The otherwise relentlessly driven Seattle Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald had a rather unusual look on his face across from his players. Fresh off a Super Bowl win, the Seahawks witnessed a vulnerable side of their HC, captured on the latest episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks. With a tribute slide displayed behind him, Macdonald shared the heartbreaking news that his longtime mentor and former NFL linebacker O.J. Brigance had passed away (August 17) at 56 years of age after battling ALS for 19 years.
“This is a full-circle life thing,” Mike Macdonald said, looking visibly grief-stricken and on the verge of breaking down into tears, via NFL’s recent X post.
“Man, this one’s really, really tough, guys, but I just… I wanted to share with you guys because, one, he’s a great friend of mine and I just… I tried to write down, like, what it meant to me, like what he was. He’s like what a man is to me. Just a strong guy, you know? Like his faith, his family. For him to show up with the attitude that he used to have.”
OJ Brigance played a 7-year-long NFL career as a linebacker with 4 different teams, including the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams, and New England Patriots. Brigance will be remembered forever for making the first tackle in Super Bowl XXXV in 2001 as a LB for the Ravens. The same franchise where Mike Macdonald has previously served as a LB coach and DC. Mike and OJ’s friendship grew stronger in Baltimore during their time together.
It started back in 2014 when Macdonald arrived in Baltimore as a coaching intern. Working out of the Under Armour Performance Center, Brigance served as the Ravens’ Director of Player Development. Whenever Macdonald felt things weren’t going right, he would find OJ, thinking the latter would have some secret words and bring some comfort, adding that the former LB had a great sense of humor. And OJ Brigance would just tell him, “Dude, it’s going to be all right.”
Orenthial James Brigance was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, AKA ALS, in 2007. While ALS left him unable to speak or move, Brigance wasn’t one to give up. He kept inspiring others with a mind that was stronger than most. Brigance showed up to the Baltimore Ravens facility every day for nearly two decades using a motorized wheelchair and communication device after being appointed the Director of Player Development in 2004.
“I have refused to give in to my circumstance. I don’t think anyone would blame me for going into seclusion and [living] a life in the shadows, but that would be a waste. I recently received letters from a fifth-grade class [that] studied the story of Joseph from the Bible and thought his attitude was similar to mine in my fight against ALS. When I hear of how my trials have encouraged others, it shows me the purpose behind what we are enduring.
“The weight of possibly being dead by the age of 40 brought me to tears. Once my wife and I finished being sorry for ourselves, we decided to dry our tears and fight,” Brigance told The Baltimore Magazine’s Mike Unger in 2014.
Alongside his wife Chanda, he established the Brigance Brigade Foundation in 2007 to provide essential equipment and support to families facing ALS. This earned him major national recognition, including the NFL’s George Halas Award in 2015 and the NCAA Inspiration Award in 2016.
In the recent episode of Hard Knocks, Mike Macdonald concluded his speech by adding that he is blessed to be able to communicate with his team and be the team head coach.
“We owe it to him just by having a great day, you know? Just being us. Loving each other, man. Just great perspective. You know, just how blessed are we that we get to go do what we do with you guys? Just… It’s just… we’re going to miss him, you know?”
In the middle of his tribute, Macdonald told his players how OJ was rooting for the Seahawks all year long last season, even though he hadn’t met any of the players. And with how things turned out, what’s to say it wasn’t the manifestation of OJ Brigance and the strength of his willpower that played a part in Seattle’s road to victory?