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Updated at 11.45
CHARLES TILLMAN HAS only been retired from the NFL for one season, but the former All-Pro cornerback has already found his next calling.
According to multiple sources, Tillman is in training to become an FBI agent. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was the first to report the news.
Tillman spent 12 of his 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears, grabbed 36 interceptions and helped lead the team to its only Super Bowl appearance in the past 30 years. He also made $51 million in his career.
After signing a one-day contract to retire as a Bear last July, he spent the 2016 season as a studio analyst on the “Fox NFL Kickoff” show, but it seems the television gig didn’t suit him.
While the FBI’s Chicago bureau doesn’t comment on personnel matters, former Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt, a longtime panelist on the Fox show, said he was aware of the reason for Tillman’s departure.
First-class,” Wannstedt said of Tillman. “What a guy. Charles Tillman is as good as they come and I had a great time working with him.”
Tillman’s personal history is rooted in service. Born into a military family, he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and once spent eight days in the Middle East on a USO tour visit. His charity, the Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation, works to improve the lives of children in the Chicago area.
His work hasn’t gone unrecognised. The 36-year-old won the NFL’s Salute to Service Award in 2012 and was the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2013.
In a 2016 interview with Make It Better magazine, Tillman told Willie Griswold about his passion for law enforcement.
So I’m all about our military and supporting our men and women in uniform,” he said. “[I'm also interested in] helping police officers and law enforcement, I’m big into that. A lot of my friends are law enforcement officers and [I like to] support them as well.”
While Tillman’s specific time frame is unclear, all new FBI agents must be younger than 37 at their time of appointment. Tillman turns 37 on 23 February, 2018.
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The David Connolly(?) story was the best!
Connolly became big headed when they named the train station after him. I knew it was a mistake.
@GARFARKLE: I hope he doesn’t turn out like Whitney Heuston.
@John Smith: must’ve indulged in Dutch culture a bit too much when he played reserve football there
@Armchair Follower: brilliant
@Armchair Follower: she did go off the rails in fairness
@GARFARKLE: bit of a ceannt alright
Reid was treated disgracefully. He wasn’t the Irish messi – he could however do something few others in the team were capable of – play a forward pass and keep possession.
@Colm O’Sullivan: And, play the guitar.
Good luck to arter, he has been weak for us in most of the games he has played.
How many grannies did Stephen ireland-ish say he had again ? Lol
@paul fennelly For the record, 1. Roy Keane complained about the training facilities several times during home matches before the World Cup. 2. McCarthy promised everything would be sorted by the World Cup. 3. Keane threatened to walk out of tournament on reaching Saipan because of the substandard facilities 4. He was convinced to stay for the sake of the fans 5. Next morning McCarthy called a meeting with everyone involved in the squad except for Keane and then he sent someone for Keane after everyone else had turned up. He confronted him in front of everyone about an interview only just published that he had given several days before and after an argument he sent Keane home. RESULT Keane was SENT home. This is fact, why do people insist that he walked out?
@John Mullin: You obviously haven’t read his own book. Funny as you sound like such a fan
Stephen Ireland’s career went downhill when granny-gate happened for both club and country. His head has never been screwed on. Only himself to blame.