Months went by without him signing a contract. Training camps around the league started over the summer, and he still didn’t have a job.

“It tries to creep in,” he said of thoughts of his career coming to a close, “but my confidence — and, I guess, the competitor in me — knew that wasn’t the case.”

Two days after the Denver Broncos completed their preseason schedule, they gave Holliday a job, signing him to a contract for this season.

Through 13 games, he has proven to be a valuable investment. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound defensive lineman has 26 tackles, three sacks and five quarterback hits.

“You always want to play better,” said Holliday, who turned 34 on Friday. “Would I like to be with 10 sacks right now, 100 tackles? Yeah. But in this scheme and on this team doing my job, yeah, I feel good about what I’ve done so far.”

The 19th overall selection in the 1998 NFL Draft, Holliday has been a productive player throughout his career. Playing for Green Bay (1998-2002), Kansas City (2003-04) and Miami (2005-07) before signing with the Broncos, Holliday has 58 career sacks, and he has started 87 percent of the games that he has played.

His impact on the Broncos this season goes deeper than stats, however.

“He is a guy that understands how to play his position in this defense,” said Broncos safety Brian Dawkins, who, in his 14th season, is one of the few players on the roster older than Holliday. “I think that has benefited some of the other guys who haven’t played in this (3-4) defense.

“He has been a tremendous, tremendous benefit for this team, and I’m so happy we were able to talk him into coming here.”

Considering that he spent eight months without a job, Holliday was pleased to come to Denver.

“This offseason was one of those offseasons where you really have to challenge yourself,” Holliday said. “At this point in my career, a lot of people counted me out and didn’t know how much I could go, or if I still had it.

“It was a big chip on my shoulder that drove me throughout the offseason.”

Living in Atlanta, Holliday said he had no trouble being motivated to work out.

He started 15 games in Miami last season, but wasn’t invited back. Once he became a free agent, he decided in January to have his right knee surgically repaired.

After that surgery, he worked out twice a day for a while, and then three times a day once he could run. He even added spin classes, core classes and yoga to his routine.

“I had probably one of my best offseasons, in terms of conditioning, in a long time,” he said. “My body got a chance to heal up.

“It was actually easy (to stay motivated) because it was all on me. You don’t want to be left in a situation where when you do get the call, you’re not ready to go. Then, you’ve proven everybody right. For me, it was easy to get up and go.”

Facing the reality that he might, indeed, be done playing football motivated him as well.

“I needed that outlet (of working out),” he said. “I was going through so much mentally at that time. Here you are, faced with 12 years in the league and you’re looking around the league at a lot of your peers who are also out of work. Some of them didn’t get called back and still aren’t on a team. (Working out) was my outlet.”

It paid off when he signed with Denver. He has had to change his mindset, however. Throughout his career, he got used to starting and playing most of the game. That’s not his role in Denver.

“There was a switch I had to make mentally,” he said. “OK, maybe I’m not a guy who goes out and plays 60 snaps a game, so I have to play 35, 40 snaps. So, I had to come to terms with that. Then, after that, yeah, I can play this game.”

At 34 years old and in his 12th season, Holliday has already had a longer career than most. Yet, after a long offseason and a productive season to this point, he doesn’t see the end in sight.

“Right now, if I had to guess at it, yeah, it’s still in me,” he said.

“I always told myself and anybody that would listen that I would play this game for as long as I was still enjoying it.”

The message was basically the same: Be sure to check out the New England Patriots, they’re the front runners with Tom Brady back.

And stay clear of Denver!

Still, Holliday couldn’t cross the Broncos off his list, even if they had a defense in disarray and a new coach who began his tenure by quarreling with his Pro Bowl quarterback and receiver.

Something just intrigued Holliday. So he signed on with Denver in early September, eschewing other potential suitors like Carolina, San Diego and New England.

That decision has now left him feeling like he cashed in a winning lottery ticket.

“We’ve been the talk of the country,” said Holliday, whose undefeated team travels to San Diego on Monday night. “This defense is playing well.”

Holliday has been an integral part of Denver’s 3-4 alignment, filling up space in the middle as the Broncos now boast one of the top defenses in the league.

