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Arriving fresh from small-town Virginia and the tiny college of Maryland-Eastern Shore in 1976, Carl Hairston had little idea what to expect from his first NFL training camp.
Hairston, a Philadelphia Eagles draft pick, received a jolt when he found out. Six hours of practice a day for eight weeks.
Hairston, now one of the Chiefs' defensive-line coaches, has seen just a little change in the interim 27 years. Shorter practices and shorter training camps.
He occasionally hears today's players grumbling about modern camps, and it gets his blood boiling.
"When I hear a player complain, I just tell them, `I'm not saying camps nowadays are easy, but imagine doing this for eight weeks.' " Hairston said. "Sometimes, I don't even listen to them because I don't want to hear it. I just walk away." MORE...
Hairston, a Philadelphia Eagles draft pick, received a jolt when he found out. Six hours of practice a day for eight weeks.
Hairston, now one of the Chiefs' defensive-line coaches, has seen just a little change in the interim 27 years. Shorter practices and shorter training camps.
He occasionally hears today's players grumbling about modern camps, and it gets his blood boiling.
"When I hear a player complain, I just tell them, `I'm not saying camps nowadays are easy, but imagine doing this for eight weeks.' " Hairston said. "Sometimes, I don't even listen to them because I don't want to hear it. I just walk away." MORE...
