INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts have reached week three of the NFL’s offseason program, and now coaches can join players on the field for what amounts to very limited practice.
Even in such a restricted setting, Reggie Wayne is glad to be out of the office.
“I may be an education major, history major, but that don’t really mean I want to be in the classroom all day,” says the Colts’ wide receivers coach. “When I’m out on the field, that’s when I feel like I’m at my best.”
Wayne’s best as a player has put him on the doorstep of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. To just make it as a coach, he’s re-learning what it takes to succeed in the NFL.
“I was always told coaches were here all day every day,” Wayne recalls. Then he smiles, “when you’re coming from Miami Beach to Indiana Beach, it’s a little different. I’ll just leave it at that.”
Different hours, different responsibilities, and that’s not all that’s changed since Wayne entered the NFL 21 years ago.
“I know it’s a new generation,” he explains. “They do it all for the (Insta)gram, but I ain’t coaching for the ‘Gram. We getting after it. I feel like this room can surprise a lot of people. If I can add my little two cents in and not screw them up, I feel like they can make some noise.”
Just as long as that noise isn’t calling him “coach” — at least not yet.
“Call me Reg, call me Reggie, call me Weez,” he requests. “You gotta earn coach. I don’t think I’ve earned it yet.”
And Wayne will be putting in the hours until he does.