Tra Thomas on Life After the NFL, Coaching the Next Gen & Staying Grounded

In Episode 16 of Uncorked: Wine, Business, and Life, hosts Bill Green and Jerrold Colton sit down with Tra Thomas, former Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowl left tackle, coach, and community leader.

From protecting Donovan McNabb's blindside to mentoring young athletes at IMG Academy, Tra reflects on the journey from Sundays in the NFL to finding purpose in life after football.

Welcome to Uncorked

Welcome to Uncorked: Wine, Business, and Life with Bill Green. I'm Jerold Colton, the co-host, and we are here at beautiful Saddle Hill in Voorhees, New Jersey, on a spectacular day. We could have been in Napa or Bordeaux or any beautiful wine region in the world, and we happen to be in this great hotbed of Voorhees, New Jersey.

Bill, we have a real special guest, a larger-than-life figure in a lot of ways. I want to introduce Tra Thomas. I got an email from you or Todd Herremans that said you wanted to shoot your podcast in the vineyard, between the vines, with Tra and Todd. I said I'm not going to argue with a six-foot-seven guy.

Our guest today is Tra Thomas, former All-Pro football player from the Philadelphia Eagles and offensive lineman. Being a die-hard, Bleed Green Eagles fan, it is an absolute pleasure to have you here. And the fact that you're a fellow wine guy—we’ve drank some wine together.

I come here and hang out all the time. You and your wife are just lovely people, and it really warms my heart to be able to see you in our winery as often as you are, enjoying our space. Thanks for being here. This is a beautiful location. You've done an amazing job here.

Tra, you're such a man of the region. You grew up in Florida, went to Florida State, and you were the 11th pick, a first-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1998. You've kind of never left the area. You had little stints other places, but eleven years for the Eagles. You finished your career with a year in Jacksonville, but you never left your ties here and raised your family here.

I want to hear about that journey. As a Philadelphian or somebody from this area, I'm so proud of our area. A lot of athletes do that, and you found your home. Talk about coming from Florida to Philadelphia, your first impressions, and how you've stuck around here so long.

Draft Day and First Impressions

When I first got here, I went through that whole draft process where you visit the different teams. Ray Rhodes was the coach and the Vet was still standing. I walked out on the field, and Juan Castillo, soon as I came in, took me out on the Vet turf. It was dark.

He was the offensive line coach at the time. I remember when I was doing my personal workouts at Florida State, Juan kept trying to pull me to the side and wanted to do some drills with me. My agent was like, "Nah, we're not going to do all that," just trying to protect me from Juan. I guess he knew how Juan was.

As soon as I touched down in Philadelphia, Juan takes me out on the Vet turf and had me doing vertical sets in street clothes. I hadn't even put my suitcase down. Juan was just like, "Hey man, come out here. I want to see you do some sets."

With no agent to protect me, I knew from that experience that this was going to be the right situation for me. I had a couple other teams set up after that. I called my agent and told him to cancel those other trips. I hoped that this would work out, and I'm glad it did. I was supposed to go to St. Louis and Seattle, but I told him to cancel those trips.

At the time, St. Louis had just drafted Orlando Pace, so I knew they weren't going to take me. Seattle had just drafted my roommate at Florida State, Walter Jones, the year before. I just felt like after this experience in Philly, cancel those other trips.

I felt like this was the type of coaching that I wanted. I wanted someone that was going to challenge me and really teach me how to play the position. When I first came in, I came into college as a defensive end, and that was my position in high school. Once I got to Florida State my freshman year, they just let me eat.

I put on all this weight, and they were like, "All right, we're going to put you over at offensive tackle." I fought it, and it took me a while to really get the position because offensive line is a very technical position. It's not just your size that matters. It's a lot of balance and how to handle yourself.

I had to take my lumps. I only started one year and three or four games at Florida State. Once I got ready to go to the pros, I wanted to be in a situation where I had a really good coach that was going to teach me the position and hold me accountable. I felt like Juan was going to be it.

The Technical Demands of the Offensive Line

Tra, you just touched on subjects that we could talk for hours about. You wound up being a second-team All-American and first-team All-ACC, and you only started four games in a new position. I have always found offensive line to be the most cerebral position in football. It's not necessarily a natural physical thing. You have to be a great athlete, and people underestimate how good the athletes are, especially at that size. It's so technical and so mined.

