Away from his work, the coach of the Renegades is just an ordinary Joe.

The trick is pulling him away from his work.

Earlier this spring, quarterback Tyler Paopao was asked if he could see himself one day becoming a coach like his father. He was also asked if he realized his dad was often at the office by 5:30 a.m.

"You must be talking about the days he sleeps in," replied Tyler.

Joe Paopao believes in being prepared.

"People think we just line up and play," he says. "There's a reason people have success."

Along with his coaching duties, he is also the director of football operations for the Renegades. That means all decisions pass by his desk. That means along with getting ready for the next game, he is dealing with about five-dozen other issues each day.

After putting in 14-16 hours a day at Frank Clair Stadium, he'll often leave the building with homework -- aka game film.

And on his days off?

"I like to take two days off over the season where I don't go to the office," he says. "Other people can relax. I can't afford to. Some people turn the stone over twice. We do it five or six times.

"Days off? I'm sorry. It's about preparation. My job is to make sure I push them. Come game day, when we play hard, it's not by accident.

"It's all about being ready. I want to be thorough, to make sure they get as much as I can give them. Behind closed doors, people think I'm a nice guy. I'm not, when it's about business. I'm a fair guy.

"When I go home, I'm wiped out. I've got nothing left. I talk all day and yell all day and listen to people. When I go home, it's like, 'Can I just put my feet up?' "

Paopao does have his releases. He likes to have a beer and shoot some pool with his coaching and administrative staff. He likes to garden. He's a history buff. He loves music. And he loves sports.

Basketball, baseball, soccer .... and this Samoan from Oceanside, Calif., has an extremely strong grasp on the game of hockey. But then, what would you expect from a guy who has spent the past two decades living in Ottawa, Vancouver, Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

"I'm Joe Canadian," he jokes.

Paopao is also a religious man who proudly says, "I'm in love with my family." He met Dottie Tyler 28 years ago and the two have been married the last 24. They have four kids: Tyler, Andrew, Kristin and Carson.

Tyler, a 23-year-old Renegades draft pick, is back living at home after being cut by dad following the team's last pre-season game. Counting Carson -- a 13-year-old bigger than most Renegades DBs and receivers -- the Paopao house currently holds four.

"We're really very boring, I'm so sorry," Dottie says with a laugh when asked about their day-to-day life. "Truthfully, Joe is so tired from all the time he puts in at work that when he gets home he just wants to do nothing. We're homebodies. We rent movies and go to movies ...

"He spends a lot of time on the couch with the remote in his hands, but mostly, when he comes home he has dinner, visits for awhile, then he's in bed."

Dottie says Joe has been known to surprise her. Like the day he asked her to pick him up an R. Kelly CD. She thought he wanted it for Tyler, but no.

"I like some of the cuts on it," said Joe, who listens to all types of tunes but has a special fondness for the Motown era.

She also says he's romantic.

"When he's gone, he's always sending me flowers at work on special occasions ... doing those little things women love," she says.

And then there's the way he proposed to her. It was around Christmastime, and Joe brought Dottie's presents over to her house.

Innocently, Dottie's mother asked to watch the unwrapping. What neither of the ladies knew was that Joe had put the engagement ring he bought inside of one of the gifts, a pair of tennis shoes.

"So there's poor Joe sitting there, sweating," Dottie remembers.

"He has to ask his wife-to-be for her hand in front of his mother-in-law to be.

"It was kind of cute."

And just a little out of the ordinary, Joe.