Mark Schlereth, Tom Nalen among surprising ex-Broncos moving to media

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

What do Shannon Sharpe, John Lynch, Mark Schlereth, Ed McCaffrey, Tom Nalen and Rod Smith all have in common?

OK, yes, they were all great Broncos players. But what else binds the six?

Give up? How about this: They have all joined the dark side. They have all, in one form or another, become members of the dreaded media.


Tom Nalen


Mark Shlereth

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great. Schlereth, in particular, is outstanding. I think he's become one of ESPN's best NFL analysts. He's smart, articulate and opinionated, but fair.

Still, the irony is inescapable.

It struck me with full force the other day when I was watching a preview of the Broncos-Raiders game on CBS-4. There sat Nalen and Smith, dressed to the nines, breaking down the game and analyzing the Broncos' season.

Nalen and Schlereth, you will recall, were anchors of the Broncos' Super Bowl champion offensive line — a group of men who refused to talk to the media until it absolutely was forced to. As a young reporter, venturing into that sanctified corner of the locker room was always a little daunting, particularly when Gary Zimmerman stared you down or snarled some choice expletives in your direction.

I distinctly recall a year when Nalen was elected to the Pro Bowl and thus earned a free trip to Hawaii. The downside of the experience was that he was forced to talk to the media. So there sat Nalen in front of his locker, looking like a caged animal as lights from the TV cameras blazed away. One reporter asked, "Tom, have you ever been to Hawaii?"

Nalen, in all of his pasty white glory, retorted with a classic line: "Do I look like I have ever been to Hawaii?"

The former center now displays his acerbic wit as a radio sports talk-show host on 102.3 FM, the local ESPN affiliate. Nalen somehow manages to be both charming and cantankerous. Nalen knows his football — and Red Sox baseball — but I still laugh at the irony of him becoming a member of the media. I don't imagine he loves that tag.

Smith, adored and respected by his teammates, had a love-hate relationship with us. He only talked on his terms, meaning long waits before he would decide to hold court. But once Smith started talking, he filled up your tape recorder.

I once did a lengthy profile of Smith just as he was beginning to emerge as a star. Try as I might, I couldn't get him to give me a sit-down interview. So I started interviewing people from Smith's past — teachers, coaches and friends.

"I hear you've been talking to people about me!" Smith barked.

He wasn't happy. Then, a couple days after the story ran, Smith, grumpy as always, came up to me, said, "Hey, good story," then walked away.

The idea that Sharpe or Lynch would become members of the media is not surprising. Sharpe, loquacious and outrageous, is a longtime member of CBS Sports' "NFL Today" team. I still enjoy his humor and opinions. Lynch, always polished, polite and professional, is now an NFL game analyst for FOX.

McCaffrey works as an analyst alongside play-by-play man Dave Logan on KOA's radio broadcasts of Broncos games. I think McCaffrey is insightful and has improved as time's gone by.

But there is irony here, too. When Eddie Mac was playing for the Broncos, he was always friendly with the ink-stained wretches and various radio and TV folks. But McCaffrey also had impeccable timing. During open locker-room sessions, he would emerge from the training room with about 90 seconds left. We huddle around him and start asking questions, but before he could answer any, the Broncos would sound the alarm: "The locker room is closed! All media out!"

McCaffrey would give us his aw-shucks grin and say, 'Sorry, guys.' "

It turns out the Eddie Mac was as cagey with the media as he was with cornerbacks.

more