Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
January 20, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “Go ahead and fire away.”
Q: Have you ever been surprised by some of the things that Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo comes up with late in games?
REID: “I get to see them all week, so it’s not a surprise on game day. He (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) does a heck of a job of knowing when to use the different blitzes and that’s half the battle. It’s not how much you blitz, it’s just how you utilize the blitzes and when you utilize them, so he’s got a great feel for that.”
Q: How did Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo get the touch to know when to blitz? It’s been a while since you’ve had to do it but how tough is it to play against one of his defenses?
REID: “It’s obviously tough, he (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) gives you a lot of different looks (and Offensive Coordinator) Matt Nagy will tell you that when you talk to him. He more recently has gone against him. He’s tough to go against with the different combinations that he has. He does a heck of a job with it.”
Q: On the fourth-and-one play.
REID: “I thought we did a good job with the execution. We’ve tried to stay aggressive on fourth down, within reason, throughout the season but that was the idea behind it. The execution of the play, I thought we blocked it well, which ends up being important. Then, the ability of Kareem (Hunt) to kind of bounce off of things and his lateral cutting ability there.”
Q: How have you seen Kareem Hunt embrace short yardage situations as a whole?
REID: “He’s (Kareem Hunt) done a nice job for us. Kareem is a big kid, and he’s got a good low center of gravity, and he’s got great vision and lateral cutting ability so that fits in well with your short yardage game. Usually Sam (McDowell), there’s not a lot of space in there, normally and so for you to be able to squeeze through those tight holes – he does a good job, but he has a knack of being able to kind of cut his body in half sideways – by going sideways and still moving forward.”
Q: What do you think your defense may have learned from the first game that can be applicable for Sunday’s rematch?
REID: “One of the things (that) we’ll keep working on is you’ve got to be able to – you’ve got to get off the field on third down. We keep stressing that – (Defensive Coordinator) Steve (Spagnuolo) does and so we have to be able to take care of those third downs, especially when you work so hard to put yourself in a good position. They do a – listen, the Bills do a heck of a job with that. They’re a really good football team, offensively.”
Q: How did Jaylen Watson come out of the game injury-wise and how will you increase his involvement as you go here?
REID: “He (Jaylen Watson) actually came out feeling good, Pete (Sweeney). I mean, it was a – that’s one of the positives that you come out with Jaylen. He was fresh from the injury and you hope that he can not have the swelling that was taking place before and still functioning at a relatively high speed during the game. You know, I thought he did that, I thought he sustained when given that opportunity.”
Q: When you see Travis Kelce in the postseason, how much do you think his performance is based on the adrenaline and how much is based on the rest of the preparation?
REID: “That’s a good question, Vahe (Gregorian). I’m happy for him (Travis Kelce) with the seven catches and all that, but I think more of it is just we have a variety of guys around him. I mean, he’s – the opportunities that he’s had he’s done well with, and I don’t think it’s his play that has been reduced. When everybody asks about age – by age or physical ability or anything, I just think that you have a variety of guys that we’ve been able to use around him and when we didn’t, teams were ganging up on him. It’s a good problem now because guys are healthy, and we have choices out there and they can’t really just focus on him.”
Q: How does Travis Kelce’s energy resonate with the rest of the team?
REID: “It’s not only his (Travis Kelce) energy, it’s a positive – it’s that positive mindset that you can do anything and I think he does a great job with that and being able to show it to the guys that – listen, (when) we come together the right way, anything’s possible. That’s the thing I appreciate (about) him the most. I also appreciate that, at his age, he goes out there every day and practices hard and that just – and if you try to take him out, he gets mad at you. I think that’s – I’d say that’s a special thing for an older player.”
Q: Is there a possibility that Mecole Hardman will end the season on IR, or would you like to get him activated this week?
REID: “We’ll see how that goes here. Just – I haven’t made any decisions on that yet, Matt (Derrick) but he’s (Mecole Hardman) worked hard to try to get himself back and get going, but we’ll see how all that works out.”
Q: On the offensive line’s performance.
REID: “First, I’d give credit to the Texans. That defense is a good defense, real good defense and that defensive line is a big challenge. As it will be this week, this defensive line, likewise, is a big a challenge. I thought our guys held up well against them, and we did some good things in the run game and did some good things in our play-pass game and we were decent on third downs. I think all around it was good against who we were playing against.”
Q: How have you seen Kareem Hunt grow since he was a rookie? How excited for him are you to get this opportunity?
REID: “He’s (Kareem Hunt) able to speak up now because he’s been there because he’s got that senior leadership thing going. As much as an energy giver as we were just talking about – Trav (Travis Kelce is) –Kareem does the same thing. He brings it (in) a little different way, but he brings it – that toughness, that want to. You get him and (Isiah) Pacheco out there and there’s a whole lot of energy coming off of those two and that’s appreciated. That’s probably where I’d tell you he doesn’t feel like the young guy on the team anymore. He’s the veteran guy. He knows guys will listen to him. He can help set a tempo, all those things, Nick (Jacobs), that comes with being a veteran.”
Q: What does it mean to you as a coach to give the new guys on the team this moment to play in the AFC Championship?
REID: “That’s kind of a neat deal. DeAndre (Hopkins), I mean he’s been doing it (for) 12 years and so I said, ‘Hey you’ve never been to this one have you?’ He said, ‘No.’ You know and against a good – we’re able to go against a real good team here. So that competition level will be at its highest point, and that’s why we’re all in this thing. So, for him to have that opportunity to experience that part – as great as he is, to even being able to take it up one more notch is something that will be new for him. I think that’s a great thing. For the young guys, it’ll be a good experience for them going forward. They can learn from it and we’ll tell them what it’s all about, the players will tell them what it’s all about, but until you get out there and feel that energy, you really don’t know. It’ll be good for them to get through it.”
Q: Is there anything that specifically stands out about this round of playoffs compared to the others?
REID: “Well, the fact that we’re at home is a real positive, I think. We’ve got to play well, whether we’re favored or not favored, I don’t know. I’m pretty sure they’ll probably be favored but that’s alright, we do our thing as we go into this and we don’t worry about all of that. It’s a high level of football, and you’ve got to handle it that way. You get to test yourself at close to the highest level – besides the Super Bowl, this is the highest level so that’s kind of what it’s all about for coaches and players.”
Q: On the impressive pass rush in Saturday’s game.
REID: “Spags (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) has done a good job, we talked about that, but the players also have to step up – that’s what the guys have done a nice job with, I’m so proud of them for that. (Defensive Line Coach) Joe Cullen does a heck of a job with the defensive line and George (Karlaftis) had a big day – just being as relentless as he is and how much work he puts into the game and making sure he’s physically right and so on. It’s a real tribute to him and his effort. Then Charles (Omenihu) – it’s been great to have Charles in there, I don’t think you’re missing a point there at all, he’s a good passer, he’s a good football player, so that helps a lot to have him in there. Chris Jones likewise. Mike (Danna), who doesn’t get any of the glory, he’s a good football player too, so he kind of does the dirty work and doesn’t get much praise for it.”
Q: What are you doing when you don’t have the ball to keep everyone focused, sharp and ensure that the Texans aren’t icing your offense?