Before there was Travis Kelce and the incandescent Taylor Swift creating a nexus where pop culture, music, celebrity and the mighty NFL coalesce into the birth of a new and brilliant constellation, there was a young country singer named Taylor Swift and a veteran quarterback named … Kerry Collins.

There is even video evidence that an 18-year-old Swift and Collins, at the time a big deal in Nashville playing for the Titans, might have foretold this current cosmic connection of fame and football.

“I showed it to my daughter and she was like, ‘I knew you did this, but I never really saw it,’’ Collins told Post Sports+ recently from his home in Tennessee. “She said, ‘That’s pretty cool.’ Yeah, it’s kinda cool. She’s pretty much the most famous person on the planet right now.’’

Pretty much.

Collins, who in the late 1990s and early 2000s helped reinvigorate a Giants franchise that had become dormant at quarterback, is not following every nuance of the Swift-Kelce relationship. It is impossible to be unaware of it, though, given the magnitude of the powerhouse couple’s stardom.

Collins was surprised when his own brush with Swift was recounted.

“I don’t know how much that thing’s blown up, but that will probably be my one big TikTok moment, even though it probably wasn’t that big,’’ Collins said.

At the time, it certainly was not small.

It was concocted as a promo for the 2009 Country Music Awards. Collins was riding high, coming off the best season of his career in terms of wins, as far as directing a winning team. He went 12-3 as a starter for the Titans in 2008, pumping air into a long and winding career that started in 1995 with the Panthers, moved through New Orleans, was revitalized with the Giants, continued to Oakland, rose up again in Tennessee and finally ended in Indianapolis, an 18-year odyssey.

Collins was also a huge country music fan. He was asked to present an award at the CMAs — already a thrill for him — and then was asked something else.

“We were coming off a big year and [Taylor Swift] was big in the county world at that point, but had not yet crossed over,’’ Collins said. “They just came to me and said, ‘We want to do this bit — it kind of revolves around football and Taylor Swift.’ I was like, yeah, cool, whatever.’’

Collins certainly was aware of Swift, a burgeoning star if not yet the planetary icon she grew into. Collins took notice that Swift grew up in Wyomissing, Pa., near where he had grown up in the Lebanon, Pa., as well as where he played his high school football in West Lawn, Pa.

“Basically, right there,’’ Collins said. “Next little town, next stoplight over, basically.’’

Collins was instructed to meet with Swift and a crew at a production studio, where they were given a script.

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The video opens with Swift in a meeting room speaking with someone who could be an agent, saying, “I want to be in the NFL.’’ She is asked, “Pro football? C’mon, kid, they’ll snap you like a twig.’’ Undeterred, Swift says, “But…that’s my dream.’’

The next scene opens in a locker room. Collins is wearing his light blue No. 5 Titans jersey, Swift is in a light blue No. 1 Titans jersey. Both are adorned with eye black and white Titans helmets.

Standing across from each other, Collins and Swift start screaming at each other, mimicking a pre-game psych-up session between players. Swift’s curled blonde hair cascades out of her helmet.

“You ready to go, Swift?’’ Collins yells. He crouches down just a bit as Swift screams and starts punching him on his shoulder pads. Collins does the same, knocking on the pads Swift is wearing as they both continue to scream.

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“I’m going to score a touchdown!’’ Swift shouts.

“That’s what I like to hear!’’ Collins says and excitedly slaps the right side of Swift’s helmet.

Swift feigns being hurt, yelling, “You hit me!’’ as she doubles over in pretend pain, but not before punching Collins in the stomach.

Cut.

“They put the pads on her, we both had pads on. They said, ‘We want the energy you would have before a game in the locker room,’’’ Collins remembered. “I’m like, ‘OK, this girl’s not very big.’ You could see we were banging shoulder pads and stuff. They kept going, ‘More energy.’ … And all of a sudden, I’m fired up and I’m popping her on the shoulder pad and she’s popping me back, and I’m like, ‘Maybe I better chill out a little bit here. I don’t want to hurt this poor girl.’’’

Collins had nothing but positive memories about the interaction with Swift.

“She was a great sport and really got into it, so it was really cool,’’ he said. “That was my one and only interaction. She’s probably forgotten about it.’’

The promo was shown before the event and ended up being a precursor of big things for Swift. During the broadcast that year, she became the youngest person in CMA history to be nominated for and win Entertainer of the Year.

Collins is not merely a country music fan. Always an introspective person, he spent several years dabbling in songwriting, penning lyrics. He said he can “put a few chords together’’ on the guitar, but rated his singing as “terrible.’’ Living in Nashville provided inspiration and fertile collaboration opportunities. He worked with the Peach Pickers and wrote a bit with Chris Stapleton.

