Schlereth was born and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and struggled with dyslexia as a youth — he did not learn to read until he was seven. He graduated from Robert Service High School in 1984. Growing up in Alaska, Schlereth did not receive much attention as a college football prospect; the only current FBS schools that offered him a scholarship were Idaho (I-AA at the time) and Hawaii. He accepted the scholarship offer from the University of Idaho from head coach Dennis Erickson. Erickson departed following the 1985 season, and Schlereth started at left guard on the Vandals’ offensive line for new head coach Keith Gilbertson, blocking for quarterbacks Scott Linehan and John Friesz. In his senior season in 1988, the Vandals advanced to the national semifinals, and he was second team all-Big Sky.

Schlereth was selected in the tenth round (#263 overall) of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He played 12 NFL seasons—six with the Denver Broncos (1995–2000). He was a member of three Super Bowl championship teams (one with the Redskins and two with the Broncos) and was selected to the Pro Bowl for his performances in the 1991 and 1998 seasons. On January 25, 1998 Schlereth celebrated his 32nd birthday on the same day he helped the Broncos win Super Bowl XXXII, a 31–24 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

Before ending his playing career, Schlereth endured 29 surgeries. Twenty of those surgeries were performed on his knees (15 left, five right). After the 13th procedure on his left knee on July 24, 2000, Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan stated, “He has a great pain threshold. I think the doctors said that it was the worst knee that they’ve ever seen.” Schlereth would have two more procedures on his left knee during the 2000 season, his last in the NFL. His injuries are documented on Athlete 360, the sports medicine television show hosted by Schlereth’s former Redskins teammate, Dr. Mark Adickes.

On April 18, 2001, Schlereth announced his retirement. “The reason I came out here today was to announce that I have just signed a six-year, $42 million contract to extend my career with the Denver Broncos. The truth of the matter is, after going through my 15th operation on my left knee last November, it became painfully obvious that I couldn’t sign a six-year contract for $42 worth of Tupperware. I started to realize in the last three months of free agency that there is not a lot of market for a 6 ft 3 in [1.91 m], 245-pound [111 kg] guard that is 35 years old and beat to a pulp.” He landed a job with ESPN soon after.

After retirement, Schlereth hosted an afternoon sports talk radio show on Denver AM radio 760 The Zone with fellow former Broncos lineman David “Doc” Diaz-Infante. The show was frequently referred to as the “Stink and Doc” show. Schlereth was a part-time analyst with ESPN for a time, commuting from Denver to Connecticut, before leaving 760 to go full-time with ESPN in 2004. He was an analyst on NFL Live (2004–2017) and SportsCenter.

Schlereth revealed on the Mike and Mike in the Morning show that he was considering a career in acting, mainly on soap operas, under the name Roc Hoover. Schlereth originally chose the name Rock Hoover, however after cybersquatters took several domain names pertaining to that name he dropped the k from Rock and became Roc Hoover. He announced on May 4, 2007, that he was cast as Detective Roc Hoover, a recurring role, on the soap opera, Guiding Light.

Schlereth was inducted into the University of Idaho Vandal Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.

Schlereth’s son Daniel was selected in the 2008 Major League Baseball’s first year player draft. A relief pitcher at the University of Arizona, Daniel was drafted in the first round by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 26th overall selection. He is currently on the Sugar Land Skeeters roster. He was previously been a member of the Seattle Mariners, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cubs organizations.

In 2012 Schlereth appeared on the Discovery Channel show American Guns. He worked with the staff at Gunsmoke gun shop to find a suitable firearm he could use on a hunting trip with his son.

Since 2015, Schlereth has appeared as himself in a number of episodes of HBO’s Ballers.

Since 2017, Schlereth has been a color commentator for NFL games broadcast on Fox NFL, paired with Adam Amin on the #3 team. He also co-hosts a radio show in Denver on Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan, and appears as an analyst on FS1 television programming. He was a frequent guest and fill-in host for Mike Golic on Mike and Mike in the Morning. He has also filled in for Jim Rome on Jim Rome is Burning.