LAS VEGAS — When you see him modeling a Hawaiian shirt in a Combo Meal Nagy commercial with Patrick Mahomes, it’s hard not to root for this man who endured the tragic loss of his 29-year-old son. I can’t go. He survived a heroin overdose 12 years earlier and the imprisonment of another son, and managed to muster his strength to continue marching towards Canton.
He was the perfect coach at the perfect time for Mahomes and created the perfect offense for him. Reid is looking to join Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh in the exclusive 3-ring coaching club behind Chuck Noll (4) and Bill Belichick (6), and Taylor Swift’s 3-ring. He’s the perfect coach to guide the Chiefs ship through the circus.
Reed turns 66 next month, making him the league’s oldest coach. No one on the Chiefs wants to think about the bittersweet scenario of life without Andy, but if he decides to ride off into the sunset with a chance to win back-to-back titles, they won’t miss out on a three-peat like John Elway. become.
If Mahomes is the face of the series, Andy Reid can be seen as the face of a grandfather who has overcome tragedy, the face that says, “Good things come to those who wait.” And the same players who wanted to win his first game when he was 61 years old will want to win his third game Sunday night against the 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. ing.
For men, they respect him and want to continue to respect him.
“His ability to lead men in this industry… It’s not easy to get grown men to support you. He has to be a special person to do that,” Travis Kelce said. “His ability to do that is at a Hall of Fame level.”
I asked Kelce if he thought the coach loved the game too much to walk away from it if he could lift the Lombardi Trophy again.
“I think he still has many years left in him,” Kelce told me (and everyone else within earshot of his podium).
I asked: So you would be surprised if he walked?
“I would be as surprised as anyone else,” Kelce said.
The same goes for ownership. Clark Hunt told Mad Dog Sports’ Chris Russo on Tuesday: But I don’t think he will retire. he loves what he does. I know he’s energized by the team. I know he loves coaching Patrick Mahomes. He has a generational quarterback. So, I look forward to having Andy as my head coach for many years to come. ”
What I watch with Andy Reid is football, family, faith, and cheeseburgers.
“He doesn’t switch, dude,” Kelce said. “He knows one way, and that’s to be himself. That’s why we love him. And that goes with being a leader. He’s never been himself. I will never separate from myself and will always remain who I am.”
Reid lost star receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins and won his second Super Bowl anyway. He lost offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to the Commanders and led the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl in perhaps the greatest coaching job of his career. The Chiefs were reeling from a heartbreaking loss to the Raiders on Christmas Day. Reid never panicked and never flinched. That was never his style.
“His motivation is to put the challenge in front of him and say, ‘This is what we need to do, this is what we want you to do, and how are we going to figure it out?’ ‘And I challenge you to do it,’ Kelce said.
Kelsey left the University of Cincinnati with a reputation as a wild child, but he remembers Reed sitting him down and laying down the law.
“Multiple times,” Kelce said. “That’s why I love him. He’s helped me grow professionally and off the field, as a person, as an individual. Within this offense and within this organization, he’s helped me grow as a person and as an individual. It’s been really fun to see him grow from the jump to where he is here.”
Kelce remembers the first message he received as a rookie.
“He took me into his office and told me there was a sense of urgency that I had to play now. ‘I need you now. I want you to be professional.’ I want you to grow up to be the guy we think you can be,”’ Kelce recalled. It gives off a vibe of, “Oh, okay, he understands greatness.” If he sees that, I’m going to exceed his expectations or at least not live up to his expectations. That would be stupid.”
Defensive end George Karlaftis won the Super Bowl as a rookie last year.
“We have a lot of respect for him. Everybody’s like, ‘We don’t want to let Coach Reid down.’ Whenever he says something, he does it with no questions asked.” Karlaftis said.
No need to bother asking him about the dynasty.
“When you have a mix of things like we do, you don’t really think about that,” Karlaftis said. “If you focus on that, you’re probably going to have a problem with being thrown off that pedestal no matter what position people think you stand on. is focused on a match against a great soccer team in the United States, and it will surely happen [take] I will do my best to fight the good fight against them. ”
The lead is the same guy every day.
“At the end of the day, everybody wants to play for him, everybody wants to do their best for him,” tight end Blake Bell said.
Longer than the last game.
