On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs acknowledged the passing of former player Allen Bailey, who tragically passed away on Tuesday evening at 37 years old. The former NFL defensive lineman who played eight seasons in Kansas City was found dead by his wife, with no official cause of death as of this writing.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid coached Bailey from 2013 to 2018, and remembered him fondly when he began his weekly press conference on Wednesday.
“Sad news: the passing of Allen Bailey. Our hearts go out to his family, and prayers are with them,” Reid said. “Way too young, obviously. One of my favorite players. Great kid, just sorry to see that happen to him.”
Bailey was born on Sapelo Island, an island off the George coastline “that is accessible only by boat,” according to Men’s Journal. He learned football through pickup games with family, but didn’t play it in an organized way until the seventh grade.
The Chiefs produced a video about Bailey’s hometown, “Allen Bailey: Pride of Sapelo Island.” You can watch it here.
Bailey’s humble beginnings came across in his personality.
“A good guy,” Reid remembered. “I drive in every morning… I’ll see a possum. He was a big hunter; I’ll say, ‘I saw a possum out there.’ He goes, ‘Don’t eat those possums. They eat garbage. You have to get the ones that eat the chestnuts,‘” Reid shared with a laugh.
“He was that kind of guy: an outdoorsman, and then he was dirty tough. Talk about giving you an honest down, he gave you an honest down every snap.”
He was eventually recruited by the University of Miami, committed to play for the Hurricanes, and became a first-team all-conference player before the Chiefs drafted him in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He finished his 10-year professional career with 70 starts, 22 sacks, 40 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles.
By the time quarterback Patrick Mahomes arrived in Kansas City, Bailey was an established 28-year-old veteran who left an early mark on the young gunslinger from Texas Tech.
“I tell this story kind of every year; he was the first person I saw when I stepped into the locker room,” Mahomes shared with local media on Wednesday. “I think it was after one of the drafts, they were in OTAs, and I step into the locker room and see Allen Bailey, and I’m like, ‘This isn’t the Big 12 anymore.‘ It was surreal to see him, and so I tell that story every single year.”
Bailey finished his career with two seasons on the Atlanta Falcons, the closest team to his birthplace, Sapelo Island.
“It’s terrible to hear the news that we heard,” Mahomes continued. “He was a great teammate, one of those glue guys on the team. He makes plays, but not necessarily the superstar, but the guy that kind of makes everything go.”
