Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
Elevating Leadership - Jemal Singleton '99
In this edition of Long Blue Leadership, we’re exploring the evolution and elevation of leadership with a leader who knows what it means to build champions in every sense of the word.
SUMMARY
Jemal Singleton ’99 is a mentor, a motivator and has mastered the grind. From the military to NFL locker rooms, he has forged a path rooted in service, strength and success. Learn more about masterful game planning and get ready to be inspired!
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COACH SINGLETON'S LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS
- Coach Singleton emphasizes the importance of leading with conviction.
- He learned to connect with people through immersive cultural experiences.
- The Super Bowl victory was a culmination of focus and teamwork.
- Growing up as a military brat shaped his adaptability and leadership.
- Family dynamics played a crucial role in his development as a leader.
- Discovering the Air Force Academy was a pivotal moment in his life.
- Basic training taught him valuable lessons about overcoming fear.
- His leadership style evolved through experiences at the Academy.
- Transitioning from military to coaching was a significant decision.
- Failures in his career have provided the greatest learning opportunities.
- Success and failure are both essential for growth.
- Belief in others can significantly impact their performance.
- Understanding individual motivations is key to effective leadership.
- Mentorship plays a crucial role in shaping leaders.
- Building relationships is foundational to leadership success.
- Balancing family and work is vital for personal fulfillment.
- Grit and resilience are important traits in leadership.
- Investing in personal growth enhances leadership effectiveness.
- Daily routines help maintain focus and discipline.
- Leadership can be demonstrated from any position.
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction to Leadership Insights
04:30 Jamal's Early Life and Military Influence
08:00 Family Dynamics and Leadership Development
11:35 Basic Training and Leadership Challenges
14:52 Growth at the Air Force Academy
18:58 Transitioning from Military to Coaching
21:34 Navigating Career Decisions
22:57 Facing Failures and Learning from Them
26:18 Navigating Success and Failure
27:38 The Power of Belief in Leadership
29:58 Understanding Individual Motivations
32:40 Influences and Inspirations in Leadership
34:05 Building Relationships as a Leadership Foundation
36:02 Balancing Family and Professional Life
38:23 Lessons in Grit from Home
40:38 Investing in Personal Growth
42:41 Daily Routines for Effective Leadership
44:36 Striving for Continuous Improvement
47:27 Leading from Any Position
49:14 Final Thoughts on Leadership and the Academy
ABOUT JEMAL
BIO
Jemal Singleton ’99, is a veteran coach with over 20 years of experience at the collegiate and professional levels. He is currently the Philadelphia Eagles' running backs/assistant head coach. Under his leadership, the Eagles have made four consecutive playoff runs, capturing two conference titles and the Super Bowl LIX Championship. From 2021–24, Philadelphia led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (108) and ranked among the top three in rushing yards per game (153.9) and yards per carry (4.7). Singleton helped three different running backs earn Pro Bowl honors during this span.
In 2024, Singleton coached a historic ground game led by Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 2,005 yards in the regular season and 2,504 total, earning AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Pro honors. The Eagles set a league record with 3,866 team rushing yards.
Previously, Singleton helped guide D’Andre Swift (2023) and Miles Sanders (2022) to their first Pro Bowls, with both ranking in the top five in rushing yards. In 2021, Philadelphia led the league in both rushing yards and touchdowns.
Before joining the Eagles, Singleton coached running backs for the Bengals (2019–20), Raiders (2018), and Colts (2016–17), mentoring talents like Joe Mixon, Jalen Richard, and Frank Gore. His collegiate experience includes Arkansas (2015) and Oklahoma State (2011–14), where he coached standout backs such as Alex Collins and Joseph Randle.
Singleton began his coaching career at the Air Force Academy, his alma mater, spending nine years in various roles and helping the Falcons consistently rank among the top rushing teams in the nation. A former team captain and honorable mention All-WAC running back, Singleton led Air Force to consecutive 10-win seasons and a conference title.
A San Antonio native and son of a retired Air Force Sergeant, Singleton holds a degree in social sciences and lives with his wife, Jennifer. He has two daughters, Morgan and Mallory.
- Bio excerpted from philadelphiaeagles.com
- Image credit: Mr. Ryan Hall
CONNECT WITH JEMAL
WITH OUR SPECIAL APPRECIATION TO THE EAGLES' PRODUCTION TEAM
Eagles Team (Center L-R): JohnPaul Beattie | Wes Lauria | Kelleher | Haley Mccullough | Alex Barson
(L) LBL Host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99 | (R) Guest, Jemal Singleton ’99
- Image credit: Mr. Ryan Hall
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TRANSCRIPT
SPEAKERS
GUEST: Jemal Singleton ’99 | HOST: Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz ’99
Naviere Walkewicz 00:12
Welcome to Long Blue Leadership, the podcast where we share insights on leadership through the lives and experiences of Air Force Academy graduates. I’m Naviere Walkowicz, Class of ’99. I’m honored to join you from the NovaCare Complex, the training facility for the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles, here in Pennsylvania. But I’m especially excited to bring you a conversation with my Air Force Academy classmate and friend, Jemal Singleton, the Eagles running backs and assistant head coach. Both on and off the field. Coach Singleton brings a wealth of leadership experience gleaned from his time in the U.S. Air Force and the NFL. This unique blend has made him a builder of high-performance teams, as well as a standout mentor and motivator. Jemal and I will dive into what it means to lead with conviction, to earn trust in high-pressure environments and to acquire the mindset needed to bring out the best in people, whether you’re on the gridiron, battlefield or in the boardroom. We’ll talk about how Coach Singleton learned to connect with people through immersive cultural experiences. We’ll talk about the coaches in his life who helped him see players for the people they’re becoming first. And we’ll discuss how a rocky start in professional football ultimately taught him patience and perseverance. So get ready to be inspired. Let’s talk leadership, game planning and more with Coach Jemal Singleton. Jemal, welcome to Long Blue Leadership, my friend.
Jemal Singleton
Oh, thank you so much for having me. I can’t tell you how awesome this is, to have the opportunity to be on this show that in the past couple years, some of the people that have sat in this chair have been unbelievable. I mean, yeah, Lt. Henderson, or, excuse me, Captain America, on the show, which was awesome. There’s two men that that I have great respect for with Gen. Gould and Gen. Clark. They were also on this show. So to have little old me sitting up here is really an amazing thing. I kind of feel like, with us, we’re like, the meme, the Paul Rudd meme. So this is a definite joy and honor for me to be here.
