The Loop
Chad Johnson used to call Marvin Lewis and Hue Jackson at 2 a.m., say “Coach, I’m open,” and then hang up
George Gojkovich
There’s no shortage of great Chad Johnson stories floating around the internet. There’s the one about him taking viagra before every game. There’s the time he invented the pylon putter celebration. There were those brief flirtations with the MLS and XFL, and recent tales of him shouting “I f—ing love you!” at FedEx guys and tipping struggling restaurants $1,000 out of the goodness of his heart. The man has been constant entertainment since day one, but this latest story about he used to torment Marvin Lewis and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson in Cincinnati might be the greatest one yet.
That Johnson's and Jackson on Brandon Marshall’s I Am Athlete podcast this week confirming that 85 used to “prank" call his coaches at all ungodly hours of the night. Instead of asking them if their refrigerators were running, however, he would just say “Coach, I’m open!” and hang up the phone. That kids, is how you become a superstar in this league.
In fairness to Ocho, though, Jackson also said he asked about the game plan and other particulars, despite having meetings on those very same subjects in just a matter of hours. Was he just worried about his targets? Almost certainly, but it does raise one very intriguing question:
If this is what his coaches were putting up with, what sort of phone calls was Carson Palmer getting at 3 a.m.?