For Kevin Mawae, it was the little things.
Time with his wife Tracy is precious, no matter what.
“I want to be with my wife, whether we’re walking our dogs, or we could (just) be sitting at our house in two different chairs, looking at our computers individually, but I’m with her,” Mawae said.
He wanted more of those moments after his life in the NFL, and now he’ll get them.
Mawae, a former Tennessee Titan and NFL Hall of Fame member who for the past two years was an assistant offensive line coach with the Indianapolis Colts, was introduced as the new Lipscomb Academy football coach Tuesday at the George Shinn Center on Lipscomb University’s campus. His first day will be Feb. 1.
The eight-time Pro Bowl selection immediately began coaching after he capped a 16-season NFL career with the Titans from 2006-09. The professional football lifestyle no longer appealed to him, he said, and he was spending only about 12 hours per week with his wife.
Not enough, he said.
He and Tracy are college sweethearts who met at LSU and are approaching their 30th wedding anniversary. They have two children in their mid-20s.
“For me,” Mawae said, holding back tears, “that (missing time with family) was tough. … It goes back to quality time with family. When you’re sitting in the office at 11 o’clock at night drawing scout team cards for the next day’s practice, and you have to be back at 5 o’clock the next morning, and all you say is ‘goodnight’ to your wife and ‘good morning’ when you wake up, it’s a grind.”
In addition to a new Hudl account, he also has a schedule he can control.
Longtime friend and Lipscomb offensive line coach Grant Williams, his former teammate with the Seattle Seahawks, helped convince Mawae to pursue the Mustangs’ opening. And when he did, Tracy was in the room with her husband while he interviewed with Lipscomb’s hiring team, which included President Candice McQueen and Director of Schools Brad Schultz.
“My wife has always stood by me, and she’s always prayed for us and prayed with us. If my wife wasn’t settled (here), it wouldn’t have happened,” Mawae said. “So me being here is not a Kevin Mawae decision; it’s a Mawae family decision. At no point in time did I say, ‘Here’s what I’m going to do.’ It was, ‘What are we doing to do?’”
Lipscomb sorted through 46 applications and conducted eight interviews in order to land yet another former NFL player for the job. Trent Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl with the Ravens, resigned as Lipscomb’s head coach in December for the same position at UAB.
Dilfer revived the program using the flare and media awareness that helped his post-NFL broadcasting career with ESPN. It’s too early to know what, if any, similarities Mawae shares with his predecessor beyond their pro football ties.
“I think (Mawae) is obviously emotional,” Schultz said, noting the two coaches share that trait. “Trent had maybe more of a media presence. That was his career. That’s yet to be seen by me from Kevin. I’m not saying he doesn’t have it. But I’ve seen Trent walk into a room, and people want to have conversations, and he wants to talk to them as well. We’ll see if that’s part of Kevin’s repertoire or not, but people are obviously drawn to him and want to know what he has to say.”
Mawae has more coaching experience than Dilfer initially did. After leaving the Titans, Mawae briefly coached at Montgomery Bell Academy while his son finished school there. After that, he worked a stint at Vanderbilt. He even coached junior high football in Louisiana for a time before serving as an offensive analyst for his former coach Herm Edwards at Arizona State.
Lipscomb returns talented recruits at many positions, including four-star prospects Kaleb Beasley and Edwin Spillman, and has emerged as a top national program. It has won 21 consecutive games, including two straight Division II-AA state championships. Next season the Mustangs are moving up to Division II-AAA — Tennessee’s highest level of football.
“This is is my last job,” Mawae said. “I’m not looking to climb up. I’m not looking to (leave). This is my last job, whether I get fired, resign or walk away during my contract. I will not work again. I don’t need the money; never wanted the money. I wanted a purpose, and I think this job allows me that.”
