Jerry Rice & Andre Johnson on Coachability

The November 30, 2009 ESPN the Magazine features an article titled “Simply Irreplaceable” about Houston Texan wide receiver Andre Johnson. Johnson recounts meeting Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice:

An awestruck Johnson blurted out: “How do you keep playing, Jerry? I mean, what keeps you going? Recognizing something familiar in Johnson’s soft voice and physical gifts, Rice smiled and replied, “Ya know, Dre, it’s one thing, really: I don’t mind being coached.”

Those five words from a peerless legend stuck with Johnson. “If that’s Jerry Rice’s approach,” he says, “then no one else who plays the position should ever have an attitude that overshadows what they do on the field.”