Tim Tai, Senior Photographer

Tony Reno, head coach of the Yale football team, strives to duplicate the Bulldogs’ success in the 2022 Game through a combination of grit and drive.

This year, the stakes are even higher, as Yale (6–3, 4–2 Ivy) has a chance to win a share of the Ivy League title along with Harvard (8–1, 5–1 Ivy). Despite the pressure, Reno plans to remain consistent and keep with the pace of the overall season.

“I’m truly blessed to have the opportunity to coach this football family,” Reno said. “I look at my job as a chance to make sure I’m doing right by every player and coach that was a part of this football family tradition. How do we build upon that tradition? How do we make it better? I think a large part of my job isn’t just winning, but building leadership within [my players].”

Tony Reno began his career at Yale in 2003 as a wide receivers coach, becoming a defensive backs coach in 2004 and holding that position until 2008. He then went up north to be Harvard’s special team coordinator and defensive secondary coach. In 2012, Reno was hired as the Joel E. Smilow ’54 Head Coach of Football, leading the Bulldogs to three Ivy League championships in 2017, 2019 and 2022. 

After playing for the Worcester State football team in college, Reno realized that he wanted to pursue football as a career. 

“When I was a senior in college, my coach said, ‘What do you want to do? Why don’t you do something love?’” Reno recalled. “I really love to play football. He helped me get a job at a small school in Pennsylvania as an intern, making $3,000 a year. I loved it and worked my way up from there.”

Reno says his strategy for coaching begins with leadership, as he seeks to create a football culture based on relationships between players, as opposed to purely winning games. The team has a four-year leadership program with Sebastian Little Performance, founded by former player Sebastian Little ’15.

Currently, three Bulldogs Reno has coached are playing in the NFL. Dieter Eiselen ’19 is currently playing for the Houston Texans while Rodney Thomas II ’21 is seeing lots of playing time for the Indianapolis Colts in his second season in the NFL. Most notably, Foyesade Oluokun ’17 has seen massive success in his NFL career, leading the NFL in tackles for the past two seasons.

In spite of the pressure of The Game, Reno is excited about the opportunity for growth for his players. His coaching philosophy underscores players’ response to setbacks, preaching that “response is twice as important as the event.”

“I’ve been very fortunate to be coaching this game for some time,” Reno remarked. “It’s extraordinary. It’s between two great universities, and great fan bases, but for us, it’s just a game against ourselves each week. We’re just worried about getting as good as we can get for Saturday to be able to put our best selves out there.”

Reno added that the team doesn’t have any traditions before The Game in order to keep his players’ nerves low. Although he acknowledges and respects the significance of the event, he aims for the team to play as if it were any other game. 

However, if Yale wins, he plans to celebrate with his wife and children, who will be in attendance. 

“I think the best way to prepare for The Game is to ask questions,” Reno said. “College football’s a really exciting sport. It’s very exciting — it’s like any big rivalry, whether it’s Ohio and Michigan or Yale and that team from the north. It has a lot of meaning and significance to a lot of people.”

In 2022, Reno was selected as Ivy League Coach of the Year.