Fear the Turk

by Anthony Strait, OTSL Panelist

The summer breeze is a mist of fresh air that marks both the beginning of a journey or the end of one. Around NFL training camps the sense of hope, renewal and optimism flows as rich as the Gatorade leaving the buckets.  Men young and old push themselves through the grueling heat as if they embraced the proverbial kitchen and coaches watch them with careful eyes.  All for the chance to earn a spot among the elite group of men who will be allowed to embark on a road that 32 teams hope will take them to Atlanta and the Super Bowl.

The intensity of the summer heat is followed by a stormy cloud that leaves many thunderstruck and a wake of destruction in the broken dreams of many.  For that gray cloud of NFL atonement holds no sure form, just the words that could be confused with daggers: "Coach wants to see you...bring your playbook."  It is called The Turk and it is the Turk who for five weeks becomes the most powerful force in an organization.  It is the Turk who bears the news that allows men to continue the dream or pick up the pieces of said dream.

The identity of the Turk can vary from team to team.  It can be a young intern tagging along with a head coach or even the equipment manager with acne.  Perhaps it is a young coach looking to work their way up the ranks who is tasked with being the voice of doom.  How about that very nice secretary whose calm demeanor becomes a double edged sword?  Whomever it is, who takes on the role, they realize that it is not a easy job to track down a player to tell him his dream is over.  No one even knows for sure where the term originate.  The closest and perhaps most logical explanation can be found in a quote from 2001 by Pittsburgh 970AM's Scott Paulsen:

    

“I imagine that the NFL started using "Turk" because of theTurkish soldiers of the 17th and 18th century and their long, curved scimitars.

It's a wonderful visual. Beware the Turk. He comes late at night,armed with a long, curved sword that he'll use to cut you from the team!"

    

While clearly not the actual origin of such a name, it is arguably the best description.  The Turk with his or hers daggers stalking the halls, acting as the Grim Reaper and beginning to "cut" down targets one by one in a slow agonizing manner.

For 700 players cut day might as well be called another name: D-Day.  They will be trying to avoid the inevitability of the Turk catching up to them.  Perhaps turning the phone on vibrate and pretending to accidentally miss that call helps.  Maybe going into physical hiding is the way to go.  For the younger players, getting cut from a NFL roster could be their first taste of football failure.  For the veterans, the realization of going from making millions to nothing in a second is enough to leave anyone humbled.  The idea that a man will be told by one individual that their dream will not continue is a gut punch even if some land on other teams.  For the Turk, the delicate balance between compassionate human being and strictly following instructions is part of the role.  Anyone who has ever watched Hard Knocks should know these encounters aren’t pretty.  Players are angry, heartbroken and even dumbfounded when they are told the coach want to see them.

There are stories of guys who were cut threaten physical harm to coaches, as was the case when former coach Lovie Smith cut a guy while an assistant in Tampa Bay.  Friendships between teammates are tested when both players are on the bubble.  It all leads to a simple sit down with the coach, a hand shake, and a trip to the secretary to confirm your booked flight home.  The Turk does the job no one wants and the players never want to be on the other end.

But there is hope for those who do get the ax.  Guys like Kurt Warner, Wes Walker and even James Harrison have been cut from teams and put together stellar careers.  Even a famous movie star like Dwayne Johnson was once cut from his CFL team.  There is always the chance a player gets added to the practice squad.  It’s the NFL version of a paid internship.  Run the other team’s playbook and make everyone look good.  Those who survive the final cuts breathe a sigh of relief as their dreams continue.

September 1^st looms as final cut down day before the start of the regular season.  The rosters begin to shrink after the second preseason game and continue until every team is down to the required 53 players.  In the meantime, the Turk is watching with keen eyes.  He or she is stalking his potential next victims during the dog days of August.  The Turk is the voice of NFL doom and it is his (or her) responsibility to carry out a hit job on the coaches’ orders.

The players will spend the next few weeks looking over their shoulder for the most powerful being in training camp may not be far behind.  They are the Turk and cutting down dreams is their business.  And between now and September 1^st business will be good and plentiful.