Naviere Walkewicz
Well, thank you so much for that. I feel like we blinked and 25 years went by, but here we are together again. So I’d like to take us right to the moment. I mean, most recently, Super Bowl champions. It was kind of a two-season road, right? Let’s talk about the moment maybe on the field where you knew you guys were about to win. Can you talk us through what that moment was like?
Jemal Singleton
I tell you, it’s one of those highs in life that I’ll obviously always remember. The greatest thing was really how the game played out. Not very often in the NFL, are you up, are you kind of having some backups in the game because of the parity in the league. So for us to be on the world’s biggest stage, the world’s biggest game for us in football, and to have a little bit of a moment, to just take a deep breath, look around the stands, look at the sidelines, and just take it all in, was unbelievable. So just to come away with that victory and have that opportunity, you don’t get that to sit back and look and say, “Oh my gosh, we just won.” You know, the game hadn’t ended, but it was kind of done at that point. So such an amazing feeling, such an amazing vibe, and just so many different storylines that led to that great finish. So just an unbelievable day.
Naviere Walkewicz
What was the leadership, coaching words that you shared with the team before the start of the game? Because you had come from a season where you got to that spot and you lost. What would you share with the team before this game?
Jemal Singleton
You know, I think— part of it is you had so many guys that had been to the previous Super Bowl with us and lost. So we had experienced getting to the pinnacle and not finishing. And really there wasn’t a whole lot that had to be said. You know, my role, I talk about ball security and protection, so I have a lot of presentations during the week that I give. But that week leading up, when we’re in New Orleans, there was a level of focus in the men’s eyes that was awesome, as a coach, to see. “Oh, they don't need to be hyped up. They don't need to be pushed. This team is exactly where it needs to be.” It was an amazing moment. So again, to have the Super Bowl win and that feeling— also to have kind of a coaching moment, to see a team so motivated and so dialed in, made it even more special.
Naviere Walkewicz
So you talk about it being a journey and coming to that moment of focus. Let’s talk about your journey. Let’s go back in time a little bit. Jemal. Who are you? What were you like as a kid?
Jemal Singleton
You know, I really had an interesting background growing up, and part of it was the military. My dad was in the Air Force, enlisted. He actually retired after 20 years, but met my mom when he was stationed in England. They moved to Turkey, and there’s where I enter the picture. Being born in Turkey, my mother wanted me to have a Turkish name. Wanted me to take the spelling of it, and it wasn’t Jemal originally. I think she had Ahmet Mustafa, was the name. And my father was like, “No, we’re not doing that.” So thanks to my dad for helping me. We stuck with Jemal. So Jemal David is my first names and really took the Turkish spelling, so J, E, M, A, L, that in Arabic, it is referred to as “the good looking one.” So hopefully I’m living up to my name a little bit. But that was the start. That was kind of the start and from there, just the journeys and the travels that we did through the military. So as a military brat, and I know there’s quite a few out there in this world, but moved a lot, jumped around. We went back to England. So that’s really my first memories. I don’t remember anything of Turkey, just know I was born there, but we went to England, and those were my first memories started. And that was kind of like home. My mom, being from there, had a lot of family and relatives over there, and that just kind of started to shape the rest of my life. And coaching kind of was very military, like we were moving. I was going to different places, and I think I was prepared for a lot of that movement stuff when I was a kid.
Naviere Walkewicz 05:54
Wow. So you were moving a lot. You talked about how that kind of parallels, and we’ll talk about this probably later in coaching — what that looks like — but as a military dependent, as a kid in the military, what was that like? How did that form you as maybe someone who adopts or adapts to things, and did you start to earn like early on, shape your leadership ways as a kid?
Jemal Singleton 06:15
I think so. I think for some brats, the lifestyle is not great. You know, you struggle. You’re moving every three years; you’re making new friends. But really, for me, I think it really shaped me. It allowed me to build a personality that I could be engaging, to build a personality and an athletic ability to play sports. And that’s usually how walking as the new kid in the room, I was able to build friendships, was through sports and through teams and all that. And like I said, every three years there was— we were moving and doing it, so I got to rehash that every three years of “OK, how do I make new friends? How do I compete in sports again?” But it really did help me, I think, to be able to exist in those environments and build those relationships as a kid. And I think it’s allowed the same thing even as an adult. I go back to some of those same ways of how I connected with people when I was a young man.
Naviere Walkewicz 07:03
I love that. And so was your family very active in your athletic pursuits when you were a child, or that kind of happened later in life?
Jemal Singleton 07:10
Absolutely. So I had an older brother that was living with us that also he was very active in sports. So He’s eight years older than me, so there’s a good separation, so I kind of got to see some things kind of play out before I ever got to them. But yeah, sports was always a part of our family, from everything from golf to football to track to basketball, all the things you could play. I mean, when you grow up overseas, on bases, you have to play all the sports if in order to put together a full team, there’s not that many people there. You need all hands on deck to be able to do that. So played a lot of sports growing up in Europe. So people, “Oh, when did you get into football?” I’ve been playing football my whole. Football my whole life, and it didn’t stop in Germany. It didn’t stop in England. It didn’t stop in the other places that we were able to live.
Naviere Walkewicz 07:47
So you talk about athletics being a big part of who you are. You mentioned that your mom and dad, like your dad gave her some feedback on the name she initially, initially wanted talk about that dynamic a little bit. How have your parents shaped you as who you are and as a leader?
Jemal Singleton 08:00
It’s just as unique as my upbringing, where we lived and where he moved, I think, is really the house that I lived in, you know, my mother being a very posh British lady, and then my dad from Louisiana down Baton Rouge, kind of coming from the south. It was very unique, not only culturally, just personality wise, you know. So I think I’d really took things from both of them. You know, I do kind of laugh. My mother was big on etiquette, so at the Academy, the etiquette training wasn’t a big deal for me. I already knew it. I’ve had my knuckles smacked with a spoon a couple times, but, uh, so just that— it was a really dynamic and even living in England and growing up, went to plays at these amazing theaters, and got to see kind of the art side. And then I really know the way to put it, but more the street sense of my father and just, you know, growing up, just kind of how he grew up, maybe rough neighborhood, and, you know, the military changed his life trajectory. And I think just having the most combinations of things is kind of who I am.
Naviere Walkewicz 08:54
So was it your father who then helped you see the Academy as the potential next step for you?
