The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tight ends coach loved time in Atlanta
Scelfo ‘had a good group,’ led by Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.
Editor’s note: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution catches up with former Atlanta sports figures in this occasional series. Today: Chris Scelfo.
During these times, former Falcons assistant coach Chris Scelfo spends most of his time shuttling back and forth from his home in Perdido Key, Florida, to Fairhope, Alabama, to see his daughter.
Scelfo, 56, was a key member on Falcons coach Mike Smith’s staff from 2008-14 as the tight ends coach. The colorful Scelfo used to joke that his job was to get Tony Gonzalez to the bus on time.
“I don’t think I would have traded it for anything,” Scelfo said of his time with the Falcons. “When I got there we had (Ben) Hartsock and then Justin Peele and we brought in Tony the next year.”
The Falcons shocked the NFL and went to the playoffs in 2008 with rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. But getting Gonzalez, who had put in a enough work in Kansas City to be considered Hall of Fame-bound, elevated the tight end group.
“For two years, Tony was going to be here,” Scelfo said. “Then it
turned into three. I told him if he gave me five, I’d get him to the Hall of Fame. I used to joke with him all the time.”
So, it was no surprise that Scelfo and his family were special guests of Gonzalez in August at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio.
“We met up in Canton, and I told him it was all on me,” Scelfo joked.
But Scelfo, who was the head coach at Tulane University when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, remembers the entire group of players he coached in Atlanta.
“We just had a good group, even the free agents that we had, even the Jason Raders,” Scelfo said. “Throughout that whole time frame . ... Michael Palmer (Parkview High, Clemson) was an undrafted free agent, a tryout guy. I love those guys. Everybody contributed. It was just a really good group to work with.”
The Falcons went to the playoffs in three of the first four seasons under Smith but were immediately vanquished in 2008 by the Cardinals in the wild-card round, in 2010 by the Packers as the No. 1 seed in the divisional round, and by the Giants in the wild-card round after the 2011 season. In 2012, as the No. 1 seed again, the Falcons beat Seattle on a 49-yard field goal from Matt Bryant with eight seconds left after Gonzalez made the key catch and picked up 19 yards to get them in range.
The Falcons advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the third time in team history. They were up 17-0 and appeared headed to Super Bowl XLVII, before 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick led a furious rally. The 49ers won 28-24 as the defense collapsed, and the Falcons’ last-ditch drive stalled at the 49ers’ 10-yard line.
“It was heartbreaking from the standpoint that we were so close,” Scelfo said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that one.”
Scelfo, who was born in Abbeville, Louisiana, and later lived in New Iberia, Louisiana, was looking forward to going to New Orleans, the site of Super Bowl XLVII.
“We were up and playing well,” Scelfo said. “Had momentum and had it taken away from us.”
With Ryan at the controls, Scelfo just knew the game-winning drive would be successful. He’d just beaten Seattle in the final 34 seconds the week before. The Falcons had the ball with 8:23 left, so time was not a factor.
“Then we drive it all the way down and then we knew we were going to win the game,” Scelfo said. “For me personally, it hurt a little more because (the Super Bowl) was in New Orleans that year. That’s back home for me.”
The following season, the Falcons were decimated by injuries, and when a rebuild of the offensive line failed in 2014, Smith and his staff was dismissed. In 2013 “the wheels fell off,” Scelfo said. “Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. There were so many great people there. It was an outstanding organization and situation for us.
“We didn’t get it done that following year, we had major injuries early. Momentum, it’s something that you don’t mess around with. That’s kind of what set us back going into the follow year. It was just sad that we couldn’t see it through.”
They couldn’t recover from the injuries of 2013, including a season-ending foot injury to wide receiver Julio Jones.
“I’ve never seen anything like that except when I was the head coach at Tulane,” Scelfo said. “One year, the same thing happened. It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess. As a coach, everybody has injuries ... but when they start happening in bunches, at the same position with 53 guys on your roster, that’s hard to overcome.”
After Smith’s staff was fired, Scelfo sat out a year so he could watch his son, Joseph, play quarterback at South Alabama.
“He was a ball boy for us for about four or five years in Atlanta when he was in high school,” Scelfo said. “He and Deshaun Watson and that crew.”
After three seasons, the younger Scelfo went to N.C. State as a grad transfer. “He played the year they had Clemson beat,” Scelfo said. “The first year Clemson won the national championship and (the Wolfpack) missed that field goal. I wanted to watch him play in the ACC, so my wife and I moved up there and traveled to all of his games.”
After watching his son, who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the
Texans in 2017, it was time to get back into coaching. Scelfo coached at Houston (2017) and Charlotte (2018) in the college ranks before getting back into pro coaching.
“Rick Neuheisel reached out to me; he and I go back a long ways, and he wanted me to go out to Phoenix with him in the AAF (Alliance of American Football),” Scelfo said. “So, I was out there as the run-game coordinator and offensive line coach.
“Then when that league folded, Pep Hamilton reached out and we connected. So, I went to work for him last year in the XFL with the DC Defenders.”
Scelfo wants to get back to coaching in the NFL. “I’ve got to keep coaching,” Scelfo said. “My wife has me in the transfer portal, now.”
He missed out during the last hiring cycle, with most coaching staffs now set. He’ll likely land in a high school around the panhandle of Florida and Alabama for this season.
“That’s what it’s all about: teaching and relationships,” Scelfo said. “I’m not done by any stretch of the imagination. There’s something about teaching and getting someone better from Day 1 to Day 3 in every facet of their life. I’ll get my hand into something and then I’ll wait for the next cycle whether it be NFL or college.”
For now, Scelfo is fishing. “It’s snapper season,” he said. “Snapper season is good. I still play a little golf and still catch up on 33 years of my ‘honey-do’ list.” He also talks football with Joseph, who’s the offensive line coach at Southeastern Louisiana.
Scelfo was fond of his time in Atlanta, and still watches the Falcons closely. “I know the Atlanta Falcons mean a lot to that city,” Scelfo said. “Dan Quinn has done a tremendous job and has had some unfortunate stuff. Matt Ryan is still a great quarterback. I always watch from afar and pull for them and want them to do well.
“There are some really good people in that organization, from equipment staff with Jimmy Hay to general manager Thomas Dimitroff. They are good people.”
Scelfo has also monitored the recent social justice protests.
“That city is a wonderful place and it was a wonderful place for me to call home,” Scelfo said. “I hope that we learn from this crisis that’s going on in our country that it’s about relationships ... That’s what I always love about coaching, when you are in that huddle, it doesn’t matter if you’re black, white or whatever, rich or poor ... you are a team. That’s what we have to become.”
‘It was heartbreaking from the standpoint that we were so close. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that one.’ Chris Scelfo on the Falcons losing the 2012 NFC Championship game to the 49ers