Football family is tackling a busy life in paradise
Q: The Haley family of football fame lives on Siesta Key. Tell us what brought you here.
A: Todd: We were leaving Ohio, and weren’t sure where we wanted to land. We had a couple of years to be able to semi retire from the NFL and came down to Siesta for a vacation.
Chrissy’s “second” family — great friends from childhood — are native to Siesta Key. Cindy Naughton of that family was born to a father named White — as in White Lane — and her mother is a Higel — as in Higel Avenue.
Christine: My friend Cindy’s sister also married a Ringling. It’s amazing.
Todd: Chrissy started coming to Siesta Key as a child with Cindy and her family so was very familiar with the area.
We fell in love with Siesta Key as a couple in 2013 for a family wedding and started vacationing as family since then.
In 2019 on our vacation, we decided to permanently move to Siesta. We never looked back.
Q: Seeing as it’s Super Bowl month, let’s get a couple gridiron-related questions out of the way. For starters, briefly share your family history with the sport of football.
A: Christine: Todd’s father, Dick, played for the Minnesota Vikings, the Washington Football Team (at that time the Redskins), and the Pittsburgh Steelers.Once his playing career ended he started working as a scout for the Pittsburgh Steelers and eventually became director of player personnel.
Dick Haley is personally responsible for the drafting 13 Hall of Fame NFL players. Todd grew up in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania while his father worked for the Steelers.
Todd started his NFL career following in his father’s footsteps as a scout, then transitioned into a coach for the Jets, then Chicago Bears as a position coach.
He then became an offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys and then the Arizona Cardinals, for whom he coached the offense in Super Bowl XLIII.He then became the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009 to 2011, winning the AFC West in 2010.
Todd then went on to become the offensive coordinator for the Steelers from 2012 to 2017.
He followed-up his Steelers tenure as the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns.
Q: Looking back, which team and/or season was most memorable? And why?
A: Todd: The Arizona Cardinals. I got to coach Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald in the Super Bowl.
We played against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Tampa Bay. We were 35 seconds from winning.
The best game I’ve ever coached.
Q: Christine, we understand you have started a new business. Do tell!
A: Christine: I started a staging and design business with my friend Brittan Chepak. We began our journey during the initial quarantine period in 2020. This gave us time to start up slowly and learn about the needs of the Sarasota market.
Our company is called New Wave Staging. We’ve met some incredible Realtors that we’ve partnered with some amazing design clients.
We truly enjoy what we’ve created and look forward to growing as a company.
Q: You’ve got five active kids. What are they up to?
A: Christine: Our oldest daughter Taylor graduated from NYU and currently lives in Los Angeles, working for 90 Day Finance.
Our second daughter Peyton is a senior at the University of Florida (go Gators!)
Our third daughter Kady is a junior at Out-of-Door Academy on Siesta Key.
Our fourth daughter Ella is a sophomore at Riverview High School.
Todd Jr. is in eighth grade at Sarasota Middle School.
Q: Speaking of Riverview, Todd was named offensive coordinator there in 2020. What’s the story?
A: Todd: My friend T.J. Nutter — a Riverview alumnus — and head coach Josh Smithers asked me to join the Rams, so I happily accepted. I had never coached high school football before, so this was quite the adjustment from the NFL.
I’ve enjoyed working with the kids and the coaches.
Q: Next, you were recently hired as coach of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the reborn USFL. How did that come about?
A: Todd: I received a call from Daryl Johnston (the former Cowboys great and Fox commentator). He’s part of the league’s management team.
I’m excited to be part of the new USFL.
Q: Despite this hire — and at least the team is close by — do you two see Siesta Key as your forever home?
A: Christine: We love Siesta Key and love Florida. We plan on making this our permanent home.
After moving for so many teams — seven states, seven teams — it feels great to finally be able to call somewhere home.
Author: Siesta Sand
- Tags: Community Spotlight, Todd Haley