Scott Peters is the first to admit his path toward his new position as the Browns' assistant offensive line coach is unique.
Since he retired from the NFL in 2008, Peters has opened an MMA gym, won multiple Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world championships and launched "Tip of the Spear," a proprietary instructional training and skill development system for football coaches and players. Now, Peters is tackling a new challenge in his first full-time NFL coaching gig, where he'll work alongside the Browns' most experienced leader, offensive line coach Bill Callahan.
"There's not a better line coach in the game," Peters said. "He gets his guys ready and I'm excited about the challenge here. I'm excited to be a part of it and get my hands on and be able to learn from Coach Callahan and also apply a lot of the things that I know that hopefully could bring a lot of value to the team."
A fourth-round pick out of Arizona State in 2002, Peters played seven seasons in the NFL for a handful of teams. He began his career with the Philadelphia Eagles before spending time with the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers before closing his career with the Cardinals, the 2008 NFC Champions who fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.
Peters played as both a center and a guard throughout his career.
"It's great to have a former player in that position because it's instant credibility with the players," Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I think his unique experience as a technician and how he comes at it from a different angle, from a Jiu Jitsu angle, really is a unique way to coach the players in terms of hand placement and hip movement."
Shortly before Peters' career came to a close, he helped open The Lion's Den MMA Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona. On top of training several UFC competitors, including Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez, Peters competed himself and collected two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world championships in submission grappling.
In 2012, Peters launched Safe Football LLC, which was later rebranded to "Tip of the Spear," a nonprofit program that seeks through proprietary technique and training to assist players in avoiding concussions and other serious football-related injuries while at the same time improving performance. That same year, he implemented the curriculum while working with the University of Washington football team. From there, he expanded to hundreds of youth and high school programs while also consulting with more than 50 NCAA programs and NFL teams.
Along the way, Peters formed a relationship with Callahan through Jim McNally, a longtime offensive line coach who has most recently been a consultant for NFL teams.
"I was blown away with his level of detail," Peters said. "We hit it off pretty well and kept in touch and had the opportunity to come here.
"There's no better guy than coach Callahan, and I'm excited to be a part of that."
Peters foresees himself diving right into his new role as a coach who can "get my hands on guys physically, move them around, show them the postures and do those kind of things where they go 'Oh, that's crazy or that's pretty cool.'"
"You can't just say, 'Hey, this is going to work.' You have to show them and let them feel it so they understand why. That's one of the things that I think I do best," Peters said. "I think teaching is more than just standing there with a clipboard and a whistle. Demonstrations are huge. With my abilities as a former player and understanding situations, it's invaluable. To try to articulate details, I don't think I always had that when I was playing.
"I know the guys here have had a lot of coaches come through and I think that building a really good brand identity for the O-line is such a big thing. It starts with the details and it starts with the foundation."
Scott Peters' Professional Playing Background:
2002: Philadelphia Eagles, offensive lineman
2003: New York Giants, offensive lineman
2004: San Francisco 49ers, offensive lineman
2006: Carolina Panthers, offensive lineman
2007-09: Arizona Cardinals, offensive lineman
Scott Peters' Coaching Background:
2020-: Cleveland Browns, assistant offensive line coach