There is a lot going on. When you break the huddle and walk up to the line of scrimmage, everybody's yelling. You have to hear the center make his call, and you have to communicate with the guard. Then you hear the quarterback, "Blue 88! Blue 88!" Now you have to make a decision and go.

You can't feed off emotion; you have to be dialed in. I think having Juan as my offensive line coach was amazing. Ray Rhodes was just night and day from dealing with Coach Bowden, who I loved at Florida State. He was a real legend, one of the all-time winningest coaches in the history of college.

Coach Bowden taught me how to develop that tough skin. I think that's where you're going to be challenged. By the time I got to the pros, I was already hardened enough. It wasn't that hard of a transition for me because I felt like I had been challenged and humiliated enough in college to where I was ready to build and step into this game.

The college program is about breaking you down and building you back up. Especially Florida State at that time with the mat drills and all the guys I had to go up against that beat me down and then built me back up. Going through that process really helped me with my professional career.

Sporting Beginnings in Florida

I grew up in DeLand, Florida, about 45 minutes north of Orlando, right outside Disney World and fifteen minutes outside of Daytona Beach. My parents let me play a little bit of everything except for football. I never played football growing up because I was always big and taller than everybody.

I couldn't play Pop Warner because I was always too heavy. Because of my age, they would have made me play up three or four different ages, and my parents didn't want that to happen. My dad played football as well, so they made sure they didn't let that happen. I played soccer, basketball, and baseball.

Once I got to high school, it was my first time actually playing organized football, and it just took off from there. In high school, I played football and basketball. My mom wanted me to go to Georgetown at the time because she was all about Coach Thompson, but it clicked for me. I liked football, and it just took off from there.

The Mentality of the O-Line

I've known you a long time and you are a tremendously nice guy. It’s interesting, the dichotomy of the mentality and the makeup of an offensive lineman. For the most part, you're huge guys, and almost everyone is a gentle giant. You had to turn it on when you step between those white lines.

I think it goes back to parenting and coming up as the bigger kid. You always see the smaller kids being the rambunctious ones, but as the bigger kid, they're always told to calm down. They want to make sure if the big one gets out of control, it's going to be a problem.

When you're the firstborn, you are coddled a little bit more. It's just me and my brother, and I'm the oldest. I had to develop that toughness and that mean streak when it came time to play. That's something that had to be developed. I made sure people didn't put too many expectations on my kids just because I’m their father.

I had to grow into this and develop that mean streak. As an offensive lineman, everyone is going to get their ass kicked. You're going to get put on your ass and it's going to look real bad. Everybody's going to laugh about it in the meeting room and you're going to be embarrassed, but you have to learn from that.

I tell my kids, because they're playing offensive line now, not to look at my career and feel like it was instant success. I got my ass kicked. It's all about how you learn from it. You have to learn from your wins and your losses and take the lesson from both.

The heart and soul of a football team is almost always your offensive line. I can't think of any examples of teams that won championships that did not have great offensive lines. This Eagles team now has maybe the best, and it's been the backbone of that football. Saquon's not going through that line the way he does without some big guys making those holes for him.

From the Vet to the National Championship

The seminal movement in Philadelphia is definitely that turf at Veterans Stadium. That was the worst turf I've ever been on in my life. I didn't care; I was a first-round pick. They could have put me on whatever, and I would have gone to battle because that's just what I knew.

At the time, I didn't know what other fields were. Back then it was true AstroTurf on top of concrete. Even in Dallas or at Giants Field, it was true AstroTurf. It wasn't the fuzzy fake grass and little pebbles; it was true AstroTurf. We were playing in regular basketball shoes. They're paying me to be a first-round draft pick—whatever you want to play on, let's go get it.

Florida State has a beautiful practice facility, and then he comes to the NFL and it’s like a downgrade. You won a national championship while at Florida State. What was that like as a young kid?

I was a redshirt freshman, so it was good. I was on the team with Charlie Ward, so it was awesome to watch him perform. Ward, Dunn, Pooh Bear Williams, Sam Cowart—all of us came in as the class of '93. I was just sitting on the bench watching everyone, thinking this was awesome. Having that experience at Florida State and waiting my time was great, but our national championship year was my freshman year when I wasn't playing.

