Road to 1991 Perfection: Don James' Thursday Talks Made People Listen
Leif Johnson always looked forward to Thursdays.
A fullback for the 1991 national championship team, Johnson and his University of Washington teammates went through intense practice sessions from Monday through Wednesday.
On Saturday, they put everything in motion against some hapless opponent.
They traveled half of the time on Fridays and always recovered on Sundays.
Thursdays, however, were set aside for a moment of reflection.
While the Huskies typically went through a walk-through that day on the field, reaffirming their tactical approach, coach Don James came into the meeting room and always took 15 minutes or more to address his players.
He stood in front of them, notes in hand, and spoke on any number of subjects that didn't involve football.
"It was probably one of my favorite parts of the time," said Johnson, who became an investment banker. "You'd just sit there and soak it up. And it wasn't necessarily a bunch of football guys talking about football. It was a leader talking about leadership. It was really fun. I loved those talks."
This is another in series of vignettes about the UW 1991 national championship football team, filling in the conversation before the pandemic-delayed season begins next month. This is week 7 against Oregon of a perfect 12-0 run.
Every Thursday, James spoke without fail.
Not overly charismatic like some other coaches, he left a message that was deeply impactful.
James' talks made such an impression on his players through the years that Pete Tormey, a UW linebacker who became a Gonzaga University professor, wrote a book about them called Thursday Speeches.
It was times like these, that Johnson, Tormey and the others realized they had someone special leading the through the football season. And, whether they knew it or not, through life in general.
"He just happened to be a football coach," Johnson said. "Don James would be a magnificent executive in any kind of business. He was really, really skilled on the organizational side. It was very different from a lot of football coaches. I think they put on their hats and say the right things, but they run off the seat of their pants."
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