Sports

Six-time All-Star Jason Kelce is enjoying life after football, getting in shape, and embracing his job on television

Jason Kelce was destined for a career in the media long before he partnered with his brother, Travis, to co-host a popular podcast.

It was evident early on after Andy Reid selected Kelce in the sixth round of the 2011 draft that his dynamic personality would play well on the other side of the microphone. Kelce became a go-to source for reporters throughout his 13-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s insightful, eloquent and funny.

Kelce has the s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s to succeed in television and he brings credibility to the studio where he’ll be part of ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” broadcast team.

The six-time All-Pro center might be a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer and he has a chance to be an even better analyst.

Asked how his Eagles went from starting 10-1 last season to finishing 11-6 and getting blown out by Tampa Bay in a wild-card game, Kelce provided an astute explanation.

“First of all, whenever you lose that many games in a row, it’s never just one person or one area,” Kelce told The Associated Press. “It sounds pretty bad, but the same as when you’re winning at a high level, when you’re losing at a high level, every area is struggling, players, coaches, talent. I think we had a lot of talent last year but there were pieces that we were missing. I think the cohesion certainly wasn’t there like it was the year before. Obviously, we lost two coordinators, which it didn’t work out with the replacements.”

The Eagles reached the Super Bowl after the 2022 season, losing 38-35 to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Offensive coordinator Shane Steichen left to coach Indianapolis. He was replaced by quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon departed to coach Arizona. Sean Desai took over and didn’t even last a full season before former Patriots DC Matt Patricia replaced him.

“I think Brian, Desai and Matt Patricia, all these guys are great coaches but for whatever reason. … it didn’t really come together right,” Kelce continued. “On offense, when we struggled, we went to try and go simpler. I feel like you have one or two ways to go when you’re struggling. You either go simple and get back to your basics and your bread and butter. Or you go complex and you try and design your way out of these things and outsmart the opponent. On offense, we went simpler. On defense, we went the opposite way. We completely overhauled our defensive coordinator and system, and you kind of saw the downsides of both of those.

“Offensively, I think everybody would agree that we probably went too simple, and that got a little bit predictable and it could put us in situations that were probably harder to execute in. On defense, I think it created a little bit of hesitancy and guys just not really being able to play fast and aggressive because they’re unsure. I think that players didn’t execute at the level that we did the year before, me included. It’s always kind of a little bit of everything. And, I feel good about where they’re at now. I really do.”

Kelce has spent plenty of time around his former teammates at the Eagles’ practice facility throughout the offseason and training camp. The 36-year-old was still playing at an elite level when he walked away from the game. He earned his seventh Pro Bowl berth last season and was a first-team AP All-Pro for the third straight year.

But forget about Kelce pulling a Brett Favre or Tom Brady and coming out of retirement. He’s already down from his playing weight of 295 pounds to 275 and aims to get to 260.

“They’re not going to call me to come back and play center at 260 pounds, and I’m moving on to the next thing and I’m excited to watch Cam (Jurgens),” Kelce said of his replacement. “I really think Cam is going to be tremendous this year. He’s going to really show people how great of a player he is. He was good for us last year at right guard and he’s going to flourish at center. And for me personally, my days of playing are just done and I do not foresee any scenario taking place other than maybe medicine inventing a way to get rid of arthritis that I would ever entertain coming back at all anymore.”

Kelce has enough to keep him busy with the TV gig, the “New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce” podcast plus a wife and three young daughters. Then there’s the occasional trip to see superstar Taylor Swift — Travis’ girlfriend — perform in concert. And, all those endorsement opportunities that come his way.

Kelce especially enjoyed partnering up with General Mills to create the Kelce Mix Cereal, which combines Jason and Travis’ top three favorite cereals — Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Reese’s Puffs – into one bowl.

“These are cereals that my brother and I grew up eating and we love them,” Kelce said. “They’re nostalgic brands and a part of our 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood. I think that now that we’ve built the Kelce Crunch involving three of our favorites, it’s kind of like everything coming full circle a little bit. It’s a unique cereal. When we were first approached about it, I didn’t know how those three cereals were going to actually blend together, like it’s an odd combination. But I gotta be honest. It tastes really freaking good.”

Related Posts

Japan’s significance in the baseball career of Shohei Ohtani

The athlete’s achievement is also a story of change in his home country As Japan prepared to face the U.S. in last year’s World Baseball Classic final, Shohei…

ต่างกันมาก ! บรูโน่ เปรียบเทียบบรรยากาศภายในแคมป์ทีมชาติ โปรตุเกส กับ แมนยู

บรูโน่ แฟร์นันด์ส ยอมรับว่าเกือบย้ายออกจาก แมนยู ช่วงซัมเมอร์ที่ผ่านมา พักเบรคไปเล่นให้ทีมชาติ โปรตุเกส แล้วโชว์ฟอร์มได้อย่างน่าประทับใจ บรูโน่ ยอมรับว่าบรรยากาศภายในแคมป์ทีมชาติ โปรตุเกส ดีกว่าของ แมนฯ ยูไนเต็ด ในตอนนี้ บรูโน่ แฟร์นันด์ส กัปตันทีม แมนเชสเตอร์ ยูไนเต็ด คนปัจจุบัน ออกมาเปรียบเทียบบรรยากาศความต่างภายในแคมป์ทีมชาติ โปรตุเกส และ แมนฯ ยูไนเต็ด พร้อมเผยว่าเมื่อช่วงซัมเมอร์ที่ผ่านมาเจ้าตัวได้รับข้อเสนอจากหลายทีมทั้งในและนอก ยุโรป แต่สุดท้ายก็ตัดสินใจอยู่กับทีม ปีศาจแดง…

“เอกนิษฐ์-อภิสิทธิ์” รับเจอ “ซีเรีย” ไม่ง่าย มั่นใจทุกคนสู้เพื่อแชมป์คิงส์คัพ

“ทีมชาติไทย” ซ้อมรักษาแมตช์ฟิต “เอกนิษฐ์-อภิสิทธิ์” มอง ซีเรียไม่ง่าย แต่เชื่อไทย คว้าแชมป์คิงส์ คัพ ได้ เมื่อวันที่ 12 ตุลาคม 2567 เวลา 17.00 น. ที่ สนามกีฬามหาวิทยาลัยสงขลานครินทร์ ฟุตบอลชายทีมชาติไทยลงฝึกซ้อมเตรียมความพร้อมก่อนเกมนัดชิงชนะเลิศ ศึกคิงส์ คัพ ครั้งที่ 50 ที่จะพบกับ ทีมชาติ ซีเรีย ในเกมแรก ทีมชาติไทย…

Early blitz sees Leinster down Munster at Croke Park

We were promised an occasion at Croke Park. For the fans in blue, at least, it delivered on that promise. In front of 80,468 supporters at GAA HQ,…

De Alcaraz a Federer: los amigos de Rafa Nadal presentan su álbum más íntimo con el jugador de tenis

Novak Djokovic o Feliciano López también han homenajeado al deportista mallorquín El anuncio del adiós definitivo al tenis de Rafa Nadal ha golpeado con fuerza a este deporte….

Despite Shohei Ohtani’s minimal contribution, the Dodgers nonetheless make it to the NLCS

Shohei Ohtani went 4 for 20 with 10 strikeouts in five NLDS games, but the Los Angeles Dodgers were still able to advance past the San Diego Padres and…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *