Justin Simmons joins ‘The Other Tom Green Show’ to reflect on his journey from overlooked recruit to Pro Bowl safety, his eight-year run with the Denver Broncos, and the realities of NFL free agency. Simmons shares insight into playing alongside elite defensive minds, navigating constant organizational change, and what it meant to be a leader in Denver. He also opens up about his time in Atlanta, stepping away from football, and what could be next — including a potential return under the right circumstances.
Justin Simmons sits down with Tom Green for a wide-ranging conversation about his NFL career, life beyond football, and what the future may hold. Simmons reflects on his path from an under-recruited high school player to a key figure in Denver’s defense, sharing stories about being drafted by John Elway, learning under coaches like Wade Phillips, Vance Joseph, and Vic Fangio, and becoming a leader during a turbulent era for the Broncos. He discusses the frustration of not reaching the postseason, the business side of the NFL that led to his departure, and what his experience in Atlanta taught him about leadership and team dynamics. Simmons also talks candidly about sitting out a season, balancing family life, and the perspective he’s gained away from the game. The conversation closes with insight into his future — including his interest in playing again, coaching, and life after football — while reinforcing his lasting connection to Denver and Broncos Country.
00:00 – Intro: Stats, Mahomes & Justin Simmons
01:20 – Simmons reacts to intro & career reflections
02:14 – Playing safety & “the game within the game”
03:21 – Learning from Wade Phillips, Vance Joseph & Vic Fangio
04:42 – Secondary communication & defensive complexity
07:14 – High school path & Boston College opportunity
09:25 – When the NFL became realistic
11:08 – NFL Combine experience & draft stock
12:48 – Draft day story & John Elway call
16:26 – Rookie year & proving he belongs
19:15 – Broncos career, leadership & frustration
22:28 – Leaving Denver & salary cap reality
27:13 – Atlanta experience & locker room dynamics
30:03 – Sitting out & evaluating next move
32:46 – Missing football vs. gaining perspective
33:55 – Career reflection & playoff goals
35:17 – Broncos alumni & Denver connection
38:13 – Watching games as a player vs fan
39:15 – Community impact & giving back
41:04 – Family life, parenting & balance
45:03 – Coaching mentality & future with kids
47:47 – Post-football plans & podcasting
53:39 – Staying in Colorado & life after football
55:01 – Outro
‘OTGS’ is sponsored in part by RedBird Farms.
Visit: redbirdfarms.com
00;00;02;14 - 00;00;13;10
Tom Green
Hi, there. Welcome to another edition of the other Tom green show. Well, I am a long time sports fan and one of my favorite parts of sports statistics.
00;00;13;13 - 00;00;38;14
Tom Green
Now, statistics are funny things because they tell you a lot, but they usually don't tell you the complete story. They can teach you quite a bit about what someone is doing or what someone has done, but you really should use them as more of an entry into what you want to learn about someone. So for me, I look at the all time list of quarterbacks who have thrown interceptions and you think, wow, if you throw a lot of interceptions, you're not very good.
00;00;38;16 - 00;00;58;20
Tom Green
Well, if you look at the top ten list of quarterbacks who've thrown interceptions, 8 or 9 of them are in the Hall of Fame. Obviously they had the ball in their hands all the time. They were trusted. They played a long time. They made a lot of great throws and there were those that were intercepted. Some say someday Patrick Mahomes is going to be in that top ten.
00;00;58;21 - 00;01;20;07
Tom Green
Some say he's already there. But when you look at his interceptions, well, there's one man who picked him off more than any other. And he is our guest today. Justin Simmons is with us on the other Tom green show.
00;01;20;10 - 00;01;30;15
Tom Green
All right, off that intro. Justin Simmons is here. So that's got to be a statistic you're very proud of because Patrick Mahomes is, you know, he's close to getting on the Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks.
00;01;30;17 - 00;01;48;27
Justin Simmons
I got it before we talk I got to say that had to be the best intro I've ever. I've gone on a lot of shows and obviously the the headline when you're talking about football and what Patrick Mahomes is doing is the interceptions that I've had. Yeah, I've never heard anyone go from statistics to Hall of Fame quarterbacks and did it.
00;01;49;02 - 00;01;49;22
Justin Simmons
That was really cool.
00;01;49;23 - 00;02;08;25
Tom Green
Thank you. Well no. But that that's all your work. And, you know, I always think of the work of a safety and on on a lot of football teams, a safety has many different roles. Sometimes you're just mopping up what's gone wrong on a play, and sometimes you are the tip of the spear. You get to make plays.
00;02;08;27 - 00;02;14;23
Tom Green
You must have love playing that position because there there aren't many positions on the field where you get to see the entire game.
00;02;14;28 - 00;02;36;05
Justin Simmons
Oh no doubt it was, man, my my my career so far has just been full of blessings. Like when I first got here, I got to learn under Wade Phillips and how attacking he was. It was like smothering Man-To-Man coverage. Every now and then you play cover for transition of JV. Was the same style a little different.
00;02;36;07 - 00;02;57;21
Justin Simmons
And then, you know, we transition from DJ to Vic and Vic style was all about presenting, the two high safety show and then just rotating to different coverages. And if I'm, if I had to pick my favorite, that would be the one I've always liked. Vic. Vic system. Yeah. I've always loved being able to play the chess match that you have to play with the quarterback.
00;02;57;21 - 00;03;16;12
Justin Simmons
That's the hardest position on the field. And so if you can get them to see something false and then quickly go into something else, you have a chance to be a little bit more successful in taking the ball away. And that to me was was like the game within the game, you know, like, of course you're going to have your one on one matchups and those are fun.
00;03;16;12 - 00;03;21;06
Justin Simmons
But the game within the game like really got me going. And that was a lot of fun for me.
00;03;21;07 - 00;03;41;13
Tom Green
Eight years as a Bronco. And you mentioned those names. And I was thinking, you know, you've played for different head coaches, but when you think of defensive minds in the modern era of football, Wade Phillips, Vance Joseph and Vic Fangio are going to be on anyone's list. As you're discussing, guys who who are revered in defensive football coaching, that was pretty lucky for you.
00;03;41;13 - 00;03;47;20
Tom Green
In fact, you probably would like to played for one and had a steady ride. And then in the playoffs all the time. But you learned a lot.
00;03;47;20 - 00;04;06;09
Justin Simmons
Oh, I learned so much. I wasn't kidding when I say like I in my career. And of course, there's a lot of that that I've done for myself, athletic wise and prep and all those fun things. But, I mean, I got my first year in the league. My room was the no fly zone. Yeah. You know, that room slowly disintegrated.
00;04;06;09 - 00;04;25;01
Justin Simmons
And then I had Kareem Jackson come in a wealth of knowledge. I've gotten to play with guys like AJ boy, AA just so many different individuals over my career. Ronald Darby I could sit here all day and name corner safeties that I've gotten to play defensive minds like my defensive backs coach for. I think it was like three years.
00;04;25;01 - 00;04;42;21
Justin Simmons
Christian Parker is now the the I'm one of the youngest DCS. He's a DK for the Dallas Cowboys now right. And I just like wealth of knowledge I felt like was coming through the building. It would have been nice, like you said, to have that consistent flow, but in that there was a lot of blessings that came out of having some turnover as well.
00;04;42;25 - 00;05;05;24
Tom Green
I always think it's the offensive line is the position group in football that has to have the most synchronicity. They have to work together as a unit. They have to always know what the guy on their left and right is doing. Next is probably the secondary. I mean, you have to have a lot of faith in, let's just say, two corners and your safety in knowing exactly what they're doing and knowing that they know exactly what you expect them to do.
00;05;05;25 - 00;05;27;17
Justin Simmons
Oh, yeah. And it was, there is it's crazy. Like there is one clip. It just reminded me of this of the Broncos when they played the Jaguars. And there was a there's a broken play, this past season. And I know Vijay Systems fairly well, and, I kind of knew exactly what happened. And it was just slight miscommunication from all around.
00;05;27;17 - 00;05;42;21
Justin Simmons
Not even just from safety to to the nickel nickel to the backers. Just kind of like all around you go from one coverage to another. Yeah, it's as simple as a tight end putting his hand in the dirt or in a three point stance, or being in a two point stance that switches the whole coverage changes. And, I was on line.
