Former Columbus East football coach Bob Gaddis walks with his team to the field before its game against Pickerington (Ohio) Central, Friday, September 9, 2019 at Columbus East High School.
In his roles with the Indiana Football Coaches Association over the past 17 years, Bob Gaddis has developed a close working relationship with Indianapolis Colts director of youth development Andy Matis and youth liaison Mike Prior.
But the former Columbus East coach was taken by surprise recently when he was contacted by Matis to see if he would be interested in being a part of the Colts contingent at this month’s NFL Draft. Each of the 32 NFL teams have 24 people that they can invite.
“I’ve worked very closely with Andy on a few things with the IFCA,” Gaddis said. “Mike and Andy are the liaisons to the Colts with youth and high school football. Andy sent me a note saying we’d like you to be a part of our inner circle at the draft. I was really taken back and really grateful and honored that they would ask me to go. They’ve never asked anybody from the coaches association to get to go before, so I was really honored.”
This year’s NFL Draft is April 27-29 in the plaza just outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. Gaddis and his wife Karen will fly into Kansas City on April 26 and fly back on April 30.
The first round of the draft begins at 8 p.m. April 27. The second and third rounds start at 7 p.m. April 28, and Rounds 4 through 7 begin at noon April 29.
“I’m looking forward to the whole process,” Gaddis said. “I’ve watched it on TV, but this will be new to me. It will be interesting to see what actually transpires. It’s a great opportunity for us. We’re looking forward to it.”
As a coach, Gaddis went 330-143 in 42 seasons, including 212-43 in 20 years at East before retiring after the 2020 season. He led the Olympians to the Class 4A state championship in 2013, a 5A state runner-up finish in 2016 and the 5A state title in 2017.
Gaddis has been executive director for the IFCA since 2014. He had been assistant executive director for eight years prior to that.
The IFCA now has more than 2,100 members. About 800 attended a clinic in March at Keystone Sheraton in Indianapolis where the head coaches from five of the state’s Division I college programs spoke.
“The Colts do a big clinic every spring for the high school coaches,” Gaddis said. “They take the first 100 coaches who sign up, and it fills up fast. Andy is in charge of that clinic now, and he always has (Colts general manager) Chris Ballard at that, and I’ve met him there. Their position coaches, and even Frank Reich when he was the head coach, their whole coaching staff comes out and talks to us. It’s really over the top. I’m not sure how many other NFL teams do that, but it’s really first class.”
The Colts have the No. 4 pick in the first round of the draft. They are widely projected to take a quarterback with their first pick. If projected top picks Bryce Young of Alabama and C.J. Stroud of Ohio State are gone in the first two picks, as expected, the Colts could end up with Kentucky’s Will Levis or Florida’s Anthony Richardson, or possibly even Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.
“Everybody wants to know what quarterback they’re going to take,” Gaddis said. “I’m hoping they’ll make a great pick, and we’re there to see him, and it will be really cool.”