Jemal Singleton 08:59
Um, you know, you would think so, but it’s funny. My Academy story is a little bit different. It was when I got a recruiting letter from Air Force when I was playing high school ball. This is bad. I didn’t know the Academy existed. My dad was in the military travel, but I didn’t know. I definitely didn’t know that they played Division I college football and had a football team. So that was the first and I just remember my mom, like, oh. She was like, “Oh, the Air Force Academy.” Like, it was a big thing. And as crazy as my dad was always like, you know, if you go to the military, “I’d really like you to get your education and be an officer.” So both of my parents were kind of happy. And it wasn’t right away. I was like, “Yeah, this is definitely something I’m going to do.” It just kind of a process that went and the more I learned about I was like, what’s not to like? I’m going to have an opportunity to play Division I college football, which is something that’s big for me. I’m going to have a great career, be able to get be in the military when I graduate. I’m going to have a chance to get a great education while I’m at school. I was like, “OK, What’s the catch? What’s going on?” And it was something. That really kind of opened my eyes to that. And really was the main school that was recruiting me at the time. I had some Ivy Leagues because of grades, but, you know, I wanted to play, play at Air Force and put the bolts on my helmet.
Naviere Walkewicz 10:11
So what was it about— you said, you know, the fact that both your parents were really supportive, but was there a moment where you just knew, besides the fact that they were heavily recruiting you, was there something that intrinsically you just knew, like, I want to go here?
Jemal Singleton 10:22
You know, it’s funny. I’ve always been, ‘Hey, I’m going to make a decision and I’m going to go all in.’ And that was it. When I decided, hey, Air Force is where I'm going to school, that was it. And I wasn’t really highly recruited. I didn’t take a recruiting trip or anything. The first time I showed up at the Air Force Academy for Prep School was inprocessing. I didn’t need to see it. I had made up my mind. That’s where I was going, and that’s what I was doing. So it wasn’t anything that was going to hold me back from that. And gosh, I just look back and how thankful I am that as an 18-year-old kid, I was able to make a decision that was going to impact my life so greatly. And I just so thankful every day when I think about it.
Naviere Walkewicz 10:57
Gosh, I mean, I’m going back in time a little bit, and I’m picturing you now arriving at the Academy for the first time, and you went to the Prep School, right?
Jemal Singleton
Yes, ma’am.
Naviere Walkewicz
So let’s talk about that experience. I imagine it was a little bit of shell shock then having not actually stepped foot there before. What was that experience like for you?
Jemal Singleton 11:13
It was great, and I felt like I was prepared for the reason my dad and my brother had actually served in the Air Force as well. So he did a stint, enlisted as well. And I just remember it was almost like we’re sitting at the table talking football-type stuff. But they’re like, yeah, when you get to basic training, you have to do this. So they’re like, hyping me up for how hard and how tough basic training is going to be and what I got to do. And so part of me is like, “Well, take this challenge. I’m gonna go.” I’ve had these same conversations after football game. So I had two coaches, really, but it really felt I was somewhat prepared. I was prepared for the physical nature of it, the military lifestyle wasn’t something I wasn’t afraid of wearing a uniform or those type of thing. And it was, was a great it was a great opportunity for me. I was surrounded by some great people, both, you know, cadet candidates and you know, some of the officers and military training officers we had there, plus some of the prior enlisted members that go there. You know, the chance to learn from them. They’ve been in the Air Force, they’ve done it, and now they’re taking this new trail. So it was great. It was a great opportunity for me to kind of start my journey in the military and through leadership.
Naviere Walkewicz 12:15
Well, and early on, you’re identified as a leader. You were the Bravo Squadron commander for the Prep School. What was it like leading your peers, right? So you had, you just mentioned, you know, whether they came in as cadet candidates, through athletics, through prior enlisted members, they were your peers. How did you do that?
Jemal Singleton 12:30
Yeah, you know, I’ve kind of been like— the leadership stuff I’d always had surrounding football, you know, I’d been a team captain and those type and kind of knew how to lead in my voice in that realm. This was a total departure of that because really nobody in that building cared that I played football. And being the squadron commander at that point is like, “OK, well, how do I lead people that are really my peers?” As you mentioned, same age, same group. And then not only that, I’m leading some guys that have already done the Air Force. They have been in the Air Force for multiple years, are older. How do I do it? And that’s, I think that’s the first place that I really learned that, hey, you have to be able to lead people from where they’re at. You know, it’s becoming a part of who they are, connecting with them, because then that they’re not going to care how your leadership style is if they don’t feel that you care about them. And I really felt that, OK, I was going to lead by example, and then I was going to try and connect with as many people in the building as I possibly could, in a way beyond what I’ve done before in my lifetime. And so it was a great experience for me. It was tough, you know, some hard times, and spent some late nights, doing some things, preparing for inspections. But honestly, that being able to lead in a totally different environment than what I was used to, and for my peers was tremendous in my growth.
Naviere Walkewicz 13:43
Can you share an example of how that came about? Because, was it something you just adopted on the fly? Was it something you saw from another leader, perhaps your parent or a coach? But what helped you realize I can approach this the way I’ve always approached it on the field?
Jemal Singleton 13:57
Well, I just— right from the get go, like I could lead by example, on a football field, relatively easy. I just work hard. That’s it. Work hard and do some things. And I was fortunate enough to be a relatively good player that allowed me to make plays. So there’s, there’s that piece. Well, how can I make that conversion in a military environment, in a squadron with some non-athletes? And really there were some similarities. But as I go back to is like, OK, I was going to make friends on a football team because we work together. We’re doing the exact same experience. Well, I’m not going through the exact same experience as everybody in that building, a lot of different backgrounds, a lot of different thought processes and all that. So it really kind of hit me in the face. It’s like, you can’t lead the same and it that has helped me tremendously when it comes to coaching players, is, you know, I can’t coach every player the exact same way. And I’ve always felt I can stand in room and say, “This is my way. This is how I do it,” and I’m going to lose half of my room, whereas when I can learn to connect and learn, OK, what motivates this person? What gets them to reach their full potential? What do I have to do? And it’s individual for everyone, it helps. And I really kind of try to take that mode way back then. And I think there was some success. People didn’t hate me that I know of, but it was, it was just an unbelievable time of just learning a different type of leadership that allowed me to kind of grow and do some better things as I move forward
Naviere Walkewicz 15:21
That’s fascinating. So then you went on to the Air Force Academy, you did four years there, and talk about a little bit your own personal growth journey there as a leader, because you had some very quick wins, I think in the Prep School. Were there moments where you further grew at the Academy?