00;05;42;22 - 00;05;45;26
Justin Simmons
I was going on ex, you know, we're all the football experts.
00;05;45;29 - 00;05;46;22
Tom Green
Yeah, yeah, of course.
00;05;46;22 - 00;06;00;07
Justin Simmons
And, I was going on ex and I was explaining to a bunch of people that were saying, this guys are on this guy's wrong. And I was like, no, it's, you know, like, it's hard to communicate at that speed at that high of level. And that was only one mistake. There's a bunch that went that was.
00;06;00;07 - 00;06;02;28
Tom Green
Their toughest game. Yeah. Jacksonville had him on the ropes.
00;06;03;02 - 00;06;26;03
Justin Simmons
It was a it was a tough game. Yeah. And there's my whole point was like you know there's there's something that went wrong. And on top of having the community, it's already hard to do the communication when everything's silent like it's it's hard enough in practice and you try to throw in the noise. But when you play in somewhere like Broncos Country and the team is like nine and two and they're fighting for the first place in the AFC and it's, wow.
00;06;26;05 - 00;06;32;15
Tom Green
Sean Payton tells him to be loud when the other team has the ball. And that's to the detriment sometimes of the defense communicating as well.
00;06;32;15 - 00;06;48;09
Justin Simmons
Yes. And it's and it is. They should be loud like it's not a it's not a don't don't don't not be loud. That's not what I'm saying. But I'm saying like that is also that is an advantage for the team the home team. And then there can be some disadvantages, which is fine. You work through them. But that's why hand signaling is important.
00;06;48;09 - 00;06;58;22
Justin Simmons
Everyone has to be on the same page. And yeah, all I had to ramble to say like, you're exactly right, everyone has to be on the same page and it raises the level when it's loud.
00;06;58;22 - 00;07;14;24
Tom Green
And yeah, your your path to Denver, was interesting and I, I was just talking to you before we started recording about your high school days because high school, you were a tremendous defensive player, but also a tremendous offensive player. But you were saying you were slow.
00;07;15;02 - 00;07;33;22
Justin Simmons
Slow, slow. I, I was saying if you go and you watch, I recommend you don't. But if you did, if you it looks like it's not point five speed. I promise it's a normal speed. You didn't mess with any of the settings. I was slow and I was in South Florida. I don't know, maybe they just felt bad for me and let me go score a few times, but I was pretty slow.
00;07;33;23 - 00;07;40;18
Tom Green
How did Boston College find you and how did how did you end up there? Were there other places you considered before you went to BC.
00;07;40;20 - 00;07;53;13
Justin Simmons
A smaller school? I started getting some smaller school interest. I was, I was a little bit lanky. I was like the same height, six three, about like 175. I was soaking wet, like, I was really lanky, skinny and.
00;07;53;13 - 00;07;53;28
Tom Green
Apparently.
00;07;53;28 - 00;08;17;12
Justin Simmons
Slow and slow. Yeah, yeah. So all those things don't don't mix well, but the athleticism was there. So I had a, I had a few small D1 offers. I got some looks for basketball as well. Then there was a junior year spring going into my like senior season. Right. Boston College came down to look at another kid that we were playing against in spring ball.
00;08;17;12 - 00;08;19;20
Justin Simmons
And, I performed.
00;08;19;20 - 00;08;19;29
Tom Green
You had a.
00;08;19;29 - 00;08;36;25
Justin Simmons
Draft? Yeah. For them to take note. Take interest, do they? Hey, if you're serious about this and playing big time Division one football, I would love for you to come up for a camp. So my dad and I got on the next flight to Boston. Did, like, their little two day camp thing they offered me, and, I committed right then.
00;08;36;25 - 00;08;39;07
Tom Green
And was that a Dorsey or was that. Was he that.
00;08;39;07 - 00;08;52;15
Justin Simmons
Was, spazzy. That was Frank Sebastiani, and, the actually the guy that came down, Mike Serrano and then the recruiting coordinator of that area, Ryan Day, who is the. Oh, yeah, head coach now at Ohio State.
00;08;52;15 - 00;08;53;04
Tom Green
I've heard of.
00;08;53;04 - 00;09;09;18
Justin Simmons
Him. Yeah, yeah. So it's crazy. It's full circle moment, but is is just crazy because, yeah. They weren't looking at me. I wasn't on their radar. Had a good spring practice and yeah, I got the offer few how it goes. And once you get the one you come after. But BC was my first like, official big time.
00;09;09;18 - 00;09;10;00
Justin Simmons
Do you one off.
00;09;10;00 - 00;09;25;07
Tom Green
Yeah. But do you make it sound like. Because I thought you were very notable as a high school football player, but you were not all that heavily recruited. So is it at Boston College, you start to see professional football as something you can should do.
00;09;25;10 - 00;09;43;05
Justin Simmons
Yeah, it really wasn't until my. And it was always a dream and passion. I always was striving for that. I remember getting on campus, you know, my freshman year and we're in the summer dorms and we're doing the thing and like my, I was just so focused on football that it's part of a little bit of like my testimony.
00;09;43;05 - 00;10;00;29
Justin Simmons
So I was like, football, football, football, football, football. How to get a few things right in my life. And then it really didn't hit that. I could probably play professional football, until my senior year. Like, my mindset was always and everyone tells you always have a backup plan. I always have a backup plan. I know you want to play in the NFL.
00;10;00;29 - 00;10;17;19
Justin Simmons
Oh, you're if you do, you're less than the 1% that odds are not in your favor. And I was athletic. I was a good athlete, but I'm no like Myles Garrett. You know, I'm like this genetic, like, freak of an individual. And so there had to be a lot of hard work that is played into it.
00;10;17;19 - 00;10;41;17
Justin Simmons
So my plan B was always, I'm going to go to a great school, get a great degree, leave with a great education. And you know, I'll let that go where it goes when it happens. So then my senior year came around, my defensive coordinator, Don Brown, respected head coach, was a respected coach in general. I was like, hey, you have a real shot to make this thing happen.
00;10;41;17 - 00;10;49;08
Justin Simmons
And one thing led after another and got drafted. The last pick in the third round, compensatory pick I was.
00;10;49;13 - 00;11;08;02
Tom Green
I want to ask you about the draft, but before that you talk about being a good athlete because you were teasing yourself about being slow. But I looked at your combine numbers and you, you were the best at at least one event at the combine. You didn't run a blitzing 40, but everything else you did very well. Did the combine boost your stock?
00;11;08;05 - 00;11;26;23
Justin Simmons
Yes it did. And that's I think that's rare for a lot of guys. The combine is I'm sure you've heard this over the years. It has to be the worst thing that you it's awful. It is actually the worst thing. Like I tell I tell guys all the time like that are getting like getting ready to get drafted or bummed that they didn't go to the combine.
00;11;26;23 - 00;11;36;20
Justin Simmons
I'm like, no, this is a blessing. I'm telling you, this is a blessing. Like they they keep you up till they wake you up at the crack of dawn. They keep you up till like 3 a.m. with meetings, interviews.
00;11;36;20 - 00;11;37;22
Tom Green
And interviews and and.
00;11;37;22 - 00;11;53;25
Justin Simmons
Interviews. And then they wake you back up at like 5 a.m. so you go take the, you know, like the standardized tests and, you know, then you go straight from those to meetings and you go straight to your combine. So you're running on like three days of maybe seven hours of sleep.
00;11;53;25 - 00;11;55;16
Tom Green
And it's pressurized.
00;11;55;19 - 00;12;13;14
Justin Simmons
And then you got to go compete and perform, right. Like and then you're wondering why, like there are individuals that do great. Yeah. And then, you know, it doesn't really move the needle much. And then there's guys like myself who maybe overperformed a little bit and that helps my draft stock. But a lot of the times there's guys that go and it's kind of like underperforming.
00;12;13;17 - 00;12;20;03
Justin Simmons
And really I think the whole mantra of it is to see, like when the chips are not on your side, how do you perform?
00;12;20;03 - 00;12;20;25
Tom Green
Yeah, I.
00;12;20;25 - 00;12;25;25
Justin Simmons
Think that's the whole point, if I had to be blunt, but it is the worst experience I've ever been. A did you.
