McKinnie, former Hurricanes remember Taylor

The Vikings left tackle hopes to turn the anger he feels over the death of his ex-teammate into something positive.

By Kevin Seifert, Star Tribune

Last update: November 30, 2007 - 11:02 PM

Bryant McKinnie struggled Wednesday for the right word. After a few moments, he found it.

"Angry," McKinnie said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet and hoarse as the Vikings left tackle spoke to reporters about the murder of Sean Taylor, his friend and college teammate. McKinnie and Taylor played together at the University of Miami in 2000 and 2001, and they maintained their friendship through the deep fraternity of former Hurricanes in the NFL.

In an event that has sent shock waves throughout the league, Taylor was shot early Monday morning in his Miami home; the house sits about 40 minutes from McKinnie's permanent residence in Davie, Fla. Taylor died Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., and since then, McKinnie said, "I've just been angry about it."

"Honestly," McKinnie said, "I'm going to use it as motivation, and just go out on the field probably with a little bit more of a chip on my shoulder. ... I don't know, just anger. I'm going to try to take the negative energy and turn it into something positive."

Taylor, 24 and a Pro Bowl safety with the Washington Redskins, was a reclusive man and McKinnie did not purport to be his best friend. But they ran into each other as recently as last summer in Miami, and were among a group of NFL players who socialize and work out together.

"We were cool," McKinnie said. "A lot of us are chill with each other because we go back to work out in Miami during the offseason. All of the players are pretty close. It was a big tragedy, a big shock to us."

McKinnie said he awoke early Monday morning to find 26 messages on his cell phone, telling him Taylor had been seriously wounded during what appeared to be a home invasion. Taylor seemed to have made progress by Monday night, reportedly squeezing a doctor's hand in response to a command, so McKinnie said he was stunned to later learn of his death.

One of the first people he reached out to was Vikings coach Brad Childress, sending him a text message at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Childress, already in his office at Winter Park, immediately got McKinnie on the phone.

"We talked about Sean," Childress said. "We talked about his child. We talked about his girlfriend, and certainly about his family, even his parents who always think they are going to outlive [their children]. And we talked about just the fragility of life, that there is no bartering for it, whether it is somebody running a stoplight or someone coming into your house. You just don't know."

Childress addressed Taylor's death during a team meeting Wednesday morning.

"The thing that we talked about," Childress said, "is when I walk back into that meeting room on a Wednesday ... I am genuinely glad to see those 53 guys. ... People that [have children] understand that you're laying in bed at night doing a mental inventory of, 'OK, they are all in bed,' or 'I have got one that is still out somewhere.' So I do the same thing with those 53 guys."

McKinnie plans to attend Taylor's funeral next week in Miami. He has spoken with almost a dozen of his former teammates this week -- including Jeremy Shockey and William Joseph of the New York Giants, Willis McGahee of the Baltimore Ravens and Vernon Carey of the Miami Dolphins -- about an appropriate memorial for this weekend's games.

Ideas were still floating Wednesday afternoon, but McKinnie said he will ensure Taylor is remembered as a "very cool kid."

He added: "Sean was quiet. He wasn't one of those loud people. He just loved football and wanted to be the best."