Like Antonopulos, Garcia got his bachelors degree from Northern Colorado. The Broncos had never been to the playoffs and had just two winning seasons before Antonopulos arrived. We thought it would be (quick). He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors seven times for his work. More Videos Trainer Antonopulos, a Broncos' 'fixture,' retires, The future of the NFL combine: Is there really a chance it could end forever? Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He had a fear of flying. Celebrating 40 years of service On August 3, the Broncos organization came together to . Antonopulos has been an athletic trainer for the Denver Broncos for a total of 941 games. In fact over his NFL career Elway ran for3,407 yards and 33 touchdowns. Ill always be a Bronco.. With unmatched dedication and loyalty to the Broncos, Greek became a trusted confidant for so many coaches, staff members and especially Pat Bowlen. He told me after the fact he was going to take a half-hour (for the interview) and be on his way, Antonopulos said. "As a proud native Coloradoan, Greek loved the Broncos and gave everything he had to the job, arriving most days before 4:30 a.m. and keeping that same passion throughout his entire career. The team announced the long-time athletic trainer's retirement on Monday. Antonopulos called the honor breathtaking.. We just really hit it off and it was an opportunity that I had always dreamed about.. From Left to Right: Dustin Little, Josh Hartman, Steve Antonopulos, Michael Sundeen, and Billy-Joe Voltaire. We had to put him on injured reserve because he couldnt travel. Professional football players endure incessant chronic pain in the playing days and beyond. Vince Garcia. Longtime head athletic trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos is retiring after 45 years with the club, the team announced Monday. Antonopulos, 72, started working for the Broncos on St. Patricks Day 1976 as an assistant trainer, was promoted to director of rehabilitation in 80, to head athletic trainer in 81 and was director of sports medicine since 2016. The weather was awful. pic.twitter.com/uwM5i7YAAm. Discussing his knee rehabilitation, Gotsis at the time said. It paid $25 a week plus room and board, he said with a laugh. Jiminy Christmas, Im humbled; what an awesome thing, he said. In 2017, Antonopulos was promoted to the teams director of sports medicine, where he oversaw all aspects of the clubs training and rehabilitation process. Antonopulos forged strong relationships with coaches and players alike and had a particularly close bond with late owner Pat Bowlen, who bought the Broncos in 1984. Commanders wide receiver Jahan Dotson is "fired up" to work with Washington's new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. After the 1980 season, he was elevated to head trainer and split his old salary in half to hire two assistants. The one other was (running back) Rob Lytle back in the day. He had the fingernail on his thumb totally torn off and was bleeding all over the place. In the playoffs after the 1986 season, the Broncos traveled to Cleveland to win the AFC championship game in overtime, highlighted by The Drive to end regulation. Download the 9NEWS APPiTunes:http://on9news.tv/itunesGoogle Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n. Its just a cool place., Oh boy, a couple of those. Antonopulos applied for the job and Hurst reached out to have breakfast in Denver when Fort Hays was coming through town between basketball games at Northern Colorado and Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo). Athletic trainers are witnesses to the magic and myth of extraordinary athletic feats. Antonopulos, 72, whom most everyone with the team and in the league knows simply as "Greek," has been with the Broncos since 1976. The Denver Broncos head trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos has retired from the NFL after 45 years with the team. He was very straight forward, he was very honest and he was a really good communicator in that he has a good bedside manner in a position where that is obviously required.. It was dreary. That way, we are either working with them or doing administrative work. Antonopulos, 72, started working for the Broncos on St. Patricks Day 1976 as an assistant trainer, was promoted to director of rehabilitation in 80, to head athletic trainer in 81 and was director of sports medicine since 2016. Rick Massie was a receiver from Kentucky. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Antonopulos called working for the Broncos a lifes dream., A lot of people say that, but it was the reality for me, he said. Steve Antonopulos has been the head trainer for the Broncos ever since. View Steve Antonopulos's business profile as Head AT at Denver Broncos. Broncos president/CEO Joe Ellis had this to say about Antonopulos during a phone interview with the Denver Post. Included in the Broncos' draft room is trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos, who is working his 41st NFL Draft. My philosophy was if you do your job and do a good job, theyll get to you. Veteran free agentRussell Okung, the starting left tackle, was signed during the offseason while recovering from shoulder surgery. Antonopulos is the only Broncos employee who has been to all eight Super Bowls. The elation and what historically happened there for the Broncos was unbelievable., The old Kingdome in Seattle was a great place because of the crowd noise and it was a good place to travel. Past and current players including Peyton Manning and Von Miller . He is believed to be the longest-tenured trainer with one team in NFL history, and Greek is the only person to be a part of all eight Broncos Super Bowl appearances. 