Doug Pederson, Matt Nagy, Mike Kafka, Ron Rivera, Sean McDermott, John Harbaugh all have something in common. What is it?
Well, these are a few names from the huge coaching tree made by Andy Reid over the years in Philadelphia and Kansas City.
So how did it all begin? Andy Reid was a young, offensive-focused coach who did not have much experience, not even a coordinator job when Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie hired him to lead his team 23 years ago. His coaching career began then.
He spent many long years in Philadelphia leading them to the Superbowl in 2004. This year in Kansas City, the 63-year-old Reid led the Kansas City Chiefs to their fourth-straight AFC championship game two weeks ago after winning his first Superbowl in 2020 and losing the Superbowl in 2021.
Weirdly enough, at the Championship games, Reid was the only veteran coach on the field, along with three very young coaches, Kyle Shanahan (42 years old), Sean McVay (36 years old), and Zac Taylor (38 years old), which shows his qualities still today.
Many NFL owners hire younger assistants to get their first head coaching job these past years instead of hiring former head coaches, it is becoming a winning trend. Six of the seven coaches hired last year were first-timers, including five under 45 years old.
So in a way Coach Reid paved the way for younger coaches and assistants coming from his coaching tree. He remembered he seized his first coaching opportunity at Philadephia, impressing Lurie in his interview with a 6-inch binder containing notes on how to build a winning team.
Is it the secret recipe he shares with all his coordinators and assistants?
Coaching trees in the NFL are always discussed but there’s something special about Reid. His coaching tree seems to have more success than others! And to prove that point, three coaches from his “tree” have reached the Super Bowl, two have won it, and most of them went to the playoffs and had division success in their NFL careers. Additionally, all of Reid’s assistants (except one) are still in the league in 2020 as head coaches, which speaks volumes about his management skills.
While Reid has been coaching some of the best offenses in the league, he is also credited for discovering new talents in his coaching staff during his career, in Philly and KC. And that is quite amazing.
Andy Reid is one of the coaches that won the major number of games in the NFL, 200 wins to be exact, only three losing seasons in 20 years! Moreover, he took over two franchises that were in a desperate situation before he got there, and twice, he transformed those teams into war machines. And Reid became one of just seven coaches to lead two different teams to a Super Bowl appearance.
His abilities to scout and develop new talents on and off the field will become a legacy in his career. That is why his coaching tree is so important and recognized in the NFL.
