NFL’s father-son, coach-player duo
This Father’s Day, Kacy Rodgers and Kacy II blessed to be together on Jets
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – When Kacy Rodgers II goes to work, he addresses the Jets defensive coordinator as “Coach.”
Away from here, though, he’s just “Pops.”
This Father’s Day will be a little more special for Kacy II, a linebacker, and for Kacy, his dad. The two are the NFL’s only active father-son duo of player and coordinator on the same team. And as Kacy II fights for a spot on the regular-season roster, the two are enjoying the ride for as long as they can.
“It’s definitely an initial shock,” Kacy II said. “You go from seeing him at the house, just ‘Pops’ or ‘Dad,’ to you walk in the building and he’s leading the defensive meetings, and guys are calling him ‘Coach Kacy’ or ‘Coach Rodgers.’ After that initial shock, you get used to it. But I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Said the elder Rodgers: “I was seeing my son once, twice a year, max. Now I see him every day. You look out there on the practice field, and that’s not only player No. 39, that’s my son.”
The Jets signed Kacy II in February after he played three years in the Canadian Football League. Kacy maintains he learned of the team’s decision when coach Todd Bowles called to inform him of the transaction.
“I had no idea, had no insight,” Kacy said. “So I was like, ‘No way.’ And I’m here in the building, which makes me feel good because I had nothing to do with it. It was totally based on his merit.”
During the first defensive meeting of the offseason, Kacy had all the players stand up and introduce themselves. When it was Kacy II’s turn, he said his name. Heads started to turn.
“I didn’t think it was true,” linebacker Darron Lee said. “‘Is that really your dad?’ ’Cause you know they don’t look alike.”
Once the novelty wore off and the jokes subsided — Lee occasionally teases Kacy II and says “That’s your daddy” — players started to appreciate the professionalism both exhibited.
Kacy II, for example, empha- sized in that team meeting that he did not want to be referred to as Junior.
“He wants to make his own name,” Lee said. “I think it says a lot about their relationship. They’re close and care for each other, but it’s a business and we all have a job to do.
“Family can’t get in between that. Our job is to win ballgames. It’s dope to see that.”
Kacy II has his own apartment rental four minutes away from the facility. They have their separate spaces, but the two frequently connect outside the workplace.
If Kacy II needs to borrow Pops’ car, an arrangement can be worked out.
If Kacy II doesn’t have dinner plans, he might go over to Pops’ place.
“Football is our life, you know?” Kacy II said. “It’s in my DNA, just through him. So of course, we’re always going to gravitate to football. Are there more things outside of football? Sure. But it’s our living, it’s how we pay the bills.
“We don’t always talk football. But whether we do or don’t, it’s always a good conversation outside the building.”
Until this year, Kacy had actually never coached his son — at least officially.
Kacy’s wife, Marcella, would record Kacy II’s high school games. Then, when Kacy would get a break from the facility of whatever team he was working for at the time, he’d go home and cue up the film.
Thanks to an NFL agreement with the CFL, the elder Rodgers was also able to track the beginning of his son’s professional career. Members of the Jets video department would upload the film to Kacy’s computer, and when Kacy II would call and ask for a grade on something, Pops would be ready.
“I was coaching him, even though I wasn’t coaching him,” Kacy said. “But only if he asked me.”
Kacy’s coaching career took him from the Cowboys (200307) to the Dolphins (2008-14) and now the Jets (2015-current), so traveling to watch Kacy II play was a challenge. In fact, the first time Kacy saw his son play pro football in person was last year when he took a redeye flight to Vancouver the day after the Jets closed minicamp. He surprised Kacy II before a preseason game against the BC Lions.
Now that the Jets have finished their mandatory minicamp and wrapped up their offseason workout program, everyone has time off until the start of training camp.
Because of Kacy II’s time in the CFL, the past few Father’s Days have been limited to phone calls. This one will be different.
“I’m going to try to beat him in golf,” Kacy II said. “That’s our thing. He thinks he’s Tiger Woods out there. But obviously, I’m going to give him as much as I can. That’s our competitive nature coming out.
“But I’ll take him out to a few rounds of golf and then out to dinner.”
Extending their working relationship into the season depends on Kacy II making the final cut for the 53-man roster (or practice squad) in September. But both have found that the value of their time together doesn’t lie in what’s next.
“Blessing is probably the best word to sum it up,” Kacy II said. “The fact that we’re here together, it’s unbelievable.”