CHARLOTTE, N.C. — By the time Frank Reich arrived at Charlotte's Reformed Theological Seminary campus, he had played 13 seasons in the NFL and was a known name among football fans.
But on campus, the humble Reich didn't attract too much attention.
Most of the time.
"He did actually take classes on campus with a Super Bowl jacket on," Rod Culbertson, an Associate Professor and Dean at the school, said. "But overall, you really wouldn't know."
Frank Reich's unique homecoming as Carolina Panthers head coach goes beyond his time playing for the team and volunteering as an assistant for his brother's Wingate team.
It includes years spent studying at the Reformed Theological Seminary's Charlotte campus, a graduate school that trains people to go into Christian ministry.
"He was bright, sharp, a great student," Dr. Michael Kruger, and RTS professor and campus President said. "A great thinker."
Kruger taught Reich, and got to know him well as the former pro football player looked to make the move to become a minister.
"He wanted to know the Bible better know theology better," Kruger said, "so he could share his faith more faithfully."
Of course during downtime, sometimes Reich found himself committed to another cause.
"I think the students asked him, they actually played a football game and he was a quarterback," Culbertson said. "And they were all excited, running all over the field and someone said 'I caught a touchdown pass from Frank Reich!.'"
Kruger never witnessed the pick-up games, but heard plenty about them.
"They would become wide eyed very fast at how hard he could throw and what he could do," Kruger said. "He was very personable and down to earth. And the students really loved him."
In a rare move, RTS actually named Reich campus president while he was a student.
"He came to us and said, 'We are doing everything here as a team,'" Culbertson said. "He would say 'we win as a team and we lose as a team.'"
Reich went on to be a minister at a church in Charlotte for a period of time, before embarking on his NFL coaching career.
On Tuesday, he will be introduced as the sixth full-time head coach in Carolina Panthers history.
"I love the Panthers. I think I think this was some of the best news just on the football side of things that we've gotten a long time," Kruger said. "But Frank's not just a great coach. He's a great person. And I think the Panthers organization is really going to be blessed by him."