Tony Mandarich Has A Media Company

It’s been nearly two decades since he was the talk of the 1989 NFL draft.
He was the Incredible Bulk, the shirtless Sports Illustrated cover boy who was the premier lineman in college football. He was an imposing physical specimen: a 6-foot-5-inch, 315-pound All-American offensive tackle with a flamboyant personality, a fanatical work ethic and a reputation for dominating opponents and the headlines.

He could bench press 545 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds. He had a 30-inch vertical leap. He devoured seven meals a day - more than 15,000 calories.

Tony Mandarich was touted as the NFL’s next great lineman; the kind NFL franchises are built around.

It would not turn out that way.

“Yeah, I did call Green Bay a village (in a Playboy article), but every village needs a village idiot.”

- Mandarich, speaking to reporters in Green Bay after ending his holdout

Mandarich’s outspoken nature and brash statements did not endear him to Packer fans. Green Bay was definitely not his first choice among the teams he’d wanted to play for, and he made that abundantly clear in numerous pre-draft interviews.

“I think my first choice would have been the Los Angeles Raiders,” Mandarich said last weekend in a telephone interview from his photography studio in Phoenix. “Just because of Al Davis and the Raiders’ reputation as the ‘bad boys’ of the NFL. My second choice would have been a major-market team like New York or Miami.

“Green Bay was not high on my list because it was not a major market and there were not many endorsement opportunities. I didn’t take a minute to step back and see how much tradition there really was, how sacred Lambeau Field was, how great Packer fans were.

“Instead of being grateful, I upset more than a few Packer fans by saying if they drafted me, I wouldn’t play there. It was probably the most critical mistake on my part. Here I was, a rookie touted to be all this and all that, shooting off his big mouth in the newspapers.”

If his contract demands were not met, Mandarich wanted to be traded to another team. He even entertained the notion of boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson for a $5-$10 million payday.

Mandarich, a fan of Harley Davidson motorcycles, Guns N’ Roses music, and tattoos, seemed to generate attention and publicity - positive and negative - nearly every week.

Allegations of steroid use had dogged him since college, and in July 1989 the California gym he trained at was raided by federal marshals. Mandarich was tested numerous times, in college and the pros - and never tested positive.

“I knew linemen didn’t get the coverage of the quarterbacks or running backs, so I tried to market myself as much as possible for my contract and endorsements,” said Mandarich, who the Packers chose ahead of future NFL stars Barry Sanders and Deion Sanders.

“I watched Brian Bosworth and Deion, and how it worked for them. I thought I did a pretty good job of that. Even the steroid stuff was more publicity.”

Mandarich ended his holdout on Sept. 5 and signed a four-year contract for $4.4 million that made him the highest-paid lineman in the NFL - without ever playing a down of professional football.

Like all rookies, Mandarich could ill-afford to skip his first training camp. He had a lot to learn, especially in the fundamental techniques of pass-blocking. At Michigan State, the Spartans had been a run-oriented team; the Packers were the opposite.

“In college, we were 80 percent run and 20 percent pass,” Mandarich said. “We had a great running attack and no one could stop it. In Green Bay, we were 60-70 percent pass. Moving backwards for me was a lot more interesting than moving forward. But the biggest thing was talent level - it was a huge adjustment. In college, I dominated because there were a lot of average players. In the NFL, everybody is good.”

Mandarich did not earn a starting job his rookie season, but learned head coach Lindy Infante’s offense, improved his pass blocking, and adjusted to the pro level of play. He started 31 games at right tackle for the next two seasons, but was switched to guard (and No. 79) by new head coach Mike Holmgren in minicamps in May 1992.

He would not play that season, suffering from post-concussion syndrome and a thyroid problem that landed him on the injured reserve list.

“I got a call from Ron Wolf, saying he was not going to renew my contract. That was kind of like, ‘Wow, four years ago I was on top of the world and every NFL team wanted me.’ Now, nobody wanted me. And I lost my brother.”

- Mandarich, on what changed his life

Mandarich began to make changes in his attitude after two major life events in the winter of 1993. Like a blind-slide block, both hit him hard.

The most significant blow was a very personal one, as his brother, John, died of cancer on Feb. 8, 1993.

“He was my older brother by five years,” Mandarich said. “He was someone I put on a pedestal. At that time I looked at the wreckage I had created in my life and my career. If I had just kept my mouth shut, been more grateful for the opportunities I was given.”

The second blow came professionally, when the Packers released him on February 26. Mandarich moved back to Michigan for two years and enrolled in school to become a law enforcement officer.

In the fall, however, the urge to play football returned. Just 28 years old, he decided to dedicate himself to getting into shape for an attempted return to the NFL. He put on weight and dropped his 40 time to 5.0 seconds - not as fast as in college but faster than most NFL linemen.

