The Post’s Steve Serby chatted with Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson about football, life and a few of his favorite things.
Q: Do you wear your Super Bowl ring?
A: I don’t think it’s appropriate to wear around here. I work for the Jets and won it for the Ravens. I like to think I’m gonna win one with the Jets.
Q: Your matchup today against Charlie Weis?
A: He plays the game as a coordinator like he would if he was a quarterback.
Q: How do you motivate?
A: Give directions, not corrections. That way no one gets embarrassed.
Q: What do you remember about the young Herman Edwards at Eagles camp?
A: A chatterbox. Never stopped talking.
Q: What do you remember about the Saturday night before Super Bowl XXXV against the Giants?
A: I got sick at the hotel.
Q: Something you ate?
A: Went out to dinner, next thing you know I was sick.
Q: Did you know the Ravens would win that game?
A: We had better athletes on defense than they had on offense.
Q: Did you think Kerry Collins was vulnerable?
A: I think when he saw the three or four quarterbacks before him that we played, he saw how physical we were on them, so I think he came in there a little nervous.
Q: Describe Ray Lewis.
A: Intellectual, passionate person who understands football and plays the game like it should be played.
Q: Describe Herman Edwards.
A: He has a pulse of his team. He knows his players and his players know him. Very truthful man. Cares about you as a person Knows exactly where he’s headed.
Q: Chad Pennington?
A: Leader. If he wasn’t a quarterback I’d put him at safety. Tough.
Q: What have you learned about Curtis Martin?
A: How mentally tough he is.
Q: The one running back you wouldn’t want to face?
A: Might be the guy (Corey Dillon) we’re about to play.
Q: Is he like Jamal Lewis?
A: Jamal might be a more physical runner. This guy’s more shifty.
Q: What as a coach won’t you tolerate?
A: Repeat errors.
Q: Why is your job fun?
A: I wake up every morning with a smile because I know somewhere during the day somebody’s gonna make me mad. So if I can keep that smile on all day, that’s what makes it fun.
Q: You drink a Coke every morning?
A: I’ve been known to drink 20 a day.
Q: The Lions cut you in training camp in 1980 and you wound up selling clothes.
A: I got there for a cup of coffee and a donut and I was out the door.
Q: The football person who had the biggest influence on you growing up.
A: Johnny Unitas. From flag football, I always was on the Baltimore Colts and always wore 19.
Q: If you weren’t a football coach, what would you have been?
A: Probably a baseball player. I was a better baseball player than I was a football player.
Q: What position?
A: Catcher.
Q: Who did you admire baseball-wise?
A: I played with two Hall of Famers. Ozzie Smith and Eddie Murray. High school team.
Q: Favorite Ozzie Smith anecdote?
A: I needed a pair of shoes. I was playing high school basketball and he gave me his. Took off a pair of shoes at his locker, gave me the old adidas, three stripes. High tops.
Q: Eddie Murray?
A: Watching him hit a ball about 500 feet out of our high school field across 109th, over the houses.
Q: Describe what it was like growing up in Watts after the riots.
A: I was about 11. Martial law, the big tanks sitting on the corners, the looting, the police and the National Guard driving up the street telling you you needed to be off the streets at a certain time.
Q: You saw some horrific things growing up.
A: When you went to Locke High School there was death around you all the time. I’ve seen people get shot and killed.
Q: Only the strong survive?
A: There were the gangs and there were athletes. The neighborhood gangs let us be athletes. They didn’t try to bring us into it, although they watched over us too.
Q: Best advice from your mother?
A: Tell the truth.
Q: Best advice from your father?
A: Look the man in the eye when you shake his hand.
Q: Favorite childhood memory?
A: When I got my first trophy. The Watts Summer Games, running the 330 at that time.
Q: Favorite athlete outside football?
A: Reggie Jackson.
Q: The one thing you would change about yourself?
A: Have more patience with people.
Q: Pet peeve?
A: People that lie to you.
Q: Which cornerback would you pick to stop Jerry Rice?
A: Mel Blount; Deion (Sanders); Mike Haynes; Lester Hayes.
Q: Which linebacker would you pick to stop Jim Brown?
A: Ray Lewis.
Q: One person in history you’d like to meet.
A: Lincoln. Because of how he made decisions. His leadership skills.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: Training Day.
Q: Favorite singer?
A: Stevie Wonder.
Q: Favorite book?
A: Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Popeye’s chicken.
Q: What do you want for Christmas?
A: A win against New England.