NFL Heartbreaks: Hero Coaches Are Sometimes Absentee Fathers
April 11, 2007 — -- National Football League coaches who pour endless hours of time and emotion into nurturing their players often find hero worship on the field, but heartache at home.
In the world of professional sports -- where salaries and the pressure to win are always escalating -- family is often the first casualty.
Just this winter, the sons of several high-profile coaches raised Cain with the reputations of their revered fathers.
Andy Reid took a five-week hiatus as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles when his sons faced legal troubles after a January car accident. Garrett Reid, 23, tested positive for heroin, and Britt Reid, 21, was arraigned on drug and weapons charges.
Last October, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick's 18-year-old son Stephen was arrested for marijuana possession.
Rebel children have not been confined to the NFL. North Carolina State basketball coach Sidney Lowe's 21-year-old son faces charges on crimes ranging from armed robbery to drug possession. Sidney Lowe Jr. was arrested in connection with an attempted robbery and dorm shooting in March.
In the image-conscious NFL, where the average coach's salary has soared past $2.5 million a year, these incidents of bad behavior are highly publicized, even though they are far more common among players than their children.
"These controlling men have far more control and influence over their players than they do over their children, and that is sad," writes Bill Conlin in New York's Daily News.
The 32 NFL coaches work 90-hour weeks from July to January "without a day off," according to Larry Kennan, who coached the Oakland Raiders for 16 years. Almost half of them change jobs each year, sending their families looking for new homes and schools.
But most children cope well, said Kennan, who founded and directs the NFL Coaches Association.
"They adapt like military kids and are not intimidated by people because they've been around great players and great coaches," he said. "The wives understand the profession and keep the family going well while we are out coaching."
Kennan doesn't deny the stakes are high for coaching performance. The NFL philosophy is "some is more, more is better and too much is just right," he said. "A lot of people have self-induced pressure, but they are not judged by a quarter million fans every Sunday."
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