Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Rallying around Reid easy for Chiefs to do
Players praise coach’s consistent, even-keeled approach to game
AVENTURA — Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid had the line of the day at the team’s Thursday morning media session ahead of the Super Bowl.
In discussing family sacrifices he made over 38 years of coaching college and professional football, Reid, 61, brought up his nine grandchildren.
“They keep you young, and at the same time they make you feel old. It’s kind of like sweet-and-sour pork,” Reid said, drawing laughs from reporters.
Going into Sunday’s big game against the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Reid’s past Super Bowl experiences have also been sweet and sour.
He tasted the sweet as an assistant offensive line/tight ends coach for the Green Bay Packers that beat the New England Patriots in 1997. However, his Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Patriots in the 2005 Super Bowl when he was the team’s head coach.
Chiefs players and coaches have found added motivation to get Reid — in his 21st season as an NFL head coach — that elusive title.
Before finally getting to the Super Bowl and losing with the Eagles, Reid had three
consecutive NFC championship game losses to three different teams — the St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers. He also got there and lost to the Arizona Cardinals four seasons later.
In his six previous seasons leading Kansas City, he reached the postseason five times but never advanced to the Super Bowl. Last season, his Chiefs lost to the Patriots in the AFC championship game.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy had his final season as an NFL running back coincide with Reid’s first as a head coach in Philadelphia in 1999. He said Reid hasn’t changed over the years.
“Coach Reid has been the same,” said Bieniemy. “First of all, he’s a hard worker, very intelligent, does a great job of managing people. He’s always been that way. He has not changed at all. … He’s been so consistent and that’s why he’s had the success that he’s had. Consistency is the key to success.”
Reid and Bieniemy are connected going back even further — to college football’s infamous “Fifth Down Game” in 1990, when Colorado was mistakenly awarded an extra down to score the winning touchdown against Missouri. Bieniemy was a running back on that Buffaloes team while Reid was offensive line coach for the losing Tigers.
“They cheated,” said Reid playfully, as he also offered a rousing recommendation for Bieniemy to get an opportunity as a head coach.
“It took them five downs to beat us, so I remind him of that often.”
Said Bieniemy: “He keeps telling me that we cheated. They cheated too. That damn field was awful.”
Reid’s even-keeled nature was none more evident than when his team dug itself into a huge hole against the Houston Texans in the second round of the playoffs.
“He’s still the same person,” said Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “It never wavers — no matter if we’re down 24 points to the Texans or we’re up 24 points or we’re in the Super Bowl. His demeanor never changes. I think that gives you confidence to go out there and be who you are.”
Reid’s sense of humor also hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“I think the funniest part of Coach Reid is just being in that install meeting and listening to how he talks and how he’ll pull a joke out of nowhere,” Mahomes said. “On a daily basis, just keeping the room alive and teaching us to be great.”
Reid said he’s touched by the outpouring of support from his players.
“I’m very humbled by it,” he said. “I’ve got great guys here. But this is about this team and the guys that have worked so hard to get where they’re at right now, our players and coaches. It’s about the organization. It’s a team effort to be in this position. It’s not about one person at all.
“Right now, I have complete focus on making sure that we, as coaches, do a good job and players do a good job in the Super Bowl.”
When Travis Kelce was asked to share a funny anecdote about Reid, the star tight end said he couldn’t reveal that publicly.
“All of them are just a little too much to share,” Kelce said. “Too many stories with Andy Reid. I’m sure I’ll have a good one if we win the Super Bowl.”