“I’m not one to look back and say, ‘Poor, poor, pitiful me,’ ” Mandarich said. “I could have sat there and whined about it. Or I could do something about it. I feel like I did. I changed. Instead of tucking my tail between my legs, I acknowledged what I did and made changes in my life.

“Years later, looking back, I saw myself as arrogant, very immature, and a big mouth. I didn’t back it up on the field - the performance wasn’t there. Again, those are part of the lessons I learned. My troubles were of my own making. It wasn’t the Packer organization or the fans’ fault - it was my fault.”

Wolf lauded Mandarich for not giving up.

“It’s a credit to Mandarich that he got himself back in order and played at Indianapolis,” Wolf said. “He could have walked away from the game and didn’t do it. He battled back.

“He was a mess with us - couldn’t play with that post-concussion thing. I had never heard of it. That was the new injury of the early 1990s. If the Packers hadn’t taken Mandarich, I never would have been hired in Green Bay. Lindy told me he wanted Barry Sanders. Who knows, if Green Bay had drafted Sanders, the GM job probably wouldn’t have been open.”

“When I read something that says, ‘He’s a bust’ - obviously, you don’t like to hear that. I had a lot of things to prove to myself when I went to Indy and I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. Personally, I slayed a lot of the demons that were haunting me.”

- Mandarich, on his comeback

Tony Mandarich got a second chance at an NFL career.

In 1995, he called his former coach, Infante, who had been fired in Green Bay after the 1991 season and was now the head coach in Indianapolis. Mandarich not only beat the odds and made the Colts in 1996, but he became a starter and had a solid, if unspectacular, three-year tenure with them before retiring in 1999.

I know a lot of people were saying, ‘He’s overrated and all hype, don’t waste your time,’ ” Mandarich said. “But Lindy Infante knew me in Green Bay. I was very fortunate to get a second chance from anybody after the bad taste I left in people’s mouths from Green Bay.”

Mandarich was able to play with two of the NFL’s all-time great quarterbacks.

“In Indy, I played with Peyton Manning. Two totally different styles: Brett (Favre) was running and gunning, while Peyton was more mechanical and by the book. But that works too. They are totally different body types in two different offensive systems.

“Who could have known that Brett Favre become one of the greatest Green Bay Packers ever? I didn’t live up to expectations - my own, the organization’s or the fans’. But I have no regrets because of the lessons learned.”

“I moved to the United States for the sole purpose of getting exposure for college. I ended up at Michigan State via Kent, Ohio.”

- Mandarich, on why he lived with his brother during his senior year

“It was a blue-collar, hard-working town,” Mandarich said of growing up in Oakville, Ontario. “My dad worked in the factories and our family had tough times and tough situations. My parents escaped communism and left Yugoslavia in the mid-1950s for Canada and a new life.”

Like most Canadians, Mandarich played hockey at a young age, and played through eighth grade on competitive teams. “Growing up, we played a lot of hockey in the driveway in our neighborhood,” he said. “I think it’s a sin to live in Canada and not play hockey.

“But then I started growing and got too tall and too big for hockey. The coaches were like, ‘You should really try a different sport.’ ”

Football became his sport in high school, and Mandarich became such a prospect that he moved to the United States to showcase his talents. Mandarich’s older brother, John, played football at Kent State in Ohio, and Tony lived with him during his senior year.

“I wish I was an All-Pro and played 15 years in Green Bay and became a Packer legend, but it just didn’t happen.”

- Mandarich, on his NFL career

Mandarich, 41, enjoys being on the other side of the camera at this stage of his life.

After retiring from football, he bought a golf course in Canada and ran that business for a few years. But he followed his new passion when he married his former college girlfriend, a bio-chemical engineer and photographer, in May 2004.

As co-owner of Mandarich Media in Phoenix with his wife, Char, he wants to exceed the expectations of his clients.

“I’ve always been very interested in photography,” Mandarich said. “I’ve learned a lot from Char - most of her photography was wedding and portraits. Since we’ve started our business, we’ve gotten away from that and delved into commercial, lifestyle, and model photography.

“I’ve always found it very fascinating that the same person can be shot by two photographers and have such different results. The lighting, the angles, the creativity. That’s what makes the difference.”

Business is thriving for Mandarich Media, with corporate and commercial clients comprising the bulk of the workload. Modeling photography sessions run from $250 for an hour to thousands of dollars for a shoot.

“I’m happy and healthy. I’m doing what I love to do. I’m just trying to perfect what I do with photography - to be creative and give clients the best product I can. I get a lot satisfaction from that.”

He is also writing a book on his life, which is due out later this year. When asked if he will reveal anything new on his alleged steroid use, Mandarich just laughed and said, “You’ll have to buy the book.”