Like almost every American, Marco Regalado found himself stuck at home with nothing to do and no end in sight. So, like almost every American Millennial or younger, he created a TikTok account.

His first handful of videos featured him performing covers of popular songs on his acoustic guitar. They received the engagement you’d expect from a brand new account producing everyday content. Then Regalado started turning his longing for football into the ultimate currency of the viral Internet: comedy.

@coachregaladoDay 18 without Sports… ##madden ##sports ##coach ##football ##nfl ##covid19 ##quarantine ##coronavirus ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##comedy ##funny ##PlayByPlay♬ Rock ‘n’ Roll (Part 2) – Gary Glitter

@coachregaladoCoaches just wanna practice! ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##dontletthisflop ##football ##coach ##quarantine ##covid19 ##coronavirus ##funny ##sports ##comedy♬ sonido original – jaredtimbadelavi

A 27-year-old special teams coordinator, linebackers coach, recruiting coordinator and powerlifting coach at Memorial High School in the Texas Rio Grande Valley, Regalado then struck viral gold by drawing directly on his coaching experience.

@coachregaladoSET THE TONE! ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##football ##coach ##sports ##comedy ##humor ##funny ##ouch ##quarantine ##coronavirus ##covid19♬ suono originale – luigivassallo82

“That’s something that us coaches go through, when they go through those split second situations where they feel like it’s forever,” Regalado told me of the 4th and 3 video.

@coachregalado4th & 3. ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##football ##coach ##funny ##humor ##comedy ##quarantine ##covid19 ##coronavirus ##sports ##nfl♬ original sound – graceserrambana

Once the video posted, Regalado immediately faced a problem that all successful storytellers, from J.K. Rowling on down, dream of: he’d created a world so immersive, his fans immediately demanded more. “I posted that and people were asking, ‘Well, what did they do? What happened next?’ I don’t know if we’re all that bored, but they wanted more to the story.” Thus, a sprawling epic was born.

@coachregalado4th & 3…Part 2 ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##football ##coach ##funny ##humor ##comedy ##sports ##coronavirus ##quarantine ##covid19

♬ Merlins cover of Country Roads – deadp00l1131

@coachregalado4th & 3…Chapter 3 ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##football ##coach ##sports ##covid19 ##coronavirus ##quarantine ##funny ##comedy ##humor

♬ Fix You – Cold Play

@coachregalado4th & 3…Chapter 4 ##fyp ##foryou ##foryoupage ##football ##coach ##sports ##funny ##comedy ##humor ##coronavirus ##quarantine ##covid19

♬ Blaze of Glory – Knightsbridge

Regalado’s universe quickly grew to include spin-off characters. Unmarried with no children, he said a 1-minute video takes around 15 minutes to produce.

Between Twitter, TikTok and various Instagram accounts that have re-posted his content, Regalado’s videos have quickly topped 1 million aggregate views in two weeks.

“I’ve had tons of coaches reach out with ideas that they want to see,” he said. “Hopefully it’s going to make them smile and laugh, because that’s the main reason why I did this. This is such a stressful time for everybody, so I thought I could put a smile on people’s faces.”

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Zach Barnett
National columnist - Zach joined the staff in 2012...and has been attempting to improve Doug and Scott's writing ability ever since (to little avail). Outside of football season, you can find him watching the San Antonio Spurs reading Game of Thrones fan theories.