The game of football can be hard for folks to walk away from, as the game tells them they are done with it before the person is. In rare cases, legends can make careers out of the game at the highest level. One of those rare people was Bucs offensive assistant Tom Moore.
At the age of 87, Moore will be walking away from the game he shaped his entire adult life around after 62 years with it. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times shared the news as well as a reason behind the decision to step down. He told Stroud, “It’s time for me to go home and take care of my wife. For 62 years, she made a lot of sacrifices so I could live a dream, and it’s always been about Tom, but now it’s about Willie. It’s time. I’ve been fortunate to land in a lot of great places. This is a great place. The Glazers are fantastic owners. It doesn’t get any better than Jason Licht as general manager. Todd (Bowles) is great…it’s a tough business. I’ve been blessed.”
Moore started his coaching career in the college ranks, where he also played with the Iowa Hawkeyes. From there, he would make the jump to the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers as their wide receiver coach in 1977. He would become their offensive coordinator and jump around the NFL in various offensive coaching roles.
In the twilight years of his career, he began emerging as a quarterback whisperer, working with the likes of Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer as they became the All-Pro and rejuvenated versions of themselves. The game of football will miss Tom Moore, and it will be forever grateful for the time he spent with it.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: NFL coaching legend Tom Moore retires after 62 year career in football
Reporting by Andrew Harbaugh, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
