#92 Jared DeVries

Episode 92 – Jared DeVries. Jared is a former University of Iowa standout who spent 12 seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions before becoming a high school head coach and business owner. Jared shares how athletics shaped his approach to leadership, discipline, adversity, and service—and why the lessons learned through sports continue to guide him as a husband, father, and business leader. He reflects on the lasting influence of legendary coaches Ed Thomas and Hayden Fry, the importance of making every player feel valued, and why great cultures are built through relationships, accountability, communication, and doing the little things right. Jared also discusses the value of multi-sport participation, giving back to the community, and how athletics prepares young people to handle adversity far beyond the playing field. Ultimately, his message to coaches is simple: focus on developing the person, and the sport will take care of itself.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Just I appreciate you jumping on. I I um I'll introduce you real quick. Um Jared DeVries, um, we played a couple years at Iowa together, and then you went on to um had a great career at Iowa, defensive lineman, and then went and played for all of your NFL seasons for the Lions. Were you did you play for 11 years or 12?

SPEAKER_02 0:27

I played for 12 years, um, seven different head coaches. Um, probably why we weren't very good. You can't turn over coaches like that and expect to be good. Um, but very thankful that uh the family got to stay in Detroit, raised in Detroit. Um very blessed with the the friends and the connections we made. So can't complain.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Yeah, well, I I kind of got you from all angles here because what I've been doing on this podcast for the last year and a half is pretty much just just interviewing coaches, um, high school, college, pro level, to just get their take on leadership and culture and character building and all the things that in my opinion are missing in in athletics nowadays. Um, you know, the the building of the culture now it's an instant culture, you have to rebuild it every six months um at the college level. Um but I mean you you coached, you were a head coach at Clear Lake in Iowa. Um, you know, you played at the highest level. Um you've kind of come at come at it from all angles, just how important athletics are to um you know, to building your life and and handling adversity and being a leader and being successful and and when you get knocked down, getting back up. So um, yeah, we I I'm kind of transitioning now. We're still gonna do the coaches, but we're gonna we're gonna integrate more um former players and was able to have a guy um that I coached at Missouri, a tight end, he was on uh the other day, and and I haven't seen him in you know 25 years, and it was kind of cool. And I haven't seen you in about 30, so maybe a little bit longer. But um so welcome. Thank you very much for taking the time, man.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Yeah, you bet. Um so you you you hit the nail on the head with athletics, specifically football being the greatest tool that you can have on teaching, teaching young men and even ladies um the value of hard work, the value of discipline, um, all those things that you mentioned. Um you talk about uh a culture rebuild. I'll I'll share a story with you. My brother uh Darren coaches for the University of Indiana, he's a men's best head men's basketball coach, and this will be his second year in Indiana. And uh last year he had all but one player leave. Um, so he had to start from scratch. And we have many conversations at night. It's like, how do you build your culture when you continuously have to replace the entire roster? Year two, one guy return. Um and it makes it very difficult with the portal on on, I believe, on coaches when they're when you're redoing your roster every month or every six months. Um, so there's a unique challenge, and and and the good ones uh obviously re retain their players and and and continue to build their their culture. And I think those will probably be the successful uh you know teams.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Yeah. What um I mean, because when we were playing, even you know, as as a high school coach, I know you well enough to know that that you know relationships are extremely important to you. Um it used to be, I mean, like I've had you know, Hughes has been on here, LaFleur, you know, Zach Shea, Tariq Holman. I've had a lot of Iowa guys on here. Um and we went and did our our tour crucible. Derek Price and I, and and and a couple former tier one guys went to Iowa City and we hit West Branch and then we we hit West Liberty where Jason Dumont is at. And um, you know, we were talking about this, but it's incredible to look back and think because my dad, as a head coach, what wasn't even close to this, but Coach Fry knew everything about every single player. He knew everything about their family, he knew their names, he knew he knew everything. And he was, I really believe that that's why he was so successful was because he he really poured into the relationship piece of being a being a coach. And I mean, you remember he used to stand up in the in the tower during practice and throw gum at people as they they ran underneath it. And then on Saturday, he's called he would call plays. What you didn't know probably is that three out of every five plays that he called either came in wrong, formation was backwards, or he he called a play that we didn't even practice that week. So, you know, um, but his relationship style is is that something that that you think um can really, you know, because I know your brother, you know, your whole family about relationships, and so I know you that's super important to your brother as it as it is to you. Do you think that's something that can sustain a program of today's day and age? Even if you have great relationships.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Well, I I mean, if you look at the programs that are extremely successful, let's just start with Iowa. Um Coach Fry was there for 20 some odd years. Coach Ference has been there for 20 some odd years. What's the one common denominator? It's it's the relationships with the players. Um, and and they both had that. And um that's why that that the Hawkeyes are successful. And and success can be measured on the scoreboard. It can also be measured on how many people are leaving your program. You know, we don't we, as in the University of Iowa, don't have a lot of um guys um going looking chasing the money. Um once they're hawkeyes, they they they want to be hawkey's and they they stay hawkey's. And if they don't leave for the the draft early, they probably are gonna graduate a Hawkeye.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Yeah, which is which we were talking yesterday. I mean, it's sad that the day and age of being somewhere for four or five years, you know, is not for for everybody, but and I know I was a transfer, my circumstances were a little bit different. Um, it wasn't for a lack of playing time, it was you know, my dad was a head coach at SC and he got fired. So um I do like the five for five. I like that they're doing that. I think that'll probably help. But um, you know, from a coaching aspect, what did you take when when you were coaching at Clear Lake? What did you take from being a high school athlete, college athlete, pro athlete that you really tried to instill in the kids that you were coaching from a character standpoint?