Jemal Singleton 15:37
Yeah. I mean, I think the Academy can test you. It truly can. And I think it’s sometimes in a very positive way that sets you up for success, but other ways where you’re going to fail. And I think part of the curriculum, part of that is you have to experience some of that failure in order to grow potentially. I mean. I bring up a story, and it does affect me. As a kid, when I was coming through there, first time you go to basic training, and I was like, “Yeah, I’m athletic. I’m a football player. I can do all this stuff.” Well, I get stuck in a tunnel, and it's basic training. You’re in there, and I’m in this tunnel with dirt, and I’m stuck. And I literally think “I’m about to die.” I’m stuck. My arms are caved in. I’ve got the rubber ducky yard, rubber M-16, and I’m holding my helmet, falling on my face and all. And I went through some life moments in that tunnel of dirt. And it’s funny to tell you, I was like, I was gonna die, and I had to really adjust my mindset. I had to get all the panic out of me. I had to breathe and then continue on. And it’s like an obstacle like that seems simple, seems very strong. I always looked at like— I’ve done tough things in my life, right. And some of it was set up by the Air Force Academy. But being able to overcome those things by taking a deep breath, assessing exactly what’s going on. “Let’s evaluate this issue, and let’s find the best way to do this.” And I think that has just set the stage for that. And it’s funny. Like said, a funny story as a cadet, funny now, I can laugh now, but it was— and but those little steps, those little situations, showed up all the time where the Academy— you truly get extended. You get pushed beyond your limits to see what your limits truly are, and whether that’s in water survival, whether that’s—
Naviere Walkewicz 17:28
Let’s go back to water survival for a moment, because I remember jumping off the 10-meter, having to swim underwater, just preparing, “Well, this might be it for me.” Let’s talk about that experience for you.
Jemal Singleton 17:39
I don’t know why all these great stories are where I think I’m gonna die, but there are multiple. So, I’m in the water. I’m not a great swimmer. Never been a great swimmer. I started out in basic swimming, all that good stuff. Well, I’m a little bit stocky, a little thick, so I don’t float well either. Part of the training was, we were learning how to get BTUs on, take my pants off, do the flip, get the flotation device. Well, jump in the deep end. And I start to remove my pants to be able to do that, not realizing I’ve sunk to the bottom of this pool. And I start to swim. I don’t have enough breath. I’m not going to make it to the top of this water. So I’m doing everything I possibly can. I’m like, the instructor sees me struggling. I finally get stopped, yanks me up and pulls me up there. And I’m like, “What am I doing? This is crazy.” But again, it’s basically facing a big fear. And it’s then I learned to swim better, and then I got a little bit better working, and I jumped off of the big 10-meter, 5-meter? 10-meter. We had to jump off of and all those things. But it’s funny: When I look back, and it’s really this conversation is bringing out a lot of these memories of, you know, the little things, the little notches in time, of me doing something at the Academy that I would have never done anywhere else, being in basic training, going through a tunnel, almost drowning in water, survival in soaring, flying in a glider. My thought jumping out of an airplane when I took the jump program, all those little things are, like, just pile up and like, build your strength, your power, your stamina, all these amazing things that are— And then you throw in the fact of college football and athletics and bunch of the things that had to go on there. Man, pretty cool time.
Naviere Walkewicz 19:19
Well, I don’t know if my time was as fun, I’m just kidding. I think it’s pretty remarkable. And you talked about and then going into athletics, because your path is not very common, and we usually have a five-year commitment or 10 if you go on to pilot training. What was that like for you when we graduated then? And how did you get into this space?
Jemal Singleton 19:35
You know, I was one of those guys. I was pilot qualified when I got to the Academy, passed all the medical stuff and, somebody was like, “Hey, I want to fly. I'm going to be a pilot. Since I was up knee high to a grasshopper I’ve wanted to fly.” It wasn’t for me. It was something— it was an opportunity that presented itself again at the Academy. And I was like, “Oh man.” And so that became what I was going to do. I was going to fly. I was going to be a pilot. I fell in love with the A-10. I thought it was like me. It was built like me. Tank killer, and I was like those. And I remember, I’ll never forget I watched a show on it and there was a clip about it getting shot. And this A-10 had gotten its wing shot, all that, and still was capable to fly and land. I was like, “That's what I'm flying.” And that was it, and that was the plan. So I was going to be a pilot. Started introductory to flight training at the academy after I graduated, while I was also at the Prep School, went back there, and I was able to be one of the military training officers down there and coach with the football team. I fell in love with coaching. I did. I just, I fell head over heels for it, and I enjoyed flying. But there was just, there was a different feeling when I was on the field coaching. And I didn’t know that I had missed football as much until I was around it again. And I’ve always— I’ve told my daughter this: Find what you’re passionate about and do that, and if you do, you won’t work a day in your life. And so I had some tough, tough, tough decisions to make. You know, am I going to give up a pilot slot? Do you know how many people would die for this opportunity? They want to fly and probably can’t. So it was a hard process for me to make that decision. OK, you know what? I’m not flying, and part of was, there’s a 10-year commitment for it. I knew that probably wouldn’t get be able to coach at that point, and I just I couldn’t see myself without being a part of football. So took that jump, ended up giving up my pilot slot, got into public affairs, which was a great career, did some really cool things during my time in military, and was fortunate enough to get back to the Academy and get into the coaching world. So tough decision I had to make at that time to do it, but it kind of worked out for me, I think. Can’t complain too much, but yeah, just definitely a tough situation, a tough spot, and had to make a tough decision, kind of like what the Academy had trained me to do the whole time like, “Hey, there's going to be times where you're going to have to make a decision and jump all in.” And so I did.
Naviere Walkewicz 21:53
It sounds like it was a very important and monumental decision, and those are ones we don’t take lightly. How did you come to that decision? I’m sure you weren’t alone in getting to that point. So who did you lean into? Why did you lean into them? And ultimately, know that you had made the right decision?
Jemal Singleton 22:10
It started with my wife. I mean, obviously we had kind of had this roadmap planned forever of what life as a pilot and as a pilot’s wife was going to look like, and what things we were going to do. So it started there, and we had conversations after conversations after conversations. You know, I talked with Coach DeBerry, you know, Fisher DeBerry is an amazing man in my life, mentor of mine that I called and kind of talked about some of the things of, “OK, well, what if I do this?” Like, what if I don’t get back into coaching and just, you know, being able to have him as a sounding board there as well. But it was those people that were close to me just having those discussions of, “OK, is this something that I really want to do?” And at the end of the day, just with advice and prayer, I came to the thought that, “Hey, yeah, this is what I got to do.”
