What he did: Mike Kenn may never make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame but it will not be because he wasn't one of the top offensive linemen of his time.
Kenn, who wore No. 78 and played all 17 years with the Falcons, was once praised by a future Hall of Fame head coach. “I’ve never seen any offensive tackle with his agility and quickness.’’ Those words came from the late and great coach Bill Walsh, whose 49ers certainly had their fill of Kenn and his ability to protect the quarterback from some of the best rushers in NFL. Kenn started in all 251 games he played for the Falcons, once playing in 94 consecutive games, and went to five straight Pro Bowls (1980-84).
But it was an auspicious beginning.
From Evanston, Ill., Kenn stood 6 feet 6 but weighed only 198 pounds when he came out of high school, looking more like a basketball player than an offensive lineman. In high school, he also played lacrosse and hockey and had very few college football offers. But received a last-minute call from Michigan and headed to Ann Arbor.
His freshman year was a disaster. He got hurt and struggled in the classroom, the lack of studying almost costing him his scholarship. But after a serious sit-down with Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler, he rebounded to start his next three years and played in some memorable games against rival Ohio State.
When the NFL draft came in 1978, Green Bay wanted him. Then-Packers offensive line coach Bill Curry was interested in moving Kenn to tight end. Kenn said he would do it, but before Green Bay could take him with the 26th overall pick, the Falcons jumped on him at No. 13.
It wasn’t long before Kenn was in the lineup with the Falcons and made the all-rookie team in 1978. In his second season, he allowed only 4 1/2 sacks and was penalized four times. That season the Falcons made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and in 1980, he was voted as a consensus All-Pro on a team that was thought to be the favorite to win the Super Bowl. That Falcons team, however, lost a heartbreaking game to Dallas in the playoffs when the Cowboys overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit.
From there, Kenn played on nine straight losing teams but he continued to dominate. He went 23 straight games without being penalized. While the Falcons struggled, the offensive line actually was very solid, including such players as Jeff Van Note, Bill Fralic, R.C. Thielemann, Chris Hinton and Jamie Dukes.
In a memorable game 1991 against New Orleans, he shut down defensive end Pat Swilling, who had come into the game as the league’s sacker leader but finished with none against Kenn.
Over his NFL career, Kenn grew to 286 pounds and retired after the 1994 season. He actually was offered a contract by coach June Jones to come back for ’95, but he declined, saying, “I was done mentally. They wanted me to come back as a player-coach and teach Lincoln Kennedy how to play. June was once a teammate and friend of mine and I knew it is time to retire when someone like that is your boss.”
After football, Kenn moved into the restaurant business and started a foundation to give back to the community. He had a six-year run as chairman of the Fulton County Commission, drawing on his experience as past president of the NFL Players Association. He gave up his chairmanship to run the nonprofit Georgians for Better Transportation.
In 2008, Kenn was inducted into the Falcons Ring of Honor, which includes Tommy Nobis, Van Note, Steve Bartkowski, Claude Humphrey, Williams Andrews, Gerald Riggs, Jessie Tuggle and Deion Sanders.
Last year, Kenn’s daughter, Lisa, started a campaign to help get her father into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While he didn’t make it, he was named as one of the top 26 semifinalists for this year’s class.
Where he lives: Kenn, 59, lives in Atlanta and has two daughters, Lisa and Kristy. He has been married to wife Joanie for 36 years.
What he does now: He remains very active and is president of the startup Government and Municipal Finance Systems. He works out every day and has lost 45 pounds since his playing days.
On showing up at Michigan weighing 195 pounds: "I walked into the conference room where Bo and his coaches were and he looked up and Bo never called you by anything other than your last name until you left Michigan. He said, 'Kenn, what position do you want to play?' I said I will play anything and he looked around the room and the offensive line coach said he would take me. But in my first year, I dislocated my elbow in training camp and almost flunked out of school with a 1.2 grade-point average. Bo calls me in and said, 'I guess you are not going to be playing for Michigan next year.' He said the NCAA has a minimum of a 1.8 and the Big Ten was at 2.0. I answered the call and got a 3.8 the second semester. I also came back to Michigan 45 pounds heavier and walked into that meeting room again and Bo said, 'Kenn, what the hell have you been doing? You look great.'''
On his biggest game in college: "My junior year in Columbus against Ohio State … it was the hardest hitting game I think I ever played in. And it was Bo against Woody (Hayes). There was no score at half and we got the ball, scored, got the ball again and scored and then got the ball again and scored and went for two and it was 22-0. I remember Bo taking the first team out with about four minutes left. And I went to the sideline and there were 80,000 fans in the place and you could hear a pin drop. I looked over at Woody on the other sideline and he had his arms crossed and the scowl on his face and there was no one within 10 yards of him. That was my greatest game.''
On being drafted by the Falcons: "We had pro day and I ran a fast 40, and Bill Curry of the Packers came up to me and said they wanted to draft me and change me into a tight end. He said, 'Go down there with our receivers coach and catch some balls.' I caught all 50 and Bill then told me I couldn't run a route worth a damn, but they would teach me how. The irony of all that is if I would have been taken by the Packers and moved to tight end, I don't think I would have ever lasted 17 years in the NFL.''
On why his technique was so solid: "I had to compensate for a lack of bulk. I couldn't beat people with size. I had the best line coach (Jerry Hanlon) at Michigan. He taught me the fundamentals of leverage and angles. Also, I think the only other lineman that had my athleticism was Anthony Munoz. I also watched a lot of film, frame by frame.''
On his great game against Swilling: "Pat was a great player and we played twice a year, once at my house and once at his. He had advantage because his place was louder, which didn't give us a snap-count advantage. There are three kinds of pass rushers: the instinct rusher like a Lawrence Taylor or Bruce Smith, who determines what move they are going to make as the play is going on; there is the predetermined rusher and they are going to uphill speed rush you like a Pat Swilling; then there is the setup artist like a Richard Dent who may slow-rush you at times to set you up and then make a big move when they have to. The thing about Pat was, I watched his film over and over and nine out of 10 times, I knew what he was going to do.''
On playing on nine consecutive losing teams: "That is my whole point about the Hall of Fame. It is much harder to play at a higher level with a poor cast of characters.''
On the loss to Dallas in 1980: "We sat on the ball and let them back in the game. But the big play came when it was third-and-1 and we could have knocked two more minutes off the clock with a first down and we still had a two touchdown lead. We had a play called 'Zero 1 Trap,' which William Andrews ran and worked all year. But before the ball was snapped, Ed 'Too Tall' Jones stepped into the neutral zone which was OK back then if you got back. But he never got back on his side before it was snapped. And he was right in the hole to make the play. I watched that film and he was offside. Then we went into a prevent defense and Danny White just stood back there and could throw the ball to anyone.''
On getting into the Falcons Ring of Honor: "It was great for me and my family but also for the people back home because I came from a blue-collar area and a lot of them were living vicariously through me being a football player.''
On whether he should get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: "I do believe my play merits the Hall, but I don't have a vote. The thing is, during my career I think my sack ratio was 2.97 percent and I played left tackle uncovered with no help. I played against all the great pass rushers that are in the Hall. My daughter started a campaign and finally got me into the semifinals. But I have stayed at arm's length. I do hope I get there while I am still eligible over the next three or four years because after that, I would have to be selected as an old-timer and there are an awful lot of good football players in that category.''
On his health: "I am doing remarkably well. I will be 60 in February and my back bothers me a little but that is all. I also am not showing any problems with my head. I have always been a hard worker, I work out, eat right and I am very thankful.''
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