Growing up as the son of a Hall of Fame NFL player comes with expectations that most athletes never face. Chris Long lived that reality every single day of his career, carrying the weight of his father’s legacy while trying to carve out his own path in professional football.
How Did Chris Long Handle the Pressure of Following Howie Long’s Footsteps?
Long recently appeared on the Exciting Mics podcast with Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship, where he opened up about the unique challenges of being a second-generation NFL player. The former defensive end didn’t shy away from discussing how difficult it was to live up to his father’s Hall of Fame career.
“When your dad’s in the Hall of Fame … that’s just something that’s going to be hard to live up to,” Long said. “I take a lot of pride in weathering that storm and being able to put together a career of my own.”
Long was drafted second overall by the St. Louis Rams in 2008 and played 11 seasons in the NFL from 2008 to 2018. His journey took him through three franchises: the St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles, with the latter two teams giving him the ultimate prize. He won Super Bowl championships with both New England and Philadelphia.
Why Are Second-Generation NFL Players So Rare at the Highest Level?
Long’s perspective on second-generation players offers insight into why so few succeed at the highest levels of professional football. He explained the unique challenges these players face, noting that the expectations can actually make their journey more difficult.
“There’s not a ton of second-generation guys that play a long time in the NFL at a high level,” Long explained. “If you ask them, ‘Was it easy?’ I don’t think they tell you it was easy, I think they sometimes it could make it a little harder because of the expectations.”
Throughout his career, Long compiled solid statistics that proved he belonged at the NFL level. He recorded 332 tackles, 70 sacks, 85 tackles for loss, and 150 quarterback hits across 162 NFL games. His contributions went beyond the stat sheet, as evidenced by his Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2018, which he earned through his community work with the Chris Long Foundation.
Even with these accomplishments, Long acknowledges that the comparisons to his father never stopped. The mental aspect of managing those expectations became a constant part of his professional life.
“It’s very natural to measure yourself against your dad,” Long said. “All pressure is self-imposed because you have a choice, and I think it could be good for you, but you gotta have to develop a healthy relationship with pressure.”
Long’s approach to handling this pressure shows the maturity that helped him succeed. Rather than running from the comparisons, he learned to use them as motivation while maintaining perspective on what he could control.
Today, Long continues making an impact through his foundation, which focuses on providing clean water and education to underserved communities in the United States and worldwide.
Whether he reaches the Hall of Fame like his father remains to be seen, but Long has clearly established himself as someone who handled extraordinary pressure with grace and built a meaningful career both on and off the field.
