Coach Reid

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AN: Thanks for the idea Tayvis22. Hope you like it.

Being a coach in the NFL is one of the greatest jobs in the world, I get to experience the thrill of live action football every week, kick ass in the playoffs, and work with some of the best players to ever play the game. When you are a coach for as long as I have been, the players become extended family. Now, you aren't always lucky that the players stay with one team for more than a couple of years, but sometimes you get lucky and get to coach a player for their whole career. And sometimes you get lucky enough to coach a player who will be a future hall of famer. For me, I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to have a player for their whole career and will be in the hall of fame.

Travis Kelce. 

The 2013 NFL Draft, when the second round ended and I was looking ahead for the third round pick and saw Travis Kelce's name on the board. Previously working for the Philadelphia Eagles, I had drafted Jason Kelce in 2011, and that turned out quite well for me. I still remember calling Travis and even getting to talk to Jason, asking if Travis would fuck this up, but nevertheless I still took a chance on a tight end from University of Cincinnati. I didn't necessarily know how it would turn out, the reviews of the younger Kelce were very mixed, hot headed, unreliable, strong, smart. Turns out all of the reviews were right in their own way. 

Travis's first few seasons with us were a mix of highs and lows, he got his footing in the NFL by his second season, but was still very immature and hot headed. It included many meetings in my office after practices telling him he needed to grow up and get his head in the game in the early years. In the offseason of 2016, I hear that he is doing a reality dating show, and I remember thinking what an idiot. One thing about Travis you learn very quickly is how much he loves his people and how extremely loyal he is to his friends and family. A dating show was not going to work out for him in the long run, but I watched it play out and unfortunately end with his heart broken only a few months later. I heard through the grapevine of players that Travis was seeing someone else later in 2017, and I was officially introduced to Kayla before the holidays. 

Kayla was always nice to me and my family, and her and Travis seemed happy for awhile. It wasn't until 2020 that I could tell that maybe it wasn't working out between them when he would come in a lot more angry and complaining a lot more often. Patrick Mahomes, Travis's best friend on the team, told me one night after a rough practice and Trav throwing his helmet across the room in anger that Kayla and him were fighting again. It wasn't until 2022 when the emergency contact form came across my desk with Kayla's  name marked out and his mother's name in her place, that he was officially done with her. 

"It's over. For good." He said flopping into the chair across from me in my office.

"I'm sorry to hear that Travis. Are you ok?" I ask leaning back in my chair crossing my arms looking at my star tight end. 

"You know what? I am, it wasn't working out and now I can focus more on football and my family." He said determinedly before walking out. 

And focus he did. He was on fire in the 2022 season, helping lead us to a Super Bowl victory over his brother.  But I did notice how lost he looked on the field after the game not having anyone to celebrate with besides his teammates. It's one thing to have your parents there to support you but it's another when you have someone you love. This was the first time he didn't have someone there for him when the confetti fell. 

I don't always pay great attention to what my players get into when they are in the off season, but I have been known to turn on Travis's podcast with Jason every week. I usually have it on in the background as I do research, play with my grandkids, or even look at tape for an upcoming game. There was one episode where they had a guest come on and they asked him about regrets in his career and their answer was about not finding someone to enjoy it with. It made me concerned about Travis again, knowing he is not really one to be alone and thrives around other people. He is wild and loud, but he is also one of the best guys I have ever coached. There was even one evening when my wife, Tammy, floated the idea of setting Travis up with the daughter of her friend, but I wasn't completely comfortable with that. As worried as I was about him, I did not think he would take too kindly to being set up by his coach. 

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