SPEAKER_02 7:27

Well, uh we we we just preached about doing everything right, um, from the littlest things to stretching, not being on the the white line. And to me that carries that carries over in into your life. Yeah. So we want to build character, um, you know, responsibility, uh, hard work, um, all that stuff, and and we just we just harped on it um from the littlest things, you know, from not having your toe on the white line to doing every um every uh rep that is asked of you. All those little things, if you can hold yourself accountable, which we're gonna try to help with, man, you're gonna be a better, better player, you're gonna be a better person, and you're gonna have more success in life. And that's where we really, really try to hit home is all the lessons that you can learn on the field, on the court. Um, I was fortunate to be surrounded by uh a bunch of other coaches with like minds.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yeah. Um, having gone to high school, where you went to high school, uh, I mean, and and people probably don't know, and I didn't know this until I moved there, but you know, Iowa, I think University of Iowa, the kids that played there, I think they were very unique because a lot of a lot of the Iowa players grew up in Iowa, yourself included, um, worked on farms, um, used to hard labor, um, getting up early. It just you, you know, Iowa, Iowa boys are workers. I mean, I've always said it, and I believe that because I saw it firsthand. Um you had a legend, your high school coach was a legendary football coach, and I can't remember his name. Um Coach Ed Thomas.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Yeah. And how long was he there? Oh man, a long time. Um I was only able to share a couple years with him because Applington was its own individual school, which is where I went to school. Um Parkinsburg was a neighboring school to the to the uh to the east, um, four miles to the east. And uh we joined when I was going to be a junior. Um so I only got to spend two seasons with Coach Thomas. And you you talk about instilling um you know discipline, uh, all the character you know high character qualities that uh you want a young man to have. He he hammered that home. And if we can just do it better than they can, then we'll be better. We don't have to be tricky, we're just gonna do what we're doing, we're gonna do it to the best of our abilities, we're gonna have every detail down um so you can just go play. And he just hammered home on the on the basics, the fundamentals, character. I mean, he had almost every male athlete out for football. I mean, we're we were a one, two, eight, and we had hunter kids out. Like, we had to take three buses, and people were like, what in the heck? It's supposed to be a small school, but he had everybody believing um in what he was teaching and then and what he was coaching, and and he lived it. And uh, you know, NFL coach of the year, high school coach of the year, I I couldn't say more about him as a person and a and a coach and a as a man than I mean I learned so much from him, and I I try to just emulate what he taught us to the young man that I came into contact with or we came into contact with.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

