Closing in on his 90th birthday, Roy Kidd shares memories and advice

When Roy Kidd turned 70, he said he hoped to make it to 75. When he turned 75, he set a new goal at 80. When that day came, he upped the ante five more years. Then he turned 85. And now, lo and behold, 90 is just around the corner.

“Dec. 4,” he said Friday, sitting on his couch in the apartment he shares with wife Sue at McCready Manor in Richmond.

And how is the former Eastern Kentucky University football coach doing? “Doing good,” he said with a smile. “Good to see you.”

Actually, the Hall of Famer is on the comeback trail after a medical problem last October. He and Sue moved into McCready, an assisted living facility, about a month ago. So far, so great. They take trips, play Bingo — “I’ve won twice,” said the always-competitive coach — attend exercise classes, listen to concerts, go for walks. The food is excellent. The neighbors are friendly.

Old friend Barbara Ricke, the EKU grad and Lexington interior decorator, helped decorate the place, including a wall of Kidd’s EKU memorabilia, displaying plaques and pictures and honors, so many honors. After all, the man won 314 football games as head coach of the Colonels from 1964 through 2002. The win total remains second among Division I-AA/FCS coaches behind only Grambling State’s Eddie Robinson. Among all college coaches, Kidd is tied for 10th. Others on that top-10 list: Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, Bear Bryant, Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg.

For you newcomers, Kidd’s teams went to four consecutive I-AA national championship games from 1979-82. The Colonels beat Lehigh 30-7 in 1979 and Delaware 17-14 in 1982 for Kidd’s two titles. “Could have been five,” he said before detailing some painful playoff losses. Coaches always remember the losses.

Since retiring, he has followed his alma mater’s ups and downs at Roy Kidd Stadium, but he believes EKU has the right man for the job in current coach Walt Wells, who was an assistant coach for Kidd from 1997-2002.

“I recommended hiring him,” said the coach. “Coach Wells took me for a tour (last month) and they’re spending some money, making a lot of upgrades. They’re putting in a new lighting system, new turf. We didn’t have those things when I was there.”

What about EKU’s move from the OVC to the Atlantic Sun Conference?

“I think it’s a good idea,” Kidd said. “I tried to get our president to move to the Southern Conference back when I was coaching, but he wouldn’t do it.”

Kidd said he still watches football, but it’s different now. When he was coaching, he paid attention to schemes and plays and how coaches were positioning players in hopes of picking up something that would help his team. “Now when I watch a game, I just follow the ball like everybody else,” he said.

Advice for young coaches

His visitor wanted to know what advice he’d give young coaches hoping to make the profession a career? It helps to know somebody, said Kidd, recalling how Buddy Ryan, the late NFL coach who retired to Lawrenceburg, called one day wanting a job for one of his sons. Kidd’s only opening was for a graduate assistant. “He’ll take it,” Buddy said. That was Rex Ryan. “He did a good job for me, too,” Kidd said.

Coaching starts with discipline. After five years as head coach at Richmond Madison High School, then one year each as an assistant at Morehead State and EKU, Kidd got the head coaching job at his alma mater. Punctuality was his first demand. No more being late for meetings, or practices or curfews. Early on, one of the team’s better players got on the bus for a trip to Tennessee. Sorry, Kidd told him. You missed curfew last night. You’re not going.

“He got the message,” the coach said.

And discipline starts with honesty. “I was always honest with the kids,” he said. “I told the the truth. And my mother taught me to treat people the way I wanted to be treated, and I tried to do that. If I thought maybe I was being pretty rough on a player, I’d make sure that I helped him out, too.”

When recruiting, Kidd looked for two things. Speed was one. Footwork was the other. One time, Wally Chambers, the late, great EKU defensive tackle, stopped by Kidd’s office when Chambers was playing for the NFL’s Chicago Bears. He told his old coach that in the pros, someone his size with bad feet couldn’t block him. But he always had trouble with a smaller player with good footwork. “That made me look at the feet even more,” remembered the coach.

Coaches can always learn something new

Another piece of advice? Be open to new ideas. Kidd didn’t mind picking up the phone and calling a fellow coach to inquire about a new play or scheme. He once called Lou Holtz at Notre Dame simply to ask how his players lined up in the huddle. The two served together on the American Football Coaches Association board of directors. When Holtz once saw Kidd at a Notre Dame bowl practice, the Irish coach called his friend over to talk to his team.

“To me, the biggest thing in coaching is putting your players in a position where they can be successful,” Kidd said, recounting the story of EKU Hall of Famer Danny Copeland. “He wanted to play tailback. I said, ‘Son, we’ve already got four good tailbacks. You’d be No. 5. Do you want to play in the NFL? Well, I think you could play cornerback in the NFL.’ And he did.”

The visitor had one more question: What about players’ earning money now through their name, image and likeness?

“I don’t know enough about it to talk about it,” Kidd said. “When I was going to school at Eastern, I was just happy to have a scholarship. But everything changes.”

And some keep marching on.

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