Naviere Walkewicz 22:57
I think that’s important to share that. You know, you did it in a way where you leaned into your network, your family, your foundation. I think that’s really important.
Jemal Singleton 23:06
Yeah, we can’t do these things alone. Sometimes we try, but these life decisions, you need help.
Naviere Walkewicz 23:10
Absolutely. So you got into coaching, and it seems like everything has kind of always been on an up for you, an up trajectory. Have you ever had failures other than almost dying in a tunnel?
Jemal Singleton 23:21
Yeah, I know those— the real stuff. This is what’s interesting about the coaching profession. And it’s— you’re going to move. And really, there’s two types of coaches, coaches that are fired, or coaches that are going to get fired. So it’s just part of the business. And not many people know this, but my first coaching job was with Fisher DeBerry in 2006 I separated from the Air Force in July. Well, Coach DeBerry retired that December. So was I basically— that was my first because had it not been for Coach Calhoun as he came in to retain me on staff, I would have been looking for work six months after I had just given up my military— you know, that lifestyle that I loved. And that was a thing too, is, you know, we were going to stay in the military forever. It’s just that, I love the lifestyle, but then an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, coaching football, my alma mater came about, and so six months after, and what’s going on, I don’t have a job. That one was a scare. Kind of worked out. But then my first two years in the NFL, after my second year in the NFL, we’re fired fired. Like the staff is gone, “Find work, find a job, go somewhere else,” and you just start to realize that, “OK, this is part of it. This is what I have to do.” I'd kind of gone a pretty good streak where I'd have either avoided getting fired or did well enough to not get fired. But this hit me square in the face, and I was, “I’m in the NFL. Think this is kind of the epitome of what I'm trying to do.” And I’m told, “No, it’s over now.” So didn’t know where to go from that. Thought about going back to college. You know, same if I get into that world. But I was fortunate to stay in the NFL and keep grinding, as they say, and keep working. But there’s successes and there’s failures. And, I mean, I’ve had some ultimate highs and ultimate lows in this profession, and it’s—I’m just glad I’ve been equipped to kind of deal with it with my time at the Academy.
Naviere Walkewicz 25:14
Well, they say that in those moments, I think of great failure, there’s some forging of ourselves that happens. Can you talk through a little bit and whether it’s about being fired or any other time when you’ve experienced failure that has truly— you felt it was a part of how you’ve been shaped. How did you navigate that as a leader? Did it kind of shake you as a leader, questioning things about yourself? Or can you just talk about that?
Jemal Singleton 25:38
Yeah, I think as a leader, there’s got to be some sort of foundation that you have and what you build on. And that’s the main thing for me. You know, being a person of faith is something that I’ve always used as a foundation for me to rely on that when those times of trouble kind of arise. And I think as leaders, you understand that, you know, there’s wins and losses. I mean, I coach a profession that you’re basically judged by the scoreboard; that determines kind of your success or your failure. So it’s really, you know right up front, did we win or did we lose? Boom, it’s black and white. And those things happen all the time. But I do think some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned have been in the down times. You know, I’ve talked about been to two Super Bowls. I lost one, though, and that feeling after that game was unlike any other, and you kind of got to have some time to deal with it, you know, personally, and then you got to find a way. “OK, well, what do I got to do to move forward? How do I step—.” You can’t spend all day in that mindset not being positive. The success and failures that I’ve had in the NFL has allowed me, ultimately, to be at the point that I am, and I think also able to handle victory, just like you handle defeat, and that’s it’s been a pretty neat ride.
Naviere Walkewicz 26:51
For some of our leaders, when they are helping others navigate personal failures and loss, how do you coach them through that? What are some of the things you can help others in their navigation of that kind of time period.
Jemal Singleton 27:03
It really kind of leads me to this year. So Saquon Barkley, we know that he’s a phenomenal running back that I get the pleasure to coach. You know, just come from New York, his time at New York, and how it ended, there were some things and, you know, there was a part of me that was like, “OK, if I had been through what he had just went through, where would my mindset be?” Like, “What would I be thinking?” You know, first round draft pick, number two, second pick in the draft, all this stuff, had success, but not really, you know, major success. And it’s like, “So how are you feeling?” And so we had a meeting, and I remember telling him I wanted him to know exactly what I thought about him and his skills and his ability, and I let him know right off the bat that he's the best running back I’ve ever evaluated. Boom, that was a conversation, just us, and really didn’t know the impact that had whatsoever until he’s on a podcast, and it’s months later and all that. And he made the comment that, you know, when he came to Philly, you know, “My running back coach believed in me more than I believed in myself.” And I knew at that moment, you never know the one thing that you can say to a person, and it may be socially, it may be something— just some sort of inspiration, some sort of trust that can help them gain. And you just don’t know. And sometimes it’s a word, sometimes it’s a simple action. But I think when you can invest in people and invest in what they are truly about, and invest in them, that’s the first part. That’s the biggest hurdle of leadership there is because they know you care. They know that you’re doing things that’s in the best interest for them. And I think in leadership, that connection point is extremely important.
Naviere Walkewicz 28:42
So that’s an amazing story, and it was one on your team, such a critical player and component to, I think, the success of this team. But how do you do that for all of them that you come into contact with? I mean, it reminds me of the Academy, right? The best of the best going there, and how do you motivate the best of the best to that level of an individual investment.