00;12;25;25 - 00;12;48;27
Tom Green
Know then at Indy was still in Indy then that, the Broncos were one of those teams that was looking at you because you're taking 98th overall. So every team could have if they wanted to grab Justin Simmons. As a matter of fact, I think you were the seventh or eighth safety taken in the draft and obviously was turned into a high value pick for the Broncos.
00;12;48;29 - 00;12;53;29
Tom Green
But did you have any indication come draft day or draft weekend that you knew where you might go?
00;12;54;01 - 00;13;18;03
Justin Simmons
No idea. No idea. I never met with Denver. Like pre-draft. I never went on a visit to Denver. In fact, the only time I had any type of conversation with Denver, there's, like, this big, conference room, and every team is in there, multiple scouts. And one of the Denver scouts came up to me and Justin Simmons.
00;13;18;03 - 00;13;24;08
Justin Simmons
I was like, yes, sir. And he goes, I just want to make sure this information is correct. Looked it over. It's like, yep, that's correct. He goes, okay, thank you. And then just walked off.
00;13;24;10 - 00;13;25;28
Tom Green
That's when you knew you'd be a Bronco.
00;13;25;28 - 00;13;28;04
Justin Simmons
So yeah, there's this Cinderella story. We're like.
00;13;28;04 - 00;13;30;06
Tom Green
This. Yeah. We're we're buddies.
00;13;30;08 - 00;13;31;07
Justin Simmons
That was the only time.
00;13;31;09 - 00;13;44;17
Tom Green
So what was the draft? What was draft like? Did you, when you were drafted at the last pick of the third round? Did you was that ahead of where you thought you'd be? Was that were you disappointed or even the thought of Denver? I don't know anything about Denver.
00;13;44;17 - 00;13;58;28
Justin Simmons
Yeah. No, I, I watched Thursday all day or all night. The first and second round. Excuse me, I wasn't I knew I wasn't going to go in the first or second round, but there's always like that glimmer.
00;13;58;29 - 00;13;59;15
Tom Green
Never no.
00;13;59;15 - 00;14;15;15
Justin Simmons
Glint of hope. You're just like, you don't know. So you watch and you bring a couple close family friends to watch with you. And, it ended. And, you know, I did the whole amon-ra Saint Brown thing. I'm like, I can't name every safety like he can name receiver, but. Right. Okay. This guy went in front of me.
00;14;15;16 - 00;14;39;22
Justin Simmons
Got it. This guy, this team pass on me. And then, the next day came on, I'm sorry. The first round is just Thursday. Friday, the second and third round came and I was, like, really locked in because my agent was saying there's there's obviously there's a bigger chance. Obviously you get drafted the second day, but chances are you're going to be a third day draft pick, fourth round and and beyond.
00;14;39;25 - 00;15;00;13
Justin Simmons
So I was watching. I was on there, I was at my girlfriend at the time now wife, I was at her house and we same thing. Close friends, close family. And and I was trickling on, trickling on, trickling on. And about ten picks prior to the pick that I got picked in 98, I believe. I told everyone like, oh, hey, I'll be back.
00;15;00;13 - 00;15;06;04
Justin Simmons
I'm going to go, I got a few calls or, but I made something up. Like I was just like, I want to leave.
00;15;06;04 - 00;15;06;18
Tom Green
I just wanted to.
00;15;06;18 - 00;15;24;20
Justin Simmons
Take a break. Yeah. And I was a little emotional, like, I was, you know, there is. There's, ten rounds left, and I'm looking at the teams and looking at the needs, and I'm like, that's not going to happen. And I didn't want everyone to see me emotional as everyone was excited for me. So I stepped out. I was by myself for maybe like a good 5 to 7 minutes.
00;15;24;20 - 00;15;44;26
Justin Simmons
And what you see on TV, is, is live. But the picks happened way before that, right? You know, so, you know, at least like 5 to 7 minutes ahead of time. And that's why you see people get the perfect moment when guys are getting drafted, the whole nine. So anyway, I get a 303 area code and call in on the other side.
00;15;44;29 - 00;15;55;00
Justin Simmons
Hey, Johnson. I'm like, There's John Elway calling me. And I was freaking out. I'm like, how could to get picked? I'm going to get picked in. We are all watching on TV. And it was just crazy that I was it was.
00;15;55;00 - 00;15;55;15
Tom Green
John Elway.
00;15;55;21 - 00;15;59;15
Justin Simmons
Pick. Yeah yeah yeah. He was on the phone and you know that like raspy John.
00;15;59;15 - 00;16;00;17
Tom Green
Yeah sure.
00;16;00;20 - 00;16;18;11
Justin Simmons
I remember much after that conversation I say this every single time when I talk about being drafted. I blacked out kind of at that moment. Yeah. I'm like, I just was watching this team win the Super Bowl. Bragging on how good the defense was and most of those guys are returning and I'm going to be learning from the greats.
00;16;18;11 - 00;16;26;17
Justin Simmons
And then shortly after that, TJ Ward texted me one of the first yeah it's safety. Yeah. And man, it was really cool. But I was it was so nerve wracking.
00;16;26;19 - 00;16;44;13
Tom Green
So you go to camp and you're you're a third round draft pick, so the world isn't hinging on you, but and you're going to a team like you said that it just just won a Super Bowl based on its defense. Yeah. What were your thoughts? What happened at camp? When did you decide? You know I belong here. Yeah.
00;16;44;14 - 00;16;45;25
Tom Green
And I'm going to play a lot.
00;16;45;28 - 00;17;01;24
Justin Simmons
I honestly, I knew I belonged, I never won, and ever since, I stepped and I got drafted, I stepped into an NFL facility. I always told myself, like, I'm not going to let anyone see, like, a chink in my armor, right? I'm going to be confident, especially going into the no fly zone.
00;17;01;29 - 00;17;02;22
Tom Green
Right?
00;17;02;24 - 00;17;18;29
Justin Simmons
Like I'm going to walk with confidence. I'm going to walk with belief in myself. And there's there going to be no doubt. So I always believed in myself, but I would say like it really hit that I could be a game changer. Yeah. When I blocked the extra point against the Saints because Sean.
00;17;18;29 - 00;17;19;28
Tom Green
Payton Saints this.
00;17;19;28 - 00;17;21;04
Justin Simmons
Are All Saints. Yeah.
00;17;21;05 - 00;17;23;28
Tom Green
Well, parks, your fellow safety, we have returned.
00;17;24;04 - 00;17;45;01
Justin Simmons
He didn't step out for those that you could replay it all you want. Thank goodness you wore white cleats. But that was the moment for me. And there is there's other times throughout the, you know, throughout that season that I, you know, made some plays here, their pass break up or whatever the case may be. But that to me signified I could do it because special teams plays are finite.
00;17;45;01 - 00;17;51;05
Justin Simmons
They're you you only get a few of them. And it just proved to me like, as long as I'm on the field, I can make something happen.
00;17;51;05 - 00;18;08;13
Tom Green
How many players on special teams, even in the professional level, actually know the rules? Because every time I see a kick blocked, I look at everyone going, do I touch it? Do I pick it up? Yeah. Nobody knows. I think I always think there's two players out of the 22 on the field who actually know what the rule is.
00;18;08;15 - 00;18;27;04
Justin Simmons
I, I, I would probably agree with you. I would love to say more, especially the rooms that I've been in, the guys I've been around. There's a, there's only a select few around the league that know all the rules that are right. Any situation that happens, you trust that dude to make the right play ten out of ten times.
00;18;27;06 - 00;18;31;29
Justin Simmons
Then there's guys that like, know the rules and they just get shocked by the moment. They're like, I can't believe you actually blocked that.
00;18;31;29 - 00;18;32;21
Tom Green
Like, yeah, yeah.
00;18;32;21 - 00;18;51;20
Justin Simmons
And your body just goes into like, you know, whatever reaction mode. But I would agree with you. I think there's like maybe 2 or 3, three max guys on the team that know the rules when it comes to everything that you need to know. Yeah. And it's not a lack of the special teams coach or assistant coaches explaining it.
00;18;51;20 - 00;18;53;25
Justin Simmons
It's just those situations are one of one.
00;18;53;29 - 00;19;15;19
Tom Green
And they're so explosive, like you say, all of a sudden it's boom, the ball's blocked and it's past the line of scrimmage or it's not, you know, it's all that stuff comes into play. Yeah. So that rookie year you started a couple of games. You played all season. But then after that you started 120 straight games. You played every game over your eight years with the Broncos making plays.
