Muadianvita Machez "Kaz" Kazadi (born December 20, 1973) is a Congolese former professional football linebacker who is currently the strength and conditioning coach for the TCU Horned Frogs.
Kazadi was selected in the sixth round of the 1997 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams and made the team in his first year, appearing in 12 games.
After a brief stint with the Dallas Cowboys, Kazadi worked with the Arkansas State Red Wolves in 2017, for the SMU Mustangs from 2018 to 2021 and with the TCU Horned Frogs since 2022.
"[4] His father, a newspaper reporter, learned of the United States through missionaries and left the family for a year, with a goal of finding a place in the U.S. to move to.
[4] He liked playing on defense and continued his football career when attending Newton High School, where he was a linebacker and fullback.
[7] In addition to playing football at Newton, he also participated in track and field, performing in the shot put, 400m relay and 1,600m.
"[14] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said that "Not only does Kazadi like being the Predator at linebacker, he just doesn't nibble at his food once he captures his prey.
"[4] The Tulsa World reported that "Teammates say Kazadi is a nice enough guy off the field, but when kickoff arrives, he turns ruthless.
[15] He finished the season with "just under 100 tackles" to lead the team, being named honorable mention All-Independent as Tulsa ended with a record of 4–7.
[16] Instead of getting surgery to repair the muscle, which would end his season, Kazadi opted to continue playing, with the Tulsa World dubbing him "Flat-Out Tough".
[16] In a win over Oklahoma later in the season, Kazadi was a key player with eight tackles, a tackle-for-loss (TFL), a pass deflection and an interception to set up the winning touchdown, with him afterwards being named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Mountain Division defensive player of the week.
[17] He ended the season having led the team with 130 tackles – despite only having "one fully functional arm" – and was named second-team All-WAC Mountain Division.
[23] By the time of the draft, he had still not had his bicep repaired and said that he "does [not] plan to," saying that he wanted to keep it as a reminder to "just enjoy the moment," although he said that he would get surgery "if they [the Rams] can prove the injury hampers his ability.
"[23] Following six weeks of practice, the 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m), 235 pounds (107 kg), Kazadi made the Rams' final roster as a reserve linebacker and special teams player.
[24][25] Kazadi made his NFL debut in the Rams' season-opening win against the New Orleans Saints on August 31, 1997.
[36] The Dragons finished the season with a record of 8–2, reaching World Bowl IX where they lost to the Berlin Thunder.
[1] After his playing career ended, Kazadi attended the University of Missouri where he received a master's degree in counseling psychology.
[39] After two years with the Chiefs, Kazadi left to serve as an assistant strength coach with the USF Bulls in 2007.
[22] During his time as a Chiefs and Bulls assistant, he met with several top strength coaches – including Super Bowl champion Johnny Parker – to get advice on how to improve.
"[9] Safety Ahmad Dixon noted that Kazadi changed his approach to best suit players of different experience: "He doesn't care if you were a five-star recruit.
[22] Kazadi also received praise for "holding the team together" amid the Baylor University sexual assault scandal, which resulted in head coach Briles being fired in the summer of 2016.
[43] Kazadi briefly worked with the Dallas Cowboys before being hired by the Arkansas State Red Wolves in June 2017.
[22] In January 2018, he was hired by the SMU Mustangs as assistant athletic director for human performance, as well as being named head strength and conditioning coach for the football team.
[46][47] Wes Harris, an offensive lineman, noted that on "The very first day -- I don't even think we'd gotten back in school yet -- we get a text from Coach Kaz saying, '5:30 a.m. workouts, be here early at 5 o'clock,'" and Kazadi declared "That is the last time you will ever look at me and question what I'm doing" in the first team meeting.
"[20] In his first year there, he helped the Horned Frogs to a 12–0 start while they reached the national championship, where they lost to Georgia.