This is precisely what he envisioned when he selected Denver.

“I remember watching Denver playing Seattle in the preseason and the local bartender is like, ‘Hey, you don’t want to go there,’” Holliday recalled. “Everybody gives you advice.”

Holliday didn’t want to rule out any options. He couldn’t afford to after coming off right knee surgery in January.

The 33-year-old wasn’t even sure if he’d be ready in time for the season. He spent the first 1 1/2 months after the operation running on an underwater treadmill. Only gradually did he increase his fitness level by taking spinning and yoga classes.

To friends and family, the 12-year veteran expressed confidence in making it back to the field.

Silently, though, he was wondering if that was even realistic.

If he did come back, who would sign him with his knee?

“I’m sitting there watching preseason games and looking at these guys, thinking, ‘I can play better than that guy,’” said Holliday, who has two sacks and a forced fumble this season. “But it’s frustrating. As August kept creeping along, I thought I may be sitting (out) opening week of the season … I kept working and waiting for my opportunity.”

Just before the start of the season, the calls came. Teams were expressing an interest, including Denver.

Yet he was wary.

Like the rest of the country, Holliday read the reports of Josh McDaniels’ feud with Jay Cutler that ultimately lead to the rocket-armed quarterback’s trade to the Chicago Bears. Then came the suspension of receiver Brandon Marshall for insubordination in training camp.

“All we see or hear about is all the negative stuff that’s coming out,” Holliday said.

So Holliday spoke with Denver defensive backs Andre’ Goodman and Renaldo Hill, former teammates in Miami.

“The story they’re giving me doesn’t match up with the story I’m reading and seeing every day on the news and in the paper,” Holliday said.

He decided to check things out for himself, arriving in Denver and chatting with players in the cafeteria.

Soon after, Holliday was sold.

“I called my wife up and said, ‘Look, I think this is going to be a good situation,’” Holliday said.

So far, it’s worked out.

Despite a knee that took most of the offseason to mend, Holliday hasn’t missed a step. He’s coming off a season in which he started 15 games for the Dolphins last season and led the team’s defensive linemen with 46 tackles.

His role is reduced in Denver, entering the game primarily in long-yardage situations and nickel packages.

That’s just fine with Holliday — he still plays a big part in bolstering a defense that’s been bullied around the past two season. This isn’t that unit any longer.

“The great thing about this team and this defense is knowing your role and doing your job,” Holliday said as the Broncos are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1998. “Right now, my job is to come in and back those guys up and not let there be any drop-off.”

He’s also taken on a leadership role, providing a veteran voice in the locker room.

Is that why the Broncos brought him on board?

“Nah, that isn’t the reason,” McDaniels said. “I mean, we love that part of it. We want all of our players to have the same type of leadership qualities that Vonnie Holliday does. But we knew that Vonnie Holliday could still be an active, productive player in our scheme.”

As for all the advice he received when contemplating his choices, Holliday said he’s glad he tuned it out.

“I’ve been fortunate, no doubt about it,” he said.

Holliday was responsible for a game-saving forced fumble Sunday, when he sacked Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on the 49-yard line in a 2nd-and-8 situation with 1:45 remaining in the game to help force overtime.

The Broncos would eventually win, 20-17, dropping New England to 3-2 and allowing the Dolphins to move within a game of first place in the AFC East.

The play reminded me that I hadn’t spoken to Holliday in a while, which is a sin considering how great he was to deal with during his time in Miami. So I had a long chat with Vonnie on Thursday night, when we discussed how he ended up in Denver and what the experience has been like.

“I’m really enjoying it, having fun playing football right now,” Holliday said. “Coming into this thing, I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work out. I was leaving sunny, warm Miami to come to Denver, where the weather was definitely uncertain.”

That’s not all that was uncertain. A week before the start of the season, Holliday didn’t have a contract. And when he finally did find one, it happened to be with a squad that was dealing with as much skepticism as it has faced in years.

Now? The Broncos are undefeated, and Holliday has two sacks, one of which might go down as one of the finest highlights of a long, solid career.

