Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride: Does Andy Reid Finally Get His Super Bowl Ring in 2018?
Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride: Does Andy Reid Finally Get His Super Bowl Ring in 2018?
If the measure of NFL success is Super Bowl victories then Andy Reid has come up short every year since he’s been a head coach in the NFL. Like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day”, Reid can’t seem to break free from playoff failure year after year after year. To add insult to injury, two of Reid’s assistant coaches have both won Super Bowls – John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 and Doug Pederson with the Philadelphia Eagles last season. Reid’s Super Bowl-less head coaching career is quite remarkable for not only consistently putting together championship-caliber teams, but also failing to ever win a single NFL championship. To wit:
Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2012)
1999- 5-11, Missed playoffs
2000- 11-5, Lost Divisional Round 20-10 to the New York Giants
2001- 11-5, Lost NFC Championship 29-24 to the St. Louis Rams
2002- 12-4, Lost NFC Championship 27-10 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2003- 12-4, Lost NFC Championship 14-3 to the Carolina Panthers
2004- 13-3, Lost Super Bowl 24-21 to the New England Patriots
2005- 6-10, Missed Playoffs
2006- 10-6, Lost Divisional Round 27-24 to the New Orleans Saints
2007- 8-8, Missed Playoffs
2008- 9-6-1, Lost NFC Championship 32-25 to the Arizona Cardinals
2009- 11-5, Lost Wild Card 34-14 to the Dallas Cowboys
2010- 10-6, Lost Wild Card 21-16 to the Green Bay Packers
2011- 8-8, Missed Playoffs as “Dream Team Eagles” underperformed to expectations
2012- 4-12, Missed Playoffs
Reid was fired at the conclusion of the 2012 season and quickly hired by the Kansas City Chiefs in early 2013.
Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs (2013-current)
2013- 11-5, Lost Wild Card after blowing a 28 point lead to the Indianapolis Colts
2014- 9-7, Missed Playoffs after starting the season 7-3
2015- 11-5, Lost Divisional Round 27-20 to the New England Patriots
2016- 12-4, Lost Divisional Round 18-16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers
2017- 10-6, Lost Wild Card after blowing a 17 point lead to the Tennessee Titans
2018- Advanced to AFC Championship game vs. the New England Patriots on January 27, 2019
This past Saturday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the red hot Indianapolis Colts 31-13 and will now move on to the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. They will play the New England Patriots who beat the Chargers decisively 41-28 on Sunday. Although some of the players on this Chiefs’ team are excited to play in their very first championship game, Andy Reid will be entering the 6th of his coaching career. However, Reid knows not to revel in this accomplishment as he’s been faced with many failures since becoming a head coach. Even when his Eagles’ team was able to leap over that hurdle in the playoffs they were then defeated by Brady and Belichick in 2004. Furthermore, Bill Belichick and the Patriots rolled a spectacular Chargers’ team and look ready to hang another banner in Foxborough. It should also be noted that the Patriots did beat the Chiefs earlier this year 43-40 in Week 6, but that was also on their own turf. However, the playoffs are going through Kansas City and Belichick and Brady are just 3-4 as the visiting team in the playoffs. Despite all of his previous playoff failures, this year seems different as Reid may have the best offense he’s ever coached. Patrick Mahomes looks to be the best quarterback in the NFL at the young age of 23 and he’s throwing to some of the great receivers of the league in Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Not to mention that Mahomes may be protected by the best O line in the league highlighted by 1st Team All-Pro Mitchell Swartz. Mahomes leads the way for Kansas City as he has thrown for 50 touchdowns and passed for over 5,000 yards this season and it seems like every game he makes another highlight reel play.
`As for the offensive stats, Kansas City has averaged a ridiculous 35.3 points and 425.6 total yards per game which led the entire National Football League this season. On the other side of the ball, while the defense has been suspect most of the year, the defense has played better as of late under Bob Sutton. In Saturday’s wildcard game, Sutton’s unit only allowed 263 yards of total offense to a Colts team that was firing on all cylinders. Though not flashy, Kansas City does have some rising stars. DE Chris Jones played at a Pro Bowl level all season alongside DT Dee Ford who has had a breakout year. Both have wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks all year long. The linebacker core is led by Justin Houston who has been playing well when healthy. Finally, while the secondary has struggled at times this season, the unit has rebounded in the past few weeks and it seems like they are looking to prove all the doubters wrong this postseason. Overall, this might be the best team that Andy Reid has ever led with five All-Pros and two more Pro Bowlers. Kansas City looks to finally win it all this year, but first, they will need to defeat the Patriots at Arrowhead.
-By: Ross Neuman