Andy Reid, once considered the coach who couldn’t win the big games, is training in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.
Every chance to win a Lombardi Trophy is special, but this one has an added meaning for Reid. He will train against an Eagles franchise he managed for 14 years as he seeks to add to his distinguished legacy.
Reid’s connection to the Eagles goes even deeper than just his time in Philadelphia. Doug Pederson — who coached the franchise to its first Super Bowl win five years ago — was a longtime confidant of Reid’s.
MORE: Andy Reid coaching tree: Ranking where Doug Pederson, Sean McDermott fall
Apparently, winning a championship with both franchises he coached on the same field would be of huge significance to the future Pro Football Hall of Famer.
The Sporting News takes a look at Reid’s coaching career, including his 14-year stint with the Eagles.
Training Schedule by Andy Reid
Reid began his coaching career as an offensive line coach in college, including Missouri, before moving to the NFL.
Offensive assistant, Packers (1992-98)
Reid was hired in 1992 by former BYU teammate Mike Holmgren as the Packers’ assistant offensive line and tight ends coach. He spent five seasons in that role before becoming quarterbacks coach in 1997.
Brett Favre was named NFL MVP in his first season with Reid as quarterbacks coach, and the Packers made it to the Super Bowl that season before falling to John Elway and the Broncos.
Head Coach, Eagles (1999-2012)
It was Holmgren who recommended Reid to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie after the 1998 season. While moving to Seattle himself, Holmgren proposed to Reid because Lurie made it clear he was looking for a detail-oriented coach. Although Reid was only 40, he impressed the Eagles and landed the job with no prior experience as a coordinator.
After a 5-11 season in 1999, Reid shaped the Eagles into one of the NFL’s consistently great teams from 2000-04.
With Donovan McNabb as quarterback, Philadelphia reached the divisional round in 2000 before playing four consecutive NFC championship games. Eventually, on the fourth trip to the title game, the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Patriots.
MORE: Super Bowl 2023 Odds, Line: Eagles vs. Chiefs Picks, SN Expert Predictions
Despite all the success, Reid developed a reputation for falling short in big games.
The next few years were rockier. The Eagles dropped to 6-10 in 2005 as McNabb dealt with an injury and Terrell Owens caused drama, though they would return to the playoffs in 2006 and achieve the NFC championship again in 2008 after a 9-6-1 season.
Reid reignited his own reputation when he got a wonderful year from Michael Vick in 2010. Vick entered the season as a replacement for a two-year sentence, but he thrived in place of Kevin Kolb.
The wheels fell off in 2011. Dubbed the “Dream Team,” the Eagles added key elements hoping to contend for a championship but ended 8-8. This disappointment could not be avenged. Philadelphia won 2012 4-12 after a 3-1 start and ended the season with a 42-7 loss to the Giants. Reid was fired hours later.
MORE: What Jerseys Will Chiefs, Eagles Wear During Super Bowl 57?
During a panel discussion in Philadelphia two years later, Reid said part of his downfall with the Eagles was that he “stepped away from what I love to do most, and that was coaching.”
Reid said he trusted his coordinators too much and dealt with staff instead of naming games. “I thought I had quit for the right reasons. It probably wasn’t the right thing,” he said.
Luckily for Reid, he got a chance to fix those mistakes with a new franchise.
Head Coach, Chiefs (2013-present)
Success was immediate for Reid in Kansas City. Hired by the Chiefs less than a week after being fired by the Eagles, Reid got a new quarterback in Alex Smith and started with a 9-0 start with a team that went 2-14 last season.
A bad flameout in the wildcard round, in which the Chiefs gambled away a 38-10 lead, would undo some of that goodwill and boost Reid’s reputation as a coach unequipped for the playoffs. Even so, it was clear that Reid made the right decision by calling out his own plays. Smith completed one Pro Bowl season in his freshman year with the Chiefs and had career highs in passing yards and touchdowns.
After finishing 9-7 in 2014 but missing the playoffs, the Chiefs broke through and won a playoff game against the Texans in 2015. They improved to 12-4 in 2016 but stalled again in the divisional round.
MORE: Andy Reid contract details: How much money will chiefs coach make in 2023?
Reid and general manager John Dorsey made the right choice on 2017 draft night, trading 17 picks to find a quarterback who could succeed Smith and take the franchise deeper into the playoffs. Enter Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes sat behind Smith as a rookie, with the veteran shooting in one of his best seasons but then sealing his fate with a wildcard round loss to the Titans.
Expectations were dampened when Mahomes took over as a starter in 2018, but Reid’s plan and Mahome’s talent proved a deadly combination. Mahomes earned an MVP honor and took Kansas City into overtime in the AFC championship game. Suddenly, a franchise that couldn’t survive the divisional round rattled off five straight trips to the conference title game.
The Chiefs became comeback kings in 2019, overcoming a double-digit deficit in all three playoff games and winning their first Super Bowl in 50 years. Reid finally got the championship he had eluded for so long and cemented himself as a future Hall of Famer.
MORE: Super Bowl 57 MVP odds: Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes listed as favorites
Kansas City came up short in Super Bowl 55 the next year, but they might not have been there if Reid hadn’t played bravely.
Reid faced a fourth-place finisher on his own side of the field and led the Browns in the divisional round by five points. Reid let backup quarterback Chad Henne past Tyreek Hill for a first down. Reid could have tried to bury the Browns with a punt or just run to the first down, but he played the experienced backup and was rewarded.
Reid’s offensive plan has even more credibility after last season as the Chiefs didn’t miss a beat without Hill. Mahomes is set to win another MVP after putting together a dominant year despite receiving a corps that lacked a true No. 1 option.
Mahomes has Travis Kelce on the tight end, but Aaron Rodgers stepping back in Green Bay without Davante Adams, No. 1 receiver while Mahomes drove along, speaks to how foolproof Reid’s plan is.
The Chiefs have won 10 straight seasons since Reid took over in 2013. Now he has a chance to hang on to his former team and become the 14th head coach to win multiple Super Bowls.