“It’s also the first time I’ve ever played for a coach who’s younger than I am,” said Holliday, 33, who was born four months before Josh McDaniels. “I guess if you stick around long enough, that can happen.”

There were times, Holliday admits, when he wasn’t sure he’d be “sticking around” for this season at all. When he was cut by the Dolphins – on the very day he was due a $1.5 million roster bonus – the veteran said he felt like it was “a slap in the face.”

“I’ve moved past it now,” Holliday said. “I know it’s a young man’s league, but I still feel like if I was in Miami and had a chance to compete for my job, I don’t think anybody was taking it away from me. I didn’t have the opportunity, so I was pretty upset about it.”

Because of a knee issue he’d been rehabilitating throughout the offseason, Holliday’s iPhone wasn’t blowing up the way he expected, either. It was then that doubts started to seep into his head, causing him to wonder if his own evaluation of his ability might have been overstated.

“You’re sitting there at home in August, and everybody is playing ball, and you’re having these conversations with teams, but they’re telling you they don’t want to invest in a player with a knee issue,” Holliday said. “They wanted me to sign an injury waiver, and then there’s potential of a lockout. All these things were coming into play. It’s like, ‘Man, am I really too old for this league now?’

“You start to second guess things.”

As it turned out, the situation might have been a blessing in disguise for several reasons. Not only is he now with an undefeated team, he also says the fact that he couldn’t find a team during training camp might have benefited his aging body.

Holliday spent his offseason focusing on cardio and workouts that were less stressful on his joints, steering away from heavy weight lifting. He’d do things like Yoga and spin classes, while also working out on an underwater treadmill.

Not only does he now feel fresh, but he also feels like the cardio workouts might be giving him an advantage during his transition into Denver’s high altitude.

“Coming into the season, I felt like I was in the best shape of my life,” Holliday said. “My joints got a chance to rest from the pounding of OTAs, minicamps and training camp. So I feel really good right now.”

Now 11 years into a pro career that has been spent with four different teams, Holliday is still making an impact, still showing that he’s got what it takes to hold down a job in a young guy’s league.

His departure from the Dolphins, however harsh it might have seemed, did make some sense as Miami attempted to get its young defensive ends the experience necessary to grow into those roles.

So while his departure might have been merited, Holliday will always be one of those players you like to see succeed wherever he ends up. Given his perseverance and dedication to a game he loves, that’s probably something no one needs to worry about any time soon.

“Was it time to hang it up and spend more time with the family?” Holliday said. “I had those thoughts. People see you at a bar watching football on a TV, and they’re asking why that is. So I just used it as motivation. I knew I’d get a call, I just didn’t know when.

“We know we have a lot of work left ahead of us. We’ve done some good things around here, and we’ve set ourselves up for a nice run, but we’ve got some tough games coming up ahead. You’ve just got to remember that he who laughs last also laughs best.

For now, at least, the smile on Holliday’s face must be stretching from ear to ear.

Financial terms weren’t immediately available.

An 11-year NFL veteran, Holliday played the last two sea sons with the Dolphins. He started 15 games in 2008 but was released in March after refusing to accept a pay cut. Holliday drew interest from New England last month but didn’t sign.

Holliday’s experience in a 3-4 defense should make him a nice fit in Denver, which is shifting to that scheme under new coordinator Mike Nolan.

Holliday, 33, has started 141 games since entering the league as Green Bay’s first-round draft choice in 1998.

Related: Holliday traveling to Denver

It won’t happen right away. We spoke with Holliday’s agent, Fort Lauderdale-based Cary Fabricant, last week and he said they understand it will likely be a few weeks into training camp before anything could happen.

But it still could happen.

Holliday, of course, was released by the team last March just before he was due to receive a $1.5 million bonus. Add that to the $5.75 million Holliday was to earn this season and the Dolphins determined they could go a cheaper route without much of a dropoff in talent.

But in failing to address the D-line in the draft, and then adding only Tony McDaniel via a trade with Jacksonville, the front office left a good deal of uncertainty as to the quality of the unit. Starting defensive ends Kendall Langford and Phillip Merling were both rookies last season. Randy Starks is a capable backup, but McDaniel, Lionel Dotson, Rodrigue Wright and rookie Ryan Baker are all unproven.

