One-on-One With Jerry Rice, Part I

In this FanHouse exclusive interview, senior NFL writer Nancy Gay sits down with legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice to discuss the Super Bowl, his career and his pending Hall of Fame candidacy. The following is part one of the two-part interview. Read Part II here.

Jerry Rice has known for more than a decade that the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee would check his name unanimously on its ballots as soon as it appeared. The only obstacle was when the NFL's most dominant wide receiver would choose to retire, allowing the five-year window leading to induction to begin.

As the Hall of Fame's San Francisco representative and a former 49ers beat writer, it will be my privilege on Saturday to present Rice's candidacy to my 43 fellow selectors, along with his 49ers' teammates and fellow finalists, running back Roger Craig and linebacker/defensive end Charles Haley.

I suspect two words -- "Jerry Rice" -- will suffice.

How does a slam-dunk Hall of Fame player feel days before he receives the ultimate stamp of greatness on his NFL career? A relaxed, jovial and reflective Rice sat down with me just before leaving the San Francisco Bay Area for South Florida, to ready himself for the Hall of Fame announcement and Super Bowl XLIV.

Nancy Gay: Jerry, you've known for so long that you were going to be a Hall of Famer. It's never been in doubt. Now that day is finally approaching. Has the wait been tough?

Jerry Rice: I knew eventually it was going to happen. But I didn't expect it to happen so fast. I never take anything for granted. I was the same way when I got drafted, you know -- everyone was predicting that, 'Hey, you're going to go in the first round, you're going to get drafted high.' I took the opposite approach, in case it didn't happen, I wouldn't be so disappointed.

I'm excited, but I'm nervous. It's one of those things, too, like what Michael Jordan said: 'Once you get inducted into the Hall, you know it's over (laughter).' The passion that you loved, something you really enjoyed doing for so many years, it's over.

But there are a lot of other things in life right now that are very interesting for me. But that passion for football, God ... I can't get it out of my system! I watch it on television and I say, 'You know, I'm better than that guy! (laughter). I can still go out there, get open and make those catches.'

Gay: So you're pretty sure you could have done as well as, say, [Colts receiver] Pierre Garcon in the AFC Championship Game?

Rice: (Laughter) I think I could have shut him down completely. But you have to hand it to Peyton Manning. In that scenario, they went away from Reggie Wayne. They had the best corner, Darrelle Revis, on Reggie Wayne, and the Jets decided to go to what they thought was the weakness. And Garcon, he just had an unbelievable game. He was catching everything.

Gay: Manning is so good at putting the ball into his receivers' hands, isn't he? But the Colts' young receivers are very talented.

Rice: I was very impressed with them. And I'm sure it's going to open up things for Reggie Wayne. Because if you want to dictate your defense to the best receiver, if you've got some guys on the opposite side that can beat you, it's only going to make things better for him.


Gay: What do you think of the Super Bowl matchup?

Rice: I have to say, I was sort of leaning toward the Jets. You know why? Because it was one of those scenarios where Brett [Favre] was there last year [in New York] and it didn't go that well. That team, they were so close. They had some adversity. And then Mark Sanchez, he comes in this season and he has a growing year as a rookie, but a very good one. He did some great things. What really hurt the Jets is when their starting running back (Shonn Greene) went down and they couldn't establish their running game.

But I thought it would be the Jets and the Saints (in the Super Bowl). I also thought about the possibility of the Jets and Minnesota, with Brett Favre. But Minnesota, you cannot win with five or six turnovers. The Vikings still had a chance at the end, but the odds are pretty much against you with that many turnovers. And that pass that Brett Favre threw, back across the field -- as a quarterback, you know not to do that.

Gay: Do you have a Super Bowl favorite? How about a prediction?

Rice: I'm going with the Saints. And even though I couldn't stand them back in the day -- we played them twice a year (in the former NFC West alignment) and it was always tough playing in New Orleans -- it's good for that city. What that city has gone through. And their quarterback, Drew Brees, is amazing. They have so many weapons.

The funny thing is, Reggie Bush was a factor in the game before (New Orleans' 45-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals). But in this game (the NFC divisional victory over the Vikings), he caught a touchdown, but then he wasn't much of a factor.

Gay: Bush is a great player, but he had that muffed punt, so you never know what you may get week to week with him.

Rice: There just not that consistency there. But hopefully in the Super Bowl, everyone is raring to go, and they go out there and have a good game.

Gay: There are some outstanding receivers in this Super Bowl -- we've talked about the Colts, with Garcon, Austin Collie, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark. With the Saints, you have Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson ...

Rice: Definitely Colston, Henderson, the other guys -- they've got the weapons. Now, it's just finding some defense. That's going to be very important. And for some reason, I give that edge to New Orleans -- I think with Darren Sharper being in that secondary. And there is just something about those Saints this year. They lost their last three regular-season ballgames.

I think this team is destined. But it's going to be hard to beat No. 18 (Peyton Manning) , though.

Gay: You have a score for me, Jerry?

Rice: I'm thinking New Orleans is going to win somehow, the defense will step up. So I'm going to keep it around 26 points. Keep it under 30. If they can keep the score under 30, they will win.

Gay: Jerry, I have to pin you down for a score here.

Rice: OK, OK ... Let's say 26-20.

Gay: So how are you getting ready for your big week?