00;19;15;19 - 00;19;37;24
Tom Green
And you know, the team didn't enjoy the success that it had in the year prior as much. But you, you know, became an All-Pro, became a Pro Bowl player. And, was that ever frustrating for you to think of the team that the year before went to the Super Bowl and won it, and your teams never quite were able to get there?
00;19;37;25 - 00;20;02;02
Justin Simmons
Yeah, I shared that. I shared that a few times. I don't know if I've ever came out and shared it, you know, publicly, but it's it was extremely frustrated. I think I took it. More to heart than people realize. And maybe then I even realized myself when I was going through it. There was so much turnover. Yeah.
00;20;02;05 - 00;20;08;17
Justin Simmons
In Denver, six head coaches in my eight years. If you include the interim head coach.
00;20;08;17 - 00;20;10;02
Tom Green
Yep.
00;20;10;05 - 00;20;17;10
Justin Simmons
The GM, you know, John Elway stepped down or, you know, did his thing. And you know George Peyton came in the ownership.
00;20;17;10 - 00;20;18;14
Tom Green
The ownership was it was a.
00;20;18;14 - 00;20;38;10
Justin Simmons
Blur was a mess. Yeah. And there's just was like a lot then you know, we're on a like a quarterback carousel. And like it was tough for those guys because there's the quarterbacks is there's no consistency right. There's like a new OC. It feels like a new head coach and new receivers. And there's just a whole mess of stuff going on.
00;20;38;10 - 00;20;49;11
Justin Simmons
And there was a few constants myself being on the team for eight seasons. One of them and I like I was it felt like I was the.
00;20;49;13 - 00;20;50;17
Justin Simmons
The poster board you.
00;20;50;17 - 00;21;10;23
Tom Green
Were asked you were asked to step in front of the microphones and the cameras and, because you were good at it, because you also were willing to do it. You know, some, some players, many players say, yeah, I'm not doing that. Yeah. I don't want to do that. You always he's tough be able to do it. And yeah the team relied on you I think the media relied on you as well.
00;21;10;23 - 00;21;20;15
Tom Green
And the fans, you know they came to like you more because of that. They get to see your personality. But also that you were you were the Bronco. Yeah. The one constant.
00;21;20;19 - 00;21;41;27
Justin Simmons
And it was tough because like I, I wasn't going up and just spewing a lot of it is media talk. Like you can't just say whatever you want to say and how you want to say it. Like, I can't say like, yeah, this stinks. I can't believe we're doing this again. Whatever. So a lot of this things because I meant though, like, I'm going to like, not just me, but I'm going to make sure we get back to the postseason.
00;21;41;27 - 00;22;02;03
Justin Simmons
Like, that was my whole thing. Yeah. And, you know, I wrote the letter to Broncos Country and to fandom and just like the Broncos organization in general, like I don't have any regrets. I don't live that way. But, I was just really sad that I couldn't hit on my promise to get us back in the postseason, at least while I was there, but knew that Sean and the team would be able to do that.
00;22;02;03 - 00;22;19;04
Justin Simmons
They've he has proven success and doing those things and all that. So I love to see where they're at now. Still close with a lot of them. And I was cheering like crazy. And AFC wild card AFC Championship game and just fell short. But I'm really happy for the guys now for the team and for the city.
00;22;19;04 - 00;22;28;20
Justin Simmons
Yeah it's been a tough eight years nine if you, you know want to add that year they lost to the bills the first time they went to the playoffs. But yeah I'm really cheering for them.
00;22;28;27 - 00;22;57;18
Tom Green
So one thing that did work out well for you was timing. The safety market was, a good place to be when you went to late in your Bronco career. You got paid. Well. Now, what comes with getting paid? Well, also, as you become a liability to the salary cap at times, do you think that might have ultimately had something to do with you when when you no longer were a Bronco and became a Falcon, that you were maybe too expensive for a team that was rebuilding?
00;22;57;22 - 00;23;23;24
Justin Simmons
Yeah. No, I, I, to put it bluntly, like, I know that that was the case and George and Sean were great. They were always up front. They're always honest. We had great communication. And, if you even go back and look in like, history's past, it's not like Sean doesn't break the bank for the safety position. He has a different view of how that should be valued and things in that nature.
00;23;23;24 - 00;23;40;21
Justin Simmons
And I like I always respect someone that is upfront and honest about those things. And yeah, I mean, it was I think at the time it was me, Cortland and Garrett Bowles were like the salary cap cut individuals, right. Garrett, you're starting left tackle.
00;23;40;22 - 00;23;41;17
Tom Green
Hard to replace.
00;23;41;17 - 00;24;00;28
Justin Simmons
Cortland is your number one receiver and you don't have anyone else really that's going to fit that mold. And is a great younger player. And so, you know, we talk with my agent and like I said, the communication is always clear cut and concise. It was just like, yeah, this is probably going to happen. You know, I never say never, but it probably is going to happen.
00;24;00;28 - 00;24;17;00
Justin Simmons
And, you know, it's best that we probably start weighing different options and what that looks like. And everyone always asks, was there a chance to take a pay cut. And it was like, yes and no. You know, they're like, the team is just moving in a different direction. There's a lot of turnover. It wasn't just myself. Sure.
00;24;17;03 - 00;24;36;09
Justin Simmons
And I don't have a I don't have any hard feelings about any of those things. When you when you look back and you think about it like during my years, I was with Denver. Demaryius Thomas got let go, traded I think, Emmanuel Sanders Von Miller Super Bowl MVP.
00;24;36;09 - 00;24;46;07
Tom Green
Very few get to walk away on their terms. Yeah. Usually you the team the league. And that's in life too. But usually someone taps you on the shoulder and says thanks.
00;24;46;10 - 00;25;04;13
Justin Simmons
Yeah. And that's okay. Yeah that's okay. And one day down the road, you know, hopefully there's an opportunity to, you know, to come back. And I would love to play in Denver again, but it's not even to just, retire a Bronco would mean the world to me. And so, Yeah, that'll that'll be great. And I have no gripes or hard feelings and none of that.
00;25;04;15 - 00;25;23;04
Tom Green
Okay. Because I think because Sean Payton, I think is external, the way we see him is a little harsher than you describe him as your relationship. I always surmise that there might be some friction between you and Sean Payton that would prevent you from coming back, but that's not the case at all.
00;25;23;09 - 00;25;49;29
Justin Simmons
No, I think I mean, like, how you see Sean is how he operates. Like, that's very true. You know, he's he it's his way or the highway, like it's very it's it's very nuanced and it's, there's a, there's a certain structure that he likes and he wants. And I also was opinionated veteran. And so there are you like, were there times like, you know, the viral Bo Nix and Sean Payton clip where they kind of get into it on the sideline like.
00;25;49;29 - 00;26;06;22
Tom Green
But that becomes discussed that, you know, talk radio and stuff. There's, you know, a culture gap between the veteran spokesmen who's been around the league and been in the locker room for a while, and Sean Payton, who's trying to obviously change a lot of things, including the culture.
00;26;06;22 - 00;26;41;25
Justin Simmons
Yeah, I know, of course. And we've had conversations like after disagreements, we've had conversations after agreements. We had great conversations both before and after the season. I respect Sean and what he does and how he does it. And I also get the notion of where people, you know, say, Sean is X, Y, and Z and, you know, there's a lot of that stuff, but I know in terms of the way I see it and I, you know, Sean alluded to it when, they let me go, he addressed in his press conference, it's like, you know, it's one of the harder things I've done since I've been here so far.
00;26;41;27 - 00;26;58;13
Justin Simmons
He talked about what I meant to the team and the organization and things that I've done. And he means those things. And he also means, you know, we're going in a different direction. Yeah. And that's okay. And then, you know, two years later, they're competing for almost a Super Bowl. And that's okay. And those things are fine.
00;26;58;13 - 00;27;13;23
Justin Simmons
So yeah I know I have no hard feelings. Yeah. Sean is definitely a a good one. He's a great coach. It's throw that out there. He's a great coach. And I also think, yeah, he handles things a little bit differently. I think most people do. And that's what it is.
