Coach Fallout

Coach Control #1

by Casey Cox

From the moment we were born, Rein Winkelmann and I were destined to be rivals. Our families have been feuding for as long as Gilberton has been a town.

Against all odds, Rein became my best friend—my ride-or-die. On and off the field. Like Romeo and Juliet, but with football…and a straight guy I had no business crushing on.

We both made the majors, but our dream turned into a nightmare when a mistimed hit sent us both crashing to the turf. Rein got up. I didn't.

We haven't spoken a word to each other in almost fifteen years.

Until we both end up back in Gilberton. An unexpected run-in turns into one of us waking up naked. Spoiler it's the straight guy.

But I don't want to let Rein into my life again. Not after what he did in the fallout of the accident.

Fate has other plans, though. Turns out, we're both bidding for the same minor league football team. The seller gives us twenty-four hours to buy it on one we have to buy it together.

Will opening old wounds destroy us…or finally turn us into something more?

Coach Fallout is perfect if you

(Former) friends to enemies to loversBi awakeningFamily rivalryForced to work togetherSmall-town settingNo miscommunication & no third-act breakupGuaranteed happily ever after!

Genres: M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, Sports Romance, Enemies To Lovers, LGBT, Sports

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2026

About the author

Casey writes MM romance with plenty of 💕, 🔥, 🤣, and of course 🍆 + 🍑.

Click the "+ Follow" button so you never miss a new release!

Reviews

[Sully (sulliedjedi)]

No cover credit in 2026.

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my, the super short stories that Casey Cox has decided to write all the time are giving me reader’s whiplash! I just get a chance to start to get to know the characters and some very interesting backgrounds, but then the story is over so fast that I feel like I can’t get invested. I’ve been reading the stories since they are on Kindle unlimited, but I’m really getting disappointed that this solid author is not writing full length novels anymore, apparently. In this one, as in the other short ones he has written recently, the stories are strong, and the backgrounds are very interesting.

Even if he wants to write short stories, I would appreciate another 40 or 50 pages to spend time with the characters and enjoy the story. Instead, I just keep looking at how far I am in the story and am preoccupied with how quickly it will be ending.Ugh!

[Betty Loves Books Galore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a friends to enemies to more romance novella, featuring Beau and Rein, and is book one in the Coach Control series.

Beau and Rein were once best friends and football teammates until an accident ended Beau’s career and tore them apart. Fifteen years later they’re forced to buy a football team, bringing back old feelings and unresolved hurt.

This was a super quick read but I definitely needed more of them. They have a great connection and now I need the next book in the series to find out what happens.

Things to expect in this book are:
Book 1 in series
Novella
MM sports romance
Second chance
Small town
Friends to enemies to more
Ex football teammates
Hurt / Comfort
15 years apart
Reconnected
Family rivalry
Forced to work together
Meddling family
Bi awakening
Spicy times
Secrets revealed
HFN

[Latty|The Creative · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's me, but, logically speaking, and you know common sense it baffles me as to why Rein and Beau didn't pick up that something wasn't right when they each received handwritten letters. Even if it was in your handwriting YOU GUYS HAVE NEVER WRITTEN A LETTER BEFORE! Y'all lost out on 15 years together because what???? I can't even come up with a realistic and sensible answer.

While I love a good fast-paced story, this needed better structure and pace! Maybe then I would've appreciated it a lot more.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Gay for you is not my favorite. I also had a hard time telling the characters POVs apart. Nothing really to do with coaching either.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story of Rein and Beau, two best friends growing up, playing football together, ending up on different NFL teams but still besties, until a hard hit, then loss of contact for 15 years. Both men still have feelings for their best friend and have missed their times together, each one blaming the other for the breakup. When they meet again in their hometown, it’s like they’ve never been apart, even though the confusion and resentment is there about what happened all those years ago. Both are in town to bid on a minor league football team for sale, but a curve-ball is thrown at them when the seller drops his condition — buy it together or lose out entirely. But before that can possibly happen, the hurts from the past require communication and understanding— and a secret that’s been hidden from them for the last 15 years must be revealed before they can face a future together.

I really liked both characters, I could feel the hurt both had felt for the last 15 years, and I could feel their confusion over how things could have gone so horribly wrong. It kind of goes to show that if things don’t seem to fit known patterns of behavior, digging deeper might clarify a situation. But all came right in the end, even though those fifteen years could never be gotten back. Rein and Beau are together again, in a better place than ever, exactly where they want to be.

The story is a quick, satisfying read from author Casey Cox, an author I like to follow and one whose books I like to read. Give it a try, I think you would enjoy it as much as I did.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Hot and not just from the romance, there is a spicy passion to the reunion, if it can be called that when neither Beau nor Rein were expecting it and neither would have chosen for it to happen the way it does!

With two main characters who were best friends through High School and beyond until an accident left them torn apart and not speaking for 15 years, to the supporting characters and the events of then and now, this book sparks! I think fires could start from the smouldering attraction added to the smouldering resentment and the huge misunderstanding brough about by rivalry between both sets of parents.

