Bengal Football Alumni Return to Pocatello

 
POCATELLO, Idaho- Before retiring in 2015, Jerry Bird spent 30 coaching high school football with the majority of his time being spent coaching in the state of Texas. As Bird succeeded in his profession it was the experiences he had while playing at Idaho State that laid the foundation for his future.

The two individuals that laid the path for Bird's future was former Bengal coach Dave Kragthorpe and quarterback Mike Machurek.

Bird was one of 40 freshman that came to Idaho State in 1978 but by the time the 1981 National Championship season came he was one of only seven remaining players on the roster from that recruiting class.

"It would have been easy those first few years to walk away," Bird said. "It taught me that if you believe and care about something you just never quit. That has helped me throughout my life."

In 1980 coach Kragthorpe came to Pocatello and led the Bengals to a 6-5 season and a year later the Bengals went 12-1 and captured the National Championship. The team's success on the field can be attributed to how quickly the team developed its chemistry off the field.

"Coach Kragthorpe came in with Mike's group," Bird said. "We got that closeness right away and built that relationship. What that taught me the most is if you believe in something and have a goal and you want to succeed at something you never quit.  The ability to trust people when they come into your life is important. In football your team has to be your family. You have to bring people in."

That is exactly what the 1981 Bengal football team did. They embraced each other. And 35 years later they continue to embrace, support and emulate the examples of their Bengal teammates and coaches.

For Bird, Machurek played an important role in his life while coaching quarterbacks in high school.

"I coached quarterbacks for 25 years," Bird said. "As I coached quarterbacks I realized why Mike was so good. I wanted to teach my guys the tools Mike had to be great. It didn't matter if you liked me or not you are going to work hard and you are going to respect the game of football and you are going to be prepared. He (Mike Machurek) demanded us to do things as a quarterback which is what you want. He was going to have high expectations of his whole offensive unit and that created a dynamic so we could be successful through Mike's leadership. Sometimes we didn't like it but without it I don't know that we would have had success."

Bird added that he didn't quite understand the tools Machurek brought to the Bengals until he started coaching.

"As I got into coaching I realized I wanted to emulate Mike with the quarterbacks I coached in high school and it worked tremendously," Bird said. "If we were friends that was ok. He made sure we were ready to play. He demanded respect not friendship and the friendship came out of that respect."

Bird, Machurek and other members of the 1981 team keep in regular contact and a big reason for that continued closeness is the example coach Kragthorpe left with each player.

"He still calls us to see how we are doing," Machurek said. "It means a lot. Because of that, it has carried over to us. We still like to talk to all the guys and Dave still leads the way."

Bird attended the five-year reunion of the 1981 title team but after that his coaching duties prevented him from attending.

"Coach Kragthorpe always took the time to sit down and call me during that time," Bird said. "That is unbelievable to me that he would take the time to call and see how I am doing. He did that three or four times. I always tried to emulate him while I was coaching."

Machurek and Bird both said it was easy for them to believe they could be successful as a team with Kragthorpe at the helm.

"He was a coach that demanded us to be perfect," Machurek said. "He was the most professional coach I have ever been around. He was stern but he gave us room to work. He believed in us. It was easy to believe that we could win through him."

Machurek, Bird along with over 100 former Bengal football players were in Pocatello this weekend for the Football Alumni Team reunion. The event included a get together on Friday night and golf on Saturday.

Cincinnati Bengals Head coach Marvin Lewis and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter participated in the event.

"It is like we never stopped playing together," Machurek said on the reunion. "When we get together it is just like it was in 1981. We have been getting together about every five years and it seems like more guys are coming back every year. We call each other quite often. Nothing has changed over the last 35 years. It is such a great feeling."