00;27;13;24 - 00;27;32;14
Tom Green
What was the year in Atlanta like was I mean, because you had eight years in Denver. I mean, you everything in your, you know, your family's growing up and you are a Bronco and all of a sudden you deal with the the NFL, the business side of the NFL. You sign a deal, you go to Atlanta. Was that a a good thing?
00;27;32;14 - 00;27;35;24
Tom Green
Was it an eye opening thing? Was it a strange thing?
00;27;35;27 - 00;28;00;17
Justin Simmons
It was more of an eye opening thing than anything else. A lot of it was good. Excuse me, but, yeah, we, that season was it felt similar to seasons prior and Denver, we started off great. Not every year did we start off great in Denver, but we started off great. We went six and three, to start nine games in and then ended the season with only eight wins.
00;28;00;19 - 00;28;23;06
Justin Simmons
And, you know, there's a whole bunch that goes into that. And a lot of that makes it seem like it fell on Kirk's shoulders. And I don't know how many people watched the, you know, Kirk quarterback. Yeah, that little Netflix documentary. But it wasn't all on Kirk. We didn't play nearly well enough on defense. And like I said I'm I'm I can be opinionated because it means so much to me.
00;28;23;06 - 00;28;44;17
Justin Simmons
And I just want to win. And there's a lot that goes behind that. And so, it was tough again, because this is not a team that I built an eight year career with. Yeah. These guys don't know me past a couple months. And the last thing you want to do is go to a team, try to establish your veteran hold, and they're like.
00;28;44;19 - 00;28;46;23
Tom Green
I'm a leader. And they go, we don't know you yet, bro.
00;28;46;23 - 00;29;04;28
Justin Simmons
You. I get what you've done. You know, other places. But like you haven't been here like you haven't grinded with us. You haven't done all these things. And a lot of that's true now a lot. And, you know, there's also the respect of what you've done throughout your career. Yeah. And things in that nature. But, you also haven't built any rapport over the years with the guys in Atlanta.
00;29;04;28 - 00;29;16;22
Justin Simmons
So that was hard because there's times where I like wanted to speak up and I would just, like, bite my tongue because it's not my problem, not my place. Yeah. No, I'm going to that. I might, I might say how I feel to other leaders, established leaders on the team.
00;29;16;22 - 00;29;17;16
Tom Green
Smaller groups.
00;29;17;21 - 00;29;33;05
Justin Simmons
That have higher level of influence and guys would listen to and just kind of pick their brain, not tell them they should be doing this. Yeah. It was difficult, man, because six and three felt like we were doing a bunch of things. Well, and, that's why I said it was. It was, it was a little awkward.
00;29;33;05 - 00;29;34;08
Justin Simmons
It was a little weird.
00;29;34;10 - 00;30;03;04
Tom Green
Last year at 30, you're not in the league. And you sounded like you wanted to play, but would only play in a certain situation or in a variety of certain situations, like a gap year. Like a kid comes out of college, and I'm just going to take a year off or something. Or high school. How hard was that year for you last year to watch the NFL and not play in it when you felt you're still a 30 year old Pro Bowl safety?
00;30;03;04 - 00;30;05;09
Tom Green
If somebody made you the right call?
00;30;05;09 - 00;30;27;11
Justin Simmons
Yeah. It was tough. And at the same time, it wasn't so tough. You know, like week eight, nine, ten into the season, I'd wake up on Mondays and my body would feel the best it's ever felt. Whereas, like in years at for nine years that I've known, I'm waking up on Monday, like, am I doing this again next year?
00;30;27;11 - 00;30;48;16
Justin Simmons
Like, I it felt like that every single, every single Monday. You don't feel right again. You're hoping, especially as the season gets down the road to like, a Friday and you start feeling a little bit more like yourself. But it was tough just because, you know, you, you're watching teams and you're watching, guys that, you know, around the league and you're seeing success and then you're seeing other teams not do as well.
00;30;48;24 - 00;31;12;03
Justin Simmons
And, you know, you could go help. And those are the things that kind of got hard. And I'm sure I'm sure that'll happen even once I retire. And those things will become easier maybe as the years go on. But there's teams that were interested for sure. And then there was, teams that were kind of on the fence of being interested.
00;31;12;05 - 00;31;31;26
Justin Simmons
And what really it came down to is very similar of what happened, when I got to Denver, I always tell people is like, when they let TJ go, I was it was only going in my second year and they were like, hey, you're going to be our guy now, right? And that was just them saying, like, we're investing into our draft pick.
00;31;32;02 - 00;31;56;29
Justin Simmons
We need him to get ready as quickly as possible. To play at an elite level, TJ Ward level, so that we can continue to have success here. Right. And so when that happened, I put that into perspective with other teams. And I don't need to name them all, but they're, you know, a few even playoff teams that went this year that were interested and they're just like you, we got younger guys that we need them to get this type of experience because they.
00;31;56;29 - 00;31;57;15
Tom Green
Need to play.
00;31;57;15 - 00;32;14;06
Justin Simmons
They need to play, and I respect that. Again, clear cut communication is fine. Now. If injuries happen, those teams would have been first in line to call. And I wasn't I wasn't hoping anyone got injured, but I was waiting to see what could happen. Because when you play in the NFL, it's 100% guaranteed that you're going to get injured.
00;32;14;09 - 00;32;27;04
Tom Green
I had a funny thing happen to me. I retired from TV news about a year ago and it was funny. I noticed when I stopped working, they stopped paying me. It was kind of interesting. Event.
00;32;27;06 - 00;32;28;13
Justin Simmons
I didn't know that it would happen, but.
00;32;28;20 - 00;32;46;22
Tom Green
Well, that's. I was going to say. So you stop playing. They stop paying you. But there's also, I mean, you I don't think many people could play the game, especially as well as you played it without loving it. Yeah. So did you miss it? I mean, you also miss the checks and all the stuff that comes with it, but did you miss it?
00;32;46;24 - 00;33;09;24
Justin Simmons
Oh for sure. That's. And that's the, the tough aspect that you know what it was there, there was the, the weeks that would go on. You know, you do miss the grind but you miss the grind with who you're doing the grind with. Like you miss the locker room. You miss your guys. That's what you miss. You don't miss the two hour practices on Wednesday and Thursday to get to first and second down and third down.
00;33;09;24 - 00;33;28;24
Justin Simmons
You don't miss those things. And then I what I really miss is just the joy of playing a childhood game on Sunday. Monday night, Thursday night. You know, the like I miss the bright lights. I miss running out and seeing the sea of orange. And yeah, I miss, you know, the the third down chance. And I miss all those things.
00;33;28;24 - 00;33;39;15
Justin Simmons
And that's that to me is what I always like reminisce on as I like, look at the last year and choosing to play or choosing not to play and those types of things.
00;33;39;16 - 00;33;55;21
Tom Green
Yeah, I bet they did. Do you think about it like, if you don't play again, you'll be. I mean, you had a terrific career. Do you? Look back on it. Go. I got all I could out of it. This. If you never take another snap.
00;33;55;24 - 00;34;14;10
Justin Simmons
Yeah. I'm. Yes, I again I no regrets. I don't live like that I would love to play in a playoff environment. That's probably the only thing that I would check off my checklist and like I said, I had opportunities to play for teams last year that were on the cusp of going to go play in the playoffs.
00;34;14;10 - 00;34;30;15
Justin Simmons
But I don't want to just do it to do it. I want to have a chance to go in and yes, any team that goes into the playoffs has a chance to go in, but we all know there's teams that comes down to it are probably more poised and they have a little bit more experience to win than others.
00;34;30;18 - 00;34;56;09
Justin Simmons
And I didn't want to just sign a sheet of paper, leave my family for X amount of months just to go say I did it. I played in a playoff game. Right? My my career is complete. Yeah. So I'm hoping I'm really hoping that that'll still be the case. You know, here in the, in the coming months where, you know, there's a team out there that wants a veteran safety and, a team that's going to have a chance to make a deep run at the playoffs and make something happen.
00;34;56;12 - 00;35;17;11
Tom Green
I always think of, when I covered sports all the time and covered the Broncos, I got to see some of the safeties play, and I. I think of how great the Bronco alumni is. That's a strong knit group. But I, you know, I watched Billy Thompson play and Steve Foley and Steve Atwater and Dennis Smith and all those guys who just kill people back there.
