Ep. #45-Harry Swayne-xNFL Pro on leadership, development, self-identity, D&I in sports with Sivonnia

Harry Swayne

Harry was born in Philadelphia and attended Rutgers University, receiving a B.S. in Sport Management. He received numerous Big East honors and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 7th round of the 1987 NFL draft. After playing defensive line for three years, he made the difficult switch in 1990 to left offensive tackle where he would play for twelve years.

Harry spent the next six years as a San Diego Charger, taking them to their first ever World Championship, Super Bowl XXIX in 1994. Voted as the team union representative for four years, Harry was pivotal in identifying unacceptable playing and workplace conditions. He would win the next two World Championships with the Denver Broncos. Harry then signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 1999 and won his third World Championship, Super Bowl XXXV. The Miami Dolphins were his final team for the 2001 season after fifteen years in the NFL.

After an extensive year of training with the para-church ministry, Athletes in Action, Harry was assigned to the Chicago Bears. He served as Life Coach and Team Chaplain for five years during Head Coach Lovie Smith’s tenure.

In 2008, Harry returned to the Baltimore Ravens as the Player Development Director, working closely with GM Ozzie Newsome. Harry was tasked with shaping the culture of the team by creating innovative programs and strategically engaging and utilizing partnerships with key influencers. Harry designed, built and executed programs that ensured high potential players performed consistently at the highest level of sport. He created and implemented the Ravens Mentoring Program, which became a sought-after designation for veteran players for 10 years. Additionally, Harry initiated the Ravens Rookie Orientation program which he designed to utilize solution-based research and content driven by qualitative and quantitative data. These and other programs set the Ravens apart. Harry proved that analyzing data in HR was just as pr