Chad Slade Sammie Coates interview on therapy and Auburn

The Chad Slade Sammie Coates interview covers a difficult adjustment after the National Football League, including Slade’s decision to seek therapy and his move into coaching. The former Houston Texans lineman also described playing through a herniated disc and explained why Auburn University’s offensive line deserves more credit for its national championship season.

How did Chad Slade reach the NFL after Auburn University?

Chad Slade entered the NFL undrafted, an outcome he said pushed him to work harder rather than give up on playing professionally. The transition also brought immediate pressure: he was preparing to support his first child, learning to manage adult responsibilities and wondering what he would do if football did not work out.

During his senior year at Auburn, Slade began to feel that the structure he had relied on was ending. He described the prospect of handling his next steps without the help he had grown used to in college.

His first preseason brought an injury and a place on injured reserve. Slade said he continued fighting to stay in the league afterward. Around the same period, he got engaged and married within a few months, adding major changes at home to an already uncertain start to his career.

What did Chad Slade say about changing NFL teams?

Chad Slade said moving was the hardest part of changing NFL teams, particularly after spending roughly four to five years in Houston. He also had to adjust to a new locker room: he wanted to earn veterans’ respect and establish himself without arriving as the new player who did too much.

Leaving Houston for New York

Houston had become a place Slade loved. Coming from small-town Alabama, he enjoyed living in a much bigger city. New York required another adjustment, including winter weather he felt people from the South could not fully appreciate until they experienced it.

Arriving before Odell Beckham Jr. left

Slade signed with the New York Giants in January expecting to play alongside Odell Beckham Jr. He had heard good things about the receiver, but Beckham was traded to the Cleveland Browns before Slade got that chance. Slade still recalled enjoying his time in New York with the players who remained, including Saquon Barkley.

Football presented a separate challenge for an offensive lineman joining a new team. Slade said learning a playbook’s terminology, schemes and calls could make the change harder than simply settling into a different city. He felt he handled the locker-room transition well at both stops.

What did Chad Slade learn from Houston Texans veterans?

Chad Slade said Houston Texans veterans showed him how to act like a professional every day. He named Dwayne Brown, Derek Newton, Jeff Allen and Chris Clark as players he could watch and learn from, especially while developing the routines and time management that the NFL demanded.

Dwayne Brown’s daily routine

Brown’s example stayed with Slade because of the way he carried himself and found extra work. Slade remembered seeing him in the training room and observing how consistently he prepared. Being around that group made Slade regard his rookie year as one of his most valuable years for learning.

The lessons extended beyond workouts. Slade said players had to manage their days, show up on time and treat themselves like professionals. He described fines for missing meetings or practices as a quick education in the consequences of failing to keep a routine.

That room also became personally important to him. After years together, Slade said he and his teammates had grown close enough that several became like uncles to his children. His takeaway from the NFL was not limited to technique: he emphasized humility and being a good person when others looked up to him.

Why did Chad Slade need therapy after leaving the NFL?

Chad Slade said leaving the NFL disrupted both his mental health and the schedule that had organized his life for years. As he moved toward coaching and spent more time at home as a father, he sought therapy to help make the adjustment rather than assume a new role would immediately replace playing.

Slade put the difficulty plainly:

I had to literally get my mind right

From the locker room to home

For years, Slade had known when to train, meet and prepare. He missed arriving early and seeing teammates’ faces in the locker room, even when everyone was tired or facing another week of practice. Going from that daily company to time at home by himself felt like a sharp break.

Taking on a coach’s responsibilities

Coaching gave Slade football work of a different kind. Instead of following a player’s schedule, he had to prepare game plans and meet responsibilities away from the field as a father. He called the move into coaching a good transition, while making clear that reaching that point required attention to his mental health.

What did Chad Slade say about his NFL injuries?

Chad Slade said he played two games with a herniated disc before realizing how serious the injury was. He underwent back surgery in his rookie year, played five more years and now deals with arthritis in his knees and back. Those experiences shape what he tells players about reporting injuries.

The warning sign from his leg

Slade said the problem became unmistakable when symptoms traveled down his leg and it went numb. After sitting down, he found that his leg gave way when he tried to use it. Until then, his desire to keep playing as an undrafted rookie had made it difficult to step back.

He recognized the same competitive impulse from his time at Auburn: he wanted to return to the field and found it hard to say no. Now he asks players to tell him when they hurt, so a potentially serious problem can be checked rather than ignored.

The effects remain part of his life after football. Slade said his back and knees hurt and that he cannot move as he once did. He approaches recreational exercise with those limits in mind rather than treating it as another competition.

What did Chad Slade say about Auburn’s national championship?

Chad Slade said becoming a national champion in his first year at Auburn was an extraordinary experience for someone who had never played in a high school state championship game. He also argued that Auburn’s 2010 offensive line deserves more recognition for the role it played on a team often remembered for its stars.

Learning from Auburn’s 2010 offensive line

Slade arrived from Moody, Alabama, and joined a team featuring Cam Newton and Nick Fairley. While those players received much of the attention, he said the experienced offensive linemen gave him an education. He credited what he learned from that group with helping shape Auburn’s later offensive line.

The familiar feeling of Auburn’s 2013 run

When Auburn advanced through the Southeastern Conference championship in 2013, Slade said the team’s momentum reminded him of his first championship season. He recognized the feeling of being part of a close group approaching a major game again.

For Slade, the connection between those Auburn teams was also personal. He valued the brotherhood of the locker room and said it helped build the lasting friendship he shares with Coates, who was his teammate at Auburn and later in the NFL.

Who is Chad Slade?

Chad Slade is an Auburn University alumnus and former NFL player. He is a national champion, a two-time Southeastern Conference champion and an offensive line coach at LeedsFTBL. He is also a husband and father.