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Ill have to say, back in the day, we always felt we were on the cusp of the concussion stuff. Please check your email for a confirmation. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. During the season, Antonopulos would often arrive at the facility around 4 a.m. and stay as late as required. So I called him. We sincerely thank his wife Susan and the entire Antonopulos family for sharing Greek with us for so many years. Is hard reset only way to salvage Jets QB dilemma? Your login session has expired. It didnt matter if they were a Hall of Famer or an undrafted rookiehis standard never changed. The award is given annually to a NFL trainer who best exemplifies a long-term commitment to the NFL, as well as exemplary performance. Championships are made on practice fields; championships are also made in training rooms and rehab gyms. His motto was defend your desk. And the only way to defend your desk, Antonopulos would say, is to be at your desk. He leaves big shoes to fill at the organization. As a proud native Coloradoan, Greek loved the Broncos and gave everything he had to the job, arriving most days before 4:30 a.m. and keeping that same passion throughout his entire career. There are no set work hours for an athletic trainer in the NFL. He is believed to be the longest-tenured trainer with one team in NFL history, and Greek is the. He held the post until 2016, after which he transitioned into his role as director of sports medicine for four years. The Broncos will have a new person as the head of their training staff for the first time in a long time. A motto for Antonopulos was Defend My Desk., When a new owner or coach was hired, he said: They come in and have 100 things going on and what they dont need is somebody trying to make an appointment and promote themselves. The next, crippled. No other NFL trainer has treated a teams general manager, head coach, offensive coordinator and current roster of players. Antonopulos joined the Broncos as assistant athletic trainer in 1976 and retired in 2021 as the teams director of sports medicine. NFL.com keeps you up to date with all of the latest league news from around the NFL. Be the first one to comment on this story. Gotsis had yet to be treated by the man crucial to his draft selection and his successful knee rehabilitation, head athletic trainerSteve Antonopulos. During his time as a trainer, the Denver Broncos posted a 438-311-1 record. By 1987 he received the NFL/Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) award for Training Staff of the Year. Kentucky's Will Levis, a likely top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, spoke Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine and -- in under 15 minutes -- presented himself as arguably the most self-assured QB in this year's class. For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "9news" to find the free app to add to your account. Their athletic body movements express their identity. A good trainers room is filled with the mundane, bathed in the light of here-and-now reality. Rainy. Antonopulos treated 983 players who appeared in at least one regular season/playoff game for the Broncos. Denver Broncos trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos has retired after 45 years with the franchise, the team announced Monday. He was a fixture on our sidelines for the greatest moments in team history, the first person running on the field to care for an injured player and the one who supported them through every step of their recovery. We always worked with Craig Hospital and the concussion experts and developed our protocols, which are similar to some that are used today. The worst locker room in the NFL to a point where we had to tape our athletes in the bathroom if you could imagine that, the locker room was so small. He was very straight forward, he was very honest and he was a really good communicator in that he has a good bedside manner in a position where that is obviously required.. And then Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City has always been one of my favorites. I was blessed to be a part of the elation of that. "Steve has been an institution with the Broncos for the last 45 years and became one of the most respected athletic training professionals in all of sports," said team President and CEO Joe Ellis. I was blessed to be a part of the elation of that. Smith runs second-fastest 40 by DL since 03, Saleh compares Carr to Stafford pre-Rams trade, Allen to be ready to roll for offseason program, How to maximize leverage of No. Five hours later, he was driving me 80 miles an hour down I-25 so I could get to the basketball game that night. pic.twitter.com/QngbUDNhEI. Pat Bowlen's family has chosen Steve "Greek" Antonopulos to serve as the owner's presenter at the Hall of Fame . I never worked a day in my life because I loved what I was doing so much and the organization was so classy. In