I think and I think you did, I was gonna ask you how do you think he got so many kids? Even because not, you know, and it was a different time, but even back then, I mean, if kids not playing, you know, you know, there was a there would be a lot of turnover, even still, you know, and but it sounds like kids stuck around, and I think you already mentioned it, but from a buy-in perspective, how do you think he got kids to buy in so completely? Was it because he lived it? He lived the standards that he was preaching, or I think a couple of things.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

You you you you just talked about that. He he did live it. He didn't just talk about it, he lived it. His life uh amplified that. Um, but he had the great ability to make everyone feel like they were the key part of the team. And he got a lot of guys out because if you were just on kickoff, he made that the most important down that that the team was gonna play. And then everybody took ownership in the team. And uh I remember he he gave us a chain link um at the start of a season, and he said to everybody that's on this field, we will only be good as our weakest link. I still have that uh chain link. Do you um yeah, he said in 20 years or 10 years, if you still have this uh chain link, you can turn it in for five bucks. Well, I wasn't gonna turn it in anyways, but I still have it. And unfortunately, I'm not able to turn it in, but I I did think about um giving Jan a call, his wife, and and just sharing that that story with me because my wife's like, Why you got this bill fold? I said, because it's got my chain link in it, and uh it it's worn in there, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

His his wife would love that. I was fortunate. My first head coaching job was at a pretty storied school out here in in the Tempe area, Phoenix area. And I know the man, his name was Carl Kiefer. I'd known him since my dad was coaching a U of A. Um, and then when I got the head job at McClintock, I first thing I did was call him. And um, you know, he was 80-something years old and he was in a in a in a facility, and I would go see him every week after film and um really built a good relationship with him, had him back all the time, um, because he had kind of been he had left McClintock to open up another school in the same district um back in the 90s. So McClintock kind of was but I really brought him and his wife, and and he passed away, and I still keep in contact with his wife, and uh I'm sure your coach's wife would love to hear that story. Those are things that they live for, you know. Um what do you think? You've been around a lot of coaches. We were talking before I started recording, but you said at at the Lions you had seven different head coaches, is that right? Yes. Okay, so two different high school coaches, one college coach, um, and then seven NFL coaches. What the the great coaches that you've been around, um, what do you think are some things that they all possessed that made them so effective as a coach and as a leader?

SPEAKER_02 14:32

I believe that's communication. Um you know, whatever your beliefs and whatever you want to mold your team in to be, you have to be able to communicate that and um and practice towards that and live by it. Um and I and I think the great ones that I were around were able to do that with players of all levels, where it whether it be high school, college, or professional. Um you know the NFL is a different different uh beast just because it's a a win now. Um there's so much money involved. It's a little bit different. Of course, say there's so much money involved there is in college now too, but not not when you and I play. Right. We're just happy to get fed. Um and do our laundry once a month. Studs and suds. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Um, yeah, but I think if you can communicate what what the goal is, um, what you want to be about, and then go ahead and practice that way, and uh it'll carry over to the the playing field.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

I think adversity is something that a lot of a lot of younger kids nowadays, high school kids specifically, and college kids, I I don't I don't think it's being taught. I don't think you know people are really emphasizing how important it is, in my opinion, on how to deal with adversity. And um, I mean it's present, you know better than anybody. I mean it's present every day. Um you know, adversity being a form of you know problems, issues. Something comes up, how do you get over it? Um you've had a lot of adversity in your life, and I was when I was talking to Dwayne Blakely, the kid I coached the other day, we were talking about that. About um most people think that high-caliber athletes don't face a lot of adversity, and the reality is high-caliber athletes face more adversity than the majority of individuals in this world. Um, you know, from a personal standpoint, from a from a from a player standpoint, and from a professional standpoint, you know, being being a professional now, I'm not talking about professional football player, but how has athletics really allowed you to handle adversity in your life?