About Holliday there is no uncertainty. He finished eighth overall and first among D-linemen in tackles last season with 46 and also had 31/2 sacks, third on the team behind Joey Porter (171/2) and Matt Roth (5). His best game of the year might well have been the season-ending win over the Jets in New York, the game that earned the Dolphins the AFC East title, when he had six tackles.

Holliday also served as a mentor to Langford and Merling and was both a locker-room leader and spokesman.

It’s somewhat surprising Holliday 33, hasn’t found work. But that could prove a godsend if he remains on the sidelines and the Dolphins find themselves in need of line help due to either injuries or inconsistency as training camp and the preseason move along.

Fabricant took a matter-of-fact approach to the situation.

“Vonnie is not going to get a job until the need arises,” he said. “We believe he belongs there, especially now. But we’re willing to wait and see what happens.”

“He enjoyed his time here,” Levy said. “He did everything asked of him and he can leave with his head held high. This is a business. Players leave teams and teams leave players. It’s an amicable split. He’s happy to have left the Dolphins on a winning note.”

The Dolphins are taking this step because they were due to pay Holliday a $1.5 million roster bonus Tuesday and another $500,000 workout bonus later this offseason.

The team offered Holliday, 33, an opportunity to renegotiate his contract but it was obviously at a pay cut and not one the player or his agent wanted to accept.

Holliday would have cost the Dolphins $5.75 million against the cap had he collected the bonus and his base salary in 2009. The team saves $3.25 million by cutting Holliday but he still will be on the books as a $2.5 million cap hit.

Holliday was a team captain for the defense and one of its leaders. He led all defensive linemen with 46 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

The Dolphins are obviously expecting second-year player Phillip Merling or 2008 acquisition Randy Starks to step into the starting job, with Kendall Langford handling the starting job at the other defensive end spot. The club also has second-year player Lionel Dotson on the roster.

The defensive end spot does not immediately become a need with the termination of Holliday’s contract, but it is diminished by the loss of experience and leadership. The Dolphins will likely add another defensive lineman sometime this offseason.

[UPDATE: The Dolphins have confirmed my report and released the following statement from general manager Jeff Ireland: "These types of decisions are always difficult ones, especially with someone like Vonnie, who has been a role model both on the field and off it. He was one of our captains last year and was a proven leader, not just in his tenure with the Dolphins, bit throughout his 11-year career. We are grateful for all his contributions to the Miami Dolphins organization and we want to wish him and his family the best of luck in the future."]

Some guys get it and some don’t. Dolphins defensive end/captain Vonnie Holliday gets it and that’s why he won this award for the second time in four years. He shared it with Ricky William in 2005.

This year there were many worthy candidates for the Good Guy Award such as: Ronnie Brown, Justin Smiley, Greg Camarillo, Reggie Torbor, Renaldo Hill, Davone Bess, Akin Ayodele. All stand up guys who were clutch on and off the field

Chad Pennington has to be one of the classiest, articulate athletes me or any reporter has ever covered, however, quarterbacks generally only speak on Wednesdays and we don’t give the award to a once-a-week guys. Sorry Ernest!

Ricky Williams, Joey Porter, Jason Ferguson, Andre’ Goodman and Channing Crowder are all fascinating interviews, but they would be the first to admit that they also ducked us on occasion this season..They had their reasons and I respect that.

That said, Vonnie could probably win it every year. He’s always available. He’s never condescending or nasty. He never leaves a locker room early after a loss. He’s always refreshingly honest, informative and colorful. We all know the day after he retires, the networks will be calling. Here are some of Vonnie’s remarks after he received the Good Guy plaque.

“It means a lot, you’re [how] our fans get to know us off the field. I had a chance to do some reporting. I know how hard it is and I know how important it is to have the guys in the locker room get the right message out.