all he was on the sideline for 941 games (preseason, regular season and postseason) and worked for 13 different head coaches. At the moment, Im just completely thrilled to be a Denver Bronco and I cant wait to get up there. Genuine compassiondoes not stokepipe dreams but conveys the everyday dignity owed to any man, especially for the players attempting to secure a livelihood for their families to leap from ongoing poverty to sustained prosperity. The Raiders plan to place the franchise tag on running back Josh Jacobs if the sides cannot come to a deal on a long-term extension by Tuesday's deadline, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Friday. It's an annual position that becomes even more demanding during training camp and the season. The best thing is stay in your domain, stay at your desk and work your rear end off.. Please check your email for a confirmation. We sincerely thank his wife Susan and the entire Antonopulos family for sharing Greek with us for so many years.". I love the energy required to survive in this game. Greek does sustained hard work with players that benefits in indirect ways. Denver will rename the training room at UCHealth Training Center the Steve "Greek" Antonopulos Training Room and will recognize the trainer at a home game this season. And these team doctors, for licensed medical doctors they are, can earn in the range of $200,000 and $512,500 per year. Michigan cornerback DJ Turner II is the early leader for fastest player at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine after posting a time of 4.26 seconds in the 40-yard dash on Friday. Your login session has expired. After becoming head athletic trainer for the South Metro Fire Rescue in Centennial from 2014-15, Garcia rejoined the Broncos training staff as Antonopulos top assistant in 2016. 20 in NFLPA ranking of clubs based on locker rooms, food service, travel and more, Sean Payton very excited to have Vance Joseph as Broncos DC after four years in Arizona, Broncos HC Sean Payton hiring Northwestern assistant Lou Ayeni as RB coach, sources say, Brought to you by Prairie Mountain Publishing, Weld judge sentences Greeley man to 60 years for October 2020 murder, Fusco Pizza is a love letter to all things Greeley, Friday's Class 1A-3A regional/state hoops tournament roundup: Platte Valley girls begin quest for third consecutive title, Windsor girls switch to rarely used 2-3 zone en route to win over Mead in quarterfinals of 5A playoffs, Weld and Larimer counties retail food inspection reports, Greeley, Weld County Death Notices for March 3, 2023, Trial delayed for suspect in Investments of Windsor scam, Johnstown fisherman reels in the catch of a lifetime while traveling to Texas for son's junior hockey tournament, Weld RE-1 School District honored for commitment to nursing mothers on staff, As Adderall shortage continues, DEA plans to limit some telemedicine prescriptions, House where JonBenet Ramsey was found dead listed for sale for almost $7M, Columbia University permanently drops SAT, ACT admissions requirement, The Waterbed Doctor: California retailer lays claim to retro bed with nearly 40 years of service, sales, Felonious Florida podcast: Missing teenage girl leads to several cases of child sex trafficking, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. In Antonopulos second season, the Broncos reached their first Super Bowl, a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Broncos head trainer Steve Antonopulos, who is in his 40th season with the team, was presented with a painting created by noted artist Gabe Richesson. During his tenure, Antonopulos picked up the following accolades: NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award, The National Athletic Trainers Association Athletic Trainer Service Award and the NFL Athletic Training Staff of the Year Award. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett spoke with media members on Friday for the first time since his arrest for public intoxication in late January. Antonopulos called working for the Broncos a lifes dream., A lot of people say that, but it was the reality for me, he said. It's spanned 900. My wife deserves this and we need to move on, Antonopulos said in a phone interview Sunday with The Denver Post. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). "the Greek" and considered by many of his peers as tops in his profession, has worked for coaches Red Miller, Dan Reeves, Wade Phillips and Mike Shanahan as the Bronco. NFL+ gives you the freedom to watch LIVE out-of-market preseason games, LIVE local and primetime regular season and postseason games on your phone or tablet, the best NFL programming on-demand, and MORE! Then in 1996 he received National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Athletic Trainer Service Award, and in 2006 Greek was given the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award. The Broncos accurate confidence about Gotsis recovery greatly depended on the assessment and follow-through bythe mancalled Greek at the clubs UCHealth Training Center. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. I told him that, and he said. Although there are many female coaches in the NFL, athletic training and strength and conditioning were among the first positions to be filled by women.
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