To the outside world, life couldn’t be much better for Lewie Coyle. He captains his hometown club Hull City, who are just outside the Championship play-off places, is playing the best football of his career and, in February last year, became a father when his son was born. son Ezrah.
But all of that only makes it harder for Coyle to accept that his father, Chris, is no longer here to see him. Chris, a former bodybuilding champion who became a legendary market trader in Hull, died in June 2022 at the age of 59.
‘It was very, very hard. We lost dad very suddenly…’ Coyle’s voice breaks and when the emotion shows on her face, she asks for a moment to compose herself.
“Not having him around is still incredibly difficult. I probably find it harder now than at first because the longer you haven’t had him, the more you realize you’ll never see him again.
“He never met my little one, which I find extremely difficult. I wish he were here to see that everything he sacrificed when we were children was worth it for me and my three brothers.
Lewie Coyle talks about losing his father and his ambitions for Hull City
Lewie Coyle is the captain of his hometown club, Hull City, who are just outside the Championship play-off places.
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‘We are grateful that my dad made us the way he did. He instilled in us that toughness, that resilience that we have had to demonstrate to go back to doing what we do without him. But it’s still hard for me to talk about him not being here. I miss him.’
Coyle, who was named Hull captain a month after his father’s death, started last season incredibly difficult but used football as an escape.
‘I never missed a day of training because I lost my father. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The day after the funeral was probably the only day I didn’t want to go back to football.
‘I don’t mind saying that I initially didn’t honor him in the best way possible after we lost him. To the outside world they probably think I handled it very well, but I didn’t. Many things I struggled with.
“Football certainly helped me get back on track. That is the best way to honor my dad and thank him for everything he did for me.”
It wasn’t just football that helped Coyle overcome his grief, but also the birth of his son Ezrah. “Three days after my father died, we found out that my partner, Aaliyah, was pregnant,” she says. ‘She didn’t know how to tell me or if it was the right time, but now we see it as my father’s way of saying “son, this is your reason now.”
“At first I fought with him because all I wanted was to see my father hug him. I know exactly what I would think of him, what I would say and the way I would hug him.
‘That’s the closest I’ll ever get to that and it breaks my heart every day that he’s never met him and that Ezrah doesn’t know his grandfather. I will make sure that when he is old enough he knows everything about him and how special he was.
Hull City were relegated from the Premier League in 2016-17 and have yet to return
Hull City finished 15th last season but are now in ninth, just outside the play-off places.
‘Ezrah has saved me. If it hadn’t been for him then God knows where she would be. My dad had a strange way of organizing things even when I didn’t think he could do it. I think Ezrah was definitely a gift from my father.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Coyle, 28, is the boxer in his family. He suffered a broken nose due to an accidental collision with teammate Jacob Greaves before dislocating his eye socket in a match against Ipswich a few weeks later.
The defender joked that this is the only time he has received sympathy from his older brother, Tommy, who fought professionally.
The Coyles are the most successful sporting family to emerge from Hull. Lewie’s second-oldest brother, Joe, is a professional golf coach and the youngest, Rocco, 18, signed a professional contract with the Tigers in December.
“What Rocco has accomplished during a really traumatic time says a lot about the person he is,” Coyle says. “I’m incredibly proud of him and I love being able to be a part of his journey.”
Coyle may have been born and raised in Hull, but the right-back started out at Yorkshire rivals Leeds, where he was involved in an alleged tapping scandal when he was 10.
“They called me ‘the kitchen boy’ because there were rumors that my family was offered a new house with a new kitchen so I could go to Chelsea,” laughs Coyle.
‘The academy director who was in Leeds moved to Chelsea and approached my father. My dad politely made the decision for me. There was also interest from Barcelona.
Coyle’s father, a former bodybuilding champion who became a legendary market trader in Hull, died in June 2022 aged 59.
‘I don’t know how that came about, but it was good etiquette to have at that age. Maybe they had seen my long hair, maybe I looked Spanish for a game or two!’
Coyle, who joined the Tigers in 2020, is one of several first-team players to have grown up in Hull, along with academy products Greaves, Matty Jacob and Stan Ashbee, son of former club captain Ian.
“Hull people are fantastic,” says Coyle. ‘They support their own and they support their own. It’s hard sometimes, but we’re a hard-working city. “I think the fans can identify with us.”
Coyle was in and out of the team when Liam Rosenior took over, but became unstoppable after signing a new long-term contract last summer.
“I feel like I’m playing the best of my career so far, that comes with age and experience and I have a lot to thank the coach for.” I have learned more now than ever.
Coyle was 12 when Dean Windass sent the Tigers to the Premier League in the 2008 play-off final. Sixteen years on, the chance to replicate that achievement is a real possibility.
It wasn’t just football that helped Coyle overcome his grief, but also the birth of his son Ezrah.
‘I never missed a day of training because I lost my father. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Coyle said.
‘You get to some stages in your career and think: ‘Is this really going to happen? “Maybe it’s too late.” It would be a dream come true.’
Much was made of the Tigers’ January transfer window, which saw seven players arrive, including Premier League loan signings Fabio Carvalho, Ryan Giles and Anass Zaroury.
“Some of the talent the club has brought in is excellent,” adds Coyle. ‘It’s a special group. There is a lot of personality in this team and I think that takes you very far.
‘We have everything we need to do something special. “I want to be part of history and I want to be the captain that takes this club back to the Premier League.”