Chiefs great DJ talks Super Bowl as he, Ned Yost, others join Missouri Sports Hall
A Super Bowl matchup of sorts came about a week early Sunday evening as former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson and former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Justin Smith were inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
“I’m favoring them to win,” Johnson said of the Chiefs’ chances in Super Bowl LIV next weekend in Miami. “(Justin and I) already had a bet on maybe some pushups. That’s about it right now.
“We respect each other’s game personally, but as soon as we saw each other, we were talking about the San Fran and Chiefs matchup. He’s got his predictions that are very well-spoken for, but I have mine and we’ll see who comes out on top on Super Bowl Sunday.
Johnson, a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Chiefs (2005-17), finished his career as the franchise’s all-time leader in tackles (1,151). He helped the Chiefs to six seasons of at least 10 wins and five playoff berths between 2010 and 2017.
Overall, he finished with 27.5 sacks, 40 quarterback hits and 14 interceptions.
Johnson said he was “overjoyed” when the Chiefs hoisted the Lamar Hunt Trophy Jan. 19 at Arrowhead Stadium as AFC champions after beating the Tennessee Titans to reach the Super Bowl.
It’s been a 50-year wait for the franchise.
“It was one of those things where you kind of feel a part of it,” Johnson said. “We didn’t actually play in the championship game, but all of the hard work we put in beforehand, building that great foundation to raise the level of play. They’ve taken it and run with it, and they’re doing a great job; so proud of them.”
Even though he played part of his final NFL season with the Oakland Raiders, Johnson signed a one-day contract with Kansas City last spring and retired as a Chief.
“I’ve been playing this game for a long time and I’ve given a lot to the game of football, and football’s given me a lot, too,” Johnson said. “To have my career of 13 years in Kansas City, what better way to go out and retire as a Chief, knowing that I’ve had some great years there ...
“The main thing that I’m going to miss about Kansas City is being in the locker room with the guys — that’s the thing that other people don’t see. It’s bittersweet. Obviously I want to play forever, but I think I did pretty good in Kansas City.”
Johnson also said there is a lot to like about this version of the Chiefs.
“The swagger that they have when they walk out on the field, the confidence level,” Johnson said, “you could see it in the first game of the playoffs. Down 24-0, they don’t blink. That doesn’t happen. They’re making us all proud. And, these aren’t old guys; they’re young guys who are going to be in the league for the next 10 years. We’re going to get used to this.”
Johnson, who said he’s currently finishing his degree at the University of Texas, plans on making the trip to Miami to hopefully watch the Chiefs win their first Super Bowl in half a century.
“This is a historic moment for the Chiefs,” Johnson said. “I played there for 13 years, so I know how big and how many years we’ve been waiting for this moment and, of course, it’s bittersweet. I would love to be helping them prepare to win the Super Bowl. But I’ll tell you what, I’m just proud of the guys. I know how hard they work and I know what it means to the fans in Kansas City. This is huge.”
Former 49er Smith starred at Jefferson City High and the University of Missouri before becoming an NFL standout. At Mizzou, he was two-time All-Big 12 and first-team All-America as a junior in 2000. He left Columbia holding the MU career sacks record, with 22.5 in just three years. He also broke MU’s single-season sacks record during his junior year with 11.
Smith was the fourth overall pick of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals and led them in sacks each of his first two seasons. He spent 14 seasons in the NFL, including the second half of his career with the 49ers, where he was named to five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2009-13 and was Sports Illustrated’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.
He made 185 consecutive starts and played in the 2013 Super Bowl — a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens — before retiring after the 2014 season.
“It’s cliché, but it’s the locker room, it’s the guys,” Smith said of what he misses about his playing days. “I don’t remember any of the games hardly, but the players and practices ... I don’t miss playing in the games or running out of the tunnel, I miss the guys, which everybody says because it’s true.”
Being from Missouri doesn’t mean that Smith will be rooting for the Chiefs Sunday — he actually was a St. Louis football Cardinals fan growing up.
And nowadays, of course, it’s 49ers all the way.
“One hundred percent,” Smith said of the 49ers’ chances against the Chiefs Sunday. “The (SF) defensive line is one of the best defensive lines ever assembled, honestly, and I think they’re going to carry the team. (Chiefs quarterback Patrick) Mahomes is great. The (Chiefs’) offense is great. But I think the Niners match up better than they do.”
Johnson and Smith were just two of Sunday night’s honorees in Springfield.
Here are some highlights:
Ned Yost, former KC Royals manager
Ned Yost is the winningest manager in Kansas City Royals history with 746 wins over 10 seasons (2010-19), which includes back-to-back American League Championship Series and the franchise’s first World Series title in 30 years in 2015.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Yost said of winning the World Series. “I never anticipated the impact it would have on the city. You want to win a world championship because that’s what you do.
“When we won the world championship in Atlanta, there was a lot of excitement and the parade was great, but it seemed like when the parade was over, it kind of got back to life as usual.