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Yeah, absolutely. That's a that's the good and ongoing question, to be honest with you. Um we talked about it all the time when when we were coaching. Um you know, adversity can come in the form of a penalty, a turnover, and and we embraced that like we the the guys had a little saying, good. They made sweatshirts that said, good, like nothing's gonna faze us. Penalty, good, turnover, good. Okay, that's clean. We're gonna we're gonna move on. Um, you know, so having learned that um through Coach Thomas and you know, through my parents, um, how to deal with adversity, and I think we're we all continue to grow in that in that realm, you know. I was 46 or 7 when my son passed, and you want to talk about adversity, um, and I didn't have all the answers, but I'm still seeking them. Um, I'm learning learning how to deal with them. Um so I I think we continue to grow, but um having that characteristic, that quality on how to deal with adversity, uh whether it be injury or you know, specifically talking about on the field, it could be injury, it could be lack, you know, lack of playing time, according to you know, yourself, uh whatever it is, we we we all have to learn how to deal with that. And once we do, we we could become better players, better people, um, and more resilient to obstacles.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

Yeah, 100%. Um, I know when you were playing, and and I'm sure that it's continued, but I mean, from a service standpoint, just just serving others. I mean, you and your wife, um, you know, when you were playing, I mean, you you gave back to the community. You gave back to a lot of different communities. Um, you know, whether, and I'm just reading it right here, whether it was, you know, hurricane hurricane Katrina victims or you know, children's hospital or animal shelters or whatever it may be. Um I don't I think a lot of guys now do something like that from a financial standpoint to offset their their you know, professional football players to offset their income. Um I know that's not why you did it. I I I I and back then it was different. Why was that so important to you? And are you continuing to to give back to communities in that way?

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Yeah, first of all, yes, we we we we continue uh to give back to communities, um more specifically, local communities um uh that we have grocery stores in um in causes that are are dear and near and dear to our hearts. Um obviously with Easton Passing, he spent uh you know the last 32 days of his life in children's hospital where we connected with many doctors, nurses. Um, you know, he has accepted in the College School of Business, the Tippy Scott College School of Business, which is very important for him, so it became very important for us. Um so those things that that strike your heart, um, we continue to give back. Um, all the local communities that we're in. Um we we just try to bolster um uh provide um help with with the activities that they want to do because we understand the importance of community and and giving back and what that can allow a student athlete or or anyone to um you know grow into.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Yeah. When you were a head coach at Clear Lake, did what what kind of things did you guys do as far as you know, if you want to call it community service or just give them back, what what were some things that you implemented?

SPEAKER_02 20:50

Yeah, so we we did a lot of things. Um I thought we did a lot of great things. We we um helped out at the New Lions. Um they have a big um you know barbecue. Um so we have we the guys would put in tents and they'd be um you know pounding the stakes in and you know really it w it was a lot of fun. And most people see it as work and oh two hours of the but the guys had a ball, you know, they they'd have contests of who could get the spike in the quickest with the least amount of hits. So we did that. We did we did various other uh things in the community. Um, you know, they they helped uh keep upkeep the the facilities. Um a lot of times when we had uh um homecoming, you know, that they loved the teepee, so I would have the football team go around and clean everything up. Um just a variety of different um you know things that we did.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Yeah. Is that is that something that you think was instilled in you, just the serving and giving back um primarily as you know. From your parents, and then it continued on through, you know, high school coaches and Coach Fry and stuff like that?

SPEAKER_02 22:08

Yeah, absolutely. I think everything that that I was very fortunate because everything my folks taught me as a as a young uh student athlete, as a young person, Coach Thomas uh embodied, Coach Fry embodied, and you know, in some sense, the seven head coaches in some way, shape, or form, maybe not specifically or identically, uh, embodied some of those same characteristics. So, yes, everything I got was for my folks, but then it got reinforced by my high school coach and then my college coach, and then yada yada yada. Meanwhile, everybody that uh you know that I got came in contact had similar um views and upbringing, so that that helped.

SPEAKER_00 22:55

Yeah. Um, as a father, how important was that, you know, raising your boys, you and your wife raising your your boys, how important was that in their upbringing to make sure that they understood, you know, that that serving the community, serving something bigger than yourself, um, and giving back uh was instrumental just in their growth as as men, as young men?

