MANKATO, Minn. (WCCO) — Kirby Wilson remembers every running back he’s ever worked with. He keeps a list. It now has 107 names on it.
“I’ve worked with 107 different running backs in my career,” Wilson told WCCO after a recent practice. “I keep track every time.”
In an 18-year NFL coaching career spent entirely coaching running backs, Wilson has had some good ones. Of the NFL’s list of all-time rushing yardage leaders, Wilson has coached five of the top 28: Emmitt Smith, Curtis Martin, Edgerrin James, Thomas Jones and Adrian Peterson.
A group with whom he’s not too proud to say, he learned more than he taught.