A Newfound Passion for Wine

I started drinking wine after I retired. My wife was trying to guide me towards something different. I got off all that other stuff, and I felt like wine gave me a better feel. I could sit back and just relax. I enjoyed the taste and starting to explore all the different ones—Merlot, Cab, Pinot, and Chardonnay.

Once we opened our art studio, we started doing painting events at different wineries. That got me on the New Jersey Wine Trail. Before that, I really didn't know that much about it. Then I took a trip to Napa, and that was an awesome experience. I feel like New Jersey is right out there with them because of what you guys are doing. You guys have inspired me to open my own winery down in Florida.

Comparing Regional Cabernet Sauvignons

Let me warn you on that one—no, encourage you. Let’s start with three Cabernet Sauvignons. The first one is from Saddle Hill. This is Jersey wine, a Cab, and it’s nice, big, and has a lot of fruit. The reason I picked this is because the other two are also Cabs, one from the state of Washington and one from Napa.

The Washington wine is a $150 bottle of wine, and the other is probably $75. Our wine is less than half the price. It's what the market bears in New Jersey. This could actually stand up with these other guys, but I'd be laughed out of the state if I tried to price this thing at $80.

Usually, we just pop a bottle and enjoy ourselves. This is so drinkable. Well, now that we're doing this, this is wine, business, and life. We obviously want to talk about your amazing football career, but I want to hear about the art studio.

Marriage and Pinot's Palette

My wife took me on a date night. We’ve been married for about 26 years. We met in Tallahassee, freshman year, History 101. We were just really good friends all throughout college. Once I got drafted, she was like, "All right, you’re going to be something."

She was kind of iffy before because I was interesting in college. But she was cool, and we remained really good friends. Once I got drafted, I knew I wanted her right out the gate. It was really cool the way it played out. I couldn't have picked a better person to have a family and kids with.

We did a paint and sip several years ago, and my painting just sucked. It was terrible. I had no artistic ability at all. My first painting was awful, so I just took some wine and decided to sit there and just drink the wine and have a good time. I just scribbled all over the canvas.

When we were down in Central Florida for Thanksgiving, all our family came down and we tried it again. We had such a great time that my wife and I decided this might be cool to do as a business. She found Pinot's Palette, which is a franchise. We checked out the business, she really enjoyed it, and we own the one in Cherry Hill.

We sell out every paint and sip class here. Now I paint all the time. I found I did have artistic talent; I just hadn’t untapped it. After I leave here, I’m going to teach a class. I’m doing an event next week with the Eagles alumni where I’m bringing the players and their wives and girlfriends to teach a class for them.

I taught a women's event on Sunday. I came up with a painting and taught it to 110 women. Never in a million years did I think I would be painting or teaching a class. It just wound up coming naturally. I go in my studio, pop open a bottle of wine, and just go. I don't paint unless I have a bottle.

It’s BYOB, so people bring their own wine and come in there to hang out. It’s been fun, and that’s really what helped me with wine. I just love wine, and my wife is all into it too.

Post-Football Transitions and Coaching

Tra, I'm so fascinated that you have found this business. Transitioning from playing to after football is not always an easy one. You have to find something that clicks for you. I was just at Brian Dawkins' golf tournament and was talking to Brandon Graham.

A reporter asked me what Brandon should do when he retires. I said to take some time, enjoy your family, and see what your passion is. Everybody feels like you should coach, but coaching isn't for everybody. Coaching in the NFL is like one of the biggest good old boy programs in the world.

It’s underappreciated and almost not welcome because guys are intimidated by you. I've seen it happen. It's hard to break in when you have coaches who didn't play in the league and just had a buddy get them in. Very few have your credentials.

I did it for two years with the Eagles, and that was a really cool experience because it allowed me to put what I taught to the test. I worked on both sides of the ball. I worked with the offensive line my first year when Lane Johnson was drafted.

I was on the staff with Lane. He came to me after we played the Jaguars in the preseason and Babin lit him up. He asked me what happened. I explained what I thought, and from there, I started training him like Juan would train us. He had to be first on the field and last off the field.

It’s constant correction. Sometimes being a coach can be irritating to the players because it's constant, especially with the offensive line. I had no problem saying their inside foot or stance was off. You can't wait for the meeting room; you need to say it right then.

