TAMPA - Bernard Clark, head football coach.
"It sounds weird,'' said Clark, 51, with a laugh. "But okay, here I go. It's what I've been working toward. When I was coming up in Tampa? Head football coach? No way.''
Somehow, though, he found his true passion.
Clark, the three-sport star at Leto High School who became a two-time national champion at the University of Miami and an NFL linebacker, was recently named head coach at Robert Morris University, a Football Championship Subdivision school outside of Pittsburgh.
It's the life he wanted. Organizing practice. Leading a team. Being a mentor. Shaping young lives.
He can't imagine doing anything else.
But it was an acquired taste.
At the West Tampa Boys and Girls Club, where he was too heavy for his age group, he learned to compete against older kids. At Leto, where he played basketball and won a state title in the shot put, he was a charismatic, gregarious performer known for sideline-to-sideline fury.
At Miami, where Clark's outrageous era was immortalized by ESPN's 30 For 30 documentary, he and his teammates did as they pleased and took what they wanted. In Clark's five years (including a redshirt season), the Hurricanes were 54-5 with two national titles. He earned the defensive Most Valuable Player of the Orange Bowl.
Clark was a third-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals and played two NFL seasons. Football, he always thought, was a means to an end. It was a way to get an education, make money and have a nice life.
After being cut and having a brief foray in the Arena Football League, he took a job selling cars. It was a nice income. It played into his outgoing, likable personality.
But something was missing.
The camaraderie of a team. Football's life lessons.
"I quickly realized I was cut out to be a coach,'' Clark said. "Funny thing was I didn't make close to the money I made when I was playing. But I loved it so much more.''
His first job was defensive coordinator at Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic. He jumped into the college ranks - with stops at James Madison, Liberty, Florida International, University of South Florida, Pittsburgh and Colorado State.
He held the defensive-coordinator job at three schools, including Albany from 2014-17.
When the RMU head-coaching job came open, Clark pounced on the opportunity. There were 160 applicants. He was selected.
"We needed to improve on the field, but we also needed a change in culture,'' RMU athletic director Craig Coleman said. "Bernard just does things the right way. When he speaks, our kids are going to listen to him and hear him. He has that unusual combination of a commanding presence, along with being principled and humble at the same time. He's the right fit.''
Clark said he teaches his players to become students of the game - a quality he failed to achieve during his playing days.
"I want my guys to know it's more than being physically gifted," said Clark, who's been married to wife Tammy for 15 years. "Take football and let it help you achieve things. I want to make them better men, better husbands and better fathers. The principles you put into football, they carry over into life.''
He regularly returns to Tampa to enjoy the holiday cooking of his parents, Bernard Sr. and Theresa, who have been married 57 years. He fondly remembers Leto, which showed him value in playing different sports and building a diverse group of friends.
The UM years remain a reference point. Clark said his players have no concept of the old Hurricanes. Sometimes, he'll tell them to check out the 30 For 30 episode. Usually, they return in amazement.
Coach, you were big time.
To Clark, that's beside the point.
"The level of play doesn't matter to me because football is football,'' Clark said. "Would I like to make a million dollars a year? I think anybody would. But making a million dollars a year and being miserable? That doesn't make sense to me.
"I love where I am. I love what I'm doing. Hopefully, these young men will love what I'm teaching them.''
Contact Joey Johnston at hillsnews@tampabay.com.