Former Tulane Green Wave Star Reveals NFL Mentor That Boosted his Career
Cairo Santos was considered as one of the best kickers in the country when his Tulane Green Wave career ended in 2013.
In 2012, he was a consensus All-American and won the Lou Groza Award, given to the nation’s best kicker. He was also a two-time first-team All-Conference USA selection.
But, no one drafted him coming out of college. In fact, it’s rare for a placekicker to be drafted out of college. Most are undrafted free agents like Santos, who ended up Kansas City.
In a competition with veteran Ryan Succop, he won the job before the 2014 season. But he didn’t get off to a great start. In fact, he missed a field goal in each of his first two NFL games.
That’s when his phone rang. On the other end was someone he had never met, a kicker that had already spent nearly a decade in the NFL and was still kicking.
It was then-Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould. Santos told Marquee Sports recently that he couldn’t believe his ears. He thought that perhaps Kansas City’s special teams coach, Dave Toub, arranged the call.
Cairo Santos on how Robbie Gould helped him become the kicker he is today.
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 17, 2024
Bears Den with @Taylor_McGregor & @RobbieGould09 – tonight at 5! pic.twitter.com/g3i2M4vVrO
He hadn’t. Gould called around and got Santos’ number on his own. When Santos didn’t pick up, he left a voicemail.
“He just wanted to reach out and help out a young kicker starting out,” Santos said.
At the time, Gould had already been selected as an All-Pro and as a Pro Bowl representative. He was one of the most consistent kickers in the game and he would eventually be named among the Top 100 Chicago Bears of all time.
So, why did Gould reach out? Kicking is a community and the vet saw a rookie struggling.
“He reached out to me because he liked what he saw in preseason, and he said that he believed that I was kicking differently at that moment and I just needed to kick with more confidence,” Santos said.
It worked. Santos made his next 13 field-goal attempts. In fact, by the end of his rookie season he set a record for a Chiefs rookie with 113 points and tied the franchise record for most field goals made by a rookie with 25.
Gould’s gesture meant the world to Santos.
“Hearing from a guy like that, I think he helped spark it for me,” he said. “Like, you know, there's a veteran guy out there that believes that I'm good enough to be a good kicker here.”
Gould, a Penn State alum, kicked for nearly 20 years before his career ended in 2022 with San Francisco. He made 447 field goals and made them 86.5% of the time.
As for Santos, he’s bounced around but remains a reliable kicker, as he’s made 85.8% of his field goals. He now kicks for the Chicago Bears, the same team Gould kicked for when the pair had their chat.
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