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Frank Reich has set himself apart from all the greats who have played the game of football, as a backup quarterback at the University of Maryland and with the Buffalo Bills. He won’t tell you that he led the Maryland Terrapins to one of the greatest NCAA comebacks in history—nor that he piloted the Buffalo Bills to the greatest playoff comeback in NFL history. No, he is thankful and feels blessed to be noted in the NFL record books, but his life mission has always superseded athletic competition.
The Greatest NFL Playoff Comeback
After leading the Buffalo Bills to the NFL’s greatest post-season victory ever against the Houston Oilers in January 1993, Reich during the post-game press conference said that the story wasn’t about him personally; the story was about God, the Father, giving glory to the Son. He referred to a song titled “In Christ Alone” by Michael English that helped prepare him for the consequential game and sustained him during the unprecedented comeback. As a natural expression of his heart, Reich thankfully and humbly shared the following lyrics:
In Christ alone will I glory
Though I could pride myself in battles won
For I’ve been blessed beyond measure
And by His strength alone, I overcome.
In every victory let it be said of me
that my source of hope and strength is in Christ alone.
On Leadership, Vision, and Intimacy with Christ
Frank Reich’s life, and his approach to his playing time and his many NFL coaching positions, has been typified by this humble reliance on Christ. For Reich, true biblical leadership starts with intimacy with Christ. This definition of leadership is rooted for Reich in his study of the book of Galatians and of the life of Paul. Saul/Paul received his apostleship directly from the resurrected, exalted Christ. Saul was transformed by the Damascus Road conversion. Christ laid hold of him and called him to give up his life. The hard-hearted Saul, who zealously hated and even killed Christians, was now Paul, given a heart of flesh and chosen to live for Christ, which resulted in his call to share the gospel with Jew and Greek alike.
Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” It was Paul’s intimacy with Christ that provided the humility, motivation, and perseverance to live for Christ and to share and to preach the gospel. He spoke the truth and endured incredible hardships to be faithful to his call and to have Christ alone receive the glory and honor.
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Paul’s experience with Christ has provided an example of a defining purpose and vision for Reich’s life. As a redeemed believer in Christ, Reich has tried to bring this mindset to each team along the way. His goal, through this deep intimacy with Christ, is to be an authentic, genuine, and humble instrument used by the Lord. He knows that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
As Frank Reich has looked back, he observes, “The point that I have always tried to look at, live out, talk about, and preach about is this intimacy with Christ. Whether it was playing or coaching, I have endeavored to live a life evidencing this intimacy. I have always made every effort to stay focused on this intimate and authentic life with Christ. Then you say—let’s go–let’s take on the challenge of living this out hour by hour, person by person.”
Nick Foles, the MVP of Super Bowl LII, having played for Reich twice, says that Frank Reich’s faith prompted him to “love the players and everyone in the facility by getting to know them, seeing where they were, how they were doing and have real conversations being authentic and genuine, not just for lip service and just doing his job.”
Public Life Begins with Private Life
Frank Reich is convinced that a winsome witness in public life always starts with one’s private spiritual life. In other words, what you have done in private will become public. Nick Foles put it this way: “With the demands of NFL coaching positions, I think a great measure of a man is how he has raised his family and how he treats his wife. I know his wife and three daughters well, and it is apparent that he has created a culture of love, nurturing, and intentionality. He has tried to be an example of Christ in his home.”
Caring for his wife and daughters has always been a pivotal priority for Reich.
Set Back and a New Direction
Reich grew up in a religious home. Playing football has been his passion and focus since the sixth grade. He was committed to his faith at times, but football was his whole life. Then came his senior year at the University of Maryland, where he took over the starting quarterback position when Boomer Esiason moved on to the NFL. In the fourth game of the season, he was injured. Then when he was healthy and ready to return, the coaches decided to keep his backup as the starter. Reich remembers thinking, “God, I thought you and I were good. Why are you doing this to me?”
Football had become Reich’s God. “I felt like my shot of playing in the NFL, my dream, was over,” he said in retrospect. “I was broken, and I needed Christ to be at the center of my life.”1
It was at that time that Reich came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior through Campus Crusade for Christ and Athletes in Action. He had become a servant of Christ, and his life and primary passion would be redirected in a whole new direction.
Christians in sport have a very strategic place and role as agents of redemption. This is accomplished by reflecting the image of Christ. Sport provides the opportunity to live out the presence of Christ and to show that everything comes from Christ for His glory. We have the ability to exercise, celebrate, and enjoy who we are in Christ by acknowledging Him in our hearts through the activity of sport. Reich says, “It is amazing that God can use us in everything, every aspect of our lives, as instruments to bring about His will.”2
Frank Reich did just that through his time in the NFL.
Life’s Driving Force
The Athletes in Action principle of the Audience of One has been lived out in Frank’s life. All of us have something or someone that is the driving force in our lives, which we devotedly worship. Reich has sought to put Christ as the lens through which he sees all of life, to ultimately do life in the presence of or before the face of Christ.
