Pat Williams Speaks on Retirement

One of the vaunted members of the "Williams Wall" that consistently led the league in rushing defense, Pat Williams has had one hell of a career. Despite only grabbing 3 Pro Bowl nominations, there was no question that "Phat Pat" was one of the best nose tackles in the league.

Since signing a one-day contract with the Vikings, Williams has been making the rounds to talk to the media and allowing us to catch up on what he's been doing.

He initially had some trouble adjusting, as most players do, to the sedentary life of an NFL retiree. "My mind still wanted to play, but my body said 'it's time to go, Pat'," he told the gathered media. "It was up and down for a while. I'm good, though. Happy now"

He's been finding ways to occupy the time as he's watched the NFL move on without him, and has accepted a position as a defensive line coach for a high school near his home town of Monroe, Louisiana.

When he talks, they listen.

Williams says he wants to get a teaching license, so that he can become the head coach, but doesn't have further aspirations. "I'm content staying as a high school coach; the pros and college take too much time."

Meanwhile, he catches up by watching his favorite teams play. It doesn't trouble him too much any more to watch NFL games—"Last year was good. Before last year was kind of rough."

For the most part, the body has held up well. While he's had good days and bad days, he doesn't seem to feel the worst of it on a daily basis. While a few teams called him up after he decided he wanted to retire, no teams enticed him. He wanted a contender.

While he's committed to hanging up his cleats, he still hasn't healed the scars of coming so close to winning a Super Bowl. He told the media that he was largely over the game, but couldn't help but talk about the details.

"We whooped their ass, if you know football. We gave it to them with all the damn turnovers," he went on to say. "We don't give them the football, we'd have blown their ass up." A Louisiana native, it's tough for Pat to consistently meet people who thought the Saints were the better team. "Always arguing with them, they don't know anything about the game."

Not that the year was a loss. Pat was quick to point out that out of all of his years, the 2009 season with Favre was his fondest memory, which contrasted sharply with watching the dome collapse—the first memory Pat shared with us, and the worst he can readily remember.

Content to fade away as a player, Pat was surprised that Spielman called him up to sign a one-day deal with the Vikings, nearly a month ago. He thought it was a nice gesture though, and was happy to retire a Viking.

Also, his real playing weight? 335 pounds.