Travis Kelce Names His Favorite Coach, and It's Not Andy Reid

When you think of modern NFL coaches, Andy Reid sits near the top of the list. Everyone knew about Big Red's offensive acumen, and his time in Kansas City has proven that he's capable of winning the big game.

And when you consider how Travis Kelce has developed under the head coach's guidance—he went from a former quarterback taking advantage of his athleticism to an all-time great at tight end—you might think that No. 87 holds Reid in high regard.

That may be true, but the current Chiefs' bench boss doesn't occupy the top spot in Kelce's book.

Sound unbelievable? Well, allow the tight end to explain why Butch Jones is his favorite.

Kelce connects his outward personality to Butch Jones

While Travis Kelce's incredible on-field ability speaks for itself, his personality—and willingness to show it—has made him something of a media darling. His family environment played a role in that development, but the tight end also learned a good deal from his former (and favorite) coach.

"My favorite coach is Butch Jones," the Chiefs star told Maria Taylor in an NBC interview. "Yeah, he's one of my favorite guys ever...He had a quote, 'If you're not fueling me, you're draining me.' And what he means is, if you walk into the room, you know, how is your demeanor? How are you representing or how are you presenting yourself?"

Kelce and Jones worked together at Cincinnati during the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. Years later, though, the star tight end is still trying to bring the energy into each and every encounter. And, coincidentally, that meshes perfectly with his current boss.

"And I've always wanted to fuel people. I don't know what it is," he continued. "I always want to come in with excitement, have a good time, uplift everybody, and that's the fun in life for me. Try to do it in every single building I go into and, sure enough, every day, that's one of the things Coach Reid asks everybody to do is just bring that good energy and just attack everything. I'm just a product of that, I guess."

If you've watched the Chiefs in recent years, you can confirm just how much energy they have on Sundays.

Kelce also praised Reid during another interview

While Kelce gave Jones the coveted "favorite" title, that shouldn't be seen as a slight to Reid. Besides mentioning the Chiefs coach in the same breath while speaking to Maria Taylor, the Ohio native spent plenty of time praising Big Red during a different media engagement.

On the "Hidden Pearls" podcast, Kelce explained that, during his early days in the league, he would take things too seriously and beat himself up rather than showing his true personality. That's understandable for a young player, but it wasn't what Reid wanted.

"And that's his number one thing," Kelce explained. "If you're gonna play for Coach Reid, showing your personality is the first thing that he's going to tell you to do. You have to enjoy coming into work and enjoy the fact that we get to play a game for a living, that we get to be out here making, you know, a ridiculous amount of money having fun on the football field. Playing in the grass every day. So, showing your personality and just enjoying what you're doing no matter what it is in life. I'm gonna take that with me, and then when you screw up, don't take it so seriously. But kinda take it real serious."

So, when you combine Jones' quote with Reid's philosophy, it's easy to see how Kelce became the personality he is today. He might not be everyone's cup of tea, but Chiefs fans—and the NFL at large—are more than happy to have him strutting his stuff on Sundays.