The Kansas City Chiefs are in a league of their own at the moment. The fact is that no team is able to find a way to beat them this season. And the truth is that none are even close to matching the vision with which the Chiefs operate. Though Patrick Mahomes gets most of the credit for the success, the role head coach Andy Reid plays is the defining factor in it.
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It is not that Reid’s men have been dominating all the matchups. Their 9-0 record is also a story perseverance and flexibility, and is a case for others to learn from: how they, despite ups and down, manage to end up as winners in the end.
Part of it is because Reid lets his players express themselves on the gridiron, instead of conforming them into his system. Reid’s former player LeSean McCoy highlights this quality while explaining how only a great coach can bring out greatness in a player.
“I had Andy Reid,” he told Johnny Manziel. “There’s no better coach than Andy Reid. Bill Belichick, all them dudes. No. Andy’s that guy.”
While many coaches in the NFL try to be extra strict with their players, coach Andy has a different approach.
“Coaches were like ‘Hey, tuck the ball,’ when I first got there (Philadelphia) as a rookie,” McCoy added. “I was 20, I was the youngest dude in the league when I came in. And he would tell them, ‘No, let him play his game because that’s what got him here’.”
McCoy cited the example of Mahomes to prove his point. The star quarterback was a gunslinger at Texas Tech. Reid reigned him in a little bit for sure, but has also let him play keeping his natural instincts intact.
Reid wants his players to be hungry for more
There is a belief that in order to excel in the league the coaches need to feed aggression in the locker room. Reid, however, has a different style.
McCoy recalled how fans made a big deal when Travis Kelce seemingly shoved Reid in the Super Bowl earlier this year.
“If you played for Andy you know he likes that,” McCoy said.
Reid likes to see his players be hungry for more. His style, McCoy stated, was to not meddle with his players, even if it is to appreciate effort, until the game is over. That prevents the players from losing focus and the winning drive. At the same time, Reid is strict when it’s fair to be strict.
This reminds one of Belichick, who was known as the grumpy coach of the NFL. However, Belichick built a legacy with the New England Patriots. And, he has more Super Bowl wins than Reid.
A proof that Reid’s method works but so does the ones employed by other coaches. And their greatness can’t be measured by victories, but by the larger changes they bring about in the game, as well as in their players.
