Whenever I would check in with Bruce DeHaven after he left for Buffalo in August, the Carolina Panthers special teams advisor would ask about the goings-on with the team.
But DeHaven always made a point to tell me to spend as much time as I could with my family. It wasn't idle talk. He understood the importance of being close to the ones you love.
After DeHaven died Tuesday evening following a lengthy battle with cancer, his former players and colleagues heaped praise on a man who spent 30 years in the NFL and was widely regarded as one of the league's best special teams coaches.