Cardinals' 35th season in Arizona: Former OL Davis finds joy in offroading and coaching

Leonard Davis has turned two of his passions into regular pastimes.

The longtime former NFL offensive lineman and first-round pick (second overall) of the Arizona Cardinals in 2001 is an offroading enthusiast and a football coach, helping guide Chandler High School's offensive linemen with his years of experience.

Davis likes to drive his vehicles in places like Sycamore Creek, Table Mesa, Four Peaks and the Lake Pleasant area.

This NFL season, which ends with Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, The Republic visits with some of the names and faces from the Cardinals' 35 seasons in Arizona. Davis, 44, was a Pro Bowler for three straight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, where he played after six seasons with the Cardinals. He also played in Detroit and finished his career in with the San Francisco 49ers.

Q: What were your six seasons like with Arizona and moving from Sun Devil Stadium to Glendale?

A: "I enjoyed it. You know, honestly, wish we could have won more games and all of that, because when you come from a program like the University of Texas, you know, we won a lot of games when I was there. So you expect to win, but things happen and then it doesn't go like you want. It's one of them things when you've got to rally your teammates... that's really all you can do.

"Playing over at Sun Devil Stadium and going over to Glendale... We were so used to playing there and playing outside. And when other teams come and you look across and you know, they're having to have little shade structures and tents for whatever reason, and we're just kind of laughing because we're just so used to it."

Q: For those who don't know what offroading is, can you explain it and why are you so into it?

A: " So off-roading is literally taking a vehicle regardless of what it is, what type, and going off-road. You're not on paved roads or dirt roads and you're on trails, all kinds of places like that. I actually got into when I was a kid because I just happened to turn on the TV, and on Saturday mornings you watch cartoons. One particular Saturday I just happened to turn the TV on flipping through the channels and then I see these trucks flying through what looked to me like a desert.

"I was pretty enamored with it and just always loved it, you know, just the look of the feel of it, how much fun you could have. As I got older I purchased a three-wheeler when I was in high school from a buddy of mine. I fixed it up and we're riding it all over the place and then it just never stopped."

Q: What does it mean to you to be able to give back to those kids at Chandler and share your NFL expertise with them?

A: "A lot. Just to be able to share your knowledge and your experiences of what you've done, with kids, young kids or young men ... you're just always hoping that out of everything that you're trying to teach them, you know, they at least walk away with one thing. At least for me, it's—it's just amazing. Really, all I'm doing is just passing along everything that I've been taught. And it's wash, rinse and repeat. That's all it is. You know, it's just teaching those guys everything that you've been taught. I mean, just to see guys develop, when you take a guy or a kid that never really played before, and you watch him develop and you see how much better he's getting, how much more he's improving as time goes on, I mean, that's satisfying to me. And you can't really ask for much more."

Q: You played in the Super Bowl with the 49ers against the Baltimore Ravens. What was that experience like? The 49ers rallied from a big deficit, the lights went out in the Superdome.

A: "It was an experience. And obviously the thing that would have topped it off was to get that trophy, you know, that trophy and those rings that come along with it. But, you know, it didn't happen. Obviously not every team gets to get to go to play in a Super Bowl, let alone win it. And you know, and we'd sit there and think about it. You know, there's some guys that play a long career and they've never even been to the Super Bowl, and some maybe not even the playoffs. And so it's just something to be thankful for and grateful for to get the opportunity to experience something like that."

Q: You played with him at San Francisco. Your thoughts about Colin Kaepernick's protest?

A: "He did something that, you know, he stands strong for. But you know, there's consequences of every decision that we make. And obviously in this case, not being on a team is one of them."

Q: What do you make of today's Cardinals team?

A: "They let me down. I want them to win, I want them to do better. It's just disappointing as a former player, because I played for that team, and I'm here locally. And I just always like to see people do good. And in this case, I just like to see the team do better. And just be consistent, you know. ... So I just want them to win, to go to playoffs and do all of that stuff."

Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM. 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Arizona Cardinals OL Leonard Davis finds joy in offroading, coaching