Mothers, don't let your children grow up to be NFL scouts.
On Good Morning Football on Wednesday, Titans general manager Jon Robinson heaped praise on first-round pick Corey Davis, saying that the 6-foot-2 Central Michigan standout "had just one scholarship offer and kind of had a chip on his shoulder. He went out and proved he was a really, really good football player."
But before Robinson was in the position to rebuild the Titans and make those assessments, he was a young scout on the road. Like many of us, he feared his kidney would one day be stolen in some seedy motel.
"Lotta nights on the road," Robinson said. "Traveling after practice. I think one of my -- I don't know if it's saddest memories, but I drove out after practice this one night at 8 p.m., drove about seven hours to get to the school the next morning. I won't mention the name of the hotel but the door was a little loose, it was one of those outside (rooms) where you had to enter from the outside.
"It was right beside the interstate, so I was a little nervous. I took my couch and moved it over in front of the door just in case if someone did jump in and try and steal a kidney for 50 bucks, he'd have to get over the couch."
The full interview with Robinson is worth watching, if only to compare the fear he has for potentially getting his kidney stolen to the fear he had addressing his former boss, Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Apparently, non-consenting organ removal is preferable to Belichick staring you down and teaching you how to scout defensive linemen.
Robinson also gets into his emotional bid at the JDRF gala, where he purchased a painting for $10,000 to benefit Type 1 Diabetes research -- a disease Robinson's daughter, Taylor, was diagnosed with a few years ago. If you have yet to see the footage, it's a good reminder of what is really important in this world. It also draws attention to a very worthy cause.
The second-year GM is becoming a popular personality in Nashville, not only for moments like the JDRF gala bid, but for interviews like these. Robinson has a solid, dry sense of humor and isn't as walled off as some executives around the league.
Perhaps that no fear, no worries mentality comes from surviving all those creepy motels. What could be worse, right?