I know most of that probably sounds cryptic but I really don't want to reveal too much about the story. Casey Cox has really hit the ball out of the field with this one. It packs a punch, blends excitement, resentment, romance and does it all with a relatively low level of angst and a story that captures you, sport fan or not. That part is crucial and somehow also feels incidental so don't let it put you off reading, this is a powerful, smoking hot read and I for one can't wait to find out where the series will take us next.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Coach Control series. It is the story of Rein Winkelmann and Beau Katona. Both of their families have been feuding for as long as Gilberton has been a town. In spite of that, they become best friends and each others ride or die. Bonding through their love of football. While in the NFL, the two seriously collide; resulting in Beau not being able to play football again. After the injury, lies and miscommunication severs their relationship. For fifteen years there is no contact between them. Until both decide to buy the same minor league football team. The seller gives them twenty-four hours to buy it on one condition: they have to buy it together. This is their story. The book is written well and is easy to read. I liked how seeing each other again forces the lines of communication open. It allows them to discover the deception that kept them apart. A good start to this series.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[True Loveislovereview · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Beau and Rein, oh my heart goes out to them. Life didn’t treat their friendship well.
They were best friends from a young age, happy together. Growing up, both playing football and staying best friends through the years.
Their families? Not so. Rein comes from money, and Beau does not. Still best friends.

Until a disastrous collision on the field, Beau’s football future was destroyed.

Beau never heard of Rein again, and Rein never heard of Beau again.

What happened? Not gonna spoil, but my heart 💔.

After fifteen years they meet again. They both bid on a minor league football team. The seller wants them to run the business together, take it or leave it.

Gosh, there were so many emotions I love that! Watch the eye twitch!
Beau and Rein are a beautiful couple, kind, mature, forgiving, and determined to choose love!
I loved this short story very much! Short but large in feelings!

Review also on Love Bytes LGBTQ reviews

[C.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious! Beau and Rein, are best friends against all odds. Beau, is gay and Rein, is not even though he considers Beau his soulmate. They were each other's ride or die, while their families have been fighting over a land deal gone wrong since Gilberton came into existance. They are in the NFL until one day, they collide and Beau is told he will never play again. Beau has secretly crushed on Rein but chose to stay silent to not ruin the friendship. After the accident through a series of unfortunate miscommunications, they haven't spoken in 15 years when they meet on the disputed Gilberton bridge. Thie renewed relationship, comes with interesting conditions that open up old wounds and new doors. Casey, really takes us through it with this story. Two of the nicest guys, ever! Family interference and time are roadblocks to what might have been. Great story, nice cover art, good flow. Well done! I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Eric Gianni · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t what I expected to read at all. And by that, I didn’t realize it was less than 100 pages. The synopsis sounded like a great story and overall I think it was, but it would have been wonderful to have a more drawn out story with longing, drama, and character development.

The writing was a bit basic for me too; I wasn’t connecting with the idea that Beau’s favorite curse word was fuck and therefore Rein’s was shit, leading Rein to say it in ways one would casually say fuck, like it was almost forbidden for him to use because Beau used it? I also can’t get past one line where the author decided to use “globes” as a way to describe balls, and “channel” to describe rectum.

What this book has taught me is to learn how to find the page count before setting my sights on my next read.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m really enjoying this journey with Casey Cox’s writing. Another great book from them.

Beau and Rein meet up again after not speaking for over 15 years. The reunion starts out as bittersweet and then ramps back up as the two of them start to get involved in each other’s lives. I loved the aspect of trying to figure out what happened in the past. The reunion was sweet and I really enjoyed it m.

[Debbie Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Best friends driven apart after an accident on the field by lies. I'm glad the lies were discovered and exposed so that Rein and Beau get back together. They will be working together and in love as well. I liked what Rein's sister did to atone for her part in the lies.

[Amanda Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coach Fallout is the first book in the new Coach Control series and I really enjoyed it. This is a sexual awakening, family rivalry, (former) friends to enemies to lovers read about Beau and Rein. I just loved this small town story and the wonderful characters. Can't wait to see what comes next in this short story series, I do wish it had been a little longer of a story though.

[Ania · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chciałam się tylko upewnić, że to autor nie dla mnie więc może podeszłam ze złym nastawieniem no ale 50 stron pomyślałam, że dam szansę. Styl pisania mi totalnie nie podchodzi, bohaterowie są sztywni i nienaturalni w odbiorze. Fabuła bez emocji z oczywistym twistem. No i te sceny seksu są nudne i bezosobowe.

[Jessie (thatchickwithabook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this short novella from Casey Cox. Beau and Rein are childhood best friends torn apart when Beau suffers a career ending injury. I loved the little family drama that added to the plot.

Thank you Booksprout for the ARC. This review is honest and voluntary.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

short and sweet. one detail that stood out to me though was Sabrina's age. it says in the first chapter that she bossed Rein around as a kid so I assumed she was the older sister but chapter 13 mentions that she's actually 3 years younger than Rein. So I found that kind of weird.

[Narelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beau and Rein are childhood best friends who became separated after 'the accident'. Reunited some 15 years later we see how they handle their reunion and their future, together. A quick, steamy MM read with banter.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Luis Fermin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very short and nice story, but has a lot of plot holes and many issues that could have been explored. It feels like it could have been a longer novel but it was cut short. Also, all the steamy scenes happen literally at the last episode.

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Gregg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Silly little story

Disappointed. Very short predictable plot with zero character development but very much a fairytale. Read other books by Cox, definitely skip this silliness.

[Elise H · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,75⭐️

[Jimbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was too short. It was a beautiful relationship that was railroaded off track by evil family members, but found its way to HEA.

[Jo S-M · Rating 3 out of 5]

should have been a full story

So much potential - great set up, characters but just not fleshed out enough even for a novella.
Quick easy read.

[Shelle Pennington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very short read. And I feel like I wasted time reading this when I could have not.... and doing literally anything else.
And piss slit? Geezus.

[M. Pages · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like short books. They might as well just list the tropes they're using.

[Ruf Mud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short, but felt transactional not so romantic

[Brittany St Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The use of the word shit/shitting annoyed TF out of me more than it probably should, but it is what it is.