In Phoenix Andy Reid gave bear embraces to the few Philadelphia Eagles players he still recognised when the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles briefly shared the stage earlier this week. Reid is receiving a lot of love at this Super Bowl. Brandon Graham of the Eagles said that he still feels grateful to Reid for selecting him in the 2010 draught. Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs persuaded his teammates to don false moustaches when they arrived here as a tribute to Reid. Reid’s employer, the Eagles, Jeffrey Lurie, remembers everything from how remarkable Reid was throughout the hiring process to how, three years after Reid made his first Super Bowl trip with the Chiefs, Lurie urged the coach to finally win the championship that evaded him in Philadelphia. When Kansas City won, Lurie was so happy for Reid that he sobbed happily that night while Reid rejoiced.
Reid, who served as the Eagles’ head coach from 1999 to 2012 and has been the Chiefs’ head coach since 2013, is the first coach to lead two teams to consecutive conference title games, an incredible feat in and of itself. But at the end of the 2019 season, he and the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV, capping off his amazing career. In that matchup, Reid was the emotional favourite, and it seemed that everyone in the NFL who was unaffiliated with the San Francisco 49ers was openly pulling for Reid to finally accomplish the one professional feat that had eluded one of the most admired and well-liked coaches in the league.
In the lead-up to Super Bowl LVII, things have changed. No longer is Reid the sentimental favourite. Of course, people still like him, but he has a title. The greatest quarterback in football is coached by him. This season, the Chiefs were the top AFC team. They will have attended three of the previous four Super Bowls once they take on the Eagles on Sunday (including LV, when they fell to the Buccaneers). Reid is in charge of the squad that the NFL has the closest thing to a dynasty in during the post-Belichick-Brady era. Reid is now aiming for a second, which historically has proven to be even more elusive than a first crown.
In the history of the NFL, just 13 coaches have won two Super Bowls. Only four coaches—all legends of the game—Chuck Noll, Joe Gibbs, Bill Walsh, and Bill Belichick—have amassed more than two victories. According to current opinion, Reid doesn’t have much left to show and instead has a chance to join the ultra-elite of coaches.
This week, Lurie reassured Andy, “Don’t worry.” “He’ll triumph in several contests. Simply said, I don’t want it to happen on Sunday.”
It is easy to speculate that Reid’s liberation after winning his first Super Bowl may assist to explain his astonishing boldness when calling plays, the snow globe swirling huddle play, and the hook-and-ladders in the playoffs. But Reid has always been an offensive mad scientist. Those who had the pleasure of working with him remember entering his office on a Monday morning to find his whiteboard already covered with hundreds of color-coded lines, the result of one of his restless nights. They further assert that Reid is very probably laying the groundwork for something else, another play design from his creative imagination, in the same vein as the unconventional plays.
It’s less so that Reid is no longer bound by the weight of expectation that he would prevail. Reid, according to those who know him best, is only more driven to win more after winning the first one. With 268 victories under his belt as a head coach, Reid is currently seventh all-time, and he is second all-time in postseason victories (21), just behind Belichick (31). Reid is the only head coach in NFL history to have led multiple teams to at least 10 postseason wins. Reid is often oblivious of such statistics until his old buddy, NFL Network commentator and former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci, who worked with him in Green Bay in the 1990s, brings them up to him. But he wants more awards.
Joe Banner, the Eagles’ former president who held that position for a large portion of Reid’s career in Philadelphia, stated, “I believe there is huge comfort in Andy that he was not only coming near but really had the delight of holding the trophy.” “He is, however, one of those athletes whose ambition to win the following race is even greater. He experienced what it’s like to be the head coach and recognised how wonderful it is.”
The league-wide opinion of a coach is significantly improved by a first Super Bowl triumph and is further accentuated by any number of wins larger than one, Banner acknowledges, although Lurie thought Reid was a Hall of Fame-worthy coach even before he won the championship. The fact that Reid rebuilt two teams, put them in the conference championship games within a few of years, and was able to sustain that success is what Banner finds most astounding. Reid is already considered one of the greatest coaches in history thanks to his participation in 10 conference championship games and the possibility of winning a second Super Bowl this Sunday or in a future season.
Banner remarked, “You need to win another Super Bowl or two to win that discussion.
Given that everything is in place for Reid and the Chiefs to keep winning for the foreseeable future, it does not seem like much of a stretch. In the NFL, nothing is certain, but Mahomes, who is only 27 years old, just earned his second MVP award, the Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl despite Tyreek Hill’s injury, and they used some young guys on defence this year. The fact that they have already signed Mahomes to a lucrative deal and understand how to build a squad and incorporate new players into it to keep the club competitive is maybe most crucial. Potential foes like the Bengals, Ravens, and Eagles, among others, still have that work in front of them. The Chiefs, in contrast, benefit from consistency at their two key positions.
Mariucci said, “Andy is 64 and has a quarterback. “To separate it, you would need to have your head inspected. For as long as you can, ride this wave.”
Few coaches can understand the situation Reid is in at this time. Tom Coughlin, a former Giants coach, is one of them. At the conclusion of the 2007 season, Coughlin claimed that his first Super Bowl victory had not altered who he was. In fact, he forgot all about Super Bowl XLII so quickly that he went to the dentist hours after the parade of winners.
Four years later, Coughlin, who also won the Super Bowl XLVI, remarked, “Your competitive juices are flowing.” “He is totally committed to winning. The other things don’t interest him. He is a man who has experienced losing a loved one. He is only concerned with winning the game. an improvement to his legacy? Later, he’ll worry about it.”
It is true that Reid and the Reid who led the Chiefs to Miami three years ago have many parallels as they prepare for their third Super Bowl together. He wore a red and white shirt to the Super Bowl Opening Night this week, which was only one step away from his favoured Tommy Bahama attire. Tammy, his wife, watched the interview from a side position. He also laughed off the notion that his long-awaited success has fundamentally changed him as a coach, even though he conceded that he is probably closer to the shorter end of his remaining career timeline than the longer end. He may be older and grayer, but Big Red remains Big Red.
“Different? How am I any different from the first time we won the Super Bowl?” This week, Reid said. “The squad is unique. I’m probably still as I was back then. I think I have less hairs.”
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