STILLWATER – While Tyreek Hill will be the only player on Sunday that has connections to Oklahoma State, there will be two prominent coaches pulling strings and making decision on the sidelines that cut their teeth in some of their early days in coaching at Oklahoma State. Tampa Bay Buccaneers special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong and Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach and run defense coordinator Brendan Daly both will play a big role and have done so in game planning too.
Kansas City Chiefs
Brendan Daly looks similar to what he did at Oklahoma State but has a beard and some gray.
Daly is in his second season with Kansas City and head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Daly was a graduate assistant in Maryland when Mike Gundy and another future Oklahoma State assistant Doug Mallory were on staff with the Terrapins. He came to Oklahoma State in 2001 and was a graduate assistant under head coach Les Miles for two seasons and then worked on year in the weight room as assistant strength coach.
Now Daly is an NFL veteran after breaking into the league in 2006 as the assistant defensive line coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He did two stints in Minnesota separated by serving for then St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo. From Minnesota Daly went to New England and coached on Bill Belichick’s staff for five seasons going to four Super Bowls including three in a row from 2016-18.
“My time in New England was a fantastic five years," Daly said in a story by McKenzie Nelson from KFHB-TV in Kansas City. "I really enjoyed the people there — both fans and the people in the organization and the community. It was a tremendous learning experience for me from a football standpoint. Obviously, we had a tremendous amount of success on the field, which was fantastic to be able to experience."
He made his fourth Super Bowl in a row with Kansas City in 2019. Four Super Bowls in a row as a defensive line coach and now five in a row this Sunday and six in seven seasons.
“I kind of pinch myself on a regular basis and am thankful for the opportunity to be coaching football at this time of year," Daly said. "There’s not many people who get to do it. It’s a fun game to be a part of. Every one of them is unique. It does not get old. I can promise you that."
I can remember like it was yesterday seeing Daly as a graduate assistant inside Boone Pickens Stadium. He was dedicated and serious and that has served him well
Keith Armstrong has made history along with the Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as all three are African-American. The Buccaneers are the first NFL team to have all minority coordinators. Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians has known Armstrong the longest as he played for Arians when he was the Temple head coach. Armstrong then started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Owls.
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Armstrong, in the middle, in his second season at Tampa Bay with his college coach Bruce Arians.
Three-years later Armstrong was coaching wide receivers for Pat Jones at Oklahoma State. Armstrong was in Stillwater for three seasons and on the same staff with Mike Gundy, who was then coaching quarterbacks and later calling plays as offensive coordinator.
Armstrong has coached in the NFL for Chicago, Buffalo, Miami, Atlanta, and now Tampa Bay and is recognized as one of the most successful and respected special teams coaches in football.