Mentoring Lane Johnson

In my opinion, Lane Johnson is without question the best right tackle of this entire era, which makes him the best right tackle in the history of football. The best game I've ever seen Lane play was the game where Nick Foles threw seven touchdowns against the Raiders in Oakland.

Foles' jersey is in Canton because of that game. That was the best I've ever seen Lane play. Everything we talked about clicked in that game. Most fans didn't realize Lane Johnson was as responsible for those seven touchdowns as the guy throwing them. He went up against two All-Pro defensive ends and shut them down.

It was awesome to watch the pass setting, the punch, and the timing. I came off the field and told them I couldn't wait for them to watch the film and see what Lane did. When we went into the meeting, the coaches said I did a really good job. Offensive linemen don't get the respect.

I want to get into the ego of an offensive lineman. You came up as a defensive end and were told you were going to be an offensive lineman. You can't intercept or sack the quarterback; you just make everyone else look good. It really is the ultimate team position because you have to work as a unit and suppress your ego.

You don't get the ball or the attention. You recovered two fumbles in your career, and that's probably all you touched the ball. I remember trying to dive for one, and once I hit the ground, it created a ripple and the ball moved just outside my reach. It was like an earthquake. The only time an offensive lineman gets mentioned is when they're called for holding.

Designing a Florida Vineyard

This next wine is a 2012 Quilceda Creek from Columbia Valley, Washington. This is really one of my favorites. I think it’s in the $150 range today. Washington is a cooler climate, known for Pinot Noirs, so to have a great Cab like this is special. Everyone looks at Napa as the gold standard, but Washington and Oregon are large regions.

I'm having dinner with Dick Vermeil on the 12th. He owns a winery in Napa. I've had his wines and they are good stuff. You can tell the age here—this is a 13-year-old wine compared to a two-year-old wine. It's so much smoother. Even so, the Saddle Hill holds up.

There are so many wine snobs out there, but I know you're not one of them. You were talking about making watermelon wine. I have some tank space for you. I’m trying fruit wines right now because it’s a four-to-six-week process. I’m trying to get a feel for it and then move out from there.

I did strawberries first. I bought a hand wine press, and I’m out there spinning the thing, hurting my hand up against the wood. I said, "Nah, bring out the juicer." We started juicing those strawberries because trying to crank that press was too much.

You can buy fruit juice and ferment it, but I love that you're doing it this way. Strawberries just hit season, so I went and bought 20 pounds. I'm a farmer now. I never thought I'd be an artist, and I certainly never thought I’d be a farmer.

Tra Thomas had as successful a career as you can have, but he finished at 34 years old with the rest of his life to live. He's discovering all these different parts of himself and reinvented himself, just like you did after your success in the business world. I started seven companies and invested in dozens, but I really just loved making money.

This morning I went for a run around the track on my farm, looking at the vineyard, and someone brought out a horse. You're going to go paint because you really enjoy it. At 51, this is the time to enjoy your life. We have the luxury of not having to worry about where the next meal is coming from.

I want to know what's next. I have 10 acres down in Florida. I built my parents a home down there when I was playing, and my dad passed about four years ago. My mom is down there by herself. Once my youngest son graduates and goes to Lehigh, my wife and I are going to head down to Florida.

I’m going to start bouncing back and forth. I spent seven months in Florida; I like the cold weather, but it’s the best lifestyle possible. I’m going to start being around my mother more to help out. Right now we have cows on the property, but I’m going to put six acres on the vine.

You can only do Muscadine grapes down there because of the climate. It’s a sweeter grape. That’s why I’m getting into fruit wines. When you look at Florida wineries, you see a lot of sweet wines. I personally like sweet wine. So I'm making strawberry and watermelon wine.

Muscadines are a bigger, wild grape. They grow well in the sandy soil in Florida. I’m going to put six acres on the vine and a small tasting room. I’m trying my hand at making wines to see how it goes. I’m even buying a tractor. I talked to Trent Cole about what kind of tractor I need—he told me to get a 100-horsepower one and take it from there.

Leadership Styles of Bowden and Reid

Football is a microcosm for so many things, including real leadership. You had Bobby Bowden in college. What was he like as a leader? Then you had Ray Rhodes and the start of Andy Reid’s career. I want to hear what you learned along the way.

