In 1991 grunge rock wasn't a household phrase. The idea of being able to go to your local coffee house, sip on a latte and chat with a friend was unfathomable. 1991 was a year for the ages in the Husky football program. It was a year they've not been able to duplicate since and talk of the championship seems like a distant memory of faded glory when you consider what the program has gone through over the last several years. For the Huskies all-time leader in touchdown catches, Mario Bailey, it was a moment in time that cannot be forgotten and should not be ignored.

"It was the greatest time of my life," said Bailey of the '91 season.

Bailey acknowledges the exercise in frustration that it is to be a Seattle sports fan and relishes in the fact that he was a part of bringing a championship to the area.

"For me to be from the home town and be able to bring home a national championship made it even more special."

Coming off a strong season in 1990, Don James and company thought they had a team that was right on the cusp of achieving great things. Bailey says that despite the disciplined, workman-like attitude James demanded of his team, they thought an undefeated season in '91 was a forgone conclusion.

"We thought that was the way it was going to be because we thought we should have won the championship the year before; had we not lost to UCLA," he said. "Honestly a lot a people will tell you we knew we were going to go undefeated. We looked at the schedule and the only game that really concerned us was Nebraska."

That game in Lincoln was the defining moment in what would be a glorious run. Tom Osborne's Cornhuskers were riding the nation's longest home winning streak. Most prognosticators believed Nebraska was unbeatable at home thanks to one of the rowdiest home crowds in college.

"That was the loudest place I've ever played in," Bailey said of the Husker faithful.

The Huskies weren't listening to the detractors. Their 36-21 victory was just what they needed to jumpstart their engine and steamroll the rest of their competition that year.

Bailey points to the camaraderie that formed on that team as the driving force to their success.

"I've been on championship teams most of my life (NFL league champs and NFL Europe). The common thing I remember is the closeness. When you have that closeness and your team isn't separated into cliques it usually transfers to the field."

"When the summertime comes guys usually go home, but for two years straight nobody on that team went home. That helps to bond and make everybody closer."

Since winning that championship, Bailey has been well traveled. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers and after a short stint there he moved onto the Jets and then back to the Oilers before settling in NFL Europe for six seasons. He won four championships with the Frankfurt Galaxy and left the league holding nearly every all-time receiving record. He came back to the states and tried another run at the NFL, stopping in both Atlanta and Seattle before playing for Winnipeg in the CFL. Bailey even played in the XFL's inaugural and only season. He finished his playing days in the Arena Football League, but knew it was time to hang it up because he had lost the passion and commitment to playing the game.

Bailey says the Oilers gave him the best opportunity at a starting position, but if he had it to do over he would approach his career very differently.

"The bottom line for me is I never gave it 100%. Once I made it to the NFL I had gone past any dream I had. I relaxed. My problem is I didn't work as hard as I should have worked. "

"I could dominate in NFL Europe because I didn't have to push myself to the extreme. My problem is I didn't work as hard as I should have worked. I knew it in the moment and when I look back I definitely realize it. It's something I have to deal with the rest of my life."

A chance for redemption is something he hopes to find in coaching. Bailey became the interim head coach at Franklin high school, in Seattle, in the fall of 2004.

"I tell the kids everyday. Don't let that opportunity pass you by. I try and tell them that there can be a guy more talented than you, but if you're working hard and he's not, pretty soon you'll catch him and pass him because he's just going off of pure talent and that's going to catch up to him. I preach that everyday."

Bailey graduated from Franklin before becoming a Husky and throughout his pro career he stayed close to the Franklin program. It was difficult for him to watch another once proud program descend into the depths of the King County 4-A Conference. So when he was offered the chance to help out he felt like he should jump at the opportunity.

"I was at a game, in the fall of 2004, and we were down 42-0 in the first quarter. The AD spotted me in the stands and asked if I could help. I said yes. I ended up taking the job for four or five games and this past season I took over full time."

It must have been Bailey's destiny. When he accepted the interim position at Franklin he was working on finishing he degree at Washington. At the time coach Gilbertson had asked Bailey to coach the wide receivers at Montlake, but Bailey had to complete his degree first. Bailey got that degree this past December, but his coaching opportunity vanished when Gilbertson was let go. For Bailey, coaching at Franklin is the best place to be right now.

"It means everything to me. It's my school. We used to be a great football school. It would mean the world to me to get us our first winning season in ten years."

Winning at Franklin isn't an easy task. Bailey has to deal with a miniscule $250 budget and the Seattle school district's policy of allowing students to bid on the school they wish to attend are just two obstacles he has to overcome. It's difficult to convince top local athletes to come to Franklin when the football field hasn't changed since Bailey's playing days and both the track and baseball teams have to practice at Rainier Beach.

Fortunately for Bailey he's been able to find creative ways to raise money for the football program.

"Kevin Griffin with the Seahawks helped me out with getting money from the NFL. The league doesn't advertise this program, but when players donate up to $5000 to a high school program the NFL will match the donation."

Despite the help from NFL donations, Bailey still thinks that some changes need to be made to how financial backing is divided amongst King County 4-A schools.

"Somebody needs to come forward and make it a level playing field."

"When we have 30 players at the most and a school like Skyline has 150, without a ninth grade then something is wrong."

Even with the advantage that some schools have on Franklin, Bailey likes their chances of taking that next step in the fall.

"Our weakness is always our line, but we probably have some of the best skill position players in the state and that will give us a chance to be better."

Bailey points out that three of his soon-to-be seniors have been getting the attention of some D-I schools: Andre Davis, Nicolas Ragland, and Sylvester Nvekwe. He also says to look out for the sophomore phenom Peyton Siva. As a freshman, Siva was second team All-Kingco in football and first team in basketball.

When Bailey looks at the team coach Willingham has been putting together he's optimistic as well. He likes the recruits that Willingham has been able to bring in and he echoes the coach's belief that it all starts at quarterback.

"Locker is fabulous and that's a start right there."

"I love what coach Willingham has going. I'm just waiting for him to get the type of players he wants there."

Like many Husky fans, it's hard for Bailey to comprehend what's happened to the program over the last several years. He believes less focus on the winning tradition and lack of discipline instilled by coach Neuheisel is where it began.

"When Neuhisel came in he distanced the program from the national championship team. "How can you distance yourself from the thing that makes us Washington?"

"The Neuhisel teams were like a laid back NFL team. He treated the guys like grown men instead of college kids."

Bailey doesn't shy away from his criticism of the Neuhisel era and he doesn't back off his belief in coach Willingham.

"If he can take Stanford to Rose Bowl then we're okay."

"Coach Willingham is the perfect man for the job. He's not trying to distance himself from history. He's trying to embrace the history."

"If you sit in the room with coach Willingham for few minutes you get a sense of why he will be successful. We also need discipline back at Washington and Willingham is the guy to bring that back."

Discipline is something Bailey preaches to his kids today and he believes it's one of the building blocks for a successful program on any level. Although the teams he played for at Washington had the kind of work ethic that was needed to be successful, Bailey's own lack of personal discipline following college may have cost him a bright career in the NFL.

He says he's happy at Franklin and wants to restore the school's position of a once dominant football program, but his dreams of coaching stretch beyond the high school level. Now that he has his degree in hand he believes that when his work is done at Franklin he has the skills to coach college or pro receivers. No matter where he goes he says he'll take the lessons of his past in hopes of convincing young players that even with all the talent in the world you can never reach your full potential without hard work and dedication.