BOZEMAN — The last we heard from Glendive native and former Montana State standout Mike Person, he was coming off a Super Bowl appearance with the San Francisco 49ers and retiring from the NFL after nine seasons last summer.
“I think I was driving my wife nuts more than anything, so I needed something to do," Person said.
Person has been enjoying retirement and spending time with his wife and three children, but now he’s on to a new endeavor.
“Really enjoy the time with the family and just being able to hang out, but got to start doing something so I’m going to start this offensive line academy,” said Person.
Person has started the 5 Dot Offensive Line Academy at a gym called The Spot in Dublin, Ohio.
“It’s a really big gym, 50 yards of turf space, I get to rent out 15 yards when I need it, have my office in there, film room,” he said. "I just want to be a tool for these kids, for these coaches out here, but I just want to help. And I’m not in it to make a quick buck, it’s the fact that I want to help these kids have the best time they can have in high school.”
Person was a volunteer coach at Dublin Jerome High School last year, which sparked him to follow down this path of starting the academy to coach high school kids.
“The way I had thought about it, the best way to pass on my knowledge is to start to open this up," Person said. "I’m just excited to try and stay involved with the game, it’s just something that I love. Offensive line play is something that is very under served.”
At the academy the kids spend time learning techniques, doing drills and watching film.
“There’s a lot of tools that you have to learn and master," said the NFL veteran. "Offensive line play, it’s the best position in sports. It’s also very difficult because you have to refine all those and you have to do the same thing over and over and over.”
But this is just the start of Person’s coaching career. He’d like to stay in Ohio to provide some stability for his family after moving around during his playing career. Person's NFL career included stops in San Francisco, Indianapolis, Seattle, St. Louis, Atlanta and Kansas City.
“Ultimately I’d like to coach in college or the NFL. I threw some feelers out there this year and there was some interest, but we decided that right now isn’t the time for us to up and move," he said.