00;35;17;11 - 00;35;25;24
Tom Green
And it was just. But that Bronco alumni, I think, is stronger than many other teams you'd probably been around to recognize. That is something that that matters.
00;35;25;24 - 00;35;47;20
Justin Simmons
Yeah, I think it really matters. And, you know, I was only in it and only other team I played for so far as with Atlanta and, there are a few alumni that came by there. And I've heard from other players of, you know, different alumni that come back and what the alumni network looks like, but nothing from what I've heard, or at least experienced just in my one year at the Atlanta.
00;35;47;20 - 00;35;53;02
Justin Simmons
Nothing that I've. Yeah, I've seen or heard that compares to the Denver because.
00;35;53;04 - 00;36;04;02
Tom Green
You're still here. You're like a Bronco fan. Yeah. You know, like when you're a fanatic, do you, can you go to a game, like, would you go and sit and watch a game?
00;36;04;02 - 00;36;22;07
Justin Simmons
Oh, 1,000%. I don't know if I would go, like right now because and I thought about it last year like my, my friends, that are really close to some of the guys on the team and they have suites or tickets or whatever. Yeah. They'd be like, oh, you should just come to this game, like, just come with me, let's go watch the game.
00;36;22;09 - 00;36;39;00
Justin Simmons
And I'm like, bro, no, I don't think I'm ready. I don't know if I could do that. Like I because I would get bombarded with questions about, you know, hey, man, you know, like and I and I don't I'm not saying don't talk to me, but I'm saying like, I, I just getting bombarded with questions about playing and.
00;36;39;01 - 00;36;41;12
Tom Green
Not why not I can't go to the game.
00;36;41;13 - 00;36;58;04
Justin Simmons
Yeah, yeah. Whereas like I really want to go to a game when it's all said and done and it's like I'm retired and it's known and people know that. And so that way I can actually enjoy conversations with everyone and not fill the two minutes we have with, why aren't you playing with the team? Where are you going to play next?
00;36;58;06 - 00;36;59;01
Justin Simmons
And all that.
00;36;59;06 - 00;37;03;17
Tom Green
And knowing you, you if somebody is talking to you, you're engaged with them. You're missing the game.
00;37;03;17 - 00;37;04;01
Justin Simmons
Yeah, I.
00;37;04;01 - 00;37;04;22
Tom Green
Came to see.
00;37;04;22 - 00;37;05;19
Justin Simmons
What I wanted to see.
00;37;05;19 - 00;37;25;21
Tom Green
So Mark Slater told me the former Bronco guard won a couple Super Bowls, but he said it's, position. Players view the game through a straw, like all you see. Like, all he watches is the guards. Okay, I see, and so, like, for you, like, if you sat in the stands or like you were watching that Jacksonville game, do you just stare at the safeties?
00;37;25;24 - 00;37;49;03
Justin Simmons
Oh I guess Martin Marks right. Not wrong. A lot in general, but he's right about that. That I do. I didn't even really think about it until you mention the straw analogy, but anytime I watch, like, oh, I either watch only the quarterback, which is what I do on film read just to get the yeah, a little mannerism, see if I can't get a towel on certain things and then, yeah.
00;37;49;03 - 00;38;04;00
Justin Simmons
When if I do get that like wide view that they sometimes throw replays on, I'll only watch the safeties and you know, you don't get the safety view and you're watching TV normally. So that's where a lot of the quarterback stuff comes in. Or I'll look at the offenses formation. I'm not just like watching the game. I don't even know how to do that.
00;38;04;00 - 00;38;13;02
Justin Simmons
I don't yeah, hopefully down the road I'll get there. Hopefully down the road I can. But right now I'm just I watch and I'm like, oh, this plays come at this place, come in. This is their tendency.
00;38;13;04 - 00;38;34;16
Tom Green
So you were so well known, at least to me. And I think anybody else who's paying attention when you were playing for the Broncos, you were not only the best player, the face of the team, the Pro Bowler, but you're also the guy who's signed up. You said yes to everything. Like there is a list that would go up that the the team would say, we need someone go to this school.
00;38;34;16 - 00;38;49;08
Tom Green
We need someone go to this hospital. We need someone to go here, here and here. And you told me once that you're not only the guy who signs up. Your name is always going to be first. Like you would find that sheet first and put your name on it and try to lead. Hope other players would follow you as well.
00;38;49;11 - 00;38;58;10
Justin Simmons
Yeah, no. And I that's again, I'm so blessed in my career because that's what I saw. That's what was emulated for me when I got drafted to Denver.
00;38;58;11 - 00;39;00;22
Tom Green
Like was there someone who did that that you saw that?
00;39;00;22 - 00;39;20;09
Justin Simmons
Yeah. And there was multiple like the one guy that stuck out to me was Demaryius Thomas, and there could even be events that you would never have heard of or never even seen on TV. And he would sign up and he would go tell is who? Who like, listen, Ali, who like, ran the, community development thing, the department that like, he would just be like, I don't want any of that stuff.
00;39;20;09 - 00;39;35;25
Justin Simmons
I just want to kind of go and be a blessing. And, like, we would only know that from, like, the inside. And so yeah, like, but DeMarcus Ware was out in the community and he talked about a Hall of Fame player. Von Miller just won Super Bowl MVP. He's out and about when he doesn't have to be Chris Harris Jr.
00;39;35;25 - 00;39;56;14
Justin Simmons
You know he had his stuff going on D Stu had a foundation. The all these guys that were like really not just good players like really good players and established players and helped bring a championship to the city where always out and doing things in the community and so when I f first for me, when I got there, I was like, I got to do this.
00;39;56;14 - 00;40;11;14
Justin Simmons
Like I'm seeing these guys do it, I got it. If I want to emulate everything that they are and how successful they've been and X, Y, z, I have to be that guy too. And then over time, you know, you always say, you know, everyone's always talk about it like when you go it does more for you than it does for them.
00;40;11;14 - 00;40;22;25
Justin Simmons
Yeah. And I really felt that way like I been good doing children's hospital visits and this, this kid is struggling with their life and they're like, but watching you play on Sunday fills my heart up and.
00;40;22;29 - 00;40;23;10
Tom Green
Gives me.
00;40;23;11 - 00;40;25;16
Justin Simmons
The fight. And battle. And I'm just like.
00;40;25;19 - 00;40;26;29
Tom Green
Tears, yeah.
00;40;27;02 - 00;40;47;10
Justin Simmons
Streaking. And I like that's what matters. They don't care. Sometimes they do like they want up. They want a certain player in the. But they don't even. They as long as you're a Bronco they just want you in there around them. Yeah. That they're important. And you see them and there's a lot of kids in our city that feel that way and families that feel that way, and it's such a blessing to to be a blessing and and just to be around them.
00;40;47;12 - 00;41;04;29
Tom Green
So and yet there's also that thing. I think a lot of times when you talk about going to a football game and people wanting to ask you questions, or you go make an appearance at a school or a hospital or something, you're not just a Bronco. I mean, you're also a dad and a husband, and you have your your private life and your family life and all that.
00;41;05;06 - 00;41;25;13
Tom Green
And nowadays, with social media, people share more. You know, I see you and turn on, on social media and I see, oh, they're doing this or doing that or stuff. How do you find that completion of being both the football player, the football star, and just the knucklehead dad who can't get the mower to start or something like that?
00;41;25;13 - 00;41;44;13
Justin Simmons
Yeah. It's so good. And, Taryn and I, we work really hard and we've failed and succeeded in, in a, in a lot of ways of, of being, parents and, and having open communication in terms of what we need. And it's hard because you're figured we're young and we're figuring this out, and we're young parents and we're figuring this out.
00;41;44;13 - 00;42;05;00
Justin Simmons
And then, you know, I'm trying to pursue and be excellent in my career and figure that out. And she's trying to help support that and also chase what she is passionate about and figure that out. And so, you know, there's a lot of that that like, we didn't perfect by any means and that's okay. And I think that's it's okay to say that's okay.
00;42;05;00 - 00;42;23;18
Justin Simmons
And we are figuring it out as life goes. But one thing was like, hey, if I'm like, I already am committed to football and I'm committed to trying to, you know, change the city for better. And I always said, like, I want my kids to see that too. And when we're doing these things, like, it's important for me to bring my family around as much as possible.
