Warren Moon: Starting a Post-Playing Career

One of the NFL's all-time greats, Warren Moon will be contributing a weekly column to NFLHS.com this season. An outstanding quarterback at every level, Moon played 17 years in the NFL and six years before that in the CFL. He owns the NFL record for most passes completed in a season (404, 1991), is second in NFL history in passing yards-per-game (527, vs. Kansas City, Dec. 16, 1990), and stands third in the NFL record books in passing attempts and completions. The 1977 Pac 8 Player of the Year for the University of Washington and an All-American at Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, Moon is not only a leader on the field. He was named the NFL Man of the Year in 1989 for the tremendous work he does with numerous charitable organizations.

When I was in school, I really enjoyed English and any type of writing course. I loved putting down words on paper. I think it helped me verbalize my thoughts better, getting the words down on paper. Being able to put the words down on paper helped me get my thoughts across to my teammates when I was speaking to them. I was a communications major in college so I also took some speech courses, which helped me develop my skills. Learning how to get up in front of people and speak helped me become a better leader on the team, and definitely made me a more vocal leader.

In high school and during my first year in college, I thought I wanted to get into law enforcement. My freshman year I majored in something called Society & Justice, and I thought I would either be an FBI or CIA agent. When I was recruited by Colorado, they took me to the FBI bureau there. I ended up changing majors, but that is something that I'm still interested in. I still have thoughts about going to law school.

I became interested in communications as a major by just seeing how much attention college football received and all the interviews I was doing. The more I got comfortable doing the interviews, the more I thought that maybe this is something I want to do when my playing days are over. Back then, guys like Irv Cross and Terry Bradshaw were doing games, and I thought that this might be a profession I could transition into.

I was lucky to get into broadcasting while I was still playing. It helped me make the transition after my playing career was over. When I was in Houston, I had my own TV show for eight years, and I also had my own shows in Seattle and Minnesota, too. That helped me get comfortable in front of the camera and break into the field, finding out the ins and outs of production. Then I got a chance to work for Turner broadcasting during the off-season as an NBA sideline reporter during the playoffs. I also did some pre-game, post-game and halftime shows for Turner when they were broadcasting NFL games. Then I did a diary for HBO, so I got a lot of experience and exposure while I was still playing, which was great.

Nowadays my schedule can be pretty hectic. This season I broadcast college football on the West coast. Basically I would get the tapes of the teams I'm covering next weekend on that week's Tuesday. By Thursday or Friday morning I'm on the way to the game, and on Friday we have production meetings with the crew. We also meet with the head coaches and coordinators of both teams. Those are long days because you interview the home team's staff in the morning, and then you wait for the visiting team to get in later that day. On Saturdays we'd have the game, and then either Saturday night or Sunday morning you're on your way home.

That's one thing I learned from broadcasting even though I'm not playing anymore, you still have to do a lot of preparation, a lot of research on the teams so that you have something intelligent to say. With the college teams you really have to do your homework because the guys are changing every year, and each team has only three or four stars, the rest of them are just a bunch of names. There's no question that having played the game helps you understand what's happening, it's just a matter of how it comes out verbally.

Previous Articles:
Warren Moon: A Lot to Think About
Warren Moon: De La Salle - Poly Preview
Warren Moon: Improving Your Athleticism
Warren Moon: Fundamentals Are Key
Warren Moon: Success Through Adversity
Warren Moon: Don't Underestimate Chemistry
Warren Moon: How I Was Recruited
Warren Moon: Mid-Season Report
Warren Moon: How to Handle Sitting on the Bench
Warren Moon: Managing Your Time On and Off the Field