On a summer day in 2011, Herm Edwards met with NFL rookies at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. The former NFL coach was a guest speaker at “The Business of NFL: Rookie Edition,” an NFL Players Association event designed to prepare newcomers for the complex life of professional sports.
Edwards is a natural at this. He is direct yet humorous, and he has the football background that demands respect. Dressed in a maroon polo and khaki pants, he walked from one side of the stage to the other, explaining his credentials in the sport in which his audience longed to enter.