Mark Duffner
Episode 214
6 MAR 2023
He has been a coach in the National Football League for 26 seasons, including serving as Senior Defensive Assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals for the last four seasons. Previously he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons, which had been preceded by two years on the coaching staff of the Miami Dolphins, after having spent eight years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also worked with the Green Bay Packers and has come full circle as his NFL coaching career started with Cincinnati in 1997. Prior to the NFL, he coached 22 years in the college ranks, including 11 as a head coach. Back in his days as a student-athlete he played college football at William & Mary and would later be inducted into the school’s hall of fame. On the faith side, he will be a speaker later this month at the National Men’s Conference. LISTEN IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW FOR WHAT AT ONE TIME HE WANTED TO BE AT SOME POINT IN HIS LIFE!
Notable guest quotes:
“We were regular Sunday Mass goers and – now that we’re in Lent – we would generally get together in the evening as a family and say the rosary.”
“We all went to Catholic school… a very active family growing up.”
“My father’s brother, Uncle Paul, was a Dominican priest and a very strong advocate for the rosary.”
“As a young man I was influenced very much by my uncle and then by other priests in our parish… and also, frankly, the influence I had from my teachers, which happened to be the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
“I had a great exposure to religious life, what that would be like, and certainly was looking at that strongly as a possible option for me as a career.”
“I have… become a Eucharistic Minister and sometimes utilize that responsibility in our Masses that we have for our team here with the Bengals.”
“I became the head coach at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts. That’s a Jesuit school.”
“I absolutely know for a fact that I was touched and led and guided by the Holy Spirit as we moved forward to bring the (Holy Cross football) program back on its feet a little bit.”
“The Catholic influence and certainly the Jesuit presence were extremely strong and instrumental in the recon(struction) of the (Holy Cross football) program.”
“All the teams in the NFL have a Catholic chaplain.”
“I’m talking (about) both the religious and personal character of your team and how they interact and how much they care about one another. And that sounds like coach speak, but it’s the truth. I think that any success that this team has had for the last two years – which has been strong, a Super Bowl competitor and an AFC Championship team competitor – has been evidenced because of the genuine relationships that have been formed, and certainly with Christ at the center of it all.”
“Every team that I’ve had the privilege to be a part of clearly has not only sometimes the on the field post-game prayer, but certainly has the – in the locker room – pre- AND post-game prayer and so that’s been a very integral part of gameday, if you will, for teams.”
Related link:
Mark’s bio on Bengals’ website
National Men’s Conference
