Andy Reid Details How He Learned About Travis Kelce
The Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVII win has led to players, coaches and front office staff alike spending plenty of time in the national spotlight over the past few months. On Wednesday, though, another level may have been reached.
Following tons of requests for him to do so, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid appeared on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast that's hosted by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. On the episode, Reid discussed a multitude of topics such as how the NFL has changed since he began coaching decades ago, how it feels to be in a championship game against your former team and what his favorite fast food burger is. In the process, he also detailed his relationship with the Kelce brothers.
After he dove into how and why he drafted the elder Kelce brother (Jason) back when he was in Philadelphia, Reid provided some insight into how he later discovered Travis and what led to the now-superstar becoming a member of the Chiefs. As it turns out, Reid's son was one of the first people to tell him about Kelce's prospects as a tight end when he played for the University of Cincinnati football team. Here's more from Reid:
"This guy I saw play against Temple and my son kept telling me, 'This tight end is unbelievable. Kelce's brother is, like, incredible. I mean, he's 265 pounds, he's a beast.' Then I get him and he's like 240, but that's okay. I'm going to bring back a memory for you. The game's over, they just destroyed Temple, I come over to the locker room and (Travis) comes bee-bopping out and just giving me the business like we're long-lost friends. And deep down, I'm going, 'If I get my hands on that son of a buck, I'm going to rip his heart out.' But I played along with it. Cocky, cocky, damn, he was cocky. But listen, I knew the roots."
Reid alluded to those "roots" again shortly after, noting that there were a lot of rumors about Kelce's character during his college days. Some of that affected his draft profile, although having an older brother like Jason familiar with Reid allowed the coach and his staff to have someone capable of truly vouching for and providing valuable insight on both the player and the person. Travis went to the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft — Reid's first season on the job — and the rest is history. Reid admits that the early days of coaching him were challenging, though:
"Like I said, for like the first five years, those rumors were pretty close. For the next five years, they've been awesome. I've watched him blossom into a leader and he's always been a great player, but a tremendous leader. Big heart, teammates love him. You're (Jason) not the only leader in the family."
In recent years, Kelce has indeed emerged as one of the heartbeats of the Chiefs. He's one of the most counted-on leaders both on and off the field, breaking records on the gridiron and serving as a stable veteran presence behind the scenes. He and Reid are going down as two of the greatest performers ever in their respective positions, and the head coach-tight end duo's legend is only growing more and more impressive with a backstory to match.
