Some people, including his former high school football coach, think that if LeBron James won a few NBA championships, he would try to make the jump to the NFL. (Don Ryan/Associated Press)
There was the 2009 State Farm commercial in which LeBron James daydreamed about playing for the Cleveland Browns. There was an exchange of Tweets last month between James and an NFL analyst, with the locked-out Miami Heat star asking, "When is the deadline for a team to sign a free agent?"
Mostly, it's come across as a joke even though many experts have said James has the talent to play in the NFL. But James' Ohio high school football coach, former Miami Dolphins linebacker Jay Brophy, wouldn't be surprised to see James snaring passes in the league one day.
"I truly believe that if he can win an NBA championship or two and he's still young enough and athletic enough and healthy enough, that he would want to play in the NFL," Brophy said Tuesday. "I don't think he would anytime soon jeopardize all that he's worked for. But if he won a couple of championships, I think that he definitely would try it."
While Brophy has needled James about taking his talents to the NFL, he said the superstar never has said that's a serious desire. But Brophy said it's his "gut feeling" that James, 26, wants to "test the waters" in the NFL one day.
Brophy was on the University of Miami's 1983 national title team before playing for the Dolphins from 1984 to '86 and concluding his NFL career with the New York Jets in 1987. He was as an assistant coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, when James was a freshman in 1999, and was the team's head coach when James starred as a varsity wide receiver in 2000 and 2001.
Despite James' tweets, Brophy never believed there was any chance James would have played in the NFL this season had the NBA lockout lingered before being settled last week. There would have been too much downside.
"That wouldn't have been a good mix, with the scrutiny and the trouble there would be," said Brophy, now retired in Green, Ohio.
But if James can get some rings on his fingers while he's still young enough to run routes, Brophy sees it happening. After all, this is a guy who caught 42 passes for 752 yards and 11 touchdowns as a high school sophomore, and 57 balls for 1,160 yards and 16 TDs as a junior while creating major interest among college recruiters.
James didn't play his senior season to focus on the NBA. But Brophy believes he would have suited up had he not broken his wrist in June 2002.
"Oh, yeah," Brophy said of James having the talent to play in the NFL. "I consider him a cross between (former Eagles WR) Harold Carmichael and Randy Moss. He's 6-foot-8, like Carmichael, and he has the gracefulness of Moss. This guy can catch and run and he's got a big body. He would just have to change his mindset for football."
That's a pretty impressive comparison. Carmichael, who played from 1971 to '84, and the 6-4 Moss, a pro from 1998 to 2010, combined for 1,533 career catches and 10 Pro Bowl appearances.
"If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good," James said in 2009, when the State Farm commercial was running.
Brophy last saw James when he was inducted into the St. Vincent-St. Mary Hall of Fame last August along with four senior teammates from the 2003 state basketball title team. Later during the lockout, James worked out with the high school football team, donning a uniform and snaring passes.
"Just got done practicing with the St. V varsity football team, full pads and all," James tweeted after that. "Felt great being back on the field. Should I?"
If he takes care of business in the NBA, Brophy believes he will.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
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