“I’m really appreciative of having this opportunity. This does mean a lot. I know you guys probably think as players we probably don’t care about things like this but I certainly do. This was one of those seasons after coming off last year’s 1-15, you guys could’ve been probably a little more critical of what was going on around here, even of me, but I think you guys are fair and just in what you do, and I appreciate that.

“It’s just been a great ride and I think you guys have done a great job of getting the message out to the fans to the community about what’s been going on here and a great job covering that.

“It’s crazy and here we are and this thing is over for 2008. I said it yesterday, I fully expected to come in today and prepare for Pittsburgh, most of the guys in this locker room felt the same way and to be sitting here closing up, wrapping up 2008 is tough to do. We did accomplish a whole lot, a great deal as a team this year, exceeded all expectations and a lot of credit to a lot of people. But the reality of it all is sitting in, when you’re cleaning up those lockers, getting those phone numbers and getting those helmets signed from this historic season, it really sets in and makes it difficult.

“Going through this thing 11 years, knowing that locker room is going to change and a lot of those faces won’t be here next year, possibly your face may not be there next year. This is the hard part of this business, but it’s also what makes this business so great and makes it mean so much to you because you can’t take it for granted, day in day out, year in year out, so thank you guys for this 2008 Good Guy Award and hopefully I’ll be around to compete for the 2009 Good Guy Award.’’

Us too, Vonnie, us too.

The Dolphins defensive end had traveled to Atlanta to attend a relative’s burial during the off-season, and he was catching up with family members when talk turned to football. Holliday asked his stepbrother how his middle school football team was doing and the boy shrugged.

“We’re 0-3 right now,” he replied, “but you guys were 1-15.”

Holliday had no retort. He realizes he’s indelibly linked to the worst season in franchise history and one of the worst ever in the NFL – a punch line even at a funeral.

“That’s what it’s come to,” he said, recalling the moment with a sort of dark-humor half smile. “Even your family and friends are joking about the 1-15. I mean, that’s serious to me. He hurt my feelings.”

Holliday used to spend off-seasons talking to buddies about the upcoming season, maybe even talk a little trash. But not after 1-15 …

“You can’t even talk smack anymore,” he said.

Now the 11-year NFL veteran, who nearly gave up hope for a future in Miami last season, finds himself the elder statesman of an aggressive, young defense that’s helped the Dolphins win back-to-back games for the first time since 2006.

Not that Holliday is looking past last season’s debacle and ahead to the playoffs.

“You can’t forget about that,” he said. “You’re kidding yourself. We were 1-15. That’s why we catch all the (flack) we do now. We’ve got to put more wins together before we can say we forgot about last season.”

Holliday is typical of the reemerging Dolphins under the Bill Parcells regime, facing this season as if it were his last. Voted a captain by his teammates, he has taken over the leadership role vacated by Dolphin greats Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor.

“You watch him play, you watch him practice and you understand he’s a man who’s hungry,” said linebacker Akin Ayodele, a veteran newcomer from Dallas.

Holliday is reinvigorated, in part, by confidence in a locker room that last year was swallowed by apathy and confusion. He said the players were rudderless on and off the field.

“Last year, with Cam Cameron, from the beginning it was almost a joke. We never had any direction or plan in place,” Holliday said. “The lack of confidence in your coach, it was tough … That was by far the worst team I’ve ever been on.”

Cameron was fired as head coach at the end of his first season and the Dolphins started looking for their third coach in Holliday’s four years in Miami. Holliday wasn’t optimistic, saying he thought to himself that “I don’t want to be a part of that again. That’s not what I signed up for.”

When Parcells was hired to direct the football operations, Holliday figured there’d be success in the future, but wondered if he’d be a part of it. He heard about how Parcells liked to surround himself with his own guys. He knew Parcells didn’t want to rebuild with old players and didn’t like players who were hurt.

And Holliday, 32, was both last season.

Then, Thomas was released and rumors swirled about Taylor’s eventual trade. Veteran quarterback Trent Green and defensive tackle Keith Traylor were gone.

Holliday knew that given a fair evaluation, he’d prove that there was not a player on the roster more determined to help turn around the franchise.

“I knew that if I got a chance to come back and play that it wouldn’t be that way,” he said.

