Throughout the week's spring practices for the University of Hawai‘i football team, defensive tackles coach Jeff Reinebold was often seen pouring into his players, hurling cuss words and praises in a compliment sandwich. He continued to lecture his group during post-practice stretches on Friday when the week's sessions were done.
"The guy that doesn't want to take coaching and doesn't want to get better probably shouldn't be here, because this is the price these guys pay," Reinebold told Aloha State daily following Friday's practice. "You watch practice, as hard as they work, the amount of sacrifices that they have to make on and off the field. If you don't want to be great, why would you be here?"
Reinebold, 67, is currently in his third stint on the Hawai‘i staff. His first one in 2006 and 2007 was during arguably the greatest two-year stretch in program history. His second was just for the 2022 season as one of head coach Timmy Chang's first hires. His third term with Hawai‘i started in 2024.
His career coaching stops have taken him to over a dozen teams at the college and professional levels, spanning four different countries and a variety of job titles.
For all that Reinebold's UH job demands, it isn't keeping him away from his double life.
Reinebold is set to fly to New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX, arriving in the Big Easy on Saturday morning.
On Sunday, he'll be part of a three-man broadcast team for Talksport, a sports radio station based in the United Kingdom. Joining Reinebold in the booth is Will Gavin, a Talksport regular, and NFL media host Gregg Rosenthal.
Europe has a large appetite for football, as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has noted in bringing games to the continent each year. Reinebold's analysis has come with a large following, which included live tapings of the Jeff Reinebold Show in England.
The 2025 Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs is Reinebold's 18th time providing live coverage of a Super Bowl for a major television or radio station. Reinebold has also done extensive work for Sky Sports, one of the UK's leading sports channels.
Hawai‘i head coach Timmy Chang, who gives the entire team the Monday following the Super Bowl off, greenlit Reinebold's latest excursion. Reinebold is grateful for the solid.
"The Super Bowl is a special day," Reinebold says, "and in America, particularly anybody that's a football guy, having the opportunity to have the next day off again, here's the thing about Timmy: Timmy is an extremely demanding head coach. He wants things done a certain way, and until we get it done that way, he's going to continue to push and push and push, but he also is an empathetic human being.
"He's a good person at his very core and he only wants what's best for these kids. He's willing to be flexible in terms of scheduling and those kind of things, because obviously, he understands that is a big day for everybody that's a football fan."
Following Sunday's game, Reinebold will fly back to Honolulu from New Orleans, connecting in Seattle.
During his time in Europe, Reinebold did his first TV hit as a fill-in. He caught the eye of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who enjoyed his passion for football and his bright blond hair. Although Reinebold's hair is now gray, his fondness for the game has yet to fade.
When Reinebold and the rest of the team return to the practice field on Wednesday, he'll continue his objective of bolstering an interior defensive line that was both subtracted from and added to via the NCAA transfer portal during the offseason. Former UH defensive tackle Dion Washington left for Boise State, while team captain Ezra Evaimalo also entered the portal but is not currently on a college roster.
Reinebold believes his unit has been enhanced by Minnesota transfer Luther McCoy and former New Mexico defensive lineman De'Jon Benton. Reinebold also projects a high ceiling for Division II Ohio Dominican transfer Qwyn Williams, who will join the team in the summer. He also believes returnees Aiden McComber, Josh Sagapolutele and Tevita Loketi have made a sizable jump from 2024. Meanwhile, Reinebold also listed freshman Waipehe Winchester, a walk-on from ‘Iolani, as a name to watch in the future.
"I think we've improved the room, obviously. We're longer, we're stronger, we're bigger, we got more experience. We're a little more mature," Reinebold says. "We're not done recruiting, we're involved with some pretty significant players right now, and I see improvement out of our guys. ... We're trending in the right direction."
History will be on the line on Sunday as the Chiefs pursue a third consecutive Super Bowl title, something that has never been done before. But when asked for analysis, Reinebold favors the Eagles.
"Take the Eagles. The Eagles have the best roster in football, I really believe that," Reinebold said. "But as long as (quarterback Patrick Mahomes) got the ball in his hands, (the Chiefs) got a chance. But I just really think that unless the Eagles go out and turn it over a bunch, I think they'll win the game. I think it's gonna be a high-scoring game. It'll be somewhere in the 30s, I think."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
