Ed Reed reveals his son is Patriots fan

Ed Reed, currently in his first season as assistant defensive backs coach with the Buffalo Bills, revealed his eight-year-old son is a fan of the AFC East rival New England Patriots on Thursday.

"His mom is from Boston, though she's not a Patriots fan," Reed said, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN. "His grandmother lives up there, and the kid likes champions, man. What can I say? I grew up in New Orleans, I loved my home (town) team, but I was a San Francisco (49ers) fan. I was a Joe (Montana) fan. So that's just how it is."

The future Hall of Famer classified himself as a wagon-jumper too, making the argument that following winners is much more important than sticking with your local team.

"When you're a kid and you're watching sports growing up, who's winning those championships? You tend to gravitate toward winners. Which is a good thing. It helps you from a work ethic standpoint, who you're watching. Who wants to follow losers? Just saying."

Reed's son isn't just any kid though. His father was involved in countless grueling battles with the Patriots, and was on the losing end of one of the most excruciating playoff defeats in NFL history in the 2011-12 AFC Championship.

As for Rex Ryan - who believes Reed could be an NFL head coach within five years - he's still holding out hope Reed can suit up against the Patriots on short notice.