‘It’s greatness:’ The true meaning behind Nick Rallis naming son after Cardinals’ Kyzir White

TEMPE — It was a banner day for the Rallis family on Sunday. On top of the Arizona Cardinals defense shutting down the Chicago Bears behind a 29-9 effort, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis and his wife, Devin, welcomed their second child to the world.

His name? Dominick Kyzir Rallis.

Naturally, it didn’t take long for Cardinals fans (or reporters) listening to the TV broadcast to put two and two together:

Rallis named his son after Cardinals starting MIKE backer Kyzir White.

And for good reason.

Arizona Cardinals DC Nick Rallis on the meaning behind naming his son after Kyzir White (@KyzirWhite8).

Definitely worth the full listen: pic.twitter.com/gc0yMAh3Fr

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) November 5, 2024

“Kyzir specifically, I can tell my son ultimately what stands out about him and why he’s a captain is he’s the ultimate teammate, ultimate team-first guy,” Rallis said. “The model for accountability. There’s so many stories I could probably list to you, but the guy shows up every day with a smile on his face ready to go to work.

“Takes a lot of ass chewings from me to be honest and he’s phenomenal with it like, ‘Yeah I like that! You make me better!’ It’s that kind of player that I have a lot of respect for.”

The meaning behind the middle name goes beyond White, though.

It’s also a tribute to the other athletes Rallis has had the pleasure of coaching throughout his stops along the way to today.

“As a coach, I have a great appreciation for being a part of a lot of players’ careers, and it’s a small part, because there’s so much that goes into what makes them great,” Rallis added. “I think back to when I was growing up and how I looked up to professional football players or college players and idolized them. There’s people out there that do the same for these guys currently and the amount of work they put in to be who they are. It’s greatness.

“It’s cool to be a part of helping them get to where they are in their career and build a legacy. It’s kind of an appreciation that I have for a lot of guys that I’ve been around. Just being able to honor not just Kyzir but every player that I’ve touched in some sort of way and resembling that through my child’s name.”

Behind Sunday’s scenes

Having a baby pregame — about four hours before, per Rallis — can do a number on the daily routine, especially when the coach’s pre-snap/baby checklist wasn’t fully completed.

“I’ll save that story to myself, but it got close in the car,” Rallis said with a smile. “It got close in the car.”

For the coordinator, that meant skipping his training facility cold plunge for a dip in his pool.

Spoiler: Felt more like a bath.

He also didn’t go to the coffee shop he normally goes to where he talks to himself or rehearses in his head about how he plans on calling the defense.

Instead, he got into that mode about an hour after his kid was born in the hospital room alongside his wife.

“I think our doula was looking at us like, ‘What is going on right here? I’m not sure what this guy is talking about.'”

From there, it was onto State Farm Stadium (around the same time he normally would) where he went through his normal processes with head coach Jonathan Gannon and director of football strategy Kenny Bell.

As for that missing pre-snap/baby checklist, it came back around postgame.

“Leaving the stadium, I’m like, ‘Schwim (equipment manager Jeff Schwimmer), can I get a toothbrush?'” Rallis said. “(Wasn’t) really prepared to go sleep at a hospital.”

The real MVPs

NFL coaches sacrifice a lot of family time to do what they do. It’s the nature of the beast.

But while Rallis is the front-facing talent of his household, his wife is the one behind the scenes helping keep everything together at home.

It’s a common theme for NFL households.

“It’s a lot. They’re the real MVPs, honestly. For however long the season is, she knows mentally I’m just gone for six months. She is ultimately all about ball. She’s all about ball, too, because she’s the one that has to do everything else.

“That’s not just my wife, that’s a lot of our wives — coaches, players, staff. The hours it takes to be competitive, that’s why we put in the hours, is to try to be the best and win games. That’s the name of the game. There’s sacrifice in that at home. They’re the ones who have to take on that load. I can speak for my wife, she’s awesome with that.”

Congrats again to the Rallis family.

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