It has been nearly four years since former San Francisco 49ers star linebacker Patrick Willis made the surprise decision to step away from the game after eight seasons in the league.
During a recent interview on The 49ers Insider Podcast, Willis voiced that he believes that he made the right decision to walk away from the game when he did, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“For me, I felt like it was the perfect time — my body, everything,” Willis said. “The stars aligned for me. I never set out to play this game for anyone else’s expectations or what they thought I should do and how I should do it.
“I believed in myself before anyone else saw it. I never put that in anybody else’s hands. So for me, it was the right time.”
Willis had been coming off an injury-plagued 2014 season that saw him play in just six games that wound testing his passion for the game that led to him making that huge decision to retire. He had put together an impressive career up to that point where he had established himself as arguably the top middle linebacker in the game. Willis had earned seven straight Pro Bowl selections, five First-Team All-Pro nods, a Second-Team All-Pro selection, and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
In fact, he had was on his way to putting together a sure-fire Pro Football Hall of Fame career, but had decided to step away from the game at that point in his life. It was a time where felt his desire to play was no longer where it was previously, which is a personal decision that he had more than enough conviction to follow through with to move on.
Willis is still involved with the game in some capacity as he has put on online course for linebackers on “CoachTube” to help younger players develop their skill set. In those video tutorials, he covers drills, film study, nutrition, warmups that are also essential aspects for playing the position.
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