SPEAKER_02 23:21

Yeah, we we Jamie and I didn't really talk about it too much. We just lived it. And I and I hope that and I and I know they did, they they they just fell in line. Um it it wasn't something that you know what it was expected, but they they love to do it. I mean, there's a difference. Like it can be a real pain in the ass. Um, but um when when people like doing it, it it becomes easy, it becomes fun, and and you get more people involved, it it it it just grows and grows and grows.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

It's very fun to those types of characteristics are contagious.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Yeah, they are. They are, as are when you don't do things the right way. Um you know, which I know every parent has has learned that lesson. But from a coach's perspective, Jared, um, you know, you got a lot of younger coaches, and and you know, it's funny because we talk about this tour crucible event that we've done with Bishop Healing and, like I said, Iowa guys. And I was talking to my father-in-law the other night, and he asked, he said, so you know, you got to get some schools in Arizona, and and quite honestly, the Midwest is made differently because I and not that they aren't out, you know, in Arizona or the West Coast, but I think the coach's perspective in the Midwest is still um about the kids first. And and it's not about NIL, you know, it's not about transferring, it's not about this, that, and the other, but to but other than to just raise good young men and young ladies, um, if you're a coach. And so it it it I told him, I said it's not coincidence that the majority of the schools that we've done have been on the in the Midwest. It's just a different mindset. But from a coach's standpoint there in the Midwest, you got a lot of younger coaches that are just starting their careers or even guys that have been in it for 15 years. Um, what would you tell those coaches in regards to you know placing importance on on developing leaders, developing character, and creating a culture that kind of sustains itself at the high school level?

SPEAKER_02 25:36

Well, I just emphasize to any coach, uh, whether you've been in it 10, 20, 30 years, you know, you put the the focus on the athlete, um, and the focus on the fundamentals and and the morals and the character you want to teach, and the football or the sport of it will take care of itself. If if you concentrate on those things, the the football thing will fall right in line. You know, you let's concentrate on all the little things, and then the big things just they they just fall in place, and that's on that's a Friday night, or uh, you know, if it if it's a basketball game, a Tuesday, a Friday night, whatever. Um, but if if all you do is focus on that, then the game takes care of itself.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

Because you're working hard, you're you're you're you you love your teammates and your discipline, and those are all characteristics of life. And if then you take that to the to the arena or sports arena, it it's gonna be easier.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Yeah. What do you think? I know I know this is a big deal, and it has been for a while, and and again, that's I think it's a little bit different in the Midwest, but what would you tell athletes um the biggest importance of being a multi sport athlete in high school is why do you think that's so important?

SPEAKER_02 27:00

Well, I don't know the science behind it. Um, I've never really studied it, but just through personal experience, and I know things have changed a little bit, but if you specialize, you're doing the same motion over and over again, whether it's uh shooting a basketball or throwing a football or throwing a baseball or whatever. If if you do that year round, you're using those same muscles. And I I feel like we need to break it up. Just like you would break up a weight training. You maybe you do a six or eight-week cycle, and and then maybe you you tweak your your workout just a little bit so you can get some different movements, add some different movements. You don't do the same thing over and over again for four years. I mean, yeah, there's some ebbs and flows of it. Um I just think it's vital. Um I competition is on the top of of of the list, and if you're not competing, you you you can't get that. So in high school, there's only one season. Football was only one season. And okay, so it's gonna end in October or November, and then you're gonna go nine months without competing. Yeah, you're you might be training for you know to have a better get-off or to be able to throw the ball ten yards further or kick the ball, but you're not competing with other athletes in a different realm, and right in itself teaches you so much. And you you just keep talking about learning how to deal with adversity. Well, learn how to deal with adversity outside of your comfort zone. Maybe it's on the basketball court or on the volleyball court or wherever. It's something that you may not be as comfortable as you were on the football field, but it's still adversity, it's still competition. Um, I I think those are all great things to go through, to live through, to learn through.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

All right, last question I got for you.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

I didn't want to get my coaching hat back.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

