Kingsbury Friend Amendola Visiting Coach for Cardinals in Nashville
When it’s in your blood, well, it’s in your blood.
That is certainly the case for many that have had football in their life since being little boys, and it surely has had that impact on former NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola.
On the practice field with the Cardinals Wednesday in Nashville thanks to an invitation from head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Amendola was dipping his toes back in the game following his retirement this offseason after playing 13 seasons in the NFL and before leaving Friday on a planned vacation to Paris.
Said Kingsbury, "I just told him, since he doesn't have much to do these days, come with us and talk to those receivers."
Amendola is friends with Kingsbury and during one of his NFL stops in Miami, Cardinals receivers coach Shawn Jefferson was on the Dolphins’ staff. Like Kingsbury, he attended Texas Tech, although there was no overlap because Amendola is six years younger.
Will Amendola get into coaching sooner rather than later? It sure sounded like that when he spoke to Darren Urban of the team website. After all, his father Willie has been a long-time high-school coach in Texas.
He said, "This game has been in my blood my whole life. It's hard to get away from it. I definitely need to travel and kind of do my thing because once I get into it, I'm never going to get out.
As for his brief time in Nashville, he said, “It's great to get out here for a few days, help these receivers out as much as I can and absorb this coaching room."
Amendola made the most of his ability after spending the first two seasons of his NFL career on practice squads with the Cowboys and Eagles.
When he signed with the Rams in 2009, that began his NFL journey that later included New England, Miami, Detroit and Houston. With the Patriots, he earned two Super Bowl rings.
In 163 NFL regular-season games, Amendola caught 617 passes for 6,212 yards (10.2 average) with 24 touchdowns. He added 57 receptions for 709 yards (12.4 average) and six touchdowns in 13 post-season games with the Patriots.
His previous comment makes it appear coaching is inevitable, despite Kingsbury wondering if it should be.
Smiling, he said, “I tell him to stay away from it. He's got a lot of money, so go to Europe and hang out, enjoy what you've earned. He's going to Paris on Friday. So I'm really jealous. That retirement life sounds pretty good.”
Would Amendola be a fit to work with Kingsbury? Perhaps. But not if the head coach’s words are taken to heart. Earlier in training camp, Kingsbury talked about putting his Cardinals staff together with the help of general manager Steve Keim when he was hired in 2019.
When asked if he considered bringing in coaches he knew or were friends, he said, “I did not. I tried that at Texas Tech and I swore I'd never (have to) fire a friend again. And so I've made sure that that didn't happen.”