Jemal Singleton 29:03
You have to know them. Like, you have to learn their personalities. Because what I did to motivate Saquon may not be the same thing to motivate my rookie or the next guy that’s coming up. It’s all different. And I go back to, I have to formulate leadership plans for me of how I’m going to address these players. Yeah, there's an ability thing, there's a football thing. It’s, “Hey, we can help you get better on this run or this path or these different things, fundamentally.” But it’s the other— it’s the mental part of the game that’s as big as anything. And the only way I can tap into that is to sometimes bare my soul, bare who I am, like, have honest and upfront conversations, to be able to show myself being vulnerable at times, because it allows them to know, “OK, this is a safe space. I can be vulnerable in here.” And that gives me insight to who they are, how they’re thinking. And when you have that, I think you can lean— they’ll do anything for you, and you’ll do anything for them. But that’s the biggest piece of leadership that I keep going back to. And it’s funny, and kind of not to segue a little bit, you know, one of the things in— I don’t know if you remember, so we were freshmen at the Air Force Academy. And Stephen R. Covey is talking to us, and it's the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. So that’s Covey, and it’s this whole thing and the whole process. Now we’re just freshmen, you know, four-degrees. Well, fast forward. We’re talking 2023 we sign an undrafted free agent player by the name of Britain Covey. So Britain Covey is the grandson of Stephen Covey that wrote that book, and Britain's dad, also Steve, is also a leader in leadership, writes books, all those things. So full circle, I listened to his grandfather speak. Had to work with him on the football field and got to meet his dad, and his dad actually gave me a copy of his book that he’d written, with a nice note inside from that. But it’s like this leadership— and I bring all that up just to say because, you know and Trust and Inspire is a book that I lean on heavily, because it really fits my coaching style and my leadership style, and it talks about, hey, the transition from command-and-control leadership to trust-and-inspire leadership. And that book impacted me crazy. But it’s his father I heard speak, met through his son, boom, and now that same connection is helping me and coach. The values of trust and inspire and that type of leadership is me. Like, that’s the piece that I try to do. And you mentioned it, whether you’re in the field, the boardroom, whatever, I do think that we are in a world now where being able to trust your employees, being able to trust your players, be able to trust who’s working for you, and finding ways to inspire them allows them to reach their ultimate goal. And at the end of the day, I’m trying to help a person reach their full potential. So crazy.
Naviere Walkewicz 32:01
That is crazy. I’m still just gonna wrap my head around how it literally came full circle. Who else— are there other influencers in your life that have shaped you as a leader? I mean, that’s an incredible story and book to lean on. Obviously, talked about Fisher DeBerry, but anyone else that has really shaped you?
Jemal Singleton 32:16
Coaches have been a big part of my life, you know. And I go back to my high school coaches, my high school position coach, Glenn McClay, was a man of faith, strong and just unbelievable. With just that, I was a knucklehead as a young kid, being honest, I had this crazy haircut, all kind of— just coming from England show up in the San Antonio, like, “Who is this guy?” And he really taught me discipline, and he taught me how to work, and he taught me the importance of being a leader and how to lead and how you should respond if you are a leader. Was great. My defensive coordinator in high school, Don Lloyd, is actually— he was up just this past season, came up to a couple of games, so I keep in close contact with them, but those are probably two of the guys that started my change, my transition as a young high school, naive knucklehead, into maybe a mature young man. And then just to go from that program and be able to fall in Coach DeBerry’s lap and let him mold me and take me, and he’s just unbelievable that the way that he coached and he truly cared about me as a person, more than just a football player. That’s something I will never forget. And I was like, “You know, what if I could be half of the coach that Coach DeBerry was and with his players?” I mean, the number of lives that he impacted at the Academy during his tenure is unbelievable. But, you know, set me on an amazing path from that and just those guys, I mean, those guys— that pivotal parts of my life and my growth were there and showed me the way, and I’m just so thankful.
Naviere Walkewicz 33:51
Wow. I mean, everything that you’ve shared, it seems like we keep coming to this. You have really close relationships with the people that you connect with. It seems like with your coaches, with your players, is that the secret sauce to your leadership?
Jemal Singleton 34:05
It’s the foundation. I mean, there’s definitely that piece of “How do I connect out of those relationships?” And it's an old saying, you know. I mean, being an Academy guy, you know, I got quotes and phrases, you know, but, uh, but it is that my, my whole is— they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. And I’ve used that my entire coaching career, and I’ve make it a like, “Hey, I’ve got to connect on the level with this.” Does it always work? No, I mean, not batting 1,000 but it’s worked a bunch, and I think that allows me to coach guys maybe harder sometimes, because they do know that I’ve kind of have their best interest in heart, but I gain that by showing my genuineness like, “This is not a farce. This is not something fake. I care about you. I want to know what's going on with your family. I want to get to know your family. I want to get to know you as a person.” And I just think that’s important. We’re all going through this journey of life together. Why wouldn’t we want to do it with close relationships to those that are near us? So that it is I’m trying to connect in any way possible. And also, going back to my I think because I’ve got interest in a lot of various things in different areas, I can usually find something. “OK, boom, we can click here. Let's start here, and we'll be able to build from that point from anything.” “Hey, he likes to play golf. Oh, I like—,” just a bunch of different things. Like, it’s been amazing to be able to try and find those points with a player to build on that. And it’s important. It really is.
Naviere Walkewicz 35:40
I mean, it sounds like you are certainly investing in the players. And it shows, right? I think you can see it in the translation on the field. Talk about what it's like outside of the building here, when you go home, what’s Jemal like at home? What’s home life? And how do you, I mean, lead as a father and a husband?
Jemal Singleton 36:01
I’ve had a great little saying I’ve been using recently. My daughter rodeos. So she rides horses, and she used to call it— “tough as bull” is the phrase. But my wife also grew up small-town Texas rodeo and riding horses, doing all that stuff, so she's part of that. But she used to compete professionally. She’s kind of given up that to help our daughter, like she’s training her. So I’m not even the best coach in my house. You know, my wife has got me beat. She’s working with this 11-year-old that’s killing it right now. But no, when I get home, I think that’s, there’s a leadership level there. I think being a father comes with responsibilities. Being a husband comes with the responsibilities. And I think that at the end of the day, I’m always going to try and be where my feet are, like be totally invested and committed into that. We talk at times, and it showed up. I think my wife— anything my wife posts out there. She’s got a post of me shoveling manure after the Super Bowl. So I was like— you want to know what humbles me? Horse manure humbles me. So we do have this farm. We do have horses, and do ride. And it’s a total departure from what I do day to day. So when I go home, and literally, my drive, I’m 30 minutes from the office, I get a time to decompress. When I’m going home, I get a time to get revved up when I’m coming in, but when I hit the gravel road that leads up to my house, like, that's my switch. “OK, I'm not in coach mode.” Now, you rarely turn that off, but I’m going into dad mode, I’m going into husband mode. I’m going in— that I have to try and be the best father and best husband I can possibly be. And my family deserves the same type of work ethic and hard work that I’m giving to my players at work, to the coaches at work. They deserve those same characteristics when I get home. So that’s a big part of trying to be home. And that means, you know, you can win a Super Bowl if you want, but you’re going to shovel, you’re going to get out there and you’re going to work. And I always joke that the honey-do list hits different when your wife’s country. So whether it’s loading up hay, whether it’s grooming the arena, whether it’s shoveling horse manure, that’s it. I wouldn’t say it humbles me, but it keeps me humble. I think it’s probably the best thing.
