Bonding over BBQ: A delicious KC gift

How Flores made quick work of a present from Chiefs coach Reid

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid wanted to show his appreciation.

And Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores surely appreciated the gesture.

After the Dolphins beat the New England Patriots in the 2019 season finale, Reid sent Flores a care package of some Kansas City barbecue as a thank you.

The Dolphins’ win allowed the Chiefs secure home-field advantage in the playoffs last season, which played a role in Kansas City advancing to the Super Bowl, where the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in February.

“So, I thought I’d just send him a little thought from Kansas City, you know,” Reid said in a conference call with Dolphins media this week. “Kansas City is known for its barbecue, so no better present to get from the good Kansas City barbecue here.”

The barbecue didn’t last long once Flores received the gift.

“It was good barbecue — it went fast,” Flores said with a smile Thursday.

“Had my brothers over, not sure if we had some other people over. We enjoyed it. So, I was very thankful to Andy for that. And yeah, it went very quickly. K.C. barbecue is very good.”

As both teams continue their preparations for Sunday’s game between the Dolphins (8-4) and Chiefs (11-1) at Hard Rock Stadium, Reid was quite complementary of Flores and the job he’s doing leading Miami in his second season as Dolphins coach.

The Dolphins are second in the AFC East and hold the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff race heading into Sunday’s game.

“Brian is a good man first of all.

And so, I know how hard it is when you go play your old team, and then to pull one of them off,” Reid said of the Dolphins’ win over the Patriots last season.

“It’s pretty exciting. And it was pretty exciting for us at the time. And so, that catapulted him into this season and the great things that he’s doing.”

Chiefs players were also ecstatic and grateful for the Dolphins’ win.

Kansas City fans in Arrowhead Stadium erupted once Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki caught the game-winning touchdown thrown by Ryan Fitzpatrick, shortly after former Dolphins running back Damien Williams scored to help Kansas City win their finale against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“Once we scored the last touchdown to put the game away where we knew we were going to win, you start hearing the crowd go crazy, and you figured something good happened. Then, you start getting updates from the stands and stuff like that,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said before the Super Bowl.

“It was a cool moment, and that really set us up to be where we’re at.”

Reid and the Chiefs are another team Flores has had success and experience coaching against.

Just before Flores took the Dolphins job, he was the Patriots’ defensive play-caller who helped New England keep the Chiefs scoreless during the first half of the 2018 AFC title game.

Although the Chiefs stormed back to tie the game and force overtime, the Patriots won 37-31 before facing the Rams in the 2019 Super Bowl to end the season.

“Brian did a great job, that’s one of the reasons,” Reid said of Flores and the defensive performance early in that AFC title game.

“He’s a heck of a defensive mind. He’s doing a great job as a head coach. I think the Miami Dolphins know that, and I think the city knows that too. He’s great. He’s great for the NFL, and really great for Miami.”