00;42;23;18 - 00;42;38;15
Justin Simmons
So my oldest daughter now is seven, about to be eight, and she's the only one that I really remember things like that. But I wanted her to be around to see dad out in the community and not just the guy that is in the stadium and doing all the things and taking all the pictures.
00;42;38;15 - 00;42;40;21
Tom Green
Or when we go to the store, people won't leave him alone.
00;42;40;23 - 00;42;54;19
Justin Simmons
Or we go to the store. And even now, like when we go, sometimes it get recognized when we're out. And she would be like, dad, you're always talking to people. Yeah, I and it's it time for me to be like, well, one is does that bother you? Like, do you feel like dad gives his attention by.
00;42;54;20 - 00;42;55;05
Tom Green
Ignoring.
00;42;55;05 - 00;43;12;02
Justin Simmons
You? Yeah, yeah. And we have that. And it's a good parenting moment for me. Like, if it's a yes, it'd be like, okay, well, what are some ways that would make you feel included? Should I? Yeah. Should I put my arm around you? Should I just say, hey, I'm with my daughter? Would that be better? And there's things you would think that, you know, a seven year old's not thinking those things, but she is.
00;43;12;02 - 00;43;30;02
Justin Simmons
And it's times like that for me that are really good growing moments. And, but then there's also she's like, no, I just I'm curious. And I'm like, okay, well yeah, dad played sports here. Sure. You know, explain the whole dialog. And she's like, oh, cool. And then she'll go to school and, you know, those things happen. But that's important to me.
00;43;30;03 - 00;43;47;02
Tom Green
Were you in the way last year when you weren't playing football? Because they always hear that when the retired guy and you hadn't retired, you were out. But all of a sudden you're home all the time. And there, nobody's used to that. Mom's not used to that. The kids are not used to dad being around. Would you did you have trouble meshing into the boy?
00;43;47;02 - 00;44;05;05
Justin Simmons
Did I, I felt like that was the most tension Taryn and I have had. What are you doing in here? Yeah. See, you know, like, I'm around and I'd go do my workouts in the morning to make sure, you know, if a team call it. I was ready to go and all that stuff. But then I come back home and, I'm also like, how am I doing?
00;44;05;05 - 00;44;17;06
Justin Simmons
Like, what do I do? Do we have, you know, we have like babysitter help at times and, you know, the kids school schedules. I try to help out as much as I can. Sometimes I'd be over helping and I'd be intruding on her like mom, personal time.
00;44;17;09 - 00;44;19;15
Tom Green
Dad doing the car lane wrong. It's wrong.
00;44;19;15 - 00;44;35;22
Justin Simmons
At school. I'd have to call, you know, like I'm. But I'm excited to do it. And there is a lot of grace on both sides of us figuring this thing out. But, the one thing that I realized is how much time I've missed. Yeah. You know, being away and, like, it's okay. I want them to see my kids, especially my oldest.
00;44;35;22 - 00;44;51;01
Justin Simmons
She's remembering the most is like, what hard work looks like, why we were able to do certain things, like vacations and go on some fun trips every now and then, like, because, you know, mom and dad work hard to provide this type of life, and I want them to see what hard work looks like.
00;44;51;06 - 00;45;03;24
Tom Green
But, girl. Dad, everyone, I think people love girl dads or their athletics. In your daughter's future, do you get do you want to coach? Do you want to stay away or how do you find that line?
00;45;03;24 - 00;45;24;10
Justin Simmons
I will coach, athletic. It's still developing for my kids right now. It's still young. They're still young. But, I think it's in there. My wife's a thousand point scorer in high school. Playing basketball. She went on to college to play. I had somewhat of a professional career when I played. Somewhat. Yeah. And then, but yeah, it's their figuring out.
00;45;24;10 - 00;45;38;28
Justin Simmons
But yeah, she would like I would love for them to play sports. There's a lot outside of just playing the sport that think it teaches you a lot about life. What I coach, yes, but I have. They'd have to be serious about the sport in order for me to coach, because I would coach hard like my dad does.
00;45;38;28 - 00;45;47;24
Justin Simmons
Or. I don't know if you saw Dan Hurley when they hit the game winner. And he's like, I feel like I'd be that type of coach. But yes, I would love to coach them.
00;45;47;27 - 00;45;57;16
Tom Green
No way. Let's clarify that, because Dan Hurley, not everyone thinks he's he's obviously a good coach. Yeah, but not sure they want like their kid to necessarily play for me. Seems like he's insane.
00;45;57;17 - 00;46;16;00
Justin Simmons
Those those those parents man. They I don't get it. Like what you want to play for and not and everyone there's great coaches that don't coach that way. Right. They're a little soft. They're you know the gentle parent whatever, whatever it is. But I like the thing that I, I appreciate is like you're you're hard on him being hard.
00;46;16;02 - 00;46;37;18
Justin Simmons
But look at the way that he celebrates now. Tom Izzo, who they also do like he doesn't have. It doesn't look like the same celebratory, external. Yeah. Like but Dan Hurley like when they do something well and they're playing hard, he's hyping the crowd up. He's in his players face in a positive way. He's like, let's go.
00;46;37;19 - 00;46;40;19
Justin Simmons
That's what I'm talking about. And like, I want to play for that.
00;46;40;21 - 00;46;43;11
Tom Green
And this is the coach. You would be you would be.
00;46;43;13 - 00;46;57;05
Justin Simmons
Yeah, I would hope so. I'd be a hard guy. I'd be a hard coach. But I'd love on him too. And I think that's the thing. Like Dan Hurley, like loves on his players and his players play hard. Yeah. And they rally because they know, like, if we don't do this right, I'm gonna get yelled at.
00;46;57;05 - 00;47;13;10
Tom Green
That was the hardest thing about that game we're talking about. The Duke Connecticut game was they're down 19 at the half. And I don't think it was the three pointer at the end from Mullins that won the game. I think it was the fact they were 19 down at the half and never let go of the rope. And that's that's an extension of their coach.
00;47;13;16 - 00;47;28;12
Justin Simmons
Why wouldn't you want to go play for that coach. Yeah. After that you know what I mean. So but I get it. Everyone has different opinions. I myself, if you ever see me down in the future with coaching Coosa coach Justin Simeon, just know it's saying Dan Hurley next sign up.
00;47;28;18 - 00;47;29;02
Tom Green
Yeah, yeah.
00;47;29;08 - 00;47;32;07
Justin Simmons
You're on your own risk.
00;47;32;10 - 00;47;47;18
Tom Green
When football's over, because I want to talk about. You're doing a new podcast. I've always, you know, I've always looked at you and said he he could step into broadcasting whenever he wants. Do you have a a post football map yet for what you want to do?
00;47;47;21 - 00;48;02;07
Justin Simmons
I just, I just did a life plan with, really, really, really good friend of mine, and we mapped out it's, it's a it's a long process. Two days. It's like an all day thing. And we mapped out a bunch of different things, like, you know, your core values, your mission statement.
00;48;02;10 - 00;48;03;27
Tom Green
Well, not a financial plan, not.
00;48;03;27 - 00;48;20;25
Justin Simmons
A financial plan. Life plan. Like what? What would what brings you joy? What do you want to give back to the whole nine? Is finances a problem? There's a whole bunch that goes into it. Anyway, all that to say, like I my what I find joy in my life mission is just to give back to our youth.
00;48;20;25 - 00;48;42;01
Justin Simmons
Like the only reason I made it where I did in my career was because I had people coaches, my parents, my community, invest into me, and that helped me grow and blossom into the man that I became and I'm still becoming. So I want to do that for kids. That that could be a high school football coach that could be some type of player development role.
00;48;42;04 - 00;49;06;19
Justin Simmons
There's a bunch of different avenues you could go down. And also at the same time, I don't want to just close off alleyways. So you mentioned broadcasting. Yeah. I love being able to have conversations, meet new people, talk X's and O's with football. There's a bunch of different routes you go down. And so there would be a few of those, opportunities throughout, you know, maybe the coming years where, you know, we'll kind of exasperate options and see what's available.
00;49;06;19 - 00;49;21;05
Tom Green
Bigger than football, though, you're, you're you're a guy who's, you know, your life isn't all football. You have other, you see from a broader view. And that's why I want to ask you about that. The podcast you're doing, it's an interesting one, you know, promoted a little bit. Tell us about it.
