INDIANAPOLIS -- It's likely as the Scouting Combine runs its course that you'll hear the phrase, "Be aware of the next Mike Mamula."
Mamula was the Eagles' first-round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. The Eagles moved up from the 12th overall spot trading their first-round pick and two second-round picks to Tampa in exchange for the seventh-overall pick and a third-round selection.
A star at Boston College, Mamula had 39 sacks in his final two seasons playing outside linebacker and defensive end. He went to the Scouting Combine and thanks to the winter workouts in college, Mamula was prepared. Mamula's strength coach at Boston College was Jerry Palmieri, who is now the Giants strength coach, and he had his players do the Combine drills leading into the spring practices.
"All of those drills I had been doing probably for two years before I had to do them on the center stage," said Mamula, who prepped for the Combine drills before it became the common practice that is seen today. "It was muscle memorization at that point. You can't really teach a 38.5-inch vertical. In college, I was running a 4.49 (in the 40-yard dash). You really can't teach that kind of stuff."
Ray Rhodes, then coach of the Eagles, was enamored by Mamula after the Combine workout and made the move to acquire him. Mamula looked at the Combine numbers posted by linebacker Trev Alberts the previous year. Alberts was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the fifth-overall pick in 1994. Mamula knew that his draft stock improved with the Combine performance.
"I knew going into the Combine that I was going to do the things that I did. It was a perfect storm of technique and athleticism," Mamula said. "I knew with the senior season that I had in college and the numbers that I was going to put up that I had a good opportunity (to be picked high)."
In six NFL seasons all with the Eagles, Mamula played in 77 games. He is tied for 13th in franchise history with 31.5 sacks. Mamula notes that QB hurries wasn't a stat that was tracked when he played, but if it was he would have been a "hurry master." He was even named by his teammates the winner of the Ed Block Courage Award.
Injuries kept Mamula from being 100 percent and as a 6-4, 250-pound end he knew that he would be putting himself in harm's way if he continued to play. He retired in 2000 and still lives in the area with his wife and family. He has worked in sales for nearly eight years with Comprehensive Screening Solutions, a drug testing and background screening firm for businesses, along with another former Eagles defensive end, Mike Chalenski.
"I don't think a more perfect script could have been written for what went on in my life during that time," Mamula said reflecting on his career. "I don't discount anything that I did here in Philadelphia. It's one of the best cities in the country. I met my wife. We have a great family. I wouldn't change anything. It's all good in my eyes. I did the best that I could on every single play in Philadelphia. That's all you can do."
Mamula wasn't a superstar or a Pro Bowl player. If Mamula was drafted a round or two lower, his career would have been perceived as a very good one. But Mamula's mark on the game will be the cautionary tale of overvaluing the Scouting Combine. Is it Mamula's fault that he prepared for and aced his job interview? Despite all of the criticism, Mamula is able to see the good in that.
"If it's still out there, I did something great that they're still talking about it," he said. "To be honest with you, I don't hear it. I don't subscribe to the websites. I'm pretty busy in my life so that's something I don't regularly hear."
Mamula's fondest memory as an Eagle was the 4th-and-1 against the Cowboys in 1995 at Veterans Stadium. The Cowboys had the ball at their own 29-yard line with the game tied and just two minutes remaining. Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer went for it because of the wind. Dallas lined up Mamula's former Boston College teammate Ron Stone, who was an offensive tackle, at tight end directly against Mamula. The Eagles stuffed them, but the play had to be re-done because the game was not stopped at the two-minute warning. Dallas got another chance. Same result.
"Needless to say, they didn't get what they were looking for," Mamula said.
Still an Eagles fan to this day, Mamula continues to rave about playing for Andy Reid at the start of Reid's head coaching tenure in Philadelphia. Mamula has played for other coaches like Tom Coughlin, Dan Henning and Ray Rhodes in his college and professional career. Mamula thinks that Reid is a combination of the best of what those three coaches have to offer.
"I think he's a great motivator. He knows when to pull the reins back on guys. There's a whole psyche that goes along with playing. If you're getting beat down on a constant basis, you're not going to perform. He knows where that line is drawn and he never goes past it," Mamula said. "He knows how to keep guys focused and to the point so they get the goal."
As you check out the coverage of the Scouting Combine this week, expect to hear Mamula's name mentioned. And by his own account, that's fine with him.
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