Former NFL great and NBC Sports commentator Cris Collinsworth confirmed on a posting today at FootballProsLive.com that he will be coaching wide receivers at
Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.) this coming season.
Collinsworth tweeted Tuesday that he's not convinced the NFL will break its lockout and that the season isn't likely to start on time. He said he won't be getting paid.
His son
Jac Collinsworth plays receiver at the school as well.
Highlands went 14-1 last season and won its fourth straight 5A state title with a 50-0 victory in the championship game. The team scored 604 points in those 15 games, an average of a little more than 40 per contest. Jac wasn't on the varsity roster last season.
The freshman and JV teams were a combined 11-0 as well.
Collinsworth starred for the Cincinnati Bengals and then began his TV career with NBC in 1990. Highlands is just 10-minute drive from Cincinnati.
He tweeted that he will start his position today.
Collinsworth wrote on FootballProsLive.com that he received a call recently from Highlands coach Dale Mueller, who asked if he'd be interested in coaching. "The pay wasn't much (zero), but he promised I would have fun," Collinsworth wrote.
Collinsworth doesn't doubt that. He has coached many of the Highlands players at the junior level, "and they always kept me entertained."
Not so entertaining is learning all the new plays.
"I just got the playbook and I feel like a first-year rookie all over again," he wrote. "The plays are scrambled eggs in my brain, and I feel a little anxious. But I love coaching."
Collinsworth accepted the position largely because of the focused, but light-hearted Mueller.
"Today, these kids are being coached by adults and put on select teams by
the time they learn their ABCs," Collinsworth wrote. "They miss all the fun stuff. They
almost look at sports as a job. Too bad. One of the reasons I took
this job is that Dale Mueller brings the fun back to football. He makes
everything a game."
See complete excerpt.
