UAB great ty long now teaching the next generation of kickers
MAY 2, 2024 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
By Steve Irvine
Technically, when it comes to his football career, Ty Long is still kicking.
The standout former UAB kicker, who spent at least part of six seasons in the NFL and was one of the top specialists in the Canadian Football League for two seasons, won’t rule out taking another shot at professional football.
However, Long, who was last on an active NFL roster in 2021 with the San Diego Chargers and was last on a NFL practice squad with Washington the following season, is not sitting around waiting on the phone to ring with the right opportunity. Instead, he’s found a new purpose in football.
“It’s funny how this all came about,” Long said. “If you were to ask any one of my core friends, they would all tell you I’m a coach. I’m a coach at heart, to be honest with you. I can’t do what the college life asks. Through my whole career, I was a journeyman, right, so I’ve lived all over. I love living in Birmingham. I’d coach for UAB but I don’t know if I’d coach for anyone other than UAB.”
Long is forging a career as a kicking and punting coach. Long said he is working with between 35 and 40 kickers right now. They range from middle school age to college kickers. Birmingham, he said, is a “hotbed for specialists.” Long said he has around nine high school seniors-to-be who “could play Power 5” and “four or five middle schoolers that are different, like they can hit from 38, 39 yards at 13 years old.” He works with all the specialists at Jacksonville State and some transfer portal specialists looking for a new home.
Training sessions are held in person but also can be virtual or online.
“I care so much about the guys I train,” Long said. “I’m pretty selective. The guys I’m training all want it. There is a main criteria, you’re either 100 percent in or you’re 100 percent out. That’s something I’ve done through my career.”
At this point, his business growth is pretty much word of mouth recommendations. His website is being built and much of his first contact with prospective specialists comes through messages on social media. What he offers, for example, is different than nationally renowned specialist training organizations offered by Jamie Kohl and Chris Sailer. Much of the training from them comes during large camps and combines.
“They would be Target and Walmart, I’m the boutique,” Long said. “I’m the one training them for success during the season. I’m the one getting them ready for the combine. I’m the one building the athlete. The Jamie Kohls of the world, who are great coaches, their main role is to market these kids on the biggest stage, giving them the biggest stage to compete, to show what you got. That’s how I got my career. I went to Jamie Kohl’s camp, I had to go to Chris Sailer’s combine and win ‘em when I was in high school, when I was in college. I had to show I had game. I think those guys are the most respected combine coaches out there in kicking.”
An advantage that Long has is experience – at a high level – in all three specialist jobs. He is UAB’s all-time leader in career field goals (59 from 2011-14) and has the two longest field goals in school history (54 yards at Ohio State and 53 yards vs. Southeastern Louisiana). He handled field goals, kickoffs and punts in two CFL All-Star seasons at for the BC Lions. He was the kickoff specialist and punter, averaging 47.2 yards per punt, and also handled field goals when needed for the San Diego Chargers.
He uses all those experiences in teaching young kickers. He also has a different aspect of his business where he advises college coaches searching for specialists. They might send him a tape to evaluate or ask opinions about the kickers and punters he works with.
Mix it all together and business is thriving. What happens, however, if that phone rings?
“I loved playing in the NFL,” Long said. “If a NFL team called, I don’t know what would happen. At the end of the day, this coaching deal is a really big priority in my life. It’s something that I’ve spent every day doing. When teams weren’t calling, this gave me a purpose to completely pour into the guys I was coaching. It allowed me to train. I have fielded phone calls for the last two years. But, at the end of the day, this is something that I know I’m going to do for a long time.”