The Kansas City Chiefs are about to go to their second consecutive Super Bowl.
If they win, they will be the first team to repeat since their opponent Tom Brady‘s former team, the New England Patriots, did it in the early 2000s.
Andy Reid has been around the NFL for many years and is highly regarded.
That begs the question of whether he is overrated.
The answer is no, and here are 3 reasons why.
1. Longevity
At 62 years of age, Reid has been in the league for almost half of his life.
He started with the Green Bay Packers in 1992 as an assistant offensive line and tight ends coach working for then Coach Mike Holmgren.
Reid worked his way up through the Packers coaching ranks and ultimately became the quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach from 1997-1998.
He left the Packers to accept a head coaching position with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999; he stayed in that role until 2012.
Reid has been the head coach of the Chiefs since 2013.
In his 22 year head coach career, he has 221 wins, 130 losses, and 1 tie during the regular season.
His postseason record is 17-14 in 31 appearances.
With tonight's win, Head Coach Andy Reid has won 17 career postseason contests, tying PFHOF coach Joe Gibbs for 4th-most postseason victories in NFL history
— Chiefs Communications (@ChiefsPR) January 25, 2021
He led the Eagles to the postseason 9 times which included hosting the NFC Championship 4 consecutive years from 2001-2005.
Reid’s Eagles went to the Super Bowl after the 2004 season but fell in defeat to Brady’s New England Patriots.
It's been 16 years since Andy Reid and Tom Brady last met in the Super Bowl.
A lot has changed. pic.twitter.com/c4gGAe1sG8
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) January 25, 2021
He finally got his Super Bowl ring following the 2019 season as the Chiefs defeated the 49ers last year.
Reid is the only coach to bring 2 teams (in 2 different conferences) to 3 consecutive conference championships.
Only one head coach in NFL history has ever led his team to host three-straight conference title games.
His name is Andy Reid, and he’s done it twice.#Staturday pic.twitter.com/dWfzRzbXTU
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) January 23, 2021
2. Learned From Mistakes
Like any head coach, Reid made mistakes along the way.
One of the chief complaints about him during his tenure in Philadelphia was his inability to manage the clock in critical situations.
Reid has successfully worked on this skill and has emerged a better coach.
Let’s face it, Philadelphia is a tough sports town so the fans left him know when they felt he was making mistakes.
Proof of how good he is, those same fans admire and love him despite the fact he no longer coaches their team.
Truly unbelievable irony:
When the Eagles moved from Andy Reid and hired Chip Kelly in 2013, the Eagles thought they got the coach who was going to “revolutionize the NFL”
Andy Reid then revolutionized the NFL. pic.twitter.com/lRsRImQ9ry
— Eagles Fan Problems (@EagleFanProbs) January 25, 2021
3. Large Coaching Tree
Reid is a fantastic mentor.
For that reason, he has a large coaching tree of people who worked for him and went on to successful head coaching and coordinating roles with other teams.
That list includes but is not limited to:
- John Harbaugh (Head Coach, Baltimore Ravens)
- Ron Rivera (Head Coach, Washington Football Team)
- Sean McDermott (Head Coach, Buffalo Bills)
- Matt Nagy (Head Coach, Chicago Bears)
- Doug Pederson (Former Head Coach, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Pat Shurmur (Former Head Coach, New York Giants)
His current offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is rumored to be a future head coach in the NFL, maybe as early as next season.
Should he choose to, Andy Reid has many years left as a head coach.
He will cement his legacy with a Super Bowl win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February.
However that game turns out, it appears he is creating a dynasty in Kansas City so more championships are definitely expected.
