Over his 16-year NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, center Kevin Mawae earned eight trips to the Pro Bowl and was named to the 2000s All-Decade team. Known as one of the league’s premier players, the 6-foot-4-inch, 290-pound center was a mauler in the running game, paving the way for Pro Bowlers Curtis Martin and Chris Johnson.
Perhaps best remembered for his time on the field, Mawae’s contribution to both the NFL and his community stretch far longer than 100 yards. After joining the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) in 1999 as a player representative, Mawae was appointed NFLPA president in 2008. Mawae has also been involved with multiple charitable causes.
Following retirement, Mawae began working as an unpaid strength and conditioning intern for Vanderbilt University’s football program. The Vanderbilt Hustler’s L.J. Rader sat down with him last week to discuss life after football and his transition from the NFL to Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt Hustler: Besides Vandy’s proximity to your family, what are some things that attracted you to the program?
Kevin Mawae: It’s a great opportunity to get my foot in the door, and college coaching is something that I like to do. I think every player that played (in) college probably thought maybe they wanted to be a coach at one point or another. This is my opportunity, just 16 years later.
VH: What have you focused on in the training program, and what changes have you made?
KM: The internship is just an opportunity to be around the players and give whatever help I can. I’m here to serve the coaching staff and just be around the young guys and impart any kind of game wisdom that I can from my experience to their’s, but college football is a different game than the NFL is. I’m just here to observe and help out whenever I can.
VH: We’ve touched on Kevin Mawae the coach, but what about Kevin Mawae the president?
KM: Being the president is an opportunity to serve the guys I’ve played with. Part of the role of the president is to communicate the (NFLPA’s) message to the players and the media, and to understand what the issues are that concern us — the players (and) the fans. It’s an honor to be selected as the president and represent 1900 NFL players, especially now, because I think the biggest responsibility we have is to get a collective bargaining agreement into place — one that’s fair and equitable for the players as much as it is for the owners, but ultimately it’s taking care of the players.
VH: Now, Kevin Mawae the father. What’s it like to have more time with your wife and kids?
KM: I’d say being here at Vanderbilt with the football program has taken up the time I thought I was going to have. The NFL schedule is a lot different than the college schedule. In the NFL, you go to work at 7:30, you’re home by 5:30. With college football, you have all day to be around the facility or athletics department and things like that. In my case, I could be at home with my wife, but my kids are at school during that time and the Vanderbilt kids are (in class). So, we don’t start practice till 4:30 or 5:00. (As an unpaid intern,) I can come and go when I want to, but when I’m here, I’m 100 percent here.
VH: Your philanthropy has been well documented. Can you talk about some of your service projects, and what it means to participate in them with your family?
KM: I give to my church because I know what they do, and I know that every dime I give to the church in turn goes to the community. On top of that, we donate to Nashville ministries. …Mercy Ministry is one we feel very strongly about. It gives young ladies hope, and we truly believe (in) what Nancy Alcorn is doing there. We have some friends that run a ministry called A-21, a ministry that helps to prevent human trafficking. The one we’re really closely tied to that we feel dear about is called Children’s Cup, an international missions group that provides feeding and care centers for orphans, particularly in South Africa. A couple of years ago, we spent two weeks over there. They just completed a $600,000 project, and because of our platform, we were able to fully fund that project.
VH: Player, coach, mentor, father, husband, president, philanthropist. Do you have plans to add any other titles to the list?
KM: Those titles are man-made. They are things I don’t hang my hat on. I just want to be a man of character, a man of integrity, and hopefully I’ve done that. At the end of the day, I want to leave a legacy. I’ve left a legacy on the field as a football player. When I’m dead and gone, I want to be able to leave a legacy as a great father and great husband, and everything outside of that doesn’t matter.
