How Andy Reid became a better coach after leaving Philadelphia, according to Hugh Douglas
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Andy Reid has accomplished everything an NFL head coach can achieve in 25 seasons, and even more than any other coach could wonder.
Reid, the only head coach who is the all-time winningest coach with two different franchises, is set to embark on his fifth Super Bowl appearance as he seeks his third championship.
Long before Reid created this era of dominance with the Kansas City Chiefs, Reid was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 seasons. Reid won 130 regular season games with the Eagles (most in franchise history), 10 playoff games (most in franchise history), six division titles, five conference championship games and a Super Bowl appearance in the 2004 season.
Even though Reid went 130-93-1 with the Eagles (.583 win percentage) and took the franchise to new heights, he has been even better in Kansas City. The Chiefs have won eight consecutive AFC West titles under Reid and had six consecutive conference championship games. Kansas City has been to the Super Bowl four times in Reid's 11 seasons, winning two of the previous three as he's ushering in a new dynasty not seen by the league since Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's New England Patriots.
How has Reid become that much better as a head coach in Kansas City? The Chiefs are 128-51 (.715 win percentage) in Reid's 11 seasons), as Reid has 15 playoff wins with the franchise. Remember, Reid was fired by the Eagles after a 4-12 season in 2012 - his last losing season as a head coach in the NFL.
"I think he needed to leave (Philadelphia) to grow and learn from his mistakes," former Eagles defensive end and current WIP host Hugh Douglas told CBS Sports. "It was mutually beneficial for both sides in my opinion. And a lot of times when you feel like you have a formula, sometimes it's hard to tweak it. You feel like you're being stubborn because you know that was the right way to do things. You have to have a couple failures in order to correct it."
What did Reid change in Kansas City that made him a better head coach? Thanks to his accomplishments with the Chiefs, Reid is the only head coach in NFL history to win 100 games with two different franchises and the only head coach to win 10 playoff games with two different franchises. He also has taken the Eagles and Chiefs to four consecutive conference championship games, the only coach ever to accomplish the feat for two organizations.
"Number one, he got a good quarterback [in Patrick Mahomes]," Douglas said. "Not saying that [former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb] was a bad quarterback, but he allowed his quarterback to grow. He had a good receiver in Tyreek Hill, but I think the biggest thing is that he allowed those players to grow."
Even during the Chiefs' Super Bowl championship run last season, Reid developed players the front office drafted (with his input). In Kansas City, Reid is not the general manager and executive vice president of football operations he was in Philadelphia for 12 years in addition to his head coaching duties. Reid is just the head coach of the football team, doing what he knows best.
"The one thing that jumped out to me with Coach Reid was this," Douglas said. "Think about his corners that he had last year playing for the Chiefs, they were young corners and they were unproven guys. They struggled mightily through the course of the season. And now, you look at the defense of the Kansas City Chiefs - is their strength right now. That was one of the things he looked at and he tried to implement as far as giving these guys a chance to grow.
"Looking at those young players now and they're thriving. On the offensive side of the ball, their best receiver is Rashee Rice. Look at how their receiving corps was at the beginning of the year. He's a young cat and they allowed him to grow into the part. Now he's becoming a factor for them at the best time he can possibly be - in the playoffs."
Reid picked up his second Super Bowl title last season, becoming just the third head coach to beat the former team he coached in the Super Bowl. Not only is Reid second in postseason wins with 25 (trailing only Bill Belichick), but he became the fourth head coach with 200 wins and multiple Super Bowl titles (Belichick, Don Shula and Tom Landry).
With 283 combined victories in the regular season and postseason, Reid is fourth on the all-time list among head coaches. Reid is 258-144-1 (.641 win percentage) in the regular season in his 25 years as a head coach, just 70 wins behind Shula for the most in NFL history.
A Super Bowl victory would make Reid just the fifth head coach with three Super Bowl victories, joining Belichick (six), Chuck Noll (four), Bill Walsh (three), and Joe Gibbs (three). He would become the first head coach to win three Super Bowls with a franchise after taking the previous franchise he coached to a Super Bowl.
Reid is at the top of his game at 65 years old. He's heard the retirement chatter, but won't address the rumors if he'll retire after the Super Bowl.
Douglas knows Reid too well after playing for him and being a team ambassador for the Eagles during Reid's time in Philadelphia.
Hard to envision Reid stepping aside amid a dynasty with Mahomes, who is still two years away from turning 30.
"I don't see Coach Reid going anywhere," Douglas said. "He loves this game so much. And look, not getting into his personal business, but he's made a lot of sacrifices for the game of football. Some, I know, have to be tough on Coach. I think he loves the game of football. I think there are some things he feels he can still do for this game. If he walked away this year, I would be surprised."