Under Coach Bowden, he was dealing with kids growing into young men. You have to be a special personality to deal with that. He was that "aw shucks" good old country guy, and he was like another father figure. He coached thousands of people, but he knew exactly who I was and had a personal interest in me.

I was a bit of a knucklehead in college. I tell my wife that when she sees how I talk to my sons, and she reminds me I was doing the same things. I remember one time we were doing mat drills—the worst thing I've ever been through. We had to be there at 5:00 in the morning and on the mats by 5:30.

Everybody had to be sitting in straight lines with knees to their chest. It was two hours of the worst conditioning drills. It made guys either stay or quit. I pride myself on the fact that I never quit. They called us out because I had skipped so many classes.

I caught a little attitude, and Bobby Bowden came shuffling over, got right in my face, and said, "Son, you can be replaced." That was like a brick hitting me in my chest. After that, I stayed as tight as I could because I didn't want to squander a full ride at a major university.

Years later, when Coach Bowden was still alive, I saw him at the Maxwell Awards in Atlantic City. He remembered me coming into his office for something. He was amazing. He would sit in his tower, but he was a great leader because he put good people in charge underneath him.

Then a young Andy Reid comes in. He had never been a head coach and was taking over for Ray Rhodes. The Eagles were 3-13. He wasn't even a coordinator; he was a quarterbacks coach from Green Bay. When I saw his opening press conference, I wondered why they hired him.

"Big Red" came in, and it was a shift. Under Ray Rhodes, we were young and wild. It was like a party. We’d stay over in New York after games and hang out regardless of if we won or lost. But when Big Red came, it was an iron fist. It was his way or you could get moving.

He would fine you $100 per pound if you were overweight. It was tough, but it was what the team needed to shift back to being about business. He empowered the veterans to police what was going on in the locker room. Having a leadership council made the job easier.

You look at what Doug Pederson did in 2017 or what Sirianni has done with guys like Kelce and Lane. Jalen Hurts looks like a true leader. People think just because you’re the quarterback you’re a leader, but that’s not always true. Jalen Hurts is definitely that type of guy.

You came close to winning a Super Bowl. Any regrets? I try not to think about it because I don't want anything to hamper how I feel about my career. We had our chance and didn't make it. You have to let it go. I enjoyed my time, had a great career, and wound up in the Eagles Hall of Fame.

Andy Reid answers the phone. Even now, if I text him about getting back into coaching, he gets back to me. The guys at the top actually do that. He was the best coach in Philadelphia history and was not appreciated here. Now he’s won three Super Bowls in Kansas City and might become the winningest coach of all time with Patrick Mahomes.

Reflections on Eagles Ownership

This is a 2013 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. It’s special because I served it at my daughter Lara’s wedding. I overbought, as I typically do, so I still have a lot of it. It was $36 a bottle then, and it’s $80 today. To me, this is spectacular.

I learned that during weddings and affairs, you aren't really in the mindset to appreciate it. I once bought a special 1990 Margaux for a Bat Mitzvah, and it was a waste of money because you're out having a good time. Wine is for when you are relaxed and have the right food.

Jeffrey Lurie has been a part of the Eagles franchise for over a quarter-century. As a player, I didn't really look at the ownership. I knew who Mr. Lurie was, but I didn't engage with him. Even Joe Banner—I didn't deal with him much. Howie Roseman’s approach is night and day from Joe Banner.

A lot of players have a bad taste in their mouth about Joe, but I appreciate that he gave me an opportunity to take care of my family. Mr. Lurie is always cool whenever you see him. As a player, I didn't even go on that side of the building. We transitioned from the parking lot at the Vet to the NovaCare facility.

Jeffrey Lurie and Joe Banner were childhood friends. Joe was a shmatte salesman, but he was bright and Lurie empowered him. He became a cutting-edge guy with the salary cap. Howie Roseman, who started as an intern, is now the best GM in the history of Philly sports.

When Howie got the job, he asked me what he should do differently. I told him to keep doing what he was doing, but just be nicer and make the players feel more wanted. It’s okay to face the fear of failure. I wish I had a little more fear when I went into the wine business!

Future Plans and Closing

I can't wait to visit your winery in Florida. I’m going to call you for the grand opening. Tra Thomas, Eagles Hall of Famer, artist, and now winemaker. Thanks for joining us on Uncorked. We will see you next time.