The goal for Frank Reich has been to make Jesus Christ alone his only audience for attention, glory, and honor.
Competition and Dominion
Frank Reich has gone on to do some groundbreaking writing on the theology of competition. He believes that all humans were created to compete. He encourages people to recognize that competition is unavoidable because the inherent competitive spirit is found in every person. According to Reich, it is in Genesis 1 that we find the biblical foundation for competition. We are created in God’s image and set apart from everything else that God made. As image bearers, we are charged with the authority, established by God, to exercise dominion. We are ambassadors of the King, not lording it over others, but being a servant with a commission from the Lord. We are blessed with a competitive spirit to advance the kingdom of God.
It is in Genesis 1:28 that the dominion mandate—the cultural mandate—gives us the ultimate job description: to be fruitful and multiply, rule over, and subdue the earth. The desire to be competitive, conquer, and rule over is not inherently evil or sinful. But it is our God-given responsibility to develop his creation and our talents to their full potential. Living out this theology of competition is not for personal gain or glory or a vehicle for self-glorification; it is for God’s glory alone. This is a wholehearted devotion to know Jesus Christ more intimately by reflecting the heart and character of God as we rule and reign.
Reich brought this heart and biblical grounding to the NFL.
The Journey
In all, Frank Reich spent 14 years in the NFL as a player with the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and Detroit Lions. Upon leaving football, Reich worked on a few business interests, which included a sports memorabilia company and a boot store. He also attended the Reformed Theological Seminary at the Charlotte, North Carolina campus. He enrolled in his first class during his time when he was still a back-up quarterback with the Carolina Panthers. He went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree and then was asked to continue on there as president of the Charlotte campus. He later served as an interim pastor with a church for a short time. “When I was playing, I always thought I was going to be a coach,” said Reich. “When I went into full-time ministry, that was for all the right motives—a real, sincere, heartfelt love of God. I was trying to do the right thing.”3
Pastoring a church was not his calling. “I came to realize more and more this false dichotomy between sacred and secular work,” Reich said, “that every Christian is called to live out their faith in their sphere of influence.”4 His mission field was the football field. Upon leaving seminary, he broke into the coaching ranks by serving as a coaching intern under Tony Dungy with the Indianapolis Colts for two years. He continued on in formal coaching roles with the Colts for four more years.
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One of those coaching roles was as Hall of Famer Peyton Manning’s quarterback coach. After the Colts, he held coaching jobs with the Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, and again with the Colts. Reich closed out his 17-year coaching career in the NFL as the head coach of the Colts and the Panthers.
Winsome Witness
Many NFL players and teams have been impacted by experiencing Reich’s winsome witness.
Don Beebe is one of those players. Beebe, forever known for chasing down Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett in Super bowl XXVII, was Reich’s roommate for five years in Buffalo and one year in Carolina. He recalls Bills head coach, Marv Levy, who is enshrined in Canton, saying, “your true character will be revealed in every game.” When reflecting on Frank Reich’s character in Christ, Beebe said, “in the NFL, you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Most people point their finger if it’s the lowest of lows and are quick to take credit if it’s the highs, but not Frank.”
Reich is a fierce competitor, but he has always trusted God for the results. He consistently deflected personal praise, and in defeat, he looked to become a better player or coach and grow in his faith through the setbacks.
Hall of Famer Jim Kelly is another witness to Reich’s impact. Kelly was not a Christian during his time with Reich in Buffalo, but Frank Reich quickly earned his respect, and the respect of all the players, as a man of character and integrity. “The one thing that I will say about Frank,” says Kelly, “is that everything he does and says comes through his heart.” Kelly remembers that Reich “loved to share with everybody what he believed in, and you gotta love that.”
Frank Reich pointed Jim Kelly to Christ. Kelly, now a believer, says that his friendship with Reich means more to him than one can possibly imagine. With a voice full of emotion, Kelly says, “when I was in the hospital with stage four cancer and given a five percent chance to live, Frank was there for me every step of the way. He sent me a Scripture verse every day that my wife Jill read to me. He has always lived out his faith—a class act from start to finish.”
Deep Intimacy with Christ
The driving force in Reich’s life has been a pursuit of an intimate relationship with Christ. This deep intimacy has directed his calling as a coach, made him an effective leader, given him peace in competition, and defined his role in public life.
Frank Reich is a compelling example of a present-day, Paul-like apostle, utilizing one’s public platform to intentionally live out a faith in Christ. His deliberate winsome witness, through his words and actions, spur us on to do the same.
Endnotes
- The Gospel Coalition — From Seminary President to NFL Coach Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra Jan. 4, 2019
- ESPN – Inside Reich’s Journey from NFL QB to Panthers Coach David Newton Nov. 4, 2023
- Institute for Faith, Work and Economics – NFL Coach Frank Reich Speaks Out on Faith and Work Kristen Brown Jan. 11, 2019
- Back to the Bible-Canada – NFL Coach Frank Reich, Faith and Work Dr. John Neufeld Jan. 18, 2019