Chiefs’ Reid, Bills’ McDermott to match wits for title
KANSAS CITY, MO. » Ten years after firing Sean McDermott as his defensive coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid will stare across the field inside Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday and see his protégé trying to spoil his hopes of a Super Bowl repeat.
Funny thing: Even after firing him, Reid suspected deep down
that McDermott was destined for big things.
“Very organized, very smart and very tough,” he explained this week. “He came from a coaching family — his dad was a heck of a coach. Sean just kind of picked up right from there. Very solid, very good.”
In fact, downright exceptional.
McDermott has the long-suffering Buffalo Bills playing in their first AFC championship game since beating Kansas City on Jan. 23, 1994, when they advanced to their fourth straight Super Bowl. They have won 11 of their past 12 games since losing to the Chiefs in Week 6, beating the Colts in the wild-card round and the Ravens in last week’s divisional round.
“He deserves coach of the year, man. He’s taken a franchise there, both he and his general manager, have put this thing together with some bold moves and production now,” Reid said.
“I think he’s done a tremendous job. What a great thing for the NFL and for Buffalo. They love football in Buffalo and he’s
really done a nice job with that whole program.”
Not surprisingly, the job McDermott has done with the Bills neatly parallels the job Reid has done in Kansas City.
Both took over downtrodden organizations and quickly built them into juggernauts. Both have bright young quarterbacks in the Bills’ Josh Allen and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. Both have surrounded them with playmakers, such as the Bills’ Stefon Diggs and the Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. And both have built defenses to not only complement two of the best offenses in the NFL, but capable of clinching wins under pressure, as each did last weekend.
Mahomes, who sustained a concussion last week against Cleveland, has been cleared to play after practicing all week.
McDermott never harbored any animosity toward Reid when he was fired from the Eagles on Jan. 15, 2011. Instead, he went to Carolina and over the next five years honed his craft and built his reputation to the point the Bills — who at the time had not made the postseason since 1999 — were willing to give him a shot in charge.
Buffalo reached the wild- card round in 2017 and again last year before reaching the brink of a Super Bowl this season.
MOMENT ON MAHOMES »
The Chiefs’ quarterback, who was knocked out of last week’s game against Cleveland with a concussion, took first-team reps all week. He was finally cleared to play by team doctors and an independent neurologist on Friday.
OTHER CHIEF CONCERNS »
Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland, who also sustained a concussion last Sunday, practiced this week while awaiting clearance from doctors. Running back Le’Veon Bell was held out Thursday and Friday because of a swollen knee.
On the flip side, Clyde Edwards- Helaire is expected to play for the first time since a high- ankle sprain in Week 15 and Sammy Watkins could be back from a calf injury that he sustained the following week. The rookie running back and the veteran wide receiver both practiced this week and moved around well in the portion of practice open to reporters.