NORFOLK, Va. – Kevin Reihner could be making a fortune in the private sector. He has an undergraduate degree from Stanford in engineering management. A perennial honor roll student, he was usually the smartest guy in class.
Had he chosen to, he could be managing multi-billion-dollar projects. Or he could be overseeing supply-chain operations for a major corporation, and how valuable would that be in this post-COVID world?
But with the exception of his family, Reihner loves football more than anything. He was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a blue-collar city where most kids cut their teeth on the gridiron and worship Penn State.
He's the son of the late George Reihner, and in this case, the apple fell very close to the tree. Both loved football, were offensive lineman and had keen intellects.
A Penn State alum, George was taken in the second round, 38th overall in the 1977 NFL draft by the Houston Oilers. After an injury-shortened, four-year NFL career in which he made 22 starts on the offensive line, he got his law degree and settled into a long practice as an attorney in Scranton.
Kevin played in three BCS bowl games at Stanford before becoming the first graduate transfer ever to play at Penn State, where he played in another bowl game.
He paid his dues as both a graduate assistant and coach at Fordham, Wake Forest, Delaware and Penn State before coming to ODU as offensive line coach in 2020.
Now, Reihner is one of the youngest offensive coordinators in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Old Dominion head coach Ricky Rahne recently tabbed Reihner, who turned 30 last month, as ODU's offensive coordinator, replacing Dave Patenaude, who recently resigned. For the second year in a row, ODU has the nation's youngest FBS coaching staff.
"Kevin could be doing a whole lot of other things in life," Rahne said Monday at ODU's annual football media day.
"But he chose football, although he would likely say, football chose him."
Rahne helped recruit Reihner to Penn State and has played a major role in his career ever since.
Rahne helped Reihner get his first job at Fordham. He then hired Reihner as a graduate assistant at Penn State and then as a full-time offensive line coach at ODU.
"I would crawl over broken glass for the guy," Reihner said of Rahne.
Reihner was tapped to call plays in ODU's Myrtle Beach Bowl game against Tulsa last December and acquitted himself well, Rahne said.
"He's got a great football knowledge," Rahne said. "And not just in the box as an offensive line coach but in the pass game as well. He has a good understanding of coverages and what plays beat coverages.
"Ultimately, you've got to block people to move the ball and I think he's got a great understanding of how to get our offensive line in the best position, our tight ends in the best position, our running backs in the best position and even our wide receivers to have great (blocking) angles."
Don't expect much to change on ODU's offense under Reiher (pronounced "Reener"), who, by the way, could always become a stand-up comic if he ever tires of football
"I'm 30," he said when asked how old he is. "But I only read at a 29-year-old level."
When I asked if he would be on the field or the booth, he replied the booth. "In the spirit of trying the find the positives in everything, it's a lot easier to stash snacks up there in the booth than it is on the field.
"And my wife (Jo Baird Reihner) won't be able to critique my on-field behavior."
Truth is, he chose to call plays from the press box because of the chaos that can occur on the sidelines. "I'll miss the energy on the field," he said. "But I need to remove myself a little bit from that."
And as for his youth, and relative inexperience, he notes that ODU has a head coach who was offensive coordinator at Penn State.
"Ricky Rahne, the best offensive coordinator I ever worked with, is down the hall," Reihner said. "He's got an open door and he's helped me with the big things as well as the little things, such as scripting practice and planning the staff schedule."
And it's not that Reihner will be alone otherwise.
Kevin and Jo Baird Reihner. Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Baird.
Rahne recently hired Greg Jones away from Wake Forest, where he worked six seasons. Jones will work closely with Reihner on offensive strategy.
Wide receiver coach Mark Dupuis is also now ODU's pass-game coordinator, running backs coach Tony Lucas was named assistant head coach and tight ends coach Justin Harper was named offensive recruiting coordinator.
It helps immensely, Reihner said, that he and Jones already have a close relationship. They were graduate assistants together at Wake Forest, where they became close friends.
Jones would have been in the wedding party when Kevin and Jo Reihner married, but when the recruiting calendar changed because of COVID, Jones could not be there.
"We vacation together," Reihner said. "Our wives know each other. We have a very close connection.
"He's an incredibly smart coach. His background is mostly defense but honestly, just going through one day of game-planning with him, it was incredibly valuable to have his perspective. I could not be happier that he's here and was willing to jump into this during the middle of training camp, which surely wasn't easy," Reihner said.
"He's handled everything with an incredible work ethic and class."
Reihner says so has everyone else at ODU, including the players, something he says that doesn't surprise him, given how focused they were in the face of major distractions over the past two years.
ODU did not play in 2020 because of COVID and began last season 1-6, yet won its last five games to qualify for its first bowl game in five years.
"These guys, their resolve, their resiliency, is just so unbelievable," he said. "During this transition, they just showed up the next day and game to go to work."
Zack Kuntz, who was second in the nation in receptions by a tight end last season, said Reihner had a lot to do with that.
"We're completely confident in coach Reihner making the calls,' Kuntz said. "The whole offensive staff, they come up with a hell of a game plan each week."
As an offensive lineman, and then an O-line coach, Reihner is accustomed to being out of the limelight, and realizes that's all about to change.
"When things go well, I'm going to get an undue among of credit," he said. "And the contrary is true. That's the nature of this position.
"But calling plays is something I've always wanted to do."
He called plays for ODU against Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. He said during the second half he doubted himself after a quick three-and-out.
"Coach Rahne got on the head set and just told me to trust myself, to go with my gut, and the next drive we strung together some first downs," he said.
He acknowledges he's feeling more pressure now that he's calling the plays and said that's prompted him to lean on his wife more than usual.
"I've always had her support," he said. "We all work long hours and there have been times when I've had problems making the transition from football to being at home and she's so good about that.
"She's risen to the occasion even more."
When Rahne asked him to become the offensive coordinator, Reihner immediately thought of his father, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly shortly before the 2021 spring game.
Reihner said that he "had a moment" last season when ODU became bowl eligible when he stopped to reflect on his dad and felt his presence.
"I know he would be incredibly proud," he said. "My mom and sister, of course, always bring that up.
"I haven't really had much time to think. Training camp doesn't give you a lot of time for reflection.
"I'm sure there will be a moment when that occurs. And I'll certainly enjoy it."
NOTES: Rahne announced that Hayden Wolff will start at quarterback when the Monarchs open against Virginia Tech on Friday, Sept. 2. Wolff started in ODU's last seven games in 2021. "I've been very pleased with the progress all of our quarterbacks made," Rahne said. "Hayden has worked so hard," ... Rahne also announced that Kuntz, offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri, safety R'Tarriun Johnson and long snapper B.R. Hatcher as ODU's captains.