‘I was done with that’… Andy Reid says he made big change when he was first hired at Kansas City

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The man known as ‘Big Red’ has been a revelation in the city of Kansas, but he has adapted his game significantly from his time in Philadelphia.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was always ‘close but no cigar’ during his lengthy tenure at the Philadelphia Eagles.

The 65-year-old led the NFC East franchise to six division titles and nine playoff runs.

Of those nine postseason campaigns, the Eagles reached the NFC Championship game on five occasions – four consecutively from 2001-2004.

However, they always seemed to fall just short.

Andy Reid explains change after leaving Eagles

In 2004, they finally reached the promised land of the Super Bowl but were overcome by the legendary duo of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

When Andy Reid’s time with the Eagles ended, the Los Angeles native was swept up by the struggling Kansas City Chiefs.

Reid liked the franchise and had respect for the Hunt family, so put pen to paper as the head coach.

The rest is history.

In 2024, Reid has overcome the seemingly unshakeable curse of the Championships games.

The Chiefs have been present in six AFC Championship contests and emerged victorious in four.

From these four victories, the Chiefs have won three Super Bowl crowns.

The only loss came against Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season.

So, what is the recipe for Reid’s success with the Kansas City Chiefs compared to the Eagles?

‘Focus more on football’

John Middlekauff, a former NFL scout, sat down with the head coach.

Middlekauff asked if trusting GM Brett Veach with the football personnel side of things has helped.

‘Big Red’ was glad that he no longer was involved with that side of proceedings: “When I came back to Kansas City. I wanted to focus more on football.

“I was done with the personnel thing. If you’re gonna do it the right way, it takes too much time. There’s always time but I’m gonna try to exhaust all of it. So if I’m watching players, watch everybody.

“You know, that’s how I did in Philly. If you’re on the board, I might have watched you and not just one game. But I was done with that. I think it’s probably too much to try to do both.

“And, so in this day and age, technology is crazy, it is, but it takes time to look at it… I have full trust in Brett [Veach]”

Veach’s significance

Andy Reid implies having a trusted general manager who is excellent in the player selection process has been a blessing for him.

Stepping away from these other matters has allowed him to focus on football.

Brett Veach has taken the pressure away from the head coach, who has guided the Chiefs to three Super Bowl victories in five years.

This big change in Reid’s coaching role has been a great success.