The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

UK Skins Fan wrote:Irreplaceable. Irrepressible. A true Redskin and a good man.

Enjoy your retirement Joe - you've earned it.

frankcal20 wrote:No way that anyone can post any details of the interview.

Why - because with a man with that much energy and emotion - no post would ever be able to capture it. It's Joe Bugel people. You must go to Redskins.com and watch the video. You will be happy you did.

He seems like the guy you hated to play for while he's working you but when you get away - you love the man as much as your own father.

SkinsJock wrote:with apologies to our own BH - this guy was absolutely one of the best to ever coach in the NFL and especially for the Washington Redskins offensive lines

Thanks for everything Joe - enjoy your retirement and your many happy memories - words cannot express how grateful the many Redskins fans feel for your work with a lot of young men in the NFL

In about 30 minutes of talking on Wednesday afternoon, Joe Bugel provided enough material for probably 17 blog posts. But there won't be any better story than this one. Or more disgusting one, anyway.

Near the end of his post-presser remarks, I asked Bugel whether the creation of the Hogs nickname qualifies as a moment of inspiration. Innocent question. Filthy answer.

"That caught on like wildfire," Bugel said. "I looked at Grimm, his gut was out here....I'll tell you a funny story about Grimm," Bugel then said, changing directions quicker than a Hogette on a bungee cord. "We practiced on Wednesday nights. They had a nice little bar in Carlisle, they had chili dogs and stuff like that. So we had [practice] that night and I got in the huddle and it smelled like a brewery. And [Grimm] got a little overheated. And I don't mean to say throw up...but he threw up, and he threw up a hot dog. It hit the grass."


As the media members giggled the way anyone would giggle at the idea of a fully formed hot dog squirting out of an offensive lineman's guts, much of the story became sort of pantomimed more than described. Let me summarize. Grimm "picked that wiener" off the ground. The ball boys got nauseated, and one said "Mr. Grimm, you can't do that." And Grimm blew on the hot dog, shook it off, and then popped it back in his mouth.

"Can't waste a good dog now," he said.

A few minutes later, I saw Doc Walker, and asked him if this story was true. Walker remembered it being a quarter of a dog, but he confirmed the basic wiener out, wiener in concept.

"Total neanderthal," Walker said.

Still, I expressed skepticism to Bugel, saying you can't possibly upchuck a whole hot dog.

"He can, because he swallows them, because there's another one on his plate," Bugel said of Grimm. "He should have got in those hot dog contests, you know who can eat the most....But he blew the grass off before he ate the rest of it," Bugel later pointed out.

Bugel, though, loved those Hogs. He kept saying so, repeatedly. Even though they tried to murder him.

"They were nasty," Bugel said. "That was a great bunch to coach, you know what I mean? We coached 'em hard, and they tried to kill me a number of times. Bricks on top of the door and stuff like that. They were my very dearest friends, but I had to wear an army helmet when I went back to the dormitory because they tried everything. I think the harder you coach, the more guys respect you, you know what I mean?"

Bricks on top of the door? Really?

"Oh, a lot," Bugel said. "They'd say no no, don't open that door. I looked up, there was a big pile of bricks. I didn't have my hat on at that time. I said 'Oh, I see how they're playing now. I'll get 'em in the morning.' "

Also, during his remarks, Bugel said he would spend Sundays next year drinking Bloody Marys and eating Hog Balls. Um, Hog Balls?

"You ever eat cheeseballs with sausage and cheese wrapped around on Sundays?" Bugel asked me. "That's a Pennsylvania thing. My daughters call 'em Hog Balls. You know, some people call 'em Cheese Balls, some people call 'em Hunky Balls. Hey, whatever. That's a Pittsburgh thing. Delicious. Delicious. Especially with heavy cheese on it."

Especially when vomited back up, I suggested.

"That's hot dogs," Bugel said. "Stick with them dogs."