Whatever happened to Aaron Schobel?

[Peevo]

It's been forever since I've posted anything, but something struck a nerve when listening to Howard Simon this morning.

 

Howard and Jeremy were debating whether Jerry Hughes qualifies as a Wall of Famer, and Schobel's name inevitably came up.  Schobel has 55 more sacks than Hughes, despite being on TERRIBLE teams.

 

Schobel retired a career Bill, with 4 double-digit sack seasons, an All Pro, 2 Pro Bowl appearances.  

 

But yet, what the hell happened to the guy?  A quick google search reveals literally 0 media appearances since his retirement.  The last time his name was PUBLISHED in any sort of NFL media was 2010, regarding his retirement.  

 

The dude is a ghost.  

 

No charity events, no interviews, no signings/conventions/appearances of any kind that I can find.

 

And one could debate whether a player's community impact matters in the Wall of Fame discussion.

 

But I'd certainly argue being visible and proud of your career as a Bill SHOULD count in some ways.  Look at Stevie Johnson, Aaron Williams' social media feeds/NFL Draft appearances.  There's plenty of other examples.

 

Hell, even Marshawn Lynch "Lead the Charge" last season!  He was a Bill for like 3 seasons.

 

This dude played fulltime NFL football, at a very high level, FOR A DECADE. And never was heard from again.

 

I'd NEVER fault a man for performing well at a job he doesn't like.  That's life.

 

But I mean this sincerely, did Schobel ever actually like his job?  

 

Unless I'm bad at the internet, which is certainly possible, does ANYONE know anything about this guy since he left 12 years ago?

 

 

[teef]

he was arrested and is doing time for human trafficking.

[nucci]

Maybe he's living his life and doesn't want to be bothered. 

[DrDawkinstein]

Let the man live his life!

 

But for real, no idea. He was always a quiet, reserved type anyways. Not at all surprised he's enjoying a quiet retirement, out of the spotlight.

[Jpsredemption]

He’s a country boy who’s probably happy living a low key life. He was a very good player who was just not about the media side of things. 

[HomeskillitMoorman]

2 minutes ago, teef said:

he was arrested and is doing time for human trafficking.

 

Kind of a strange joke...

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

2 minutes ago, teef said:

he was arrested and is doing time for human trafficking.

FFS, probably 30% of the readership here will now believe that verbatim. 🤨

[teef]

Just now, HomeskillitMoorman said:

 

Kind of a strange joke...

you think you're better than me?

Just now, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

FFS, probably 30% of the readership here will now believe that verbatim. 🤨

outstanding.

[Mickey]

I believe I saw an article a ways back saying he was running a diner called "Not Bad" in Mediocre City in Oregon. He drives a Ford and plays bass in an Eagles cover band called "Could be Worse".

[DrW]

His family appears to have a restaurant in the Houston area. This guy got cards signed by him in 2020.

 

http://lee.n8d.com/2021/schobel-aaron/

[Peevo]

3 minutes ago, DrW said:

His family appears to have a restaurant in the Houston area. This guy got cards signed by him in 2020.

 

http://lee.n8d.com/2021/schobel-aaron/

 

Interesting.  Even still, this is a pretty deep dive to find any interaction with the man.

 

I guess my overall point is that, even if Aaron Schobel were to go up on the Wall, would he even show up at the stadium for the unveiling?

 

He deserves it as a player, but as a Bills alumnus/ambassador?  There's gotta be a laundry list of more deserving Drought Era players, right?

[Jauronimo]

3 minutes ago, DrW said:

His family appears to have a restaurant in the Houston area. This guy got cards signed by him in 2020.

 

http://lee.n8d.com/2021/schobel-aaron/

Yep, theres a big sign off I-10 for Schobel's.  Every time I drive past it I tell my wife how its connected to the Bills and say that one day we'll stop in for a bite but we both know thats a lie.  

 

https://www.schobelsrestaurant.com/our-story

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

3 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Yep, theres a big sign off I-10 for Schobel's.  Every time I drive past it I tell my wife how its connected to the Bills and say that one day we'll stop in for a bite but we both know thats a lie.  

 

https://www.schobelsrestaurant.com/our-story

I hear the restaurant hired Gettleman to make sure the patrons don't ask for second helpings.

[Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD]

Schobel always seemed like a quiet, reserved guy so I'm not surprised that he doesn't have much of a media presence.

 

He has extremely productive, but the team was pretty lousy during his tenure. 

 

In my opinion, if we have to debate whether a player is worthy of the Wall of Fame, then they're not. Hughes was a productive player, but the Bills WOF should be reserved for legendary players who won championships.

 

Also, we need to take OJ Simpson's name off the wall.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Allen2Diggs

[BillsPride12]

From things I've heard/read about Schobel he was never really the kinda guy that embraced playing in Buffalo.  Certainly not the D*** Jack Eichel was but I am not surprised he's never come back around.

[Thurman#1]

25 minutes ago, Peevo said:

It's been forever since I've posted anything, but something struck a nerve when listening to Howard Simon this morning.

 

Howard and Jeremy were debating whether Jerry Hughes qualifies as a Wall of Famer, and Schobel's name inevitably came up.  Schobel has 55 more sacks than Hughes, despite being on TERRIBLE teams.

 

Schobel retired a career Bill, with 4 double-digit sack seasons, an All Pro, 2 Pro Bowl appearances.  

 

 

 

 

Schobel totalled 78 sacks. Jerry 58.

 

Now, I'm no Blaise Pascal, but that doesn't seem to subtract down to 55.

 

Just sayin'.

 

But Schobel really was good.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

FWIW he's a rancher outside his hometown of Columbus, TX and most of his family still live there (and run the namesake restaurant).

 

Not everyone is obsessed with being on social media and LinkedIn and broadcasting themselves to the world.

 

 

[CNYfan]

I saw him in an airport once.  I did not try to interact with him, but he came over and said "Hey hippie, you ever been to Mississippi?".   I had seasons in the  third row during his years and often wore tie dyes.  Also to St. John Fischer. 

I thought that was odd of him, but just put my head back in my novel and smirked a bit.    

 

That is my Aaron Schobel story.  Donahoe traded up in the second to grab him.  Good player.  

Edited May 11, 2022 by CNYfan
spelling

[Gugny]

Schobel belongs on the Wall of Fame.  Long overdue, in my opinion.

 

Nine seasons ... all with the Bills.  Played 16 games in 8/9 seasons.  Second all-time in sacks.  Awesome Buffalo Bill.

[PromoTheRobot]

22 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Yep, theres a big sign off I-10 for Schobel's.  Every time I drive past it I tell my wife how its connected to the Bills and say that one day we'll stop in for a bite but we both know thats a lie.  

 

https://www.schobelsrestaurant.com/our-story

 

So it's still open. I had heard they closed. Or maybe just closed a second location.