Rice: On Thursday, I'm having my Super Bowl party. It's called 'Miami Rice.' And the proceeds will go towards the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis (7-10 p.m., Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Fla.). I'm trying to get a lot of players to come and support that, raise a lot of money. I'm excited about that. So I have all my guys coming -- Steve Young, Joe Montana, Nick Lachey is coming, and Drew Lachey is coming, who I can't stand (laughter).

Gay: Why are you so down on Drew? Because he and Cheryl Burke beat you and Anna Trebunskaya in "Dancing With the Stars"?

Rice: (Laughing) I invited Nick but I said, 'Hey, why don't you bring that brother of yours, too. But there will be a lot of players -- Terrell Owens, for one.

Then, leading up to that big day when they're going to make that [Hall of Fame] announcement, I'm ... look, I'm very superstitious. I never make predictions. But the guys that made the final 15, it would be great for Emmitt Smith, Roger Craig, Charles Haley, Tim Brown, it would be great for those guys to get in.


Gay: You're going in as a finalist with so many guys that you played with – you and Tim Brown on the Raiders. Obviously you and Roger Craig and Charles Haley spent many years together with the 49ers, on those championship teams.

Rice: And Roger, he was the first running back to go 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving the same season (in 1986, Craig rushed for 1,050 yards on 214 carries and led the NFL with 92 catches for 1,016 yards and a combined 15 touchdowns).

Then Charles Haley, who we traded to the Dallas Cowboys and gave them the greatest pass rusher in the game, that was really stupid and crazy. But what he did for the game was amazing. And Tim Brown, lining up with this guy, his work ethic, his leadership. I think everyone really deserves it. Cris Carter is on there (the finalist list).

Gay: And Andre Reed.

Rice: Yeah. It's very loaded. It's going be difficult for me to get in there! I'm serious! (Laughter) Oooh, I'm sweating, big time.

Gay: But Jerry, we have looked ahead to this for so long, we've talked about it. What will be the most gratifying thing for you when it finally happens?

Rice: I think being able to say thank you to all the fans, for all the support over the years. The media. My family, my friends. Everybody who supported me. You know, Bill Walsh, he would have presented me.

Gay: Who will present you now?

Rice: Eddie DeBartolo. Eddie is going to do it. The funny thing is though, I sort of sense something. Now, I'm not trying to look too far ahead. This is just in case I get in. But Bill Walsh, he was a genius. And he would always script the first 15 [plays]. He would always game plan the first 15. So I'm just curious if [Walsh] has a surprise for me on this day.

We talked about this over and over again, even towards the end (before Walsh's death from leukemia on July 30, 2007) and he would come out and say, 'Jerry, I'm going to say this, or I'm going to say that about you.' So I don't know about him. I expect he'll have something for me, some surprise.

We talked about this day, about everything. And even toward the end, I would run into him at Sharon Heights (Country Club, Menlo Park, Calif.) and he was always, 'When are we going to go out and play some golf so I can take some money from you?' He would never, ever, let you know that he was really sick. And he knew what was going to happen. But when you saw him, he was always smiling and cracking jokes.

This man, he did wonders for me.

Gay: How much will you miss Bill when your name is announced as a Hall of Famer, and in Canton on Enshrinement Day? His bust will be in that building next door, watching you.

Rice: Oh my God ... I know. I'll miss him, a lot. Because without Bill Walsh, I wouldn't have gotten that chance to live a dream. Coming from small Mississippi Valley State University, then after being drafted by the Niners, coming in here, dropping balls, and everyone was looking at Bill and saying, 'Man, you had to be stupid for drafting this guy!

Gay: You know, he stood up in the draft room that day and he was your No. 1 advocate (Rice was the Niners' first-round pick, No. 16 overall, in 1985).

Rice: He is the main reason why I became a 49er.

Gay: Who was the first guy to run through the end zone with the ball during 49ers' practices? Was it you, or was it Roger Craig?

Rice: You know what happened? This was sort of weird, because when I first came in, I always had a work ethic. I sort of got into Roger's workout program a little bit. I was training with him, and they ran me away at first. I thought I was this young athlete in such great shape, and they had a [hill-climbing] regimen that was crazy. So I had to come back and conquer that at first.

The hill, doing the track workout, the field work, all of that. But I couldn't let that get the best of me. I had to come back,and I conquered that.

And it all just sort of happened, catching the ball and then finishing. The funny thing was, Dwight Clark, Joe Montana, all those guys were like, 'What is this rookie doing?' I would catch the ball and sprint 80 yards. So I think they all thought this rookie was trying to show us up.

But I was conditioning myself. So that when I caught the football, it was automatic. I didn't have to think about it, going straight to the end zone. And then all of a sudden, Roger was doing it. Roger would finish, but Roger wouldn't finish that far. Roger would finish 15 or 20 yards.

But I wanted [the end zone] to be an instinct. I didn't want it to be, 'Oh, I just caught the ball. Now, what are you going to do?' So finishing, it became my trademark. And Roger Craig started doing it, John Taylor, Brent Jones, all the guys. It was like, whoever caught the ball, it was like everybody racing.

When you had guys racing like that, whoever caught the ball, you had blockers down there, guys who could spring you for the big one. It's just like the game in Los Angeles against the Rams (Monday Night game, Dec. 11, 1989) when John [Taylor] had two 90-plus yard touchdown catches. It was one of those examples where we all just sprinted down and got into position and we were able to get him in.