November 1, 2025, 9:00 AM (MDT)
When Porter Ellett knocked on the door of an apartment in Provo, Utah, to collect fast offerings, he had no idea that the girl inside, distracted by ESPN Sports Center, would one day become his wife.
Years later, Porter and Carly Ellet now find themselves on the sidelines of the NFL, raising a family centered around Jesus Christ, and learning to “trust the process and trust God,” as Carly Ellet recently said on her podcast Church News.
“God is in the details”
Porter Ellett grew up in Lore, Utah, and although he loved competition, he attended a high school that was too small to play football.
Due to a childhood accident, his right arm has lost its function. At age 16, he chose amputation. Years later, when he received a call to collect fast offerings from a BYU ward, he ended up meeting Carly McKeon, a lifelong sports fan from Granite Bay, California. He recognized him from the New Era profile his grandfather gave him.
“It’s incredible how God is in the little details,” Porter Ellett said of the subsequent meeting.
“Left-handed man”
After getting married and having a demanding career at investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, the Elletts prayerfully considered a career change. On paper, a sports management program in San Francisco, California seemed obvious. But both found direction instead in athletic administration at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
The choice immediately put them to the test. The door to the football program initially remained closed as scandal rocked Baylor’s program. Looking back, we can see that there is protection in that detour.
“It was a huge blessing that (God) kept us from working within a football organization,” Carly Ellett said.
Eventually, strength coach Devin Woodhouse, a former BYU colleague, introduced Porter-Ellett to Kansas City Chiefs head coach and Latter-day Saint Andy Reid and his wife, Tammy Reid.
After the 2016 season, Reed called and said, “You’re going to be my right-hand man.”
Eret quipped, “If only my right arm didn’t have to hold my right hand.”
Reed laughed and said, “Then you’ll be my left hand.”
“Remember who you are.”
The Elletts say their subsequent mentorship shaped both their discipleship and their daily priorities. Porter Ellett recalled Reed telling him, “It’s important to stay humble and remember who you are.”
For Ellet, that meant returning to his family’s farm in Lore each year to remember that being a loyal husband and father takes precedence over a win-loss record.
He also spoke of the “special relationship” and emotional influence the Reeds had on him and his wife. He explained that Reed and he frequently give each other priesthood blessings.
Ellett also remembers Reed bending down after congratulating the Elletts’ son and saying, “Now that we’ve got the important stuff out of the way, let’s go win the football game.” For the Ellett family, this line represents a spirit of orderly discipleship: first faith, then everything else.
“The Savior at the Center”
Carly Ellett added a belief that shakes their foundations. “We have always kept our focus on the Savior.”
On game Sundays, he takes his kids to church before heading to the stadium and sends them a weekly message: “Dad has a job. It’s not your job. Your job is to go to church on Sunday.”
Their eldest son, Brigham, shaped that worship in unexpected ways.
He suffered two traumatic brain injuries as a child, was diagnosed with autism, and is unable to speak. The Ellett family doesn’t romanticize difficult days, but they find grace in them.
“There are really tough moments where you feel alone, completely exhausted, completely overwhelmed,” Porter-Ellett says. “And it’s amazing how he knows. And he just gives you hugs and kisses and just lays next to you.”
“What do you know now?”
The last question of the podcast – “What do you know now?” – Carly Ellett answered with a scripture that symbolized her childhood and their marriage. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverbs 3:5).
“When you trust the process, trust God, trust the answers God has given you, trust God’s plan, it works out and blesses your life in ways you never could have planned on your own,” she said.
“When I look back on our lives, I think it’s important to take ownership of our lives,” Porter Ellett said.
He said it helps “become very grateful for the Savior.”
In concluding her testimony, Ellet said, “I am so grateful for Kali, our Savior, and the gospel of Jesus Christ that I rely on to study, go to the temple, pray about, and receive guidance about my life decisions.”
