It’s never too late to go back to school.
ESPN’s Damien Woody, 47, announced last week on Bluesky that he has re-enrolled with his alma mater to finish his degree. Woody left Boston College for the NFL, where the offensive lineman became a first-round draft pick for the New England Patriots in 1999. He had a 12-year career with the Patriots, the Detroit Lions, and the New York Jets. He won a pair of Super Bowls in New England and was a Pro Bowl guard before joining ESPN as an analyst in 2011.
Even with all those accomplishments, Woody still wanted to get his degree, so next summer, he’ll start taking online courses with plans to graduate in 2026. We recently caught up with Woody to talk to him about school and his thoughts on the NFL season.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: Why are you going back to school?
Damien Woody: “It’s been a long time coming. I promised before my grandmother passed away that I would go back and finish up. The same thing with my late mother. I just figured now’s the right time for me to go back and fulfill that promise and start working on the next chapter. There are different chapters or seasons in life, and this is another season that’s coming up. I want to make sure that I go back to school finish my degree and work on my postgraduate stuff that I want to get done as well.”
How close are you to graduating?
“I have like five classes left. My degree was in sociology. For the longest time, I was planning on being a social worker. I wanted to work with kids, and that’s where my heart was at. I want to pivot. I want to finish my undergrad in sociology. For my postgrad, I’m going to be doing finance.”
Why finance?
“It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for years. I had built relationships with people on Wall Street during my time with the Jets. I had already been planning on doing something in private equity. It’s just been a planning process for me. This is the next step in that.”
So I’ve decided to do a thing…go back to @bostoncollege.bsky.social to finish my degree! Been a LONG time coming but here we are!! 🙌🏿
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody.bsky.social) December 3, 2024 at 3:48 PM
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What has been the reaction from family, friends, and coworkers?
“It has just been an outpouring of love and support. My family has just been ecstatic about me going back and finishing something that I started years ago. I would say it’s been a great example for my kids. I have seven kids. It’s just great for me to show them that ‘Hey, it’s never too late to finish something you started.’ As far as my co-workers are concerned, they’re thrilled that I decided after all these years to go back and finish my education. Everyone at ESPN and all the people that I have come to know me over the years have been supportive.”
Let’s get to some NFL questions. Who should be the MVP?
“I would say Josh Allen is the MVP right now. A lot of people coming to the season—including myself—thought the Bills would take a little bit of a step back with all the change that has happened on both sides of the ball. But Josh Allen has had a tremendous season, cut back on his turnovers, and the Buffalo Bills are one of the top teams in the NFL. So, if I had to cast the ballot right now, it’d be for Josh Allen.”
Is the Chiefs’ luck going to run out?
“You don’t luck out and become 12-1. I know everyone’s talked about all the close games they’ve played, but when you’re 12-1, that’s not luck. That’s called having a winning DNA. More than likely, the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC is going through Arrowhead. It’s going to go through Kansas City. If you want to dethrone the king, you’ve got to beat them. They play great defense. You got Patrick Mahomes. You got Andy Reid. They’re going to be a tough out.”
Rex Ryan doesn’t believe the AFC runs through the Chiefs, but @damienwoody begs to differ 👀 pic.twitter.com/QqPDnhAmNm
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 9, 2024
Who is the biggest threat to the Lions?
“I’ll probably say Philadelphia. I know they had a squeaker against Carolina. Carolina has been playing a little better over the past few weeks. But if I had to say right now, it’s probably the Eagles with their roster. Saquon (Barkley) is doing his thing.”
Where do the Jets go from here?
“I think it starts with Woody Johnson. He has to look at himself and say ‘What am I doing right or wrong? Why are we sitting here again eliminated from the playoffs and got the longest playoff drought in the NFL?’ They haven’t made the playoffs since I was with the Jets in 2010. So, I think it starts with him taking a deep dive into what he’s doing within the organization. To me, it starts from the top with ownership.”
Do you have an opinion on Tom Brady’s rookie broadcast season?
“I think he’s evolving. I think he’s getting better. Clearly, he’s getting coached up. I think the biggest thing Tom is starting to do now is (to talk about) the situational aspect of football because that’s what people want to know. ‘What are you thinking in these situations as the greatest quarterback in history? How are you navigating these situations? What do you what do you think? What should you do?’ That’s what people want to know. They want to know from Tom Brady, the greatest.”
Can you tell me about the time you bench-pressed Field Yates?
“This was an episode on NFL Live a few years ago. The NFL Combine was about to start. The producers were like ‘Hey, man, would you be opposed to simulating the bench-press test?’ I’m like ‘OK, cool. Are we going to set up weights?’ They’re like ‘No. How about we use Field Yates?’ I’m like, ‘OK, I’m down with this if Field is down with it.’ So, I bench-pressed Field 20 to 25 times on television. It was a pretty funny moment. I made sure I gripped him in the appropriate spots.”
