NFL

A full life off the sideline

By DAVE SCHEIBER
Published November 27, 2005

CATCHING UP WITH ...

Wayne Fontes, a former Bucs coach, enjoys quiet days with his family in Tarpon Springs. But he still recalls fond memories of the NFL.

Wayne Fontes once lived life on the sideline, looking at the legendary likes of Lee Roy Selmon and Barry Sanders.

Today he lives it by the shoreline, looking at the Gulf of Mexico from the waterfront home he shares with wife Evelyn in Tarpon Springs.

"I've been totally retired for nine years now," said Fontes, 66. "I haven't done anything in football or any other ventures. I've just been sitting back and enjoying my family, my kids and grandchildren."

He was once a fixture of the young Buccaneer franchise, serving as Tampa Bay's first defensive backfield coach from 1976-81 and then as defensive coordinator from 1982-84.

He called the shots in Detroit as coach from 1988-96, finishing with a record of 66-67, with five trips to the playoffs. But when the Lions cleaned house after the '96 season, Fontes returned to the house he and Evelyn built in Tarpon Springs and said goodbye to the game for good.

"A lot of people just retire and they need to go back and do something," he said. "But I'm very fortunate. I didn't look back, and I'm enjoying myself.

"I get up when I want," he said. "My wife takes great care of me. I get up and go to the gym and swim and get in the Jacuzzi to help my back out. I'll take my wife to lunch maybe three days a week. We go to dinner maybe two nights a week. We go all over and have lots of fun."

Their three children - Michael, 40, Scott, 38, and Kimberly, 36 - live in the Tampa Bay area, which means frequent visits with the five grandkids, from ages 4 to 9. "I spend a lot of time with them," he said.

He still holds many fond football memories, such as helping forge the Bucs' hard-nosed defense under coach John McKay and reaching three playoff berths in four seasons. "I was lucky to coach the players I did," he said.

Fontes especially recalls the impact of future Hall of Fame defensive end Selmon and quarterback Doug Williams, who helped lead the Bucs to within a game of the Super Bowl in the team's fourth season. "They were not only great players but great people," he said. "And when we lost those guys, the team started to go downhill."

The players hoped Fontes would replace McKay when he retired after the '84 season, but owner Hugh Culverhouse hired Leeman Bennett. "I wanted the job, there was no question about it, because I had great ties in the city and with the players," he said. "But it didn't work out. They shut the door on me, and another door opened up. I walked through it, and the rest is history."

Fontes recalls the strong chemistry of his Lions teams and the thrill of watching rookie running back Sanders blossom into a superstar. A year after Fontes left, Sanders stunned the NFL by leaving the game, too. "It definitely surprised me," Fontes said. "He could have broken every record known to man. But that wasn't important to him."

Fontes still follows the Bucs closely, talking often with former Bucs assistant coach and personnel man Jim Gruden, father of coach Jon Gruden.

"I'm impressed with the way coach Gruden has put this team together and how he has blended the youth with the experienced players," he said. "They're doing a great job."

Fontes received offers to return to coaching after leaving Detroit but wasn't interested. Now his game is golf. He had to give it up recently to have back surgery, but "it's healed up." And life has never been better.

[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:18:21]