My Elite Network: Why did you decide to attend Santa Clara?

Doug Cosbie: During my freshman year I attended Holy Cross, and the spring quarter, I transferred to Santa Clara. It was more of an academic choice than anything else and it is where I was supposed to be.

My Elite Network: Do you have a favorite memory of playing at Santa Clara?

Doug Cosbie: Yes, I do, I met my wife Sherry there. Just the whole college experience was great. You make lifelong friends. Unfortunately, Santa Clara doesn’t have a football program any more. Which is a shame.

My Elite Network: Do you remember being drafted by the Cowboys?

Doug Cosbie: I was a little surprised on draft day, I really thought I was going to be drafted by the Seahawks in the middle rounds not the Cowboys in the third round. Back then you would get a phone call on a dorm room phone, or at home. Way before cell phones, social media and televised drafts.

My Elite Network: Do you recall walking into the Cowboy locker room for the first time?

Doug Cosbie: It was a little intimidating, almost every name on the lockers was a household name. Being a football fan and watching the NFL on TV, you had to watch the Cowboys, they were the late game every Sunday and played in all those Super Bowls. That made it a little different from other locker rooms.

But you have to get over that quickly. Until the vets saw you could play and help them win, they didn’t pay much attention to you. Once they knew you could compete at that level and you made the team they did a good job of making you feel welcome. Looking back, it was an easy adjustment because of the quality of players who were on the team.

My Elite Network: What was it like playing for Tom Laundry?

Doug Cosbie: He was all business. I played for him for 10 years and I think I had two non-football conversations with him. As the head coach, you often don’t get too close with the players because at some point you have to cut or trade them. I think a lot of that was his military background and he had a regimented discipline that he expected everyone to follow.

My Elite Network:Do you have a favorite memory from playing with the Cowboys.

Doug Cosbie: I do. I was just talking about this the other day - during a Monday Night game in LA, someone had called in a death threat against Coach Laundry. For his protection, he left the sideline and came back with a bullet proof vest. No one knew what was going on until the plane ride home.  Thinking about that situation, it was who Tom was, he was going to coach the game no matter what. Another favorite memory is, I had become friends with the actor, James Caan.  He and his10-year-old son, Scott, would come to the games when we played the Rams. Scott was an athlete and big sports fan.  Jimmy asked if I could get him a job on the sidelines. So, I spoke to our equipment manager and he had no problem with Scott working the game with him. He ended up being the guy who carries the head phone cable for Coach Landry.  After the game was over, Scott and I are walking off the field, he said that he had fun and he really enjoyed it. I asked him if Coach Landry said anything to him, he said “yea, he said I did a great job”. I remember responding, damn he never told me that. That is something that Scott will always remember.  I admit, I’m still a little jealous that Scott got a “good job” from Coach Landry!

My Elite Network: What do you hope people remember about you from your playing days?

Doug Cosbie: I’ve never really thought about that. I don't have any regrets because I worked hard. Every year I kept getting stronger and faster and developing my skills. I always felt like I needed to improve. Just like a most athletes, you're often harder on yourself than the coaches are. I also worked to stay humble and hungry. So, I pushed myself to work harder each year. As I get closer to game day, I had to prepare mentally, knowing I had to have a mindset to compete and battle against whoever I was going against. I had to have that mindset to be able to compete against the all the great players in the NFL. It was a mental process of visualizing getting my butt kicked, to this guy's in trouble, and finally, I got this! To be able to excel at this high of a level, I knew I had to get bigger, stronger, faster and better skilled. Long answer to a simple question but I hope that people could see my improvement every year and understand the hard work it took and my involvement in the community.

My Elite Network:  What are you involved with now?

Doug Cosbie: My wife keeps me busy, but I have no problem sleeping in and reading a book or listening to music.  I’m also involved in some business ventures. I am a partner with the La Jolla Group, an action sports clothing licensing company and working with a couple startups involved in sport vision assessment and training.