Southern coach Marshall Faulk reveals he has Parkinson's disease

Marshall Faulk, the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back who now coaches Southern University, has Parkinson's disease. Faulk, 53, revealed the diagnosis Wednesday on "The Caring Neurologist," a podcast hosted by Dr. Sandeep Thakkar, and said he chose to talk about it because "I want to help as many people as I can."

Faulk said he has been dealing with the disease for about a year and a half. With medication, he said, his only issues are rigidity in his hands, which he doesn't believe has gotten worse, and "little tremors." He told Thakkar he has had no cognitive decline and feels "clear of thought."

He first noticed it on the golf course. Faulk gets a physical twice a year, and his hands would stiffen after rounds. "I just thought it was normal nerves when putting and stuff like that," he said. When it kept happening in casual rounds too, his doctor told him, "You need to go get checked."

Faulk said he doesn't look at it as a terminal condition. He remembered a dinner with Muhammad Ali, who had Parkinson's, and walking away convinced "he's all there." He compared the disease to his surgically repaired right knee, which has parts in it "that aren't original."

"It's something you live with," Faulk said. "It's not to where it's a detriment to your livelihood. Now, if you don't take care of it, there's an opportunity for that to be. But you have to take care of it." He also brought up actor Michael J. Fox, who has managed Parkinson's for decades.

Faulk took the Southern job last November after working as an assistant on Deion Sanders' staff at Colorado. The Jaguars are 3-4 in his first season.

His playing career ranks with the best of his era. Faulk was a two-time All-American at San Diego State, then played more than 10 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. In St. Louis he won a Super Bowl and an MVP award. He retired in 2007 after major knee surgery and went into the Hall of Fame four years later, his first year of eligibility.

Southern's next game is the first since he went public. Watch for whether Faulk or the school says more about how he plans to manage the disease during the season.