How Andy Reid Changed the Culture in K.C. – In order to fully grasp what the presence of Andy Reid has meant in Kansas City, you first have to take a brief journey into the decade preceding his hiring. The Chiefs had four coaches during that time including: Dick Vermeil, Harman Edwards, Todd Haley, and Romeo Crennel. It’s also important to note that the Chiefs owner and AFL founder, Lamar Hunt, passed in 2006, in the midst of this era, which was also the beginning of Clark Hunt’s tenure as team CEO and don’t forget, the team also went from GM Carl Peterson to GM Scott Pioli in 2009. Here’s a look at the transfer from one coach to the next in the 10 years prior to Reid taking over:
Note: the 2011 season was split between Todd Haley and Romeo Crennel.
What that meant in terms of team success and stability was… there wasn’t any (or very, very little):
That 53-and-91 record over a nine year period, even with two winning seasons, resulted in two playoff appearances, both loses, to the Colts and the Ravens. That record also represents a .368 winning percentage. We shouldn’t even call it a “winning” percentage because there was so much losing involved that in 2012, fans had organized enough to spend their own money to create a website, but also to fly a prop airplane over the stadium with a banner reading: “Return Hope – Fire Scott Pioli — Save Our Chiefs.”
So, just how has Andy Reid pulled off this amazing turn around that climaxed in a Super Bowl LIV Championship?
2013: A Seminal Offseason, and Season
Andy Reid made many important moves in his first offseason in Kansas City. While Clark Hunt announced he would institute an organizational setup that had both his Head Coach and General Manager reporting directly to him, it’s believed that Andy Reid has always had the last word, and most clout, in that structure.
So, Andy Reid and his new GM, John Dorsey, guided the team to a 9 game winning streak straight out of the gate in the 2013 season. An incredible feat, when you consider the Chiefs could only muster two victories the previous season. How did they come by this rare achievement?
2013 Core Team Additions
Andy Reid has always known that his football team must have a talented quarterback, so they traded for Alex Smith, who had been demoted in San Francisco, even though Chiefs fans were wary of accepting the 49ers cast off QBs. The Chiefs went on to to have a .663 winning percentage during Smith’s 5-year stint in K.C.:
I find it somewhat amusing that the Chiefs won the exact same number of games in 5 years — 53 — with Smith as their primary QB, as the team did over the previous nine seasons.
During that 2013 offseason, Reid and Dorsey also traded DB Javier Arenas to the Arizona Cardinals for FB Anthony Sherman. Signed in Free Agency were: FS Husain Abdullah, TE Anthony Fasano, DL Mike DeVito, OL Geoff Schwartz, LB Frank Zombo, and CB Sean Smith. One of the criticisms of CEO Clark Hunt, and the Hunt family, prior to the 2013 offseason was that they were unwilling to spend money to make the team better. Hunt’s willingness to give Reid and Dorsey whoever they wanted, was a welcome change.
As part of an offseason of change, Reid and Dorsey drafted: Eric Fisher as the first overall player in the draft, then added TE Travis Kelce in the third round, 63rd overall. That draft also included: RB Knile Davis and C Eric Kush. That same offseason, the Chiefs dumped several players of note including: QB Matt Cassel, OT Eric Winston, WR Steve Breaston, and LB Andy Studebaker.
Listening, Hearing, and Andy Reid
It’s hard to quantify the “personal” trait of being a good listener. Andy Reid’s most recent example of that is the successful play designed and called by his premiere QB, Patrick Mahomes called: Ferrari Right. Another good example of Reid being willing to listen is, “Do we we have time to run WASP?” at perhaps the most critical moment of the Super Bowl earlier this year, arguably the most important game of Reid’s career.
So many previous players “like”… no, LOVE… Andy Reid. How does he do it? He listens to his player? About the game? NO. About their personal lives. These players believe he cares for them as a person, so when critical decisions must be made on the field of play, he listens to them, and they know he’ll hear them. There’s actually a big difference between listening and hearing. Andy Reid hears his players… first on a personal level, and then also as professionals.
Trust and Patrick Mahomes in K.C.
Wasn’t it the constant harping of soon to be GM, Brett Veach, who was credited for Patrick Mahomes ending up in Kansas City? The reality is, if Andy Reid didn’t — hear, and then trust — his head of scouting (Veach), it never would have happened. Here’s a review of the Chiefs record since Patrick Mahomes was named their starter in 2018. Sure, a few of those games were started by Matt Moore, but it was under Mahomes tenure:
This represents an .857 winning percentage. Yes, it could be more if you count the last game of 2017, as he started versus the Denver Broncos, which would give him a .861 winning percentage, but using the QB Regime Method, I’ll stick with .857%.
Inspiring and Valuing People
Andy Reid has an incredible record of valuing his players. So much so, that even players he’s traded, like Marcus Peters, knows he will always have a friend in Reid. You’ll often see his previous players come up to him and greet him after games:
From the Harvard Business Review:
“An inspired employee is more than twice as productive as a satisfied employee and more than three times as productive as a dissatisfied employee.”
So, does Andy Reid value his players just so that he can get more out of them? Heck no. He does it because he’s a good guy. The fact that he gets inspired play out of his players is a byproduct and not something that he’s trying to manipulate out of them.
Andy Reid Just Wins Baby
Andy Reid’s winning record has become a highly publicized stat over the past few weeks. However, did you know that Reid may have gotten to 215 wins faster than any other NFL HC in history. He has recorded 215 win in 22 years of coaching. All time wins leader, Don Shula, (328 wins), took 33 years to reach that point. Second in wins, George Halas, (318 wins), did it in 40 years of coaching. Third in total wins, Bill Belichick with 277, did it in 26 years. Fourth, Tom Landry, had 250 wins in 29 seasons. Fifth, Curly Lambeau had 226 wins in 33 years. BTW… Marty Schottenheimer had 200 wins in 21 years.
We also know how well Andy Reid does in games following a Bye Week:
“In his 22 years as an NFL head coach, Reid has an
18-3 regular-season record after the bye week.”
Beyond that, Andy Reid has owned the AFC West since coming over from Philadelphia in January 4, 2013. Marty Schottenheimer also had a penchant for beating AFC West foes, but none more so than the Oakland Raiders. The brouhaha over the Raiders circling Arrowhead Stadium after their victory earlier this year, will only fuel the fire for Reid and his team as they travel to Vegas this weekend. The “rivalry” heats up as the days go by:
Here, allow me to dump some gasoline on the fire:
During Andy Reid’s tenure in K.C. he’s never lost two games back-to-back to an AFC opponent. So, it’s highly, highly, unlikely that he loses this Sunday to the Raiders in Vegas. You can be sure he’ll have his team ready and if he has the chance to blow the Raiders out… he will! Reid said this week:
Andy Reid has created a culture of winning in Kansas City. However, you don’t want to cross him. He can also be very passionate!
Roll on Sunday Andy, Roll on! And I’m not talking about your antiperspirant.
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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