Naviere Walkewicz 38:17
I enjoy that so much. What have you learned as a leader from your wife?
Jemal Singleton 38:22
Oh man, you know just— I gotta talk about grit, like, my wife is a tough cookie. And I told you she’s a saint. She married an Air Force officer turned football coach, so she’s glutton for punishment. One way or the other it was gonna be hard. But no she is such a tough, strong, independent woman, but at the same time, is just an amazing, caring mother, amazing wife, just the things that she does. I joke, she my wife. She drives an F-450 dually. She drives a big Ford truck. She hauls about a 37-foot horse trailer, and she does that, but that ain’t me, that’s her, and she's— Oh, she got a flat on the trailer, pulled on the side of row, put it up, change the tire, boom, and she’s back rolling. So I just love how she has this grit to her, but there’s this amazing, soft and caring side as well, like it’s— and I really, for me, that’s the part that I’m like, I kind of can be like, I can be this tough, physical, strong person. But you know what? I also need to have this other side. I need to have this other piece that I think also helps me allow people in so that those relationships that we talk about happening more. You can’t, you know, like, it can’t be just give, give, give, give, give for them. And I don’t know it’s, it allows me to say, “Hey, I’m hard, I’m strong,” but you know what, I’m also there’s times when I’m weak, sometimes where I can handle those and it’s OK to live in both of those worlds. And that she shows me that every day, just at work, she gets up earlier than me. She’s out there doing the barn chores. She’s feeding the animals. She’s doing all that. We have a petting zoo, so just make sure we understand that I’ve got too many donkeys. I’ve got four goats. We’ve got five horses on our property. And that young lady goes out there and she does all that stuff. And it’s amazing, because she’s building Mallory too— their time at that with her out there and her working and her understanding work ethic and having to go out and do some of those things, clean water tanks, shovel manure, all that stuff. And I love it. Like, I’m blessed to have married the woman that I’ve married, and we’ve been going strong since right after, really right after graduation, until now. So it’s been a really cool ride. And to have a rock at home like that is huge with what I do.
Naviere Walkewicz 40:37
Especially since you’re investing in your team. You’re investing in your family. How do you invest in you?
Jemal Singleton 40:45
You know, hobbies like other there’s some things I don’t get to do a lot of them, a whole lot, but I do get it to do it every now and then. And for me, one of the great things that clears my mind is fly fishing. You know, getting out on a river, being in a mountain stream and just taking deep breaths and just being thankful to God, of all the blessings that I have, and all the things good and bad that have happened in my life. But it’s those moments, you know, it’s that— and, you know, even my drive home like I use those 30 minutes to transition from kind of my mindset, tough day at work, bad, some things didn't go well, or a loss, driving home after the end of the game, after a loss, it’s like, OK, use that time to just relax, just recover. And you walk into an 11-year-old and all she wants to do is see her dad. It’s like, that stuff kind of goes away pretty quick. So that’s it, you know, family. And maybe getting on a stream every now and then, is the way to do it.
Naviere Walkewicz 41:42
I love that. And in those moments of kind of just— is it music? Is it silence?
Jemal Singleton 41:48
No, I’m a music guy. There’s not there. I don’t do anything without music. I do barn chores with music. I do it is that what’s on your plate? And, you know, I’ve gotten really big.
Naviere Walkewicz
What’s on your playlist?
Jemal Singleton
I mean, obviously Christian music is big, gospel. There’s Christian hip hop that I’m a really big fan of, because I still get the beat — I’m kind of a hip hop child when I was born — but with a positive message. So it’s, you know, I try to feed my soul, you know, just the same way I feed my body with positive music and that. And it helps. Great film watching it. I’ve either got my ear pods in or I’ve got music playing, no matter where I’m at, what I'm doing. So it’s, it is. It is being able to do that and kind of connect in those moments?
Naviere Walkewicz 42:30
Well, I wonder if this might be the answer based off of what you just shared about kind of investing in yourself. But what is something you do every day to be a better leader?
Jemal Singleton 42:41
So I have a process. And I think everybody needs to have a daily process. So for me, it’s wake up. The first thing I do is I always do a 365-day Bible reading. So it’s just boom, that gives me something just to start the day. And it’s that. And so usually, boom, I read that, and then I’ll get in the car, and I’m listening to worship music as I’m going to work, I’m prepping myself for work. And then my workout. So I’m going to work out, I’m going to lift, I’m going to do whatever can just physically for that, and kind of do some self-help, and I do that in the morning, and then it’s locking time for work. But I think those little consistent behaviors— and it’s always that it’s the things that you can do consistently over time, not, hey, bunch this out and don’t do it. It’s consistently. So I have no excuse. Every single day I can wake up read the Word and that sets me into the path of my habits that I’ve established. So for me, that’s the piece I have. Something consistent. Is it flexible? Yes. Can I take my phone and be on the road and still read? Yes. Can I be in the car and listen to it on the radio? Yes, I can do all that stuff. But I think as leaderships us, having our self-routines for ourselves allows us to be prepared. And I think the just physical nature of it being healthy, trying to, you know, eat right, all the little things, just to be the best that you can be. I have an active job, so I want to try and move around at least a little bit. There is a coaching rule, don’t ever demonstrate anything full speed, because you’re old and you’re going to hurt something. But I want to be in a position to where I can, at least, you know, get out there, move around and run, and that’s part of it, you know, the leadership. See, I’m sweating this practice as much, not as much as players, but like the players, so they at least see that I'm invested. And I think that just having that daily routine is something I think when you listen to most leaders speak, they say that all the time, there's a common theme, and I’ve stolen that from some of the leaders I’ve read about and watched as well.
Naviere Walkewicz 44:36
So when you think about yourself and your growth as a leader, I mean, you’ve hit the pinnacle of leading the Super Bowl-winning team. What’s next for you?
