Those of us in the South know there’s an order to things. A certain hierarchy of life, if you will. If you ask the average man, you’ll hear, “God. Family. Football. Chick-fil-A.” It’s just a staple of who we are around here. It’s chicken biscuits in the morning, and waffle fries at lunch. Just make sure it ain’t a Sunday ’cause that’s
Purdue’s special teams coordinator, Tony Levine, has decided to leave the coaching business to a start new venture — running a Chick-fil-A franchise in Houston. Levine was hired by Jeff Brohm in 2016, after he spent more than a year out of coaching.
Okay, so first of all, Jeff Brohm spent time at Western Kentucky. Having experienced the Chick-fil-A reverence firsthand, he should known better. I kind of want to ask him what he expected. You pull a guy from Houston to Purdue…yeah, it just doesn’t compare. If you want a coach to stick around at Purdue, you have to make sure there are no Chick-fil-As in close proximity. Or else that man’s just going to be a cloud of dust.
Also, I didn’t know you could just buy and own Chick-fil-As like that. It’s kind of crazy. Got me ready to risk it all, to be honest. I could leave SoBros Network to the rest of the staff here, go run my chicken haven, and end up on a future episode of My 800 Pound Life or whatever it is.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Levine explained that at Chick-fil-A, he can get a lot of the same rewards he gets from coaching:
“I saw an opportunity with Chick-fil-A to become an owner/operator where a lot of those same things that I was passionate about I could keep doing, and the ability to stay in Houston was very important to my wife and I and our family as a whole.”
The seeds of Levine’s career change were sown about three years ago, after he had been let go following a 21–17 run over three years as the Cougars’ head coach. He spent the next 14 months out of coaching.
“I noticed a change in him,” says Levine’s wife, Erin. “Maybe it was perspective. He got a chance to be around home more and be around the kids more.”
Nothing but respect for Tony Levine, hear hear.
I will not listen to the good name of Tony Levine be tarnished in my presence without spitting tobacco in the face of whomever tarnishes the name of Tony Levine. Tony Levine will never be disrespected in my company. I’m considering giving Tony Levine a nomination for 2018 SoBro of the Year, but I fear I may be getting carried away here.
Who knew that coaching football and running a Chick-fil-A could give you the same sense of satisfaction? Just blows my mind. But, have you ever had one ’em damn chicken biscuits? LAWD. And, the spicy chicken sandwich? Shit – that’s the OG hot chicken in Nashville. Go ahead, @ me. I respect you Mr. Prince and Mr. Bolton, but shiiiiiiiiiiiit.
So, now we know – if there are two things that are powerful enough to pull a man out of coaching football it is literally dying and it’s owning a Chick-fil-A. Bless up, Tony Levine. We’ve accomplished a lot here today – we got to salute a good man -AND- we learned something new. That’s what we’re all about here, folks. Enlightening the masses.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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