Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid has been married to his wife, Tammy, for over 40 years. The Super Bowl LIV head coach and his wife have five children between them, four of whom are still living.
Usually an NFL head coach’s personal life, unlike that of some of his more high-profile players, is generally not of much interest to the media. However, as you’ll read below, the Reids’ sons have had some well-documented issues in their personal lives. And in the case of one son, his personal demons claimed his life.
Reid And His Wife Met In College
Reid, born in Los Angeles in 1958, grew up a member of the Lutheran Church, according to ESPN , and attended Brigham Young University ( BYU ). He was one of only two Lutherans at the predominantly Mormon institution, his pal and teammate Tom Holmoe would later joke. There, according to Players Wives , he met Tammy in a tennis class. Tammy, who always had plenty of suitors, would later say that she was frustrated because Andy wouldn’t ask her out.
Like the overwhelming majority of the student body at BYU, Tammy was Mormon, and Andy would have to convert to Mormonism in order to marry her. He gladly did convert, saying at the time that it was the right way for him.
The couple married in 1981.
They Have Five Children
Andy and Tammy would go on to have five children: sons Garrett, Britt, and Spencer, and daughters Crosby and Drew Ann.
The life of a professional football coach is one of intense stress and high expectations, to say nothing of being gone from home for days if not weeks at a time. Unfortunately, that kind of life can take a toll on one’s children, and in the case of two of Reid’s three sons, it became readily apparent.
According to a 2012 ESPN report, Reid’s sons Garrett and Britt would struggle with drugs, and at one point, both men were incarcerated in the Philadelphia area on drug charges.
Reid would dutifully visit his sons in prison as often as he could, taking great care to make sure that his celebrity status — he was with the Philadelphia Eagles at the time — would not cause any problems for his sons.
“Being the incarcerated son of the Eagles’ coach was hard enough. Reid didn’t want to add to it,” ESPN writer Ashley Cox said of that particular time in Reid’s life.
Britt would later kick his drug habit and get his life on the straight and narrow; as of this writing, he is a member of his father’s coaching staff with the Chiefs, serving as the team’s linebackers/outside linebackers coach.
Unfortunately, Garett would not be able to shake his addiction to drugs. In October 2012, as ABC News reported at the time, he died of a drug overdose. Specifically, he’d been in Easton, Pennsylvania, working as a strength/conditioning coach with Lehigh University when he accidentally overdosed on heroin. Investigators reportedly found 47 syringes and 65 needles in Reid’s gym bag.
Tammy and Andy’s other son, Spencer, seemingly did not follow in his brothers’ footsteps and into a life of drug use. He played football at Temple University but does not appear to have had a career in pro football as either a player or a coach.
Daughter Crosby Reid has pursued a career in music and has performed the national anthem here and there, including before one of her father’s games earlier this year.
Unlike her sister, Drew Ann Reid appears to eschew the public eye. She does not seem to have a social media presence and her comings and goings do not appear to be reported in the media.