Arizona's Secret Weapon

When vaunted strength and conditioning coach John Lott arrived in Arizona two years ago, the team’s weight room was pre-historic. Five of the machines were from 1978 and their workout program had weak participation. Something needed to be done, and Lott does not seem like a man of half measures. 

“I got rid of everything in there,” Lott said.   

The Cardinals were known around the league for their out-dated ways.  Players knew it; reporters knew it.  In a league where the difference between winning and losing is so thin, this was a major competitive disadvantage.  After all, what’s more important than keeping your players healthy and on the field?  With Ken Whisenhunt fully on board and allowing plenty of freedom, Lott set out to change everything in the weight room.  

“I told Kenny don’t worry about the horses.  Just rob the bank,” the always-colorful Lott told me this week.

The results have been immediate.  Only four Cardinals are on injured reserve and all 53 men on the roster are expected to be available for Super Bowl Sunday.    The Cardinals franchise has drastically modernized since opening their new stadium and adding Whisenhunt.  Lott’s work with the strength and conditioning program was another building block for their success this year.

Lott, who played with the ’87 Steelers, is most famous nationally for his work at the NFL Scouting Combine.  When the NFL Network began to televise the event, Lott became something of a cult hero for all the dorks and fans like me who eat up the league’s coverage of the event.  Lott’s awesome weight exhortations of players, nicknames, and catch phrases add color to otherwise drab proceedings.  Most players seem to love it.

I asked Lott about why he thinks about become a favorite of the draftniks.

“I would call it being more of a representative of a normal person.  Professional sports has detached itself so far from the normal man.  I’m sure you’re not making $7 million this year. I know I’m not.  That is the detachment.  … What I try to do is draw that bridge back to us.  I try to bring these combine guys back to reality.  Back to where we are.  This isn’t a Wonderlic test.  Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth.  You’re about to get hit in the mouth.  And every position coach is going to see how you respond.”