Latest news with #RobChudzinski
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Travis Kelce left NFL coaches thinking he was 'insane' after crying during meeting
Travis Kelce has revealed the moment he left NFL coaches stunned after crying in a meeting during the early stages of his career. The NFL star recently sat down for an interview with GQ where he discussed everything from his on-field career to his off-field antics with girlfriend Taylor Swift. Among that conversation, the Chiefs tight end opened up on the emotional moment he broke down in tears when trying to convince one team to take a chance on him. Kelce revealed that, at 23-years-old, he met with Rob Chudzinski, then head coach of the Cleveland Browns, who Kelce and his brother were major fans of. 'I cried in Chud's office and said, 'I will f***ing die for this city!'. I literally was in tears,' Kelce revealed in the interview. 'I said, 'I'm sorry I'm getting emotional. I grew up down the street. I would f***ing do anything to play for the Cleveland Browns.' 'He looked at me like I was insane. I don't think he'd ever had somebody just pour out their emotions.' In the end, the Browns - along with every team in the league until the third round of the 2013 draft - opted to pass on Kelce before he wound up at the Chiefs. It proved to be the right decision from Kansas City, with Kelce going on to form a formidable part of their Super Bowl-winning teams in recent years. Kelce has made five Super Bowl appearance with the Chiefs and picked up three rings during that time. Elsewhere in the interview, Kelce opened up for the first time on the impact of the split between his parents, Donna and Ed, and revealed how it shapes his hopes for the future with Taylor Swift. He recalled sensing his parents had drifted before what he thinks was their 20th wedding anniversary. And in moving comments, he also underlined how much he wants to avoid that ever happening with Swift. Kelce's latest interview comes amid a hugely exciting time for both him and his girlfriend 'I don't want to get this wrong, it had to be around 20 (20th wedding anniversary),' Kelce said, explaining that his parents' anniversary date had been marked down on a calendar in the Kelce family kitchen. 'I remember seeing it and I was like, 'Oh, it's their anniversary. I wonder what they're going to do.' And it was kind of just another day almost. Another day of knocking out things for the kids. 'I'm sure my father probably did something, he's always been very good at making sure we celebrate our mother when it's Mother's Day and all that. 'He still to this day will text, like, 'Hey, it's your mom's birthday coming up. Don't forget about it'. But I never saw the romance of it all.'
New York Times
30-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Antonio Gates' prowess in crucial situations vaulted Chargers star into Hall of Fame
Chargers legend Antonio Gates will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio. While his greatness was rooted in many attributes — explosiveness, power, spatial awareness, toughness, route running, hands — there is one trait that vaulted him from college basketball star to the very top of an entirely different sport. Advertisement 'He knew when it was time to deliver,' said Rob Chudzinski, who was Gates' tight ends coach for four seasons with the Chargers, 'and he did.' The results of football games often hinge on what happens in key situations. Gates was one of the best of a generation at showing up in these moments — not just tight ends, but all pass catchers. Third and fourth downs. Red zone. 'If you were one-on-one,' said Jason Michael, who coached Chargers tight ends from 2011 to '13, 'you didn't have a chance.' Gates scored more touchdowns than any tight end in league history with 116. Of those 116, 92 came in the red zone, or inside the 20-yard line, according to TruMedia. No player since 2000 has scored more red zone touchdowns than Gates. The player in second is Hall of Fame receiver Larry Fitzgerald with 83. Two tight ends, Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and Jimmy Graham, are tied for third with 74. Gates had 257 conversion receptions on third and fourth downs over his 16-year career, according to TruMedia. Only two players, Fitzgerald and receiver Anquan Boldin, had more third- and fourth-down conversion receptions since 2000. Gates had 41 touchdown receptions on third or fourth downs. That is second among all players since 2000, trailing only Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss. When you pair those two situations elements together — third and fourth downs in the red zone — no one was better than Gates among his peers. Gates had 37 red zone touchdowns on third and fourth downs in his career, according to TruMedia. The players in second since 2000, Gonzalez and tight end Greg Olsen, had 26. 