NC State
Gary Downs: Dick Sheridan 'is still talked about as one of the best coaches in NC State history'
Former NC State running back Gary Downs shares his favorite memories playing the late coach Dick Sheridan and how Sheridan inspired him and so many former players to get into coaching.
Well, you know, it starts with the recruiting process. Um I went to high school with Ricky logo and I learned about NC State and their defense and meeting coach, she and my dad was in the military. So coach Shari and being a disciplinarian, very ordered individual shirts tucked in, neatly shaved, all those things, sort of like jive with my mom and my dad particularly. And so, uh, that's the first thing I think of because he was just that guy. I was talking to Robbie Caldwell, the longtime old line coach at NC State and it was a Clemson and he said there was a reunion with coach Sheridan and a bunch of former players and coaches were men in their fifties and sixties and they said they were, he said they were smoking cigars and he said, when coach Sheridan walked up, everybody put the cigars out and hit him and that's just he commanded respect. There was a certain amount of discipline, decorum order that you knew you were responsible for. And so that's what kind of program I joined. You knew you were gonna be prepared on the field, you knew what he expected academically, you knew what he expected from you as an individual, as a person. So that's just sort of the legacy I remember him from because that's what, when I became a coach, I wanted to be just as ordered, just as disciplined in my coaching, um, in my raising with my Children, the shirts tucked in to pull your pants off those kind of things as a man and how you just carry yourself. And that's how ridiculous a great model. Uh It's a great man to model your uh coaching at for sure. And, and you know, he, I was talking to Terry Harvey earlier and it's amazing. He was saying like, it's amazing how compared to a lot of coaches, coach, he really wasn't here very long. He's only here for seven years, um but made still such an impact in that short amount of time. I mean, what, what impact do you think? Big picture did he make as far as just rejuvenating some of the interest in NC State football? Well, he rejuvenated interest at NCNC State Football, obviously going, coming from F and quickly putting NC State on the map. I remember the time when he rose through the ranks so quick, I remember Georgia was looking for a coach and it was thought that he may leave for Georgia. And I just know so many other coaches like David who I played, uh Robbie Caldwell, Ricky logo. You know, those guys got into Neil a who's not a co he's a high school coach for a long time in the high school. They got into coaching because of the experience they had at NC State. I got into coaching. Dick Dick Porter was my running back coach Michael Caine, Michael Cain played under coach Sheridan in high school. And so it's hard to measure that kind of impact where you have so many people involved in coaching because they got into it at the high school or college level because of being coached by Dick Sheridan. Um CK dot He's down in Georgia coaching. He was coached by Dick Sheridan and talks about coach Sheridan. So some little Atlanta crew that are all NC State guys and we talk about coach Sheridan and his impact. You can't measure it years to come. It's just like a tree, you know, like who's in this guy's tree. And co coach Sheridan has guys that come off of that tree and coach like him or he inspired them to coach. How amazing is that? In retrospect that an NC State football coach would turn down job offers from Georgia, I believe LSU, his alma mater South Carolina came calling that, that he, he had a great relationship with coach V at the time as ad obviously. But, but what, how amazing is that, that NC State football coach would want to stay there and turn down all those SEC offers. Well, I believe that coach Sheridan wanted to do, do the things his way. And I think raising up young men and showing them how to live and act was more important than just winning or more, more important than just getting a check. Because some of those schools, yes, you could do those things, but the winning becomes first and foremost. And if you don't get it done, you know, you, you, you're out and I believe he understood that his impact long, long standing would be more better served by staying at NC State. I mean, he did it, you know, seven years. He's still talked about as one of the best coaches in NC state history. Um, you know, then behind him, Michael Kane came behind him and then so many other coaches in the college profession, I end up coaching college because I got him through coach. Ok. But that's still the relationship that spawned from a relationship with coach Sheridan. And he had a lot of success in his time at state against those in-state schools too. You take a lot of pride. How much pride did you take as a player for all those wins against Carolina and Duke under coach Sheridan? Well, we just felt we were tougher and better prepared. Um, under coach Sheridan, uh I mean, we obviously we back in the day, we had the two a days and the law walk. I mean, like we went to walk from Brown, it seemed like a half a mile but all that was part of that process of things you had to do and the, the accountability, we understood that if you were all, you were going to be held to the same standard, whether you were all conference, a starter, all conference or all American or freshman or senior. Um, you, he had a certain standard that you had to live by and, and, and you understood that, that, you know, you could be all conference and you screwed up socially or academically, you are gonna to be held accountable. And I think that endears respect even Chad TIMS that win at a high level. If players find out those coaches don't hold those guys accountable. You coach, the coach quickly loses credibility. And coach Sheridan, hey, I remember once that II, I got in a small bit of trouble and I said, Coach Sheridan, I didn't do it and he said, I believe you, but you are responsible for how you're perceived and I just, I never forgot it and he held me accountable. I had to miss a game. And so I was like, ok, I'm responsible to this day. You are responsible for how you're perceived, whether that's what you meant or not, how you carry yourself, what you say you represent yourself, but you represent this program and you're not gonna dishonor this program. I'm gonna hold you accountable. That's great. That's great. Um And of course, it's just 30 years ago. This like a week ago that he surprisingly resigned. You were on the team at the time? How big of a shock was that to you? Well, we were in summer workouts and it was a shock. I mean, maybe the other coaches knew but us players had no idea. And then of course, quickly, like who's gonna take over, we didn't know we heard it was some kind of illness. He didn't know what it was. Um, and I remember, you know, obviously Coach Ocain took over and then, you know, coach Sheridan came back towards the end of that season. Well, you know, so, so to say bye to those seniors that was on their way out, it was shocking. But, um, we had a, we had a good staff and he put together a good staff with good men. So the program was stabilized at that point. But I guess it was definitely, definitely shocking because we used to nickname him God Junior. Um, you know, we could be at practice and he could be, he could say, well, it's not gonna rain and we say it's gonna rain today and all of a sudden we'd practice and as soon as we walk off the field, it would start rain, thunder and lightening or it could have been thunder and lightning and he said we're still practicing as soon as we got on, it stopped and he's like, what in the world? But that's what the kind of rapport and the kind of demeanor he had and respect he had by his players. We respected him, no doubt in coaching. Sometimes it's like your players have to love you, but they have to respect you. And I think he had both, he had a love of it, but mainly the respect of coach Sheridan by players and men alike. That's awesome. That was my last question is if there's anything you, you needed to add that we haven't mentioned. I just think his legacy is enduring. Uh, a few years ago when I was coaching at NC State at East Tennessee State, we played against Berman and coach Sheridan got inducted to the college football Hall of Fame. And while coaching that day, I could see that emblem on the field, uh I wanna say I talked to coach Sheridan on the phone after that game, but it was like, wow, that's my coach. He's in the college football Hall of Fame and his emblem was on the Furman field because of what he did there. But that's, it's a great feeling when you play for a Hall of Famer.