Lee, who announced his retirement as University of Montana-Western football coach Dec. 5, said recently that the five years he spent as offensive coordinator at UM-Missoula were the best of his long and storied career.
"I've been to a lot of places," Lee said, "and those five years I spent in Missoula (were) probably the highlight of my 40 years of coaching. Not only the people of the state of Montana but the community of Missoula and the kids that we had in building the program and the staff that we worked with (were) just a real plus.
It made such an impression that he began thinking that, when he did retire, he might do it in Montana. It also played a big role in his taking the head job at UM-Western.
Lee reached the age when he could retire a couple of years ago and admitted he had been thinking about it since then but kept coming back.
"(I) finally decided that maybe this is the time to give it up and move on," Lee said. "So far I'm kind of enjoying it."
Lee said he totally enjoyed coaching, especially the many athletes he's worked with for more than 40 years.
"That's the hardest part," Lee said. "It's such a reward when you hear from former players . . . that you hadn't heard (from) for quite awhile, sending you e-mails or giving you a call, just telling you how much they appreciated what you did for them."
It was his own deep appreciation for those who had coached him that drew him to the profession in the first place.
An All-American quarterback who followed his stellar career at Willamette College in Oregon with a year playing for Ottawa of the Canadian Football League, Lee said it was natural for him to gravitate to the offensive side of the ball during his coaching career.
When he played, quarterbacks called their own plays, and Lee enjoyed that role while having good success at it during his prep career at St. Louis High School in Honolulu and at Willamette.
So calling plays as a coach came quite naturally to him when he started his career as an assistant at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Ore.
It was Lee's first shot at a coaching position and his wife, Nani, urged him not to just jump on the first thing that came along. But Tommy hit it off so well with head coach Joe Schaffeld - a former longtime coach at the University of Oregon - that he couldn't resist. Nani was none too pleased at the time but softened later.
"Looking back on that we have no regrets," Lee laughed."
After four years in Portland Lee signed on as offensive coordinator at his high school alma mater, St. Louis in Honolulu. During the time he was there Schaffeld became head coach at Willamette, and that opened the door for Lee to rejoin Schaffeld there.
"That was unique and I totally enjoyed that part of it," Lee said about getting to coach at the school where he played his college football. And while he was happy he started coaching at the high school level Lee was excited to become more specialized once he hit the college ranks.
Lee had gone to Willamette to play college football through the connection of one of his fellow Honolulu high school coaches who had played at Oregon State and knew about the school.
Another big step for Lee was becoming acquainted with Don Read, with whom he would coach at Portland State and Montana.
Read had hired Schaffeld away from Willamette to help him at the University of Oregon, and Lee took over at Willamette. When Read left Oregon and became head coach at Oregon Tech he and Lee's teams played each other.
After Lee's eighth year as head man at Willamette Read - now back at Portland State for his second stint there - Read had an opening. Lee applied for and got the job, and the rest is history.
The two learned a great deal about offensive football from each other. Lee also got a lot of ideas from Read about how to deal with players firmly but fairly.
"Just a unique person," Lee said about Read. "A great individual. And some of those personal traits I tried to emulate. He's one in a million."
There's no question that the relationship between the two men is a mutual admiration society.
"I've thought the world of him since the first day I met him," Read said. "We were very fortunate to have Tommy working with us all those years. He's just a great person."What gave Lee an opportunity to move to Portland State was a decision by Read to stop doing both the head coach and offensive coordinator jobs there so he could concentrate on more administrative duties and fundraising.
In 1981 Read convinced Lee to become the offensive coordinator at PSU. And when Read decided to go to Montana in 1985 he convinced Lee to join him.
"It was a critical part of our staff," Read said when recalling the move to Missoula. "I wasn't sure . . . that he (wouldn't) be kept on at Portland State or get a job somewhere else. So it was a concern, but he walked in and said, 'yeah, I'm willing to go.'"
Read said he has never been around a more creative and imaginative coach than Tommy Lee.
"He was a major part of developing the type of offense that we had both at Portland State and at Montana," Read remembered. "It was a wide-open style. His ability to utilize people to the system and the system to the people was amazing to me.
"Then you add the other dimensions," Read went on. "Good on-the-field coach because he had a great relationship, a motivating kind of a person on the field to the players. He was an excellent recruiter and a fine administrator."
Read said most of the offensive ideas came from Lee. All Read told him was that he wanted to make a living throwing the football, and then he backed off and let him do his thing.
As for funny situations that occurred, Read recalled a trip to Bozeman to play Montana State when it was extremely cold. Read thought something had to be done during the Friday walk through to take his players' minds off the conditions.
"I came up with this idea (that) we . . . would throw all our clothing in a pile," Read related. "We got the guys circled around and they were taking off (their clothes), and I thought, 'oh boy, now they understand what this is all about' and (they were) getting excited."
Read recalls looking through the mass of Grizzly players - many stripped down to almost nothing - and finding Lee still wearing a huge parka and extra large mittens.
"I thought, 'maybe I need to worry about the coaches more than the kids,'" Read chuckled.
In other words, the adjustment to snow and cold was a little slower for coach Lee.
