USA Rugby

Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid Reveals Plans For Louis Rees-Zammit

Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid Reveals Plans For Louis Rees-Zammit

Iconic Super Bowl-winning coach Andy Reid discusses Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit's transition to American football, including his position.

Apr 17, 2024 by Philip Bendon
Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid Reveals Plans For Louis Rees-Zammit

Iconic Super Bowl-winning coach Andy Reid recently was asked about his team’s acquisition of Welsh Rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit.

Discussing the 23-year-old’s transition between sporting codes, Reid said the sport of American football was not completely alien to LRZ.

“He was introduced to this when he was young when his dad played for six years in the European league," Reid said. “He’s somewhat familiar with the sport and has had success in rugby. And there are some similarities there as a contact sport, and he’s had the ball and does those things and runs with the ball."

Delving deeper into his plans for the electric former winger, the 66-year-old head coach gave some insights into where he feels the Welshman will fit into the squad.

“We’ll start him off at the running back position and get him to feel comfortable with that," Reid added. "Going forward here, he’s had an opportunity to also go down there to Dallas and work with Pat (KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes), and so again, he’ll get used to some of these calls through our Zooms and the plays, and then we’ll just see where it goes from there.”

In addition to his offensive position, Reid was asked about the special teams side of the game, which from the outside, would appear to be where he would feel more comfortable.

Explaining that it was not going to be an easy transition, Reid said special teams coordinator Dave Toub would be working with LRZ on this facet of the game.

“Potentially, they’re all out there working on returns, so before and during practice, we’ll just see what his feel is and where that goes," Reid. said. “Dave will have an opportunity to have him on special teams and see where that goes.

"That’s not an easy transition, but he seems to have been wired to playing competitive rugby professionally since he was 17. He’s sitting there 23; he’s had a pretty good career, ith that kind of understanding of the professional game and the mindset to play at the professional level.”

How To Watch Rugby Matches In the United States On FloRugby

The Investec Champions Cup will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:

FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays. 

Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social