A Super Bowl Win Cements Andy Reid’s Hall of Fame Career

Andy Reid, Eagles

The Eagles are the team that gave Reid a chance after seven years under Mike Holmgren in Green Bay. The hiring of a Green Bay quarterback coach went over about as good as can be expected in Philly. Especially with a lot of hot names (Brian Billick, Bill Parcells, etc.) on the market that fans felt would quickly turn around a 3-13 ballclub. That Reid guy was not one of them. Jeffery Lourie and Reid were confident that the plan of attack Reid laid out would put the Eagles on the map again. Then 5-11 came and went in his first season with doubters galore criticizing the first-year coach. Then came year two and the start of an incredible run.

Incredible Run

Reid and the Eagles would go 11-5 in year two and make the playoffs. Reid’s club would win no less than 11 games for four more years culminating in Reid’s first Super Bowl appearance. Reid had paired Terrell Owens with superstar quarterback Donovan McNabb and a stingy defense to get to the big game. Reid would come up short that year losing 24-21 against Bill Belichick’s Patriots. It would be the last time Andy Reid would make a Super Bowl until now. Reid would follow that first Super Bowl with a mediocre eight-year run. That would culminate into a 4-12 record and firing in 2012. Looking back, this might have been the best thing for Reid and the Eagles.

Andy Reid Hired by Chiefs

Andy would not stay on the market very long as the Chiefs swooped in to snatch him up. The Chiefs would give the longtime Eagles coach broad authority over football operations. Unlike his first experience in the hiring process, most fans and players were ecstatic to get Reid in Kansas City. This time Reid would take over a 2-14 team that had some talent but needed leadership. Coach Reid would make two significant moves that season, bringing in longtime scout John Dorsey to be general manager and having him orchestrate a trade for former 49ers number one pick Alex Smith.

Alex Smith Years

Smith came over from the San Francisco 49ers seen mostly as a disappointment after being picked first overall. Most felt that the Chiefs initially giving up second-round picks in 2013 and 2014 was a steep price for Alex. Reid would take Smith’s game to a whole new level in Kansas City. Eventually, those two picks would result in four picks for the 49ers down the line, but both teams were happy with the results. This is especially true for the Chiefs as Reid sprinkled some of his magic football dust, and Alex Smith went from a competent starter to franchise quarterback.

The Chiefs would follow a 4-12 campaign with one of the biggest turnarounds in franchise history. Reid and Smith lead them to an 11-5 record and the playoffs in just their first season together. The Chiefs would lose that year in the wild card game to the Colts in 45-44 shootout. That started the heartbreak years for Chiefs fans as Smith and Reid would reach the playoffs four out of five years but come up short each time.

Chiefs fans grew restless and felt Reid was too conservative when the playoffs rolled around. Growing sentiment is that a change might be needed. They would get a change but not the one they had been clamoring for. The Chiefs had drafted a young gifted player at pick number 12 the year before and were ready to hand the reins over to the now superstar Patrick Mahomes. They moved Alex Smith to the Redskins in the 2018 offseason, and the new era began.

Patrick Mahomes Era so far…

Andy Reid has coached Brett Favre in Green Bay(quarterback coach), Donovan McNabb in Philly, and then Alex Smith in Kansas City. Aside from possibly Favre, these guys have a hard time measuring up to the brains and physical talent that Mahomes has shown in his first two seasons. Because of this, most media felt, including me, that if Reid could not get to another Super Bowl with Mahomes then it just isn’t happening.

Well, here we are, Andy Reid, once again proving everyone wrong just like he did as the tight ends/quarterbacks coach that was hired over all the “names” way back in 1999. Reid has taken his Kansas City Chiefs with an improved defense and the best quarterback in the NFL to the big dance. Can he finally add that ever-elusive Lombardi trophy as the final piece to an incredible career? Guess we will all have to tune in at 6:30 PM EST Sunday for Super Bowl LIV and find out.

Follow me on Twitter for more great content @WeirdJBronavich 

Discuss this and everything to do with sports at the Overtime Heroics forums!

New designs are dropping in our merch store all the time! Also, be sure to check out the latest threads! 

Be sure to check out our partners at Repp Sports! They offer the first-ever crowd-sourced, no carb, no sugar, energy drink called RAZE, and much more! Use the link above or add the promo code OTH1 at checkout to get 30% off your order!