Nash still holds the Seahawks records for longest tenure (15 seasons, 1982-96) and most games played (218). He started 169 of those games; only Steve Largent, Walter Jones and Jacob Green started more games than Nash.
That's remarkable durability for an interior defensive lineman toiling in trenches. Nash played nose tackle in 3-4 defenses for the first half of his career, but when Seattle switched to the 4-3 scheme, he slid over to defensive tackle.
In 1982, Nash went undrafted out of Boston College because pro scouts considered him too short and too small to play interior line in the NFL. He compensated with hard work, careful study and--he concedes--a little luck. Injuries to others cleared space for him to make the roster early on, and being tough and keeping healthy prolonged his career.
Nash became an excellent player. Strong, agile and shifty, he racked up a ton of tackles and more sacks than most interior linemen, and had a knack for blocking field goals. He made the Pro Bowl in 1984.
Time began to catch up with him late in his career, but he continued to contribute through spot duty and by mentoring Cortez Kennedy and Michael Sinclair. In one memorable game, Nash displayed decent thespian skills by repeatedly clutching his hamstring and flopping like a soccer player to get injury timeouts to slow a no-huddle offense. The NFL's subsequent change to injury timeout rules should really be called the Nash Rule.
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