Jemal Singleton 44:48
Well, just as losing a Super Bowl is one of the worst things I think I’ve ever felt in my profession, winning a Super Bowl is the greatest thing I’ve ever felt in my profession. And unbelievable, and it’s all what it’s cracked up to be. We had a parade here in Philly. You want to talk about unbelievable? I still— I’ve never seen that many people in one place. And you’re— it was five and a half hours of just the most amazing celebration. People all over— we go to the Rocky steps, and you’re looking, I can’t see where the people end, like there’s a sea of people, and it’s like, I kind of want that every year for the rest of my life. That’s what I want. And it’s like, you get that experience, and it’s like, OK, this is what OK in my profession, with the role I’m playing right now, that's success, and it feels good and it’s awesome, and you see what it does to players and how their involvement and their winning, and you understand how hard that is to do. I mean, there’s guys that have spent their entire careers and never even gone to a Super Bowl, so the fact that I’ve been able to go to two and the fact that I was part of a winning team, one is unbelievable, but that’s what I don’t want the other years, like every other year that I’ve ever coached football, I don’t want those. I want last year and I want it to start over. So it’s really— that mindset is “OK, well, what do I have to do better? What did we do that we can get better at?” And it’s really that attention to detail, nonstop, because you know what it takes. You’ve done it. You know what it takes to get to that point. Well, the problem is, what it took last year is not the same as what it’s going to take this year. So it’s the motivation of, I want to strive for that. And you look at some of the greats, you know, put Belichick in that with his wins, you know, Lombardi, you know, just those guys— even Saban in college that have won multiple national championships. I get it now I get where the drive comes. Because it’s what you want every like I want to every off season. I want to be walking around, hey, Super Bowl winning team, yeah, for sure. And but that’s it, like, that’s once you get a taste of that, it’s addictive. It truly is. It’s, it’s that success piece of going about it, but there’s some foundational things that you have to do in order to do that. And you know, hopefully we can go again, and hopefully we can work, but it’s going to take a whole new effort, a whole new game plan, a whole new everything, because what we did last year doesn’t matter anymore.
Naviere Walkewicz 47:17
Wow. So what advice would you give to leaders for what they should do today so that they might achieve something greater tomorrow or down the road?
Jemal Singleton 47:27
I think. And even for me, because it’s I’m in a kind of a position coach. I’m not the head coach, those types of things. I think the biggest thing that you can do is lead where you’re at, and it doesn't matter where you’re at. “Oh, well, I’m not the CEO,” or “Oh, I'm not the head coach,” or “Oh, I'm not the commander.” So? The leadership comes in a million different ways, and I truly believe that you know kind of what you do with the little things, is how you do everything. And if, in your position, whatever it may be — maybe nobody even works for you — you can still lead from that position. You can lead from that spot. And I think that’s it. Don't be afraid to step out. Don’t be afraid to be a leader in your own mind. It’s got to start there at some point. You keep honing those skills and then maybe you are going to grow. And then, hey, now you have three people working for you, but then now be a leader at that point. And it’s kind of like what I mentioned earlier about be where your feet are. Well, lead where your feet are at. You know, when I go home, lead, and that comes in a different way than when I’m at work, lead. Well, whatever position you’re in, lead. And there’s by example, lead by work, lead by motivation, however it is, there’s no excuse. You can you can lead from any position, any spot that you’re in. So start, if you haven’t start, it’s getting reps. You’re getting leadership reps every time you step out there, and those reps are only going to build the leader that you'll be later down the road.
Naviere Walkewicz 48:51
Amazing. Well, we're going to ask Jemal for his final thoughts here next but before we do, I’d like to take a moment and thank you for listening to Long Blue Leadership. The podcast publishes Tuesdays in both video and audio, and is available on all your favorite podcast platforms. Be sure to watch, listen and subscribe to all episodes of Long Blue Leadership at longbluleadership.org. So Jemal, this is such an important moment for us, because I think everyone’s hanging on to you know, what are the final things you want to share with our listeners? Is there anything else that you want to make want to make sure that they kind of ingest and take back from our time together today?
Jemal Singleton 49:27
You know, I think you could probably hear in my voice just what the Academy means to me. I mean, the Air Force Academy is, honestly, to this day, why I’m able to sit here. It’s why I was part of a Super Bowl-winning team. It’s why I coach in the NFL. It’s why I have a good family life. It’s what— I mean, there’s so many things that that really relate back to what I did at the Air Force Academy, and that was really the main start, and then even in the military afterwards, some of the lessons that I learned there, and I do think for the Academy, I think just intercollegiate, the athletic programs, like those things are huge. And I think when we’re trying to build these leaders that are going to fight our wars, that are going to be part of that and go, the leadership that they can learn on an athletic field is huge. And just those— the closest thing, I think anybody— for me, closest thing in the battle I had ever gotten to was on a field. I mean, just the physical nature, whether it’s the mat, the court, the field, we’re seeing the role that athletics plays in the development of leadership. And there’s so many great people that have played sports going through. But it is such a great part of building young men and young women in the way. So I’m a huge supporter of Air Force athletics with what they do. I think it’s a big part of leadership training. And then when you combine that piece with what the Academy offers and the different lessons— they’ll stick you in a tube in the dirt and let you learn how to get out of that, right? It’s unbelievable. They’ll let you almost drown in that. But no, but those lessons when if you take any piece away, of my time at the Academy, you take any piece away, the product is different. And I think every piece is so vital, the education piece, the academic piece, that you kind of work, and that’s important. You know, the military training. Ironing your bed. It’s important. I don't make my bed ever. My wife knows I’m not making the bed, but all those little pieces are important. It’s the recipe for success, for leadership, and if you take out this ingredient, you’re not getting the same price. It’s not going to taste the same. And I think that’s the pieces. The Academy is a phenomenal place. Every little pillar that's built on there is extremely important.
Naviere Walkewicz 51:45
Well, this has been incredible. I can’t believe 25 years flew by, but you’re still inspiring me today. Jemal, this has been a pleasure, and I want to thank you for being on Long Blue Leadership.
Jemal Singleton 51:55
Oh, the pleasure is all mine. Great, great honor. And I said, we've come a long way from those yellow caps.
Naviere Walkewicz 51:59
Yes we have, yes we have. And I’d also like to extend a very special thanks to Stacy Kelleher, John Paul Beatty, Alex Barson, Wes Lauria and Haley McCullough, the team here who provided such amazing support for our production and studio space. I’m Naviere Walkewicz; this is Long Blue Leadership. Until next time, thank you for joining us for this edition of Long Blue Leadership. The podcast drops every two weeks on Tuesdays and is available on all your favorite podcast apps. Send your comments and guest ideas to us at socialmedia@usafa.org, and listen to past episodes at longblueleadership.org.
KEYWORDS
Leadership, Air Force Academy, coaching, Super Bowl, mentorship, personal growth, military influence, sports, resilience, career decisions, leadership, success, failure, motivation, personal growth, relationships, coaching, NFL, family, grit
The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation
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