Ed Marinaro on NFL career and starring on "Hill Street Blues"

Marinaro was born in New York City before moving to New Jersey where he was a high school standout in both basketball and football. Basketball coaches "Lefty" Driesell and Bob Knight recruited Marinaro, but football is what took him to Cornell. A three-time All-American with the Big Red in the Ivy League, Marinaro rushed for almost 5000 career yards and finished second to Auburn's Pat Sullivan for the 1971 Heisman Trophy. A 1972 second round draft pick by Minnesota, Marinaro would play 4 years for the Vikings and was part of two Super Bowl teams playing alongside Fran Tarkenton and the "Purple People Eaters" defense. Marinaro had a great start to the 1976 season after signing a free agent contract with the New York Jets, but that great start was quickly halted by an injury that would lead to his retirement. Before retiring, his relationship with Jets quarterback Joe Namath would help jump start his second career as an actor. Marinaro's first role was in the 1978 mob movie "Fingers", leading to roles on "Laverne & Shirley" and a guest role on the cop drama "Hill Street Blues" in 1981.  That guest role turned into 104 episodes and 5 seasons on the Emmy Award winning show. Marinaro was introduced to a new audience in 2010 with the series "Blue Mountain State", a show that would develop a cult following. Marinaro joined us to share stories from his incredible life including the purple Porsche he drove to Vikings training camp as a rookie, the blocking assignments he had on Hall of Fame defenders Duck Butkus and Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and his time spent with Joe Namath. Plus, we hear how he garnered the role of Joe Coffey, how much he enjoyed playing Coach Marty Daniels and his viral moment at the 2022 NFL Draft.