I know. If people ask me, they're like, You gonna get back in? My mom just asked me like two weeks ago because I was living in Colorado the last two years after I got out of coaching and moved up to Colorado, my girlfriend, and we just moved back. I kept my house down here in Phoenix and just moved back. And um, gosh, it's hot as a dog out here. I mean, it's hot. But uh my mom, you know, she's 83 years old. She texted me and she's like, You miss coaching? And I'm like, uh can't say that I do. I mean, so much has changed, at least out here. I miss the kids, yeah, and I miss the locker room in regards to the coaches. You know, that that camaraderie that we always had in our own locker rooms as players. But um, yeah, I just, you know, now with what I'm doing, it's more coaching coaches and helping coaches with with all this stuff and helping principals and athletic directors with some curriculum stuff. So it's kind of nice to be on the other side and take more so take everything that I didn't do that I that looking back, I wish I would have done or implemented or had the resources to do something. Yeah. Um but the the last question I wanted to ask you, um, and since this series, this kind of series that we're integrating is all about you know, life beyond athletics, how what are what are a couple, two or three things that, and you've kind of already mentioned them, but just to reiterate, two or three things that you think that being an athlete growing up, you know, the first part of your life, um, how important was that to being a husband, being a father, you know, you and Wigs are or, you know, would you say you own you guys own a farm?

SPEAKER_02 30:48

Yeah, yeah, uh farming operation, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

And then, you know, having your your supermarkets and and leading that way. How do you think athletics prepared you for where you are now in your life?

SPEAKER_02 31:03

Um, yeah, that's a great question. Um, I I I boil it down to leadership. Um and we were taught leadership, and leadership could be um you work the hardest, you're the most disciplined, yeah. All that stuff that we talked about, um having to deal with adversity, but really sports brings the best out of you and and leadership is huge. And in the business world, I always I always go back to the sports world. It's like, okay, I'm the I'm the head coach. I've got to get my assistant coaches in line, my assistant coach has got to help get, and I'm talking about employees now instead of athletes, but it's it's all the same thing because we're all working for a common goal, and hard work is at the top of our values, dedication, discipline, they're all okay. How do how do I as a leader, as a uh I used to be head football coach at high school, how do I do it now as as the owner of of retail? And how do I bring all those experiences from high school, college, and professionally into the world that I live in today, which isn't any different. I'm just in charge of a different realm of athletes. It's it's the it's the professional associate retailers. Um we all still want the same things. Right. So I try to dummy it down a little bit, like, okay, here's what we're after. How are we going to do this collectively together to be the best we can be, to give our customers the the best experience? And that's what you're looking for as a coach. Like, I want to grow this young man or lady, and I want them to have and have the best experience they can possibly. And that could be in many different roles. It could be as a manager, as a video manager, as uh, you know, a guy that's on special teams or uh, you know, a prominent starter, maybe both ways. They still have to joy the enjoy the experience, and that they have to be great influences amongst their peers. Um, and you can take that from the athletic world to the retail world to to pretty much every walk of life.

SPEAKER_00 33:29

Yeah, I I think that one of the biggest, I mean, there's two big ones for me, and that would be dealing with adversity, handling adversity, just the the mindset, you know, and and and then the second thing, and you mentioned it earlier and spent some time on it, was communication and specifically effective communication. Because I mean, everything you're doing in the leadership roles, like you said, I mean, they haven't changed since high school, college, you know, professional days. And a lot of people think if they just communicate and they talk, it it's enough. But it's again, it's effective communication. Um, how do you communicate your wants, needs? You know, how do you communicate um you know, successes and failures, all that kind of stuff. And and so I'm glad you you pointed that out and brought that up. But uh, hey, I I really appreciate your time more than you know.

SPEAKER_02 34:28

Good seeing you. And uh uh I'm I'm sorry it's been so long, but uh there's a common thread, and that's the Hawkeye uh the bloodline. And uh yeah, appreciate you having me on anytime that uh I can help you out, let me let me know.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

I appreciate it. All right, Jared, hold on real quick, but thanks again, man. You bet, thank you.