Five straight All-Pro seasons ended on one Monday night hit in December 1987. The nerve never regenerated. Four years later Dwight Stephenson started a construction company with his wife, and stocked the drywall himself.
Chris Coghlan sits down with Pro Football Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson, co-founder of D. Stephenson Construction, to discuss what transfers from a locker room run by Bear Bryant and Don Shula to a job site — and what doesn't.
From his father working two jobs for 47 years to a first contract that took the company from zero to 200 people in a month, Dwight lays out the second career he built after the one he trained for was taken away.
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CHAPTERS ⏰
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00:00 Intro — NFL Hall of Famer Dwight Stephenson
00:38 One of seven kids: "You enjoy it, and you don't quit on it"
01:30 His father's two jobs — one hour off, for 47 years
02:36 Mom, seven kids, and a job by the fourth grade
04:16 Setting the standard — how Alabama found a two-year player
06:40 Mama's rule: "You're not going to follow anybody anywhere"
07:26 Alone in Alabama with two years of football
09:12 From defense to center
11:05 The rule: go to the next level, humble yourself
14:34 Playing for Bear Bryant
15:58 Bryant's principles: "I help those who help themselves"
18:09 Draft day — the phone call from Don Shula
21:21 Bottom of the depth chart again: just learn the plays
24:10 Shula's mental-error board: "Don't beat yourself"
26:22 What both legends shared: the CEO, not your buddy
28:34 The Dan Marino broken-finger story
33:59 December '87 — the Monday night injury
36:23 The nerve never came back
39:42 "Bring your playbook" — released from his dream job
41:38 Tears in the car — and choosing gratitude
43:35 Finding out he made the Hall of Fame at a gas station
45:35 His sister — the real leader of the family
47:49 The Dwight Stephenson Award
48:33 Starting over: "I'm gonna learn it from the ground up"
51:19 Christmas Eve drywall at the airport — why he loves hard jobs
53:31 Founding D. Stephenson Construction (January 1992)
54:48 Coaching for the man who released him
56:12 Building a company with his wife
59:32 Hurricane Andrew and Waste Management: 0 to 200 employees
1:00:38 What transfers from center to CEO
1:01:58 The skill he had to level up: people
1:06:07 "None of us are undefeated" — repairing a correction gone wrong
1:10:17 Elite vs. average: humble yourself
1:12:04 Advice to the young tradesperson
1:14:17 Why construction — money, pride, and work you can drive past
1:16:57 The Dwight Stephenson Foundation: computers for kids
1:20:44 What he's most grateful for
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ABOUT THE GUEST
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Dwight Stephenson is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and co-founder of D. Stephenson Construction, the South Florida construction firm he launched with his wife, Dinah, in 1992. Before entering construction, Stephenson spent eight seasons at center for the Miami Dolphins under Don Shula, earning five consecutive Pro Bowl selections and All-Pro honors from 1983 through 1987. At Alabama, he played under Bear Bryant and was part of back-to-back national championship teams in 1978 and 1979. Bryant called him the best center he ever coached and “a man among children.” Pro Football Hall of Fame
A severe left knee injury suffered during the 1987 season ultimately ended his NFL career. After football, Stephenson transitioned into construction from the ground up before he and Dinah founded D. Stephenson Construction, which now provides construction management, general contracting, program management and design-build services throughout South Florida.
Website: https://www.dstephenson.com