His favorite cuts that he had a hand in are “Take It From A Country Boy’’ with the Peach Pickers and “Messin’ Around,’’ which he co-wrote with Jared Blyer and Trent Summar and was performed by Rich O’Toole. The song even made it into the Top 10 on the Texas country chart.

“I really was fortunate to get some great opportunities,’’ Collins said. “It was an awesome experience. I probably wasn’t hungry enough at the end of the day to stick it out. It got to a point where I was done with football and this is starting to feel like a job and I’m not willing to grind as much as I need to grind to make it happen. I still mess around every now and then.’’

Collins has a place in Giants lore for his all-world performance in the 41-0 demolition of the Vikings in the 2000 NFC Championship Game. He tossed five touchdown passes to lead Jim Fassel’s club into Super Bowl XXXV. Two weeks later, of course, the Giants proved no match for the Ray Lewis-led Ravens. Two years later, Collins’ strong right arm got the Giants into the playoffs again, where they lost in the wild-card round to the 49ers.

Nowadays, Collins lives in Franklin, Tenn., and has rekindled an old passion: football.

He is in his first year as the offensive coordinator at the local high school. The team has not experienced much success, but Collins is happy to be back in the game.

“I’m having a blast,’’ he said. “I’m enjoying coaching more than I ever thought I would. They’re great kids. There’s something about your offense and seeing your plays be successful that kind of gives me a little bit of a charge. Despite their struggles, these kids come to work every day. They’re a joy to coach. …

“I experienced so many things both good and bad that I have so much grace for them. They’re kids and they’re trying, and as long as they’re giving effort and showing up … They’re going to screw up. Like I tell them, I used to watch All-Pros screw up, I know you all are gonna mess up. That part of it I feel like I can be impactful to them and it makes me feel good.”

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Collins said his offense has “definitely some spread elements to it, but a lot of our passing game has some pro elements to it. But I commit to running the ball. You got to be able to run the ball in high school, you got to. There’s a mix of everything. I’ve taken a little bit from each place I’ve been, terminology or concepts, and applied it to what I felt would fit them the best.’’

Kerry Collins, who never met a downfield throw he did not attempt, advocating for a rushing attack?

“I’m always looking for the next completion,” he confessed.

His players are too young to remember Collins’ NFL days, but the parents are not.

“I’m not going to be that guy to tell old war stories and stuff, but they like hearing ’em,’’ he said. “At least that’s what their parents tell me.’’

Collins’ past also includes that once-in-a-lifetime encounter with Swift, and that is something a teenage player can relate to.

“I need to show it to my kids,’’ Collins said. “I might get a little more cred with all the guys.”

Want to catch a game? The Giants schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.

Here are two questions that have come up recently that we will attempt to answer as accurately as possible:

Do we have any idea when Daniel Jones will be able to play again?

No, we do not. The best guess is not this week and perhaps not the next week, either. Jones said Tuesday he continues to experience symptoms in his neck and that he is trying to convince the Giants’ medical staff he can play Sunday against Washington. Until those symptoms are completely gone, though, it is highly unlikely the Giants will allow their quarterback to get back onto the field. This is not a knee or a calf or an ankle. Jones missed the final six games of the 2021 season due to a neck injury he says was different from the one he is dealing with now. All that means is there is another area in Jones’ neck that is now cause for concern. Any sort of discomfort or tingling is a sign that something is not right, and as long as that is the case, the Giants will not risk putting Jones at risk. This could take awhile.

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How impressive was what Justin Pugh did Sunday night against the Bills?

Well, put it this way: Do you think it is easy to play every snap in an NFL game, and play the vast majority of those snaps at an unfamiliar position, after not playing in a game in exactly a year? Pugh, elevated from the practice squad because of all the injuries on the offensive line, figured he might get 20-30 snaps at left guard. That is where he started the game, but after nine offensive plays, Josh Ezeudu went down with a toe injury and the Giants needed a left tackle. So Pugh made the move. He played the next 68 snaps at the most demanding spot on the line and finished up playing all 77 snaps on offense — almost one year to the day after he tore his ACL while playing for the Cardinals. This heavy workload was probably unfair to Pugh, but he gutted it out, playing much better in the second half after a shaky start acclimating to left tackle. At 292 pounds, Pugh is currently one of the lightest offensive linemen in the league. It will be interesting where he eventually ends up. Once Andrew Thomas returns at left tackle — he is not expected back this week — it figures Pugh will be viewed as the best option to start at left guard.