Who is Tony Villani? What to know about trainer working with Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce is getting back to his roots ahead of the 2025 NFL season as he and the Kansas City Chiefs look to erase a 40-22 Super Bowl 59 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

That process has entailed reuniting with Tony Villani, a speed and agility coach who has worked with Kelce dating back to his build-up for the 2013 NFL Combine.

Kelce took a years-long break from working directly with Villani as the tight end spent his summers in Los Angeles, as he looked to carve out a career in television in addition to his on-field career with the Chiefs.

But now, the two are working together again as Kelce looks to bounce back after one of his least productive seasons as a professional athlete.

Here's what to know about Villani, his training philosophy and his relationship with Kelce.

Who is Tony Villani?

Villani is the founder of XPE Sports, a company that offers training to prospective NFL athletes, student athletes and basic adult fitness out of its gym in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Villani, a Clemson graduate, earned a Masters of Exercise Physiology from George Washington that kickstarted his career, according to his website. He interned for the NHL's Washington Capitals and eventually served as the head strength coach of the Orlando Magic for a season.

After working in professional sports, Villani spent time with Cris Carter’s FAST Program, where he "focused on sport specific speed, agility, and strength training." In 2002, he founded XPE, Inc., which houses his current business operations, including SHREDmill.

Villani has trained over 500 professional athletes in the NFL, NBA and MLB, according to his website. That includes players like Jamal Lewis, Hines Ward and Osi Umenyiora.

Presently, he is training a group of NFL players including Kelce, Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Josh Palmer and Philadelphia Eagles running back Will Shipley, among others.

Tony Villani's training philosophy

Villani has developed what he believes is a simple philosophy for players to find consistent success at the NFL level.

It's not necessarily about playing fast, as many athletes and commentators might believe. It's actually about playing at the appropriate pace to both maximize speed while ensuring a player can efficiently change direction to create separation.

"We're in our facility to figure out how to get from A to B as fast as possible in a variety of ways," Villani explained to USA TODAY Sports. "So it is a science."

Villani's thesis is that the NFL world is hung-up on top-end speed metrics, whether it be the yearly results of the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine or analyzing the top speeds of players during game action with the league's relatively new GPS speeds.

Villani knows those numbers have a purpose, as having breakaway speed in the open field is key in generating yards after the catch.

But when it comes to getting open or finding that space, the 51-year-old trainer believes it's important to gear down.

"The magic speed is 14 to 17 miles an hour," Villani said.

He isn't alone in his belief. He referenced working with a couple of long-time NFL stars who told him they never wanted to reach their top speed on the field.

"That's exactly what Anquan Boldin and [Darrelle] Revis told me eight years ago," Villani detailed. "'I never want to sprint on that football field. If I'm sprinting, I'm losing.' And it just blew my mind."

That key lesson has shaped Villani's training program, which has two key pillars. One is to build and maintain top-end speed, but the other is to teach players how to play at the appropriate game speed to find consistent success as route runners.

How exactly does the latter element work? It emphasizes efficiency of movement and finding ways for players to come out of breaks quickly, which Villani points out is all about controlling speed and limiting steps.

"If his feet move quick and he took seven steps to get out of the cut instead of five or even three, those quick steps took an extra two-tenths of a second, right?" Villani explains. "So when those quick steps aren't powerful and moving in a certain way, all they are is dancing feet. They can look good, but sometimes, they're not."

Villani also highlighted exactly why it is so important for pass-catchers to focus on shaving those tenths of a second off their times.

"If you dance, you spend three to four tenths of a second getting off the line," Villani explains. "That's three- to four-tenths the quarterback doesn't have time to throw."

That's why Villani has made player movement such an imporant part of his system. As much as explosiveness is being emphasized, he believes balancing it with savvy, well-paced movements is what results in creating consistent separation.

And he believes that like speed, proper movement skills can be taught and learned with the right program.

"They used to say you can't train speed. Now they're realizing you can train speed and get people faster," Villani explained. "But now, people are still being lazy and saying, 'you can't train movement. People either play fast or they done.' You just have to venture outside the box."

What Tony Villani saw training Travis Kelce in 2025

Villani characterized Kelce as a "master" of operating in the 14 to 17 mph range on the field. He credited the veteran tight end's attention to those skills during his 12-year career to date for his sustained success.

However, Villani also believes there was one element missing from Kelce's game over the last couple of seasons, when the tight end said his game "slipped" as he pursued an acting career.

"He was neglecting that ability to go from 17 to 20 miles an hour," Villani opined.

Villani pointed out that Kelce's top speed can still reach those heights. He noted it happened in Super Bowl 58, when the veteran tight end made a 22-yard catch in front of Fred Warner with 16 seconds left in regulation. Kelce reached a speed of 19.68 mph on that play, his fastest play as a ball-carrier in seven seasons, per NFL's Next Gen Stats.

Even so, Kelce entered his 2025 offseason training with Villani only able to reach 18.3 mph without pads. He has since upped that to 20.6 mph with a twice-a-week speed training routine that Villani said "wasn't magic."

That led Villani to a simple conclusion about Kelce's speed training.

"He just neglected it," Villani said. "He may have gotten comfortable because he kept getting open. He had 93 and 97 catches, but he didn't have that threat after the catch. He has the moves, but not the juice."

Villani expects Kelce will have "a little bit more juicing yards after the catch" during the 2025 season based on the results of their training.

Tony Villani's relationship with Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift

Villani spoke glowingly of Kelce when discussing the 12-plus years they have worked together.

"He's literally the most humble, fun-loving, honest, genuine and hardworking guy there is," Villani said. "What you see on his podcast, that's him. There is no fakeness to it. That's him."

Villani outlined Kelce routinely trains with younger athletes at his facility. He not only serves as an example to them, but he also helps them out and coaches them up a bit when they are in his drill group.

Villani also told a story about a video call he had with Kelce ahead of their planned summer sessions for this season. The two were talking when Villani's 8-year-old daughter, Carol-Myles, came into the room.

Villani detailed Kelce had long been Carol-Myles' favorite football player, but she became an even bigger fan amid his relationship with Taylor Swift.

Naturally, Carol-Myles asked Kelce, "Where's your girlfriend?" before peppering him with a couple questions about marriage. Kelce looked off-camera for a moment before Swift eventually appeared and the two had a brief conversation with Carol-Myles.

"Her and Travis just hammed it up with my daughter for like two minutes," Villani said. "And my daughter just couldn't speak because she was in awe."

That heartwarming moment led Villani to have an even greater appreciation for the type of people Kelce and Swift are.

"Neither of them needed to do that," Villani said, reflecting on the heartwarming moment. "I think they're just like that. I really do, and it's very genuine."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Travis Kelce's trainer talks Taylor Swift, why 2025 will be big year