“But in Kansas City, everything changed from the time that we won the world championship for me. I still have people thanking me for the world championship, three or four years later. I appreciated it, but it was more of a group effort. We had great coaches, great players, great front office and we had a great owner and great general manager, who all played an integral part in those ’14 and ’15 years.”
Yost feels that the Royals are, and will be, in a good place as Mike Matheny takes over as manager. He said he knew Matheny was someone the Royals needed to bring aboard after he was fired by the St. Louis Cardinals.
“He’s the perfect guy for it,” Yost said. “Mike was right. You learn from situations. I learned a tremendous amount after I got fired in Milwaukee, and it made me a much better manager. Mike learned a tremendous amount from his time in St. Louis, which is going to make him a much better manager.
“I’ve always had the utmost respect for Mike Matheny, and he’s just going to do a fantastic job to the point where my all-time wins record as a manager for the Kansas City Royals may be in jeopardy in a couple of years. I just think he’s the perfect guy in the perfect situation. He and Dayton (Moore) are going to make a great team.”
Brad Ziegler, Missouri State, MLB
Brad Ziegler was a standout pitcher from Odessa, who had a record-setting career at Missouri State University, including a trip to the 2003 College World Series.
He finished as Missouri State’s all-time record-holder in wins (32), innings pitched, games started and strikeouts.
A starter throughout most of his career, Ziegler was converted to a reliever with a submarine delivery during his time with the Oakland Athletics. In 2008, he set a major-league record for scoreless innings to start a career (39), breaking a 101-year-old record previously held by George McQuillan (25 innings).
“They moved me to the bullpen and changed my delivery all at once,” Ziegler said. “It was tough at first, mentally, to think, ‘I’m not throwing overhand anymore.’ I had to mentally commit to it, and the A’s were really good about saying, ‘Look, if this doesn’t work, we want you back as an overhand starter. We feel like you do have a big-league career doing that, (but) we think this will help get you there quicker.’”
Upon his retirement from the Boston Red Sox in 2018 after 11 big-league seasons, Ziegler had induced 138 ground-ball double plays, the most among relievers since he arrived in the majors and 17th-most in MLB history.
Greg Oder, Blue Springs South (former)
Greg Oder was 148-55 overall as a high school football coach, guiding Blue Springs South from 2001-15, a run that included leading the Jaguars to four state championship games, winning three state titles (2006, 2011, 2015) and finishing runner-up in 2008.
Oder got his head coaching start at Plattsburg, where his teams went 27-8 in three seasons, before he moved on to Blue Springs South as defensive coordinator in 1992.
Oder now teaches at Mill Valley High School in Shawnee and helps with its football team.
“The players now are obviously bigger, faster, stronger; at least there are more of them who are bigger, faster, stronger,” Oder said. “The game, right now, is probably way safer than it has been because everybody’s paying a lot more attention to those kinds of things.
“I can remember back in 1995, when we went to the state championship at South whenever I was an assistant coach, our offense ran one formation. It’s so spread out now, everybody uses the whole entire field. It’s way different than it used to be, and because of that, defenses are way different than they used to be.”
Larry Holley: Pinnacle Award
Larry Holley, who coached for 51 seasons, including 48 as a college basketball coach, received the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame’s Pinnacle Award, presented for a lifetime of work enhancing sports in Missouri.
Among his honors, Holley compiled a 918-577 record, making him the all-time winningest coach among coaches at Missouri’s four-year colleges. He spent 40 of his 51 years coaching men’s basketball at William Jewell before retiring after the 2019 season. His all-time record: 831-458.
The 2009 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee led 14 teams to the NAIA Tournament, with four of those reaching the NAIA Final Four and three advancing to the Elite Eight. His teams also won 11 Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season crowns. He guided 25 William Jewell teams to 20-win seasons, and his program produced 24 All-Americans.
“It means a lot,” Holley said of the honor. “I’m a Missouri guy. I went to a small high school in north Missouri and my dad coached, so I was always in the gym with him and his players and they were my heroes. I grew up with the game of basketball in Missouri.
“It’s really special. Missouri is a special place to me, obviously, born and raised. I had a great life playing the game and a great life coaching the game.”
The rest of the Missouri Sports Hallf of Fame’s Class of 2020 includes:
Terry Pendleton, St. Louis Cardinals
Allen Treadwell, shooting sports & TV personality
John Richardson, track and field
Don West, broadcasting
Jim Morris, golf
Gerry Pollard, basketball official
Dr. Bernard Griesemer, aports medicine
Dave Neier, basketball coach
Springfield Catholic Lady Irish basketball program
The Chillicothe High School football program
The Ozark High School cheerleading program
Central Missouri’s 2003 baseball team
Killian Construction: John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award
Larry Holley: Pinnacle Award
Larry O’Reilly: President’s Award
Sharyn Wagoner: Summit Award
This story was originally published January 26, 2020 at 7:54 PM.