New Orleans Saints Review

Toi Cook was a 1987 draft pick of the Saints and was part of the greatest defenses in team history.  As a starting cornerback, Toi made his mark with 294 tackles and 16 interceptions as a Saint, including a career high 6 in 1992.  Then, in 1994 he was off to San Francisco and won a Super Bowl.  He finished his career with 2 seasons in Carolina, but will forever be known as a Saint!

Toi was kind enough to sit down to discuss his illustrious career and fill us in on what he’s doing these days:

1. You were drafted in 1987, the first year the Saints made a playoff appearance. Are there any moments from that season that stand out to you?
Yes, training camp in Hammond Louisiana. Practicing in full pads twice a day for like a month straight and remembering that all I had to do was not miss a practice because I knew guys would drop like flies and it worked out. Then once I made the team we went on strike the second game and I refused to cross the line and after we came back the Saints rewarded the guys who crossed like Gene Atkins and Milton Mack by putting them on the active squad and penalizing me by putting me on the inactive squad. Which don’t get me wrong, I love Geno and Mack the knife, we were rookies and everyone had to do what they had to do and I understand how the Saints activated them as they had had 2 weeks of practices during that time but it still hurt. All was forgiven though cause we went to the playoffs for the first time and the city was crazy wild and fun and then Anthony Carter returned that punt for a td in playoff game but I do remember coming into the Superdome and it being louder than anything I had ever heard. You couldn’t even have a conversation with the person next to you it was that loud.

2. When the Saints were in the NFC West, there were a lot of tough receivers out there (Jerry Rice, John Taylor, Henry Ellard). It seemed like every week the opposition had a Pro Bowl receiver. What was it like to defend those guys?
Don’t forget Flipper Anderson, Andre Rison, and Michael Haynes. It was great and fun. I tell people that the NFC West had the best receivers in the NFL and that if you could cover them, you could cover anyone. I mean those guys 8 games a year!!! The best part is that I can walk into any room with them and keep my head high cause none of them ever beat me for a two TD game. Jerry Rice never scored on me so that is pretty cool. It also helped to have the Dome Patrol and our line and Brett Maxie and Gene Atkins. We had a great defense and great coaches in Jim Mora, Dom Capers, Steve Sidwell, Vic Fangio, and John Pease, and Jim Mora jr. (even though he is not a junior).

3. You were a part of probably the most dominating defense in the NFL during your Saints career. What was the key to your success as a unit?
Great coaching and smart players. Everyone had pride and you didn’t want to be the guy that let everyone down and then have to hear about from Rickey Jackson or Pat Swilling!

4. How difficult was it to play under Jim Mora?
I thought it was great. I always tell Jim when I see him that because he was so tough and I learned so much from him, I was able to last 11 years in the league. He was such a stickler for detail and didn’t accept b.s., that I was forced as a player to perform because I refused to have to hear him yell at me. Plus I liked talking smack and you can’t do that and not perform. I learned a ton from Jim Mora and the rest of our defensive staff.

5. You, along with Rickey Jackson, eventually went on to play in San Francisco, where you won a Super Bowl. Tell us about that experience, and, do you still wear your championship ring?
It was great. When we beat the Chicago Bears the first game of playoffs I told Rickey that we were off the schnide. That 49er’s team was unbelievable. It was like a pro bowl team. Ken Norton, Richard Dent, Tim Harris, Deion Sanders, Tim McDonald, Merton Hanks, Eric Davis, Dana Stubblefield, Charles Mann, Gary Plummer, and Bryant Young was a rookie along with Lee Woodall AND that was just the defense. I used to say that we had the most well rested defensive coaches in the NFL cause they could sleep at night like babies with all the talent we had on defense. Also, we were 18.5 point favorites in the Super Bowl and we covered. I mean how crazy is that?!!! 18.5 point favorites!!! That’s how good we were plus Mr. DeBartolo was a super owner who made sure that we had everything we needed and the players really played for him. It was like Camelot but with better players!!!

6. Do you still follow the Saints?
Of course. I will always be a Saint. I love the Saints. God forbid if they were to have our “Jim Mora” defense with the offense they have now. I really like the Darren Sharper pick up and he proved it this past weekend versus the Lions with 2 picks. I also think Sean Payton is like a young Jim Mora and is the perfect coach to get them to the Super Bowl. If their defense steps up and they can get home field advantage, and they gotta stay healthy, I like the Saints to get to NFC Championship this year.

7. Tell us about your life these days – what have you been up to?
I am out in Santa Monica, California trying to grow my own firm, Toi Cook Management Group and raise my 3 kids with my wife, Kristine, of 18 years. And I love watching the kids of former players, Gene Atkins, Craig Heyward, Bobby Hebert, playing college football, not to mention Jumpy Geather’s son in the NFL. The Saints and the fans of New Orleans made me who I am and I would never change it. Playing in New Orleans was the greatest and the city of New Orleans is the greatest. I’m just sorry that I haven’t been back since Katrina but I will. I speak with Lenny Alsfeld, who is the president of FBT Investments, and the hockey coach of LSU, all the time. So we are working on things that will hopefully bring me back.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.