Allen Bailey obit

Ex-Chiefs DE Allen Bailey Passes Away at 37, Confirms Former NFL LB & Teammate

 He was not on the list.

Allen Bailey was not your regular defensive lineman. The Kansas City Chiefs lineman was known as ‘Hulk’ by his teammates for the right reasons. At 6-foot-3 and 288 pounds, he was an intimidating sight to behold. In August 2017, Chris Jones remarked on a great play made by Bailey against the 49ers in a preseason game.

Bailey broke through the San Francisco’s O-line to make a tackle, and Jones said, per BJ Kissel, “The Hulk is back in business, baby!” Through many such plays, Bailey quietly shaped himself into a contributor for the Chiefs’ defense.

Unfortunately, the Chiefs were met with tough news on October 20. Former linebacker and Bailey’s college teammate, Colin McCarthy, reported that Bailey had passed away. He was 37 years old.

“Lost a fellow brother today… prayers to AB family! Love you Big Cuzzo!” McCarthy wrote on X.

Bailey spent eight seasons in Kansas City after the Chiefs drafted him in 2011. He came to the team after a silent but promising stint in college with the Miami Hurricanes, where he was a four-time letterwinner and two-time All-ACC star. Allen played eight seasons with the Chiefs, and then went on to play with the Atlanta Falcons.

Bailey’s battles started long before the NFL. Growing up on Sapelo Island in Georgia. he took an early-morning boat and two buses just to get to school. High school football made things harder: when the last boat left before practice ended, he stayed overnight with a teammate’s family in Darien. His mother used to work for a retreat spot called Reynold’s Mansion, while his father was a first mate on a ferry called Katie Underwood. The family lived in a trailer on Hog Hammock.

Per the Miami Hurricane, the population in Bailey’s community was only 80. At the University of Miami, he was going to be among more than 14,000. But being among all those people only helped him come out of his shell.

“I was kind of shy. But football opened doors for me; it helped me meet new people. Football gave me that bond,” Bailey said.

Bailey was a sought-after player in high school. Alabama also tried to recruit him, as did Georgia and Florida. Ultimately, he chose to sign with Miami.

The nickname that stuck to him was “The Incredible Hulk”. Then-Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid is credited with giving it to him, and teammates tied it to his build.

“It’s perfect,” defensive end Dee Ford said. “Looks like the Hulk. Plays like the Hulk. He’s a complete player, man. He’s powerful, fast. He’s just a freak. You see him do certain stuff … there’s a select few guys in the league like that.”

Teammate Jaye Howard put it just as simply:

“That’s him, man, that’s him,” Howard said of Bailey. “Before the game, they even give him the green Gatorade. That’s the Hulk right there, man. He’s cut. I’ve never seen anything like it. His strength, I don’t care how big a dude is; he can find a way to get him on the ground, just throw him and shed him.”

Away from the field, the people who played with him described a different side. Then-Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson called him “kind of a gentle giant” and expressed how much Bailey meant to their defensive line and defense.

Allen flew under the radar in his first three seasons, then broke out in 2014 with 41 tackles and five sacks. That earned him a four-year, $25 million extension in 2014. In the January 2016 playoffs, he recorded four tackles and two sacks in a 30-0 win over the Houston Texans.

A torn pectoral muscle cost Allen most of the 2016 season. But he came back in 2017 and led the Chiefs’ defensive linemen in snaps through the first three games.

Bailey was released by the Falcons in February 2021 and ended his NFL career with 248 tackles, 22 sacks, four forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.

Remembering Allen Bailey Beyond the Football Field

Bailey started giving back to his hometown in 2012, while still with the Chiefs. His Allen Bailey Foundation supports families across Georgia’s McIntosh, Glynn, and Camden counties. Its Southeast Skillz camp became McIntosh County’s first free football camp, drawing young players from as far away as Virginia.

The foundation also distributes hundreds of backpacks to schoolchildren, and resources for student-athletes like the Champions of Tomorrow Scholarship and Legacy Builders Fund.

The foundation runs the Don’t Be Jive Turkey Drive. Started in 2016, the drive gives more than 300 turkeys to families before Thanksgiving. The need is real: the foundation says nearly 60% of McIntosh County families rely on free or reduced-price school meals.

Back on Sapelo Island, his hometown took pride in him. His aunt, Cornelia Bailey, said as much in 2008:

“Allen is our celebrity. When he comes home, everybody wants to see him,” she said.

The children of Sapelo Island and McIntosh County are the ones his foundation was built for, and the work that carries his name is what Bailey leaves behind.

Bailey was born in Sapelo Island, Georgia. He attended McIntosh County Academy in McIntosh County, Georgia and played linebacker and fullback. As a senior, he played in only four games due to a stress fracture in his back and had one sack. As a junior, he had 138 tackles and three sacks. He also had 323 yards on 51 carries with four touchdowns as a fullback.

 

Career history

Kansas City Chiefs (2011–2018)

Atlanta Falcons (2019–2020)

Awards and highlights

First-team All-ACC (2009)

Second-team All-ACC (2010)

Career NFL statistics

Total tackles    248

Sacks   22

Forced fumbles            4

Fumble recoveries       7