A four-year starter at right tackle, right guard or left tackle, and a three-time All-MAC selection at Kent State, Brian Winters caught the attention of New York's head coach and is why he was chosen by the Jets in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
"It was a team I really honestly didn't know was on the radar for me. I didn't really think that they were in need of the position," Winters said. "And when I got that call from Rex Ryan, he was like, 'I'm a defensive guy, but I handpick one offensive player every year. And you're my guy I picked because you play offense like defensive players. You've got a nasty attitude, and I like that.'"
And the Hudson, OH, native liked what he saw after traveling 410 miles across Pennsylvania to North Jersey to meet with Ryan and see where the Jets call home.
"Obviously, him being at that point, one of the big coaching legends, I was pretty starstruck about him and just the opportunity that he gave me," Winters said. "And just that organization. As soon as I walked in at Florham Park, the facilities, and how they ran everything, it was just unbelievable. Obviously, coming from the MAC and a small school, you know, it's kind of the rags to riches."
During training camp and the preseason, Winters made Ryan look the king of draftniks by playing well enough to be named as a starter at left guard. Unfortunately, what he was accomplishing on the field was put on pause due to a late-in-camp high ankle sprain.
He couldn't play, but began his rookie season on the active roster instead of injured reserve. And then it was only a matter of time before he stepped back into the starter's role. That time came in Week 5 in Atlanta on nationally-televised Monday Night Football.
"I was out for four weeks, and I knew going into the season they were going to probably wait for me to heal," Winters said. "So I knew it was going to happen eventually, once they felt like I was healthy and got the playbook under wraps and felt comfortable. And then once they told me that, moving forward, you're going to be our starter. It was awesome.
"And the Monday night game against the Falcons, it was awesome. My family came out to the game, and we actually won (30-28), too."
Lining up between veterans Nick Mangold at center and D'Brickashaw Ferguson at left tackle, the rookie appreciated that he was in a whole new world. Winters was playing home games in front of more than 82,000 at MetLife Stadium instead of, well, 57,000+ fewer fans, if they had packed his college's Dix Stadium.
"Coming from Kent State, the crowd base wasn't always the best," he said. "But my senior year, we were very good. We were actually ranked 17th in the country. And for a MAC school, that's pretty incredible. The crowds got bigger, but nothing comparable to MetLife. And that stadium, even in the NFL, is one of the bigger stadiums.
"So just playing in that atmosphere, hearing the J-E-T-S chant, and seeing all these very prideful fans in the stadium… And then the (offensive linemen) room I was in, I couldn't ask for a better situation. I was pretty much surrounded by Hall of Famers."
Missing the final 10 games in 2014 because of a knee injury, Winters was back the following season, and after Willie Colon got hurt, found himself aiming for the other side of the center when breaking the huddle and starting the final nine games at right guard instead of left.
"You ever wiped your own butt with your left hand? So this is pretty similar. People think it's an easy transition, right? It's going from left to right," Winters said. "But I, being right-hand dominant, I was way more comfortable on the right side. Actually, when I was playing left guard, I would always end up switching my feet in the middle of the play as we went because I just kind of felt more comfortable. It was an adjustment, but I was very happy with the adjustment."
Winters, as well as the rest of the of the team, had to make adjustments in 2015 when Ryan was replaced by Todd Bowles.
"I was obviously sad, but then once I saw Todd get into the building, he's, honestly, probably my favorite coach of all time," Winters said. "He put me in a leadership role right from the beginning. He understood work ethic. He was a player, and so he understood what it took to play at that level.
"Him and I just always were on the same page. I was a guy that wasn't always the best with talent, whatnot, but I had a work ethic. And that's what he had, too. So we vibed very well together."
For his first four seasons, Winters vibed well playing alongside Mangold. But beginning in 2017, he had to make yet another adjustment when over his next three seasons, he played next to three new centers. Wesley Johnson, Spencer Long and Jonotthan Harrison.
"People say it should be easy to play with different people, you should be able to play with someone different every series. But it's not the case," Winters said. "It's one of those things I always say, it goes as we go. You build relationships and you build play styles with people that are next to you. I know his first step. He knows my first step. We know how to take on double-teams. He knows how far I'm going to slide on a pass-protection in instance to someone else.
"So when I had the rotation of centers, it was definitely tough. But being an older player in the situation that I was is one of those things that they put it on my shoulders to kind of deal with. Which was fine with me. They put more on my plate for responsibility. I was making a lot more calls and kind of doing more of the center work so that these guys could go out there and play more free."
With New York for seven seasons before finishing his career by playing one year each with the Bills and Cardinals, did Winters notice anything that set Jets fans apart?
"They're just very diehard fans," he said. "I will say Buffalo's fanbase is pretty freaking diehard, as well. They're loyal. But the Jets fans, obviously, being there a long time, I got into a pretty much good relationship with a lot of the people. I kind of felt at home with them. And they love their Jets, man, no matter what it is. Highs and lows, they're always riding."
Following his retirement in 2022, Winters made his way back home to Ohio and got into his second career after having a knee buckling conversation with a contractor.
"I was building my home and got a quote from a guy who does epoxy flooring," Winters said. "They come in and grind the floor down in your garage, and then put that really colorful flake down. It's like a protection layer on your garage floor. And it was like $30,000. I'm like, 'Man, this is a high ticket for this. It's a three-car garage, but…' Then I got to thinking and talking with my wife, 'You know, maybe I should start something like this.'"
Winters did some research, built a relationship with a distributor, and founded First and Floors. But then after teaming up with a couple good friends who became investors, the company made a transition and got a new name.
"My two investors, they do a lot of house flipping, and said around 10 to 15 percent of their market margins are from paint work," Winters said. "And so we decided we should create a painting division. We got a few more investors, and ended up switching the name to Fair Painters.
"We still do garage flooring and whatnot, but now we have a lot of paint crews. I have 18 employees out of our place in Streetsboro, but we're trying to eventually open up another branch in the Columbus area and continue to grow that way.
"So everything's been pretty successful moving forward. I've always been a work ethic guy, and was always up at 4:30 and home by 8:30 every night when I was playing in the NFL. And I try to hold that same standard for these guys. That's kind of what separates us. I just like keeping these guys motivated and keep them positive, and kind of doing something different than a normal painting company or a mom-and-pop shop would do. We're trying to build a true juggernaut of a business."
Away from work and concentrating on handling the investment side of the business, Winters and his wife, Jenny, make their home in Aurora, OH. They have a son, Nash, who is five-years-old; a daughter, Navy, who is two-years-old; and another son, Jett, who is being welcomed into the world this week.