Holliday said he never in his career worked so hard to prepare in the off-season. He was fueled by the memory of last year’s embarrassment, and linebacker Channing Crowder remembers Holliday closing a team meeting with a message to his teammates:

“Everybody from last year remembers what it’s like to be 1-15. Remember that feeling.”

Crowder was especially inspired.

“I would fly through a wall for him because I know he’s going to work,” Crowder said.

Holliday also became a mentor to the many fresh, young faces brought aboard, especially rookie defensive linemen Phillip Merling and Kendall Langford.

“Even when I do good, he can see where I can improve,” Merling said. “He gives me that extra help. Without him, I don’t know where I’d be.”

Holliday always told himself that if he made it to 10 seasons in pro ball, he’d retire a happy man. Every season after that, he said, would be “gravy.” But he doesn’t want any more lumpy, losing seasons spoiling the remaining years.

“I don’t know how many more of these I have left in me, so every game, every practice, every week, I’m trying to enjoy it to the fullest. Every game is important to me,” he said. “I want these to be the best years.”

Holliday was part of the goal-line stand that sealed Sunday’s 17-10 win over San Diego, and coach Tony Sparano couldn’t help but smile when he saw his defensive end soaking in the post-game celebration.

“When you walk by his locker and you see his face at the end of that, to me that’s what this thing is all about,” Sparano said.

Two straight victories and a chance to keep proving that it’s no fluke.

“We’ll continue to be the underdog,” Holliday said. “We’ll continue to fight for respect and that’s a role that we’ve embraced. Guys have bought in. Guys have chips on their shoulders.

“Being a part of that, and seeing that, it gives you a swell of pride.”

What you’ll read in this blog is Holliday’s open plea for the Dolphins to regain South Florida’s respect, and support.

“Not many people believed in us. You heard the questions last week. Big bad San Diego’s coming in with that high powered offense. You didn’t think we can get it done. The guys pounded their chest, bowed up, and re-established home field. That’s what we’re trying to do. It was real big for us.

“They talked about blacking out the TV game in South Florida for the first time in a long time. Not even last year during 1-15 did they black a game out here. A lot of things were accomplished today, but this is just another step. We’re proud about what we did [Sunday], but it’s just another step. [Twelve] more games, and I’m so excited.

“We’re certainly getting [swagger]. The ball is starting to roll. We’re starting to get that momentum. Coming back home and winning a big game after the bye [week] is huge for us.

“Let’s get this understood, no Tom Brady, that’s how they looked at that [New England] win. There was no Tom Brady, no [Laurence] Maroney. These guys are still jokes. People are going to look at [the San Diego] game right here and say the same thing.

“There are still plenty of nonbelievers out there. We’re still going to have to fight for respect and we know that. We’re in an uphill climb. We’ve taken that road and we’re just going to take it one game at a time. We didn’t win but one game last year, and here we are at 2-2.

“To the fans that were actually here, actually came out and supported us, believed in us, we appreciate it. It means so much. It was loud in there and that effected them some. On the goal line [fourth-and-1 stop] they flinched a little bit and showed their hand and we were able to make a big play down there.”

For that play, that noise, your support, Holliday, a team captain, thanks you on behalf of the Dolphins.

Now, what do you have to say to the team that has once again brought you joy on Sundays, and a pleasant hangover on Monday morning.

We beat them down when they fail. I know I do. Wouldn’t it be nice to say something positive when they succeed?

Let me be the first to start. Ikechuku Ndukwe, Congrats on turning it around. You are showing some promise as a starting right guard. Keep pushing.

Now it’s your turn.

Deuces.

Source: Sun Sentinel

Related: Dean of the defense: Holliday welcomes his role as leader and mentor

“I wasn’t quite sure where they would go one way or the other,” Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. “I thought offensively, it was pretty obvious to me where they might go. But defensively, I wasn’t quite sure. It’s good to see a couple of the veteran players be able to be recognized that way by their teammates.”

The Dolphins did not name a special teams captain.

“I think what I’m going to do is I’m going to have a special teams captain each week,” Sparano said. “I’m going to vote on that myself.”