When I was a player, I put a lot more hours into my work than most of the majority of my teammates, but at least I had days off. As a coach, it’s a different story. The hours are even longer and days off cease to exist.

On top of this, during the last two years, the team hasn’t seen much success. Of course, I wanted the stress and frustration from the team to stay at work and not interfere with my family life. I tried to keep it all at the office, but there was a period of time when I brought these emotions home with me in the evenings.

I was frustrated and irritable. I remember one day, I sat down on the couch with my wife and daughters and apologized to them. I explained to them that I had not been myself lately, that I was trying to handle my new job and that the last thing I wanted was for the failures of the team to affect them.

I had been doing this to them for a full month before I finally brought it up. I wanted to tell them that it had nothing to do with them, and that I would make things better. I had spent almost the entirety of my life up to this point devoted to football — it was my passion and my job — but it’s not everything in life.

My wife and I have both fought and beaten cancer. Yes, my job frustrates me sometimes, but knowing we are both healthy now, that we have another chance at life, helps me put things into perspective.