At 66 years old, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid is still as sharp as ever.
Over the last six seasons, Reid has done the best work of what was already a Hall of Fame career, making the AFC Championship game at minimum and winning three Super Bowls during that span. He has put his team in position to accomplish that feat yet again as the Chiefs have locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Kansas City owns the best record in the NFL at 15-1, becoming just the eighth team in league history to win that many games in a season. With as much success as Reid has had as of late, many people have taken it for granted. It has become simply expected to chalk up the AFC West title to the Chiefs every year as they win a double-digit amount of games and be one of the final four remaining teams in the postseason.
That is in part why Reid has not been named NFL Coach of the Year since back in his early days with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2002. It’s quite strange that someone who has won 273 games, which is the fourth-most among all head coaches in NFL history, has only won the prestigious award one time. The three men in front of Reid – Bill Belichick, George Halas, and Don Shula – all won it multiple times.
Another factor is that it has become trendy to give the award to a coach that has taken a team from a losing season to a winning record in the following year. Rewarding maintained consistency has become a lost criteria. It’s past time to get back to basics and give more consideration to which coach is winning the most games.
No, wins and losses shouldn’t be the only factor. Circumstances such as injuries and strength of schedule should also play a role. And – wouldn’t you know it? – Reid shines in both of those categories as well. The Chiefs’ top two wide receivers each suffered major injuries as Rashee Rice was lost for the year in Week 4 with an LCL injury, and Hollywood Brown missed the first 15 weeks of the season with a sternoclavicular joint injury.
Starting cornerback Jaylen Watson, who was having a breakout year, went down in Week 7 with a season-ending ankle injury. Other impactful injuries include running back Isiah Pacheco missing nine games with an injured ankle, and defensive tackle Charles Omenihu sitting out the first 11 games as he recovered from a torn ACL from the 2023 postseason.
The Chiefs have also played a daunting schedule, as they have played every AFC team that would be in the playoffs if they started this week, going 6-1 against them. Even with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, most teams are not winning 15 games under those circumstances. Speaking of Mahomes, he has played behind the worst offensive line he’s ever had in 2024, taking a career-high 36 sacks.
K.C. has had a revolving door at left tackle due to bad play and injuries. How did Reid solve those issues? He kicked starting left guard Joe Thuney out to left tackle late in the season against defenses with ferocious pass rushes, and Mahomes has been sacked just once during his last two games.
There should be little doubt that Reid is the deserving 2024 NFL Coach of the Year. Not only has no other coach done more with less, but they haven’t done more with more either. While the humble Reid would certainly prefer continuing to win Super Bowls rather than personal accolades, it would be an absolute shame for him to not have won the award at least once during the dynasty that he has built.
