackles and 1.5 sacks. 

Overall, Spears turned his injury into 124 total games played at the NFL level. He picked up 236 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks in nine seasons after being overlooked for injury concerns. 

“Hitting that point and realizing that making a nine-year career out of a bad knee was pretty damn good,” Spears said. “…If you keep going, it’s going to work out.”

To Spears, football draws similar parallels to life. Working hard to overcome adversity and setbacks is essential to being successful in any venture. 

Tune into my full 15-minute interview with Spears on Radio Row here.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email at adam@brenemanmedia.com.

You can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn or Facebook.

Shoutout to Connor Krause for helping to write this newsletter and putting it together!

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