'No One Player is Ever Above the Team'

It was February 2021, and Tony Washington Jr. found himself in a familiar place: Eugene, Oregon, and the Oregon football program.

Only this time, it was in a different capacity.

For Washington Jr., a former Ducks standout and 2015 Rose Bowl Defensive MVP, it was a full circle, “coming home” moment as he embarked on his new role and opportunity as the team's director of player development.

While Washington is forever linked to Eugene for his time in uniform and now on the sidelines, what makes him all the more dynamic of a leader is his grace, authenticity, resiliency and perspective on not just football but the game of life.

The Daily Coach caught up with Washington recently to discuss his journey from Southern California to Oregon, strategies to cultivate authentic relationships and his growth mindset to find purpose amidst grief.

This interview has been condensed and edited for brevity.

Tony, thanks for doing this. While Oregon has become a second home to you, tell us a little about your upbringing?

I am West Coast through and through. I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Inland Empire, which is about an hour away from Los Angeles, depending on traffic. Regardless of what was in front of my parents, they found a way to push through it.

They worked tirelessly to give my siblings and me a better education and help us have a better future. Basketball was the family sport, but nothing compared to football when I was on the field. The team dynamics of football fueled me. Once I realized what a scholarship was and how you could go to school to play a sport, that became my goal to get to college to play football. That was my one goal. I wasn't thinking of the NFL.

Academics, though, were big in the house growing up. If it were up to my mom, my siblings and I would have been getting academic scholarships.

When you went through the recruiting process and were deciding on colleges, what about Oregon solidified your decision to become a Duck?

I felt I could be at my best at Oregon and grow physically, athletically, socially, and in my career. The people at Oregon were unlike any other place I had been. It felt like they had my best interest. Other schools in my recruiting were focusing on me as the athlete. It felt like Oregon cared about me holistically as a person too.

How were you as a player, and what was your mindset?

I was an oversized linebacker and an undersized defensive end trying to play on the edge. I definitely was not the 5-star or 4-star coming out of high school. There was not a lot of opportunity and space for me on the field when I first arrived at Oregon. I definitely was the guy that had to work my way up.

I built my DNA around grinding it out, getting it out of the mud. I realized sometimes the results don’t come as quickly as you want them to. I didn’t want to be outworked, though. I wanted to ensure I wasn’t making mental errors when I did get my opportunity on the field. I was doing everything to learn. Eventually, I made my way onto the field to start two years for the Oregon Ducks.

You have played on championship teams and have been in some very special locker rooms. What have you learned about high-performing teams?

No one player is ever above the team. The team will always come first. Things start going haywire when you get into situations where your feelings are above what is best for the team.

In 2015, you signed with the Houston Texans, and a few years later, you had to make the difficult decision to hang up the cleats. How did you process the transition of no longer being able to play the game you loved?

When I got released in 2018, I was dealing with a serious injury the year prior. It was getting to the point where it was too much to go practice. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sustain this long term, so I hung up the cleats, and from there, I was trying to figure out what was next.

I did jobs from substitute teaching to working as a juvenile counselor before getting an opportunity to join the Nebraska Cornhuskers football program as a Graduate Assistant. I honestly wasn’t even looking to get into college sports or become a coach during this time. But the opportunity was too good to pass up. Many of the coaches at Nebraska coached me at Oregon. I knew the relationships I could build with the student-athletes, coaching staff, and the program would be beneficial for me. I knew it would be an opportunity to share my experience with these young men through the lens of coaching.

What have you learned about the power of relationships along your journey?

I never built relationships with people at Oregon because I knew I would return. I built relationships with individuals because I knew they could build me up as an individual and build me up as a professional. I wanted to latch on and learn as much as I could. I always try to be authentic and who I am and not do things for ulterior motives. If you get a solid and core group of individuals that will help you develop ― when preparation meets opportunity, you will be ready.

You have experienced unimaginable grief, losing your father before your senior year of high school and your mother as your NFL career was ending. How did you cope with those two experiences?

I don’t even know if words can express it. But the two experiences were different. When I lost my dad, I got an immediate sense of pride. I wanted to represent him the best way I could because I am a junior. Every time my name is anywhere, I feel like I am representing him. But when I lost my mom, it felt like I ran out of time. There was so much I wanted to do and accomplish and give to her. I wanted her to be around when I got my master’s degree and started a family. I felt like that was stripped from me.

I definitely had an identity crisis trying to figure out what was next for me. I have this servant mentality, and I always felt it was my job to give back to my mom the best I could. It took me a while, but now I find ways to give back in other ways when I invest in the future generation of Oregon football and our student-athletes.

How do you define self-leadership?

Having a burning desire to improve, ascend, reflect, and grow on your own. Understanding where you stand, what you feel, where you need to go, and how you will get there. Staying down and never giving up. Seeing it through. Having a vision for yourself and not letting anyone deter you from that.

What are three books that have impacted your life?

“Shoe Dog,” by Phil Knight“The Mamba Mentality,” by Kobe Bryant “Black Privilege,” by Charlamagne Tha God

What’s one quote you live by?

One of my former coaches told me, “The greatest gift you can have is God-given talent, and the worst thing you can do with that gift is not share it with anybody.”

It has always been about grinding my way up to the top while doing what I can to help others. There is always something you can give. Always somewhere you can grow and learn. We are never too big to offer guidance, and we are never too big to provide some assistance.

Q&A Resources

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