Next up on A Football Life: Marcus Allen (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network).
Here’s a link to the preview.
The essential information:
“If God put one person on this earth to be a professional football player, it would have been Marcus Allen.” – Marty Schottenheimer
As a Heisman Trophy winner, a first-round pick, a Super Bowl and league MVP, and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, running back Marcus Allen is one of the most talented and decorated players in football history.
NFL Network’s Emmy nominated series A Football Life continues Wednesday, December 12 at 8:00 PM ET with a chronicle of Allen’s football career, from his time as a two-way star at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Diego, California, to becoming the first running back in college history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season at USC, and to his career with the Los Angeles Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.
The one-hour documentary includes a sitdown interview with Allen, who describes his football life extensively, including the tumultuous relationship he had with the late Raiders owner, Al Davis. Additional interviews include former teammates Ronnie Lott, Howie Long, Jim Plunkett and Matt Millen, broadcaster Al Michaels, former Raiders Director of Player Personnel Ron Wolf, and Allen’s parents, Harold and Gwendolyn Allen.
Marcus Allen: A Football Life also includes footage from Allen’s interview with Michaels on December 14, 1992 for Monday Night Football in which he spoke publically regarding his relationship with Davis at the time, as well as Allen lighting the flame in honor of Al Davis in Oakland in September, 2012.
Marcus Allen: A Football Life includes interviews with the following people:
Marcus Allen
Harold “Red” Allen – Marcus’ father
Gwendolyn Allen – Marcus’ mother
Marty Schottenheimer – Kansas City Chiefs head coach, 1989-98
Ronnie Lott – Teammate of Marcus at USC and with the Raiders
John Robinson – USC head coach, 1976-82, & 1993-97
Howie Long – Raiders defensive end, 1981-93
Al Michaels – Broadcaster
Ron Wolf – Former Raiders Personnel Director
Jim Plunkett – Raiders quarterback, 1979-87
Matt Millen – Raiders linebacker, 1980-88
Terry Robiskie – Raiders assistant coach, 1982-93
Carl Peterson – Chiefs general manager, 1989-2008
Tim Grunhard – Chiefs center, 1990-2000
Emmy-nominated actor from CBS’ The Good Wife, Josh Charles, narrates.
Following are select quotes from Marcus Allen: A Football Life:
– “If God put one person on this earth to be a professional football player, it would have been Marcus Allen.” – Marty Schottenheimer
– “There are two types of players: those who know and those who don’t. The smartest ones usually play the longest and [are] usually the most successful.” – Marcus Allen
– “I never quite understood what made things go bad. To me, the whole thing was a waste of great talent and energy. If you don’t like me, let me go.” – Allen on his relationship with Raiders owner Al Davis
– “He never complained. He knew that there was a sacrifice to be made for this team.” – Ronnie Lott on Marcus Allen playing fullback at USC
– “There wasn’t one aspect of playing the position that Marcus didn’t excel at. You could name 20 running backs who were bigger, stronger, faster. You couldn’t name two or three running backs who were as versatile.” – Howie Long
– “I can recall talking with Al about Marcus and he felt at some point that Marcus was getting bigger than the Raiders. He had a hard time with that because it was always about the Raiders. Whatever the split was, that caused that.” – Ron Wolf
– “Al took him from a Hall of Fame running back and turned him into a fullback for Bo [Jackson]. Marcus did it, but we would go, ‘Why are we not using this guy?’ We knew something was up.” – Matt Millen