Now that Pat is locked up, we can look forward. Is beating Belichick/Brady realistic? Does Reid have enough time?
Pieces are in place
To win a Super Bowl it takes a great team, to win multiple it takes a great organization. The Chiefs currently have that. There are a lot of key pieces to a great organization, but we’ll focus on the big 3: owner Clark Hunt, GM Brett Veach, and head coach Andy Reid. The biggest question mark of the three is coach Reid, who turned 62 in March. After Patrick Mahomes signed his deal, Reid told the media he had no plans of retiring. As a Chiefs fan, that’s an exciting thought. The Chiefs have a good owner, GM, HC, and QB, so it’s safe to say we can check this part off.
Longevity
Since Andy Reid came to Kansas City in 2013, he’s completely turned the franchise around. We went from a fan base cheering that our starting QB was hurt (Sorry, Matt…that was harsh), to a fan base being the loudest and proudest in the sport. This doesn’t happen without Andy. NFL fans should have no reason to believe that Reid and the Chiefs can’t remain a consistent title contender for years to come. Reid has built a roster full of talent, given up few draft picks, and hired a contract wizard to remain flexible, cap-wise. His offensive schemes have developed each year, more so with Pat, as he allows you to be a bit more creative than, Alex Smith did. As far as building his team goes, I can’t find a reason to think this team won’t be ready year in and year out. The longevity of Andy’s career tips in KC’s favor to keep winning Super Bowls.
Patrick Mahomes factor
Patrick Mahomes revealed last year that he just started to call out defensive schemes. That is a trait that will continue to develop and propel him to even more success… hard to believe, right? I also expect Pat to continue to make strides with his footwork. If Mahomes is even just his average self, he’s still an elite level QB and that’s a good place to start if you want rings. The foundation to win now is there. Pat has never lost an NFL game by more than 7 points, so it’s hard for me to think of a scenario where the Chiefs are out of a ball game. The Mahomes factor alone is enough to realistically expect more rings.
Supporting cast
The supporting cast around Reid and Mahomes has been built phenomenally. From low-risk trades to high-risk signings paying off… the Chiefs haven’t been wrong in a bit. As previously mentioned, having that front office big three is huge, and the Chiefs roster shows why. You don’t keep guys for years at lower prices if you aren’t great at your job. The Chiefs keep finding ways to keep key guys, and that bolds well for their future success. I don’t think many expected KC to keep Jones, Breeland, Watkins, and Pennel. Throw in the fact that Veach showed he can score big with low-risk trades (Charvarius Ward). Veach has proven to be a great football mind, which again, favors us… damn, we’re about to win 10 rings, huh? Not so fast, Miami era LeBron.
Obstacles
No team can dodge the injury bug for long. There are some seasons of the Reid/Pat duo that are bound to be wasted due to injury. Andy is well known at taking risks on players, and its quite possible that one day that costs him. The other obvious obstacle is other teams. As much as I’d love to think so, there’s no way KC will be the best team in the NFL every single year. I fully expect the Ravens to win a ring with Lamar. I fully expect the Broncos to start challenging in the AFC West again, therefore making our playoff road harder. Sounds like a lot of negatives but let’s talk about why we will win ___ amount of Super Bowls.
New playoff format = more rings
With the NFL’s new expansion of the playoffs, it is more likely the Chiefs will win more rings, and that’s just a statistical fact. While it would be great for the Chiefs to get a one seed every year, that isn’t going to happen. Even if KC has a significant mid-season injury, teams now have more opportunities to make the playoffs even with said injury and get guys healthy with the extra time. So, for example, if Pat went down again, Andy could get a Matt Moore like figure to lead us there, and have Pat ready for a playoff run, similar to this year, but with higher chances!
Finally….rings
I think with everything we’ve discussed, and all the different variables, if Reid coaches 8 more years, I think the duo ends up with 4 rings. Andy wins his 4th ring at 69 years old. I don’t think catching Belichick/Brady is something we’ll see, only because of Andy’s age. If Andy had 12 more years with Patrick? I’ll go out on a limb and say they at least tie BB/TB. For now, we’ll just have to sit back and watch the trophy case expand.
How many rings do you think the duo gets? Tweet us at @ArrowHeadLive