Read also appreciated Lee for how he dug in and worked hard in coaching situations that were difficult, especially at schools with limited resources like Willamette and Portland State.
"He was a guy that was always overachieving in a situation that was really difficult," Read said. "So I saw him battle in the coaching ranks trying to be successful when he had the short stick.
"He wasn't afraid of challenge or battling the big people, or battling the name people. He kind of rose to that occasion. He was at his best when things were tougher."
Looking back at his brief pro playing career - one year in Ottawa - Lee said he enjoyed it but he didn't like being separated from Nani, who stayed in Hawaii at that time. The two had been married for about two years and were expecting their first child.
"I wasn't really totally into it," Lee said. "So after the year we just gave it up and started coaching."
Lee also got some coaching experience at the professional level, something he also enjoyed even though his heart really was at the college level.
After five years at Montana Lee - who had become acquainted with current Oregon State coach Mike Riley when Riley was coaching Winnipeg of the CFL - decided to join Riley as offensive coordinator for San Antonio of the new professional World League, which began play in the spring of 1991.
"I thought this was a great opportunity for me to further advance my career," Lee said. "It was tough to turn down although I totally enjoyed Missoula and the University of Montana."
The World League was put on hold after two seasons. Riley went to Southern Cal to work for John Robinson and Lee hooked on with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
Ironically Toronto's head coach was former UM standout Bob O'Billovich from Butte. The two had been roommates when both played for Ottawa.
Lee stayed at Toronto for two years but again missed his wife, who was in Oregon.
As fortune would have it Ron McBride, now the head coach at Weber State, was head man at Utah and had an opening that Lee was able to fill. After six years with Utah Lee was named head coach at UM-Western in Dillon.
While his locations may have changed on occasion Lee's offensive philosophy changed very little.
"The base is still there," Lee said. "I mean you always evolve a little bit with new ideas and concepts but the base is always the same.
"I've been a spread-'em-out type guy, so I don't think I've changed that much, but I think there's some tweaking here and there that goes on . . . with everybody," he added.
Lee said when Don Read decided to take the head coaching job at Montana it was easy to go with him, partly because he didn't see a future at Portland State, which at that time was always struggling with resources.
The only tough part was that his children were in still high school, Nani and the kids stayed behind in Oregon. Read helped Lee out by having him recruit the West Coast so he could visit his family more often.
Lee also has thoroughly enjoyed his stay in Dillon, again citing the people of the community and the college as well as the players who thrived under his leadership.
"A lot of them don't get much money or help financially to play," Lee said of his players in Dillon. "They're here because they want to be and for an education, and that's made it such a rewarding experience being here and back in the state of Montana."
Lee's defensive coordinator, Rich Ferris, has taken over as head coach at Western, but there still will be a Lee in the mix. Tommy and Nani's son Pahai will take over as offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs after a year helping his father.
Lee's oldest daughter Momi does marketing for Hawaiian Airlines and is based in San Francisco. Momi and husband Lance Hall have an 11-year-old son.
Second son Ipo lives in Salt Lake City and has daughters who are seven and three.
Now that Tommy has retired Nani is ready to travel.
"She's just been a wonderful wife and person that, as a coach's wife, made a lot of sacrifices over the years," Lee said, noting that until the three children were out of the house she had maintained their base home in Oregon. They finally were able to reconnect when Tommy went to work at Utah.
"I owe her a lot," Lee understated, "and since I announced my retirement I've been doing a lot of honey-dos."
Reflecting on his long coaching career Lee went right back to his five years in Missoula as the biggest highlight. He also enjoyed Salt Lake City and Dillon.
As for individual players who stand out Lee said he maintains close contact with Brent Pease, the first quarterback he coached at Montana and now assistant head coach at Boise State. Another favorite is former Griz quarterback Grady Bennett, who took over as the first head coach at the new Glacier High School in Kalispell this fall.
Lee also singled out receiver Steve Smith of Utah because of his "feistiness." Smith now plays for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.
"Just to see the transition that these kids make from college," Lee said, "having a difficult time making ends meet and going on to a professional career and doing so well financially."
There also were the good times that go with coaching. Again Lee centered on a fellow coach for inspiration in that area.
"I know with Bob Beers around when we were at Montana there were a lot of funny things that came up all the time," he laughed. "He's such a great guy to be around and a funny guy (who) keeps things pretty loose."
Basically he has just totally enjoyed the whole coaching experience.
"It's just so many memories that you'll treasure for the rest of your life," Lee said. "And the people that you've met, both players as well as community people. It's been a fulfilling profession for me."
Trips to Hawaii are on the horizon since Nani's mother is still alive there as do both of Tommy's parents. His two brothers, Ron (wide receivers) and Cal (linebackers), are assistant coaches at the University of Hawaii along with another former Montana assistant, Jeff Reinbold, who coaches the defensive line.
Quizzed about retirement plans and the possibility of keeping his hand in football by doing some consulting Lee didn't seem to put coaching totally out of the picture.
"I still think I have some years left coaching wise," Lee said, "but right now I'm just going to take some time off and see what's out there."
Click here for the complete interview with Tommy Lee.
Click here to listen to all of Don Read's comments about Tommy Lee.
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