'Whether it's crunch time, whether it was third down, whether it was to turn the momentum of the game or whether it was in the red zone to finish a drive off, he had that mentality that he wanted the ball,' Chudzinski said. Philip Rivers was Gates' quarterback for 13 of his 16 seasons, and their connection was instrumental to this situational success. rivers to gates, forever — Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 29, 2025 As Michael recalls, 'There was hand signals, there was communication of what it is, but those guys really didn't even have to communicate.' One play sticks out in Michael's mind specifically from his time with Gates and Rivers. Of course, it was in the red zone. It came against the Buffalo Bills at home in Week 14 of the 2011 season. Advertisement Michael, now the tight ends coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, said Gates ran corner routes in the red zone better than any player he has 'even been around.' Michael still shows film cut-ups of Gates running this route to his Eagles tight ends. Gates was so effective on this specific route throughout his career that he was forced to develop change-up routes off it. One of those change-ups was a nod route — faking to the corner with a head nod before cutting inside to the post. On this play in the first quarter against the Bills, the design called for Gates to run a corner. But Gates and Rivers altered the route before the play without any communication. 'They looked at each other, made eye contact, and they were on the same page,' Michael said. Gates caught a touchdown from Rivers in the back of the end zone to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead. 'The sameness of those routes, it was hard for anybody to cover,' Michael said. 'And that's obviously why he has more touchdowns than any tight end in the league.' Gates was dominant, and, as a result, he started seeing coverages designed specifically to stop him. Defensive minds like Bill Belichick and Rex Ryan would attempt to take Gates out of the game by double-teaming him at the line of scrimmage. It was reminiscent of how gunners will double-team opposing players on the outside of punt formations, referred to as double-vicing. 'He changed the game from that standpoint,' Michael said. 116 career touchdowns, the most ever by a tight end. We take you back to his very first one. (Nov. 9, 2003) Congrats on a legendary career, Antonio Gates! 👏👏👏 @Chargers #BoltUp — NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) January 14, 2020 Michael remembers one offseason when he asked the Chargers' equipment staff to create a vest that Gates could wear during practices. The vest was fitted with all sorts of dangling pieces that defenders could grab onto. The other Chargers tight ends would stand in front of Gates during practice and latch onto the different pieces of the vest to simulate the coverages Gates was seeing at the line of scrimmage. Advertisement Gates was the only Chargers tight end who used the vest, according to Michael. He was the only Chargers player getting that type of coverage. Said Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who coached against Gates while with the San Francisco 49ers in 2014: 'When you start having to commit underneath coverage and a safety over the top, two guys to cover one, when one guy becomes un-coverable by one defender, and you have a mismatch if they don't, that changes the game.' Gates signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2003 after two standout basketball seasons at Kent State. Gates, a power forward, led Kent State to the Elite Eight in 2002. He averaged over 20 points in 2003. His basketball background translated to football in many areas, but specifically his ability to separate in short areas. 'He understood how to create space,' Michael said. Gates dealt with plantar fasciitis and other foot troubles in the second half of his career. He still played until 2018. Without the foot injuries, Chudzinski said, Gates' 'production would have been even more.' Gates was battling plantar fasciitis throughout Michael's tenure with the Chargers. Michael remembers tough 'one-on-one conversations.' 'Whether it was a day before, week of, night before the game, he's like, 'Golly, this hurts,'' Michael said. 'Just talking through those things with him and him finding a way to still go out there. One night he's talking this, and then the next night he goes out and catches for 100 yards and two or three touchdowns.' 'All players have good days and bad days, and some days they don't feel as good,' Michael added. 'But I promise you, when the ball was snapped, whether it was practice or a game, Antonio Gates … he played full speed all the time.' And in those crucial moments, Gates was at his best.
