Steve Fairchild is a prime example of someone who has dedicated his life to the game of football. Fairchild says himself that from 8 years old to 60 years old there was only one year of his life during which he was not involved in football and that year away is the one that showed him that football was his true calling in life. Steve Fairchild played college football at Colorado State, starting at quarterback his senior year. After graduating and attending graduate school for one year Steve began his long and successful career as a coach. His coaching career had a unique trajectory, with Fairchild bouncing back and forth from coaching college football and the NFL. Fairchild spent much of his career as an offensive coordinator and a quarterback coach which allowed him to work with some legendary players such as Phillip Rivers, Kurt Warner, and Drew Bledsoe. Fairchild has seen success firsthand at every level of football, and through that, he has learned valuable lessons about what it takes to succeed as a coach and a player. He emphasizes preparation, passion, and a player’s belief in themselves above all else as key building blocks for football success. Farichild’s experience exemplifies the foundations of the Pro Mindset®. In this interview Steve Fairchild goes in depth with host Craig Domann about the legendary coaches and players he worked with and the traits that enabled them to succeed.
“ If every college player and coach could have a chance to be a fly on the wall in an NFL facility and see the amount of preparation that those guys do - then I think you would work harder at your craft - there is a whole other level.”
This quote does well to describe the preparation and training that Steve Fairchild learned that it took to make it in the NFL. He said this in response to the question “If you could go back and redo your college career, what would you do differently?” This speaks volumes about the importance of training and dedication to improving one’s abilities. Furthermore, Steve says that if he were given the choice, during his college career he would have exposed himself to the work ethic of NFL players, and then replicated into his own training and preparation. During his time involved with football at all levels Fairchild learned that it wasn’t always the best natural players who succeeded, it is the ones who prepare more than anyone else and come into a game confident with any situation that is thrown at them. This attitude of always being prepared and doing everything you can to train to be the best is an important part of Pro Mindset. Without training and preparation success will not be achieved in a league as competitive as the NFL.
“If you could measure how much they love football, that would be the number one indicator in NFL drafting.”
Passion is not something that is considered negotiable in the NFL. If a player or coach is not willing to give themselves 100% of the time, they will fail. After more than 30 years in the NFL, this is something that Steve Fairchild knows better than almost anyone. Having worked with many different quarterbacks over the years he not only witnessed a lot of different skill sets, but also many different mindsets. He discussed quarterbacks who were so dedicated to preparing themselves through training and studying their game that they would challenge even their own coaches to improve just to keep up with their work ethic. These players were all in on football, and it is because they had a deep love for the game. As Steve’s quote indicates, it is essential for NFL players to love the game, because someone who doesn't love the game will not be willing to put in the grueling hours of training and preparation necessary to be successful. Passion is one of the most important aspects of Pro Mindset and as Steve describes, it is imperative for coaches to find players with this passion because they are the ones that are going to do what it takes to win.
To hear more of Steve Fairchild’s interview, his experience coaching and developing professional quarterbacks, and how to build a Pro Mindset, listen to this Pro Mindset Podcast episode here: http://bit.ly/3l0DE0D