00;49;21;05 - 00;49;24;08
Justin Simmons
And shameless plug. Yeah. Other Tom green. So I appreciate.
00;49;24;08 - 00;49;25;15
Tom Green
It. Let's do it.
00;49;25;18 - 00;49;46;25
Justin Simmons
Yeah. The weekly cut. It's with myself and, Louis Romero. We always say, like, your favorite barber, but more than a barber. And, man, it's really fun. Like, so far. When I think when this airs, we'd have done two episodes by now, and there would be a bunch more. But really, what it is, is we wanted to find a way and we're it's it's not an original idea.
00;49;46;25 - 00;50;02;23
Justin Simmons
There's other podcasts out there that have done something similar, but we wanted to bring a barbershop to like the living room. Yeah. And, you always have barbershop talk, and most of the times it's sports. But you talk about life being a dad, you know, whatever finances, if that pops up.
00;50;02;23 - 00;50;04;24
Tom Green
But you and Lou, we've been together a while.
00;50;04;25 - 00;50;06;18
Justin Simmons
We've been together ten years. Yeah.
00;50;06;19 - 00;50;14;21
Tom Green
Two years. So you've already heard all the what he has to say and what goes on in the chair and what goes on in the shop and why it why it's a fit.
00;50;14;21 - 00;50;29;00
Justin Simmons
Yeah. And there's so much that you can go over and there's like 40 minutes during that little like episode that we have is just like not enough to cover all the things, but like, we just wanted to be able to bring that to TV. And I haven't done much and I wanted to get out a little bit more.
00;50;29;00 - 00;50;39;00
Justin Simmons
So Broncos Country or just anyone in general could see a little bit more of my personality. Yeah. Excuse me. So I think that that's going to be really great. It's been a lot of fun so far. Looking forward to more of it.
00;50;39;02 - 00;50;53;19
Tom Green
So I I watched the first episode and I see you and it reminded me that you're always a stylish guy. Now, today you're a T shirt and shorts guy. Yeah, but when I see you on your social media, when you're making public appearance and stuff, that that's something you take seriously.
00;50;53;20 - 00;51;10;19
Justin Simmons
Oh, man. Vic, Vic Lombardi and I, we talked about that. I felt like at nausea, we were just talking about how, like, first impressions really matter. Yeah. And when you get to meet people and there's, there's certain places where you go where it's like, I just want to dress and look good because I'm feeling that type of way today.
00;51;10;21 - 00;51;25;24
Justin Simmons
But most times, this is my normal get up. I love just being comfortable and casual, but if I am going out to something and meeting someone for the first time or doing a certain event, I want to present myself well. And you never know who you're going to meet. You never know what hands you're going to shake.
00;51;26;00 - 00;51;42;21
Justin Simmons
You never know what type of impression you leave someone with. And so, that to me is always important. And, I have a great, like, stylist. He's a BCC alum. He's done really good with the suits and the whole nine. And so, yeah, I always, always appreciate having a stylist. Kind of. It's pretty cool. Yeah. It's cool.
00;51;42;21 - 00;51;44;18
Justin Simmons
It's not bad. It's pretty cool. Yeah. Hooks me up.
00;51;44;23 - 00;52;07;13
Tom Green
I'm not a, I don't live by the words of Travis Kelsey very often, but he had a he had a great thing he said on a podcast. I think he was talking with his, sister in law, Kylie, doing her show, and he said he's learned from this is, of course, involving Taylor Swift. But he said he's learned that when he goes places, he has to get the details because she's going to ask him about who he met.
00;52;07;13 - 00;52;25;02
Tom Green
And he used to come back and say, I met some guy or whatever. And he goes, I learned I had to remember their names, what they did, so I could tell Taylor, you know, everything that I did and what was interesting about it. And he said it worked out great. I started to really do all this, but then I'd have a bunch of beers and I'd forget all of it.
00;52;25;04 - 00;52;41;09
Tom Green
So, so. But you like that. You're great in the room. I saw you speak to a bunch of people. About what? What you'd like to do with kids and stuff. But you, you you're good in the room. And so, you know, you talk about stylist. I mean, stylist only goes so far. Still, it comes down to the guy in the suit.
00;52;41;09 - 00;53;05;26
Justin Simmons
Yeah, it's I think I my dad and and my mom, they've done a great job of implanting into me that people matter. And it doesn't matter what you do, how you do it, where when you do it. But everyone's important. And so, it just so happens that I'm well known for playing professional football, and but that doesn't diminish the person that I'm talking to.
00;53;05;26 - 00;53;28;08
Justin Simmons
I'm no better. My time is no better. So I like to show up early. That was ingrained in me at a young age. When I'm talking to people, like, shake their hand and listen now after a couple beers and you know the thing, I mean, I come back and tell my wife exactly who I met, or I may forget, I'm not the best communicator in that terms, but at least talking to someone and making them feel engaged and important in the conversation, because that's what I would want.
00;53;28;09 - 00;53;39;05
Justin Simmons
Like if I was meeting someone that I thought was a big deal, I would love for them to show me the same respect of, you know, thinking of someone less than you. And so that, to me has always been important.
00;53;39;10 - 00;53;48;13
Tom Green
Life is funny, but if you were to look at it from the perspective of just today, you're going to live in Colorado, you're going to be a Colorado guy the rest of the way.
00;53;48;14 - 00;54;07;29
Justin Simmons
Yeah, I am, and I said I wasn't going to be when I first got here. And boy, Colorado just over the years, just if I was like an ice sculpture just chiseled away at my heart, shaping it into us loving Colorado. Yeah, my kids go to school here. They have a great community. My wife has built a really awesome community, and she has a bunch of friends.
00;54;07;29 - 00;54;19;06
Justin Simmons
And, yeah, I've built a community here. I have friends outside of the sport that really love to hang with. And, yeah, golf's not bad here either. I've learned to love that. So, yeah, we love this place.
00;54;19;08 - 00;54;21;22
Tom Green
Do you love it enough to hate it? Golf.
00;54;21;24 - 00;54;30;01
Justin Simmons
Oh, boy, do I do. I love it enough to hate it. Boy, do I, and I'm the guy that buys all the cool gadgets and. Yeah, like, has the terrible golf game. Yeah. But I can everything.
00;54;30;02 - 00;54;30;10
Tom Green
Get the.
00;54;30;10 - 00;54;30;26
Justin Simmons
Game?
00;54;30;29 - 00;54;31;19
Tom Green
Yeah, yeah.
00;54;31;21 - 00;54;36;24
Justin Simmons
I play fast and I have a great time. So if you ever see me on a shirt, I'm a good time.
00;54;36;27 - 00;54;40;19
Tom Green
Get or get behind me because we're going. I won't be, I won't be slowing you up.
00;54;40;19 - 00;54;45;12
Justin Simmons
Just stay in the middle of the fairway, though, because there you won't get hit safe when you're in the rough. Yeah. Yeah, that's.
00;54;45;12 - 00;55;01;28
Tom Green
That's near the flag. Well, I'm glad you're staying because you're a great plus to Colorado. And you always have been over the ten years that you've been here. And, I wish you continued success, but I think you're guaranteed it. You're you're made of something special, and you always show it and share it. It's great.
00;55;01;28 - 00;55;05;13
Justin Simmons
Now, I appreciate that. And thanks for coming in. No, thank you for having me. This is great.
00;55;05;13 - 00;55;06;02
Tom Green
This is great.
00;55;06;02 - 00;55;08;29
Justin Simmons
You made this easy. I was nervous.
00;55;09;02 - 00;55;12;19
Tom Green
Well that's I like it. I keep keep a nervous. Thanks, Justin.
00;55;12;19 - 00;55;16;11
Justin Simmons
Thanks I appreciate it.
00;55;16;14 - 00;55;41;22
Tom Green
Obviously a great chat with Justin Simmons. Always nice to catch up with one of the great Broncos of recent times. It'll be interesting to see what he does with the rest of his life. You know, it is funny. He talked about, you know, being young, 31 years old now, but when when football says it's over, you become old to some people, an old retired guy like me at 31, I don't worry about Justin Simmons.
00;55;41;22 - 00;55;49;19
Tom Green
He's going to do great. As always. I thank you for spending time with us here today on the other Tom green show. I hope to see you back here again next week.