Landon Cohen hadn't given up on football, he just wasn't playing it. And in the midst of keeping one dream alive, he was busy making another come true. 

A month ago, Cohen was parking cars for the valet service he started with his two best friends in his hometown of Spartanburg, S.C., The Valet, LLC.



On Sunday, he'll be playing in the Super Bowl. 

It's not quite Kurt Warner bagging groceries on his way to the Hall of Fame, but Cohen's story is one of those made-for-TV tales that sounds too good to be true. 

A rookie on the Lions' 0-16 team in 2008, Cohen is the definition of an NFL journeyman. 

He played two seasons with the Lions, was cut after training camp in 2010 and bounced around the league appearing in games with four different teams over the next four seasons. 

Out of work in 2012, Cohen and his friends, cousins Terrence and Jeff Dawkins, started a valet service like the one they used to toy around with as teens. 

The trio booked private events and parties, signed contracts with bars and restaurants, and formed a partnership with the city of Spartanburg itself. 

All the while, Cohen, a seventh-round pick in 2008 who willed his way to a longer-than-average NFL career, was working out on the side, staying in shape just in case a football opportunity came. 

Last year, he played two games for the Dallas Cowboys and 13 more for the Chicago Bears, and this year he was out of football until the Seahawks came calling just before their first game of the playoffs. 

Brandon Mebane, the Seahawks' best defensive tackle, was lost for the season in November to a torn hamstring, Jordan Hill was on his way to joining him after injuring his calf while working out, and Cohen dropped what he was doing and boarded a plane for Seattle. 

"(The valet service was) just a second career," Cohen said. "You got to have a diverse portfolio, so football's a small piece of the pie, valet's a small piece of the pie, real estate's a small piece of the pie. Hopefully I get a lot of small pieces of the pie to make me a nice, full metropolitan pie." 

Cohen did not dress for the Seahawks' divisional round win over the Carolina Panthers and he played just 14 snaps two weeks ago in the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers.

This week, in between practice and film study and the myriad of media obligations that go with playing in the Super Bowl, Cohen has been tending to his valet business on the side. 

"I've been returning emails and phone calls for booking valet events all week," he said. "Which it actually works pretty good because they can call early in the morning and the time (change) is good." 

Cohen said his company does not have any events booked for Super Bowl Sunday, then told reporters, "Speaking of, I probably need to check my email today and get back to some people." 

A public relations major with a focus on social services management in college at Ohio, Cohen said he started the business as a way to "serve my community and also be able to make some money to provide for my family." 

Former Lions defensive end Dewayne White sparked Cohen's interest in business as a rookie, Cohen said, and he stumbled into real estate a few years ago when he attended a tax auction and bid on two properties, including one he did not realize was a vacant plot of land. 

Cohen owns a few rental properties in Spartanburg now, and has plenty of valet stories, too. 

 

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Coach Pete Carroll defended Marshawn Lynch's
actions during Super Bowl 49 media days. 

Most of his employees are college-aged kids, including some he trains with in a local Brazilian jiu-jitsu class. And while he typically tends to the business side of his company, he often finds himself parking cars when his employees call in sick so they can hit the club for the night. 

Last year, Cohen said he valeted a car for Houston Texans rookie Jadeveon Clowney, then at South Carolina. 

"One night he comes up and I didn't know who he was at the time," Cohen said. "He's coming to the nightclub and I'm looking down, I'm just kind of filling out the paperwork and whatever. I'm like, 'Sir, what's your name?' And I'm still kind of looking down at the paper, and he's not saying anything so I'm just like, 'Sir, what's your name?' And I'm looking up and I looked up at him and he still didn't say anything and he's like, 'Clowney.' And then I put it all two together and I'm like, 'Oh, man, that's great man. If you're lucky you'll get to do what I've been doing for the next couple years after you graduate.'" 

Cohen said Clowney, who went No. 1 overall in last year's draft, had no idea who he was,
and Cohen didn't tell him. 

But like most in the NFL, Clowney almost certainly would trade places with Cohen now. 

"A lot of people might think that being off is like a bad thing," Cohen said. "It's like I've been rewarded for patience. So just being patient and staying the course of continuing to do what I like to do and doing what I know that it takes to be ready for an opportunity like this." 

Fast facts 

Matchup: New England Patriots (14-4) vs. Seattle Seahawks (14-4). 

When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday. 

Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.