SAFETY ROUTE : Chiefs’ Cherry, a Former Punter, Has Found Way to 5 Pro Bowls

Deron Cherry knew he was in trouble as soon as he opened the letter.

Having just left Rutgers, he had yet to play a down of pro football, but he knew the rules of the game.

And the first rule he had learned was that coaches like to get their rookies into training camp well before the veterans to see just what they have. At least the rookies who figure in their plans.

So when Cherry, who had signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free-agent punter that summer of 1981, got a letter telling him to report at the official start of camp, it wasn’t hard to figure out that he wasn’t considered an integral part of Coach Marv Levy’s master plan for that season.

That was hardly a surprise. For one thing, the Chiefs already had an incumbent punter named Bob Grupp, a Pro Bowl performer. For another, they had invited yet another punter to camp.

As if all that weren’t bad enough, Frank Gansz, Kansas City’s special teams coach, took a look at Cherry’s style and decided he wanted to change it.

Talk about a stacked deck. Cherry’s chances of winning the lottery might have been better than winning a spot on that team.

What should he do?

Most guys in his position would start calling employment agencies. Cherry? He called Levy and asked if he could try out for another position.

Now, this was not as off the wall as it might sound.

“I’ve played 4 years of safety at Rutgers,” Cherry told Levy. “Do you think I can get a shot there? I can play both safety positions and also punt, too. That’s 3 positions on a 45-man roster.”

Levy said he’d think about it.

Fortunately for Cherry, Levy’s new linebacker coach was Ted Cottrell, who had been the defensive coordinator at Rutgers when Cherry was a two-time All-East strong safety there.

Cherry soon got a call back from Levy. Come on down, the coach told him.

Great, but could he handle it?

“There was never a question in my mind,” Cherry said. “I had been to a mini-camp and seen what I was up against.

“The guys they drafted (as defensive backs) had these great reputations. I came from Rutgers, a small school. But I quickly realized there was no difference. I’m saying to myself, ‘How did these guys get drafted and I have to come in here as a free agent?’ I couldn’t see where they were that much better than I was.”

Big talk or big talent?

It took awhile to find out. Although he played well in the ’81 exhibition season, Cherry was sliced from the roster on the final cut.

Again, he would not be denied. He moved in with all-pro cornerback Gary Green and waited for his chance. Three games later, Cherry got it. Injuries depleted the secondary, and he was back on the roster.

He appeared in 13 games that season, played nickel back the next year and finally won a starting job in 1983, when free safety Gary Barbaro jumped to the United States Football League.

In the ensuing 5 years, Cherry has been to the Pro Bowl 5 times and has intercepted more passes, 38, than any other defensive back in the league over that span. His total of 39 ties him with Barbaro, the man he replaced, for third place on the Chiefs’ all-time list. Cherry also shares the National Football League record for interceptions in a game with 4.

He will take the field at the Coliseum Sunday to face the Raiders with 5 interceptions this season, second in the league, along with 3 fumble recoveries and a team-leading 81 tackles. His 8 take-aways represent nearly half of his team’s total of 17.

And Gansz, the man who once wanted to change Cherry’s punting style, is now his head coach. The last thing he’d want to do these days is change Cherry’s style in the secondary. “He’s definitely been a bright spot,” said Gansz, who hasn’t seen many on a team that is 1-6-1. “He’s a tremendous player. He makes the plays that win for you.”

What is Cherry’s secret? Not speed. Not size (5 feet 11 inches).

Try film. This is a guy who watches more movies than Siskel and Ebert. In a typical week, Cherry will watch film of the next opponent in team meetings, watch an additional 12 to 15 hours on his own and then toss a few tapes under his arm on the way home for viewing after dinner.

The first thing Cherry did earlier this week, when he heard that Steve Beuerlein had replaced Jay Schroeder as the Raiders’ starting quarterback, was to head for the Chiefs’ film library. “I’m responsible for calling the signals on defense,” Cherry said. “I’m the quarterback on defense. I want to know every situation a team can put us in. I want to know we’re in the best possible coverage.”

Cherry is paid well for his effort. The 3-year contract extension he signed this season calls for a $600,000 signing bonus and an $850,000-a-year salary. Among the league’s defensive backs, only Raymond Clayborn of the New England Patriots receives as high an annual figure, and some of Clayborn’s money is deferred.

Still, these are not the best of times for Cherry. The Chiefs are losing, and as the losses have mounted, so has the criticism, from without and within. Some players have been openly critical of their teammates.

Not Cherry.

“It’s more frustration than anything else,” he said of remarks by other Kansas City players. “Guys are going out there with the attitude of trying not to make a mistake rather than going out there trying to win the football game.

“I’m just trying to contribute, to try to pull us out of this hole that we’re in. Regardless of the circumstances, I’m going to try to play up to a certain level that I expect of myself. I have to set an example for the younger guys on this team.”

Not that he has anything to prove. His reputation has long preceded him.

A couple of years ago, when Dan Fouts was still terrorizing NFL secondaries as quarterback of the San Diego Chargers, he was loosening up before a game against the Chiefs when he spotted Cherry jogging within his range.

Fouts cocked his arm and fired a football at the defensive back. Cherry smiled and caught it.

“That’s the last time you’ll see one from me today,” Fouts yelled.

Cherry continued to grin. High praise, indeed, for a guy who, once upon a time, couldn’t even cut it in this league as a punter.