Newly minted Northern Illinois football coach Thomas Hammock spent the past five seasons as running backs coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and his first year on the job was tumultuous to say the least. During Hammock’s third month on the job, the video of Ray Rice beating his fiancee was released, and the team promptly terminated the contract of the franchise’s all-time second leading rusher.
On Friday, Hammock, a NIU alum, was introduced to the Chicago media as the next head football coach. During the media session, Hammock was asked about how he grew and developed as a person during his time in Baltimore.
“One year in the pros is like two or three years in college,” Hammock responded, referring to on-the-field matters.
Hammock further described “the volume of different defenses that you see week to week, and the amount of offense that you install.” Hammock himself is a former tailback, as he’s part of the great NIU tradition at the position that includes Michael “the burner” Turner, Garrett Wolfe and others. Hammock still ranks 13th on the all-time list of Huskies rushers.
The new Huskies coach is only 37, but he grew and developed a lot during his time in the NFL.
The focal point of his position group was arguably the number one story in sports as the season began, and certainly the top story in the NFL that autumn. After the release of the elevator video, Rice was suspended indefinitely by the league office, but eventually reinstated after he successfully appealed the decision in federal courts.
As for Rice and the Ravens, they settled out of court in January of 2015. Rice demanded $3.5 million in back pay, and although the details of the settlement were not made public, it is widely believed that he received most of the amount he sought.
Rice vowed to donate any earnings accumulated from the 2016 season to domestic violence charities, but no team wanted anything to do with him. He was essentially forced into retirement at age 27.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.