“The Buddy Way” premieres January 29 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and will be available to stream on ESPN+ immediately following the debut.
You would’ve been lucky to know Buddy Teevens like my family did. You’re fortunate if you ever come across someone like that in life.
There was something about Buddy that just drew you in. He listened and made you feel heard. He was generous and genuine. Buddy cared — and somehow, you knew that from the moment that you met him.
That’s probably what made him a great recruiter. It’s definitely what made him a great person. My dad Archie often worked out on the track at Tulane University after his playing days. One day back in 1992, an energetic and gracious young man approached my dad to introduce himself. It was Tulane’s new football coach, Buddy Teevens.
There was one problem though. Buddy’s rapid speech combined with his Boston accent baffled my Mississippi-born father. He still likes to joke: “I wish I knew what the hell he was saying.” It didn’t matter. They were both fluent in football and family. It would be the start of a lifelong friendship.
At the time, I was a junior in high school and I’d soon get to know Buddy through the recruiting process. My heart was set on Tennessee, but I knew that I could have played for Buddy. Anyone would be lucky to have him as a coach.
In the summer of 1993, I attended Buddy’s camp at Tulane. At the end of the camp, everyone ran the 40-yard dash and your time was announced in front of the whole camp. Now, Buddy knew that my speed — or lack thereof — was a sensitive subject for me. So when it was my turn to run, he made sure to take control of the timing.
“Peyton Manning, 40-yard dash, 4.99.”
A little while later, a seventh grader took his turn at the 40. For reasons no one can explain, he ran while wearing his helmet.
“Eli Manning, 40-yard dash, 5.99.”
Maybe he was still trying to recruit me, but I promise you that I’ve never run a sub-5.0 40 in my life. As for Eli? Like I said, Buddy Teevens was a generous man.
Later that year, my family hosted college coaches for in-home visits. All of the biggest names came through — Bobby Bowden, Phillip Fulmer and Steve Spurrier just to name a few. But do you know what I remember most? Some coaches drew up plays on my mom’s fine linen napkins. But Buddy? He was the only one who helped my mother prepare the meal and do the dishes.
Buddy Teevens took care of things. Buddy Teevens took care of people. That was “The Buddy Way.”
In 1996, we started the Manning Passing Academy — a quarterback-receiver camp for players entering grades 8-12 and open to anyone who wants to attend. We wanted to teach the fundamentals. We wanted to do it the right way.
Buddy Teevens was my father’s first phone call.
That wound up being Buddy’s last year at Tulane. A different man would’ve wished us well and avoided the sweltering heat of South Louisiana in the summer. But even as Buddy’s coaching journey took him around the country, he never stopped showing up for us.
My father, my brothers Cooper and Eli and I have never missed a single minute of the camp. We cherish getting to work with young quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. We love to meet the talented college quarterbacks — many of whom go on to NFL stardom — who serve as counselors. But just as importantly, the camp brings us together every summer. Amidst our busy lives, we know that each June we’ll have a few days together as a family.
Over the years, Buddy Teevens became so much more than a friend and a colleague. He became part of our family.
As a coach, Buddy’s motto after a loss was “Adjust and improvise.” He brought that same philosophy to the camp — and preached it to everyone around him.
The camp can be a logistical nightmare. From just 185 campers that first year, it has grown over the past 28 years to over 1,400 kids and 150 coaches putting in work on 25 fields. Somehow, Buddy made it all run smoothly.
Lightning? No problem, let’s get everyone inside and teach them coverages. Flooded fields? No problem, everyone in the gym and we’ll work on screen passes and three-step drops.
Adjust and improvise. That was “The Buddy Way.”
Buddy Teevens led Dartmouth to five Ivy League titles and became his alma mater’s all-time winningest coach. Indeed, Buddy enjoyed tremendous success on the football field. But that’s just one part of his legacy. Other coaches may have won more games, but you won’t find a coach who had a bigger impact on the sport.
Buddy was an innovator. He just saw things differently than the rest of us. In 2010, Dartmouth was at a low point. An 0-10 season was followed by a two-win season. Another coach would’ve taken it out on his players. Buddy decided to protect them.
That’s when he decided to stop having his players tackle each other during practice. He even worked with the engineering school to develop a robotic tackling dummy called the Mobile Virtual Player.
And it worked. Dartmouth became one of the best defensive teams in the nation. But Buddy wasn’t done revolutionizing the game. In 2018, he named Callie Brownson — whom he’d met at the Manning Passing Academy — as the first female full-time coach in D-I history. It started a pipeline of female coaches, who have gone on to success at the college and professional level.
Buddy wasn’t trying to prove a point. He recognized an untapped coaching resource that could help him win football games. And it worked.
Buddy Teevens wasn’t afraid to take risks. He’d do anything to put the people around him in a position to succeed. That was “The Buddy Way.”
Source: www.espn.com