Before joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, Andy Reid spent 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. The 66-year-old head coach has yet to surpass that previous tenure in his new home, but most football fans associate Reid with the Chiefs more than the Eagles. Particularly due to the success he has had so far in the last few years, both Super Bowl-wise and franchise-record-wise. However, if we look back, he wasn’t any less of a coach in the City of Brotherly Love.
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Despite the lack of silverware or Lombardi trophies, Reid remains the Eagles’ coach with the highest number of games won—140. Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, this exceptional stat was bound to resurface, but it was surprising to see the newer crop of Eagles fans and football fans not know about it.
They even wondered why the Eagles let Reid go in the first place. He has only made an opposing team like the Chiefs stronger, who have beaten the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. He’s now set to meet the Eagles again in the big game, while boasting a win count that is also the highest of any coach in the Chiefs’ franchise history, at 161.
Why did the Eagles let him FLY???
— KPK (@CubsSWFL) January 29, 2025
But as most of us know, the reality is far from the stats. The Andy Reid we know today is a master tactician who can hardly do anything wrong in the postseason. But in his 14 seasons with the Eagles, he had a knack for consistently botching the postseason, with his poor game management often leading to the opposition making comeback wins.
As you might have figured out by now, the version of Andy Reid we see today was wildly different from the Eagles version. Despite that, some traits have not changed. For instance, the Eagles like the Chiefs were perennial postseason contenders [9 times in 14 seasons] under Reid.
The HC, to his credit, was also able to take the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004. However, the early 2000s was Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s era. So Reid had to be inch-perfect to get a Lombardi Trophy win, which he unfortunately wasn’t back then.
Despite the silverware hurdle, the majority of Eagles fans look back at Reid’s tenure as a fond memory. In fact, for many, Andy Reid is a certified Eagles legend still, and rightly so.
Legend
— Listo (@Listogetsit) January 29, 2025
Amazing coach goat
— YourFavWestVirginian (@WVfunnyguy) January 29, 2025
Interestingly enough, this discussion made a few fans wonder if Reid’s legendary stature with two top NFL teams makes him the GOAT HC over Bill Belichick.
Will he surpass Belichick as the HC?
— THE MULTICHAIN MAN (@thematicman) January 29, 2025
Considering winning a Super Bowl is the widely accepted currency to judge an NFL head coach, Bill Belichick should be the undisputed GOAT with 6 Lombardi Trophies in his cabinet. But Andy Reid can easily close the distance should the Chiefs HC win his 4th Super Bowl as part of a three-peat.
Should one widen the benchmark, former Dolphins HC Don Shula can also be added to the GOAT HC debate. While he only has two Super Bowls in his kitty, his having the only perfect season in NFL history with a career record of 347-173-6 makes a strong case for himself. For context, Bill Belichick has 333 NFL wins while Andy Reid has 273 career wins.
GOAT debates are always tricky considering how different the dynamics of eras and NFL standards were. So rather than indulging in these discourses, it would be much better to enjoy what Andy Reid is achieving with the Chiefs. After all, it’s not often that you get to see a team on the cusp of a three-peat.
