Kyle Shanahan has hit the metaphorical wall that lies between NFL head coaches and the Lombardi Trophy four times in his seven seasons as head coach. He has failed to win the Super Bowl twice before. He has twice failed to win the NFC Championship Game. Andy Reid, the Chiefs’ head coach, is used to achieving success without winning the championship.
Reid, because to his time with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is now synonymous with greatness among NFL head coaches. There’s a good probability he finds out former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, the most decorated coach of all time. That was not always the case, though.
Prior to Kansas City’s Super Bowl LIV victory (against the 49ers, interestingly enough), Reid had been an NFL head coach for 20 years. He had only been to one Super Bowl and lost five NFC championship games during his stints with the Eagles and Chiefs. Then he found his quarterback, and the wins came quick and furious. Since 2019, Reid and the Chiefs have won three Lombardi Trophies, cementing his place as one of the league’s all-time greats.
Reid was asked about Shanahan during the NFL owners meetings on Monday, after defeating him in the Super Bowl for the second time in February.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing, and somewhere you’ll pop over the hill there,” Reid told ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “I know he’s got a great young quarterback, and him with a great young quarterback is deadly.”
Shanahan has had one of the league’s top teams since his first Super Bowl appearance as a head coach in 2019, but the quarterback has always been a bit of a mystery. Reid is the second Chiefs coach to praise 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy as a terrific player after his performance in Super Bowl LVIII. Steve Spagnuolo, the defensive coordinator, also did it.
