Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
January 30, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, no injuries to give you here. (We) look forward to the challenge of playing the Eagles, (they’re) a heck of a football team. (They’re) very well run from ownership on down through. (Eagles Head Coach) Nick’s (Sirianni) done a heck of a job there with the football team (and Eagles Executive Vice President/General Manager) Howie Roseman bringing the players in that they have and they’re very talented – well coached and very talented. Anyways, with that, time’s yours.”
Q: You’ve faced the Eagles in back-to-back seasons. How has Eagles RB Saquon Barkley helped the Eagles improve this season?
REID: “He’s (Eagles RB Saquon Barkley) a great player and a potential future hall of famer. He’s been – he was tremendous at New York and he had a great year this year with the Eagles. So, he’s helped them – he’s helped them, especially in the rush game but he can catch the ball. They have a quarterback that can throw the ball and two wide receivers out there that are tremendous and a couple tight ends, too. They’re fully loaded on the offensive side of the ball but to answer your question he’s been a great addition for them.”
Q: Did you watch Super Bowl IV when it happened as a kid?
REID: “Yup.”
Q: Do you remember much?
REID: “Nope (laughs). Yeah, I remember. I watched all of them.”
Q: That goes back even before your punt, pass and kick episode, I guess?
REID: “Yeah.”
Q: Would you ever consent to being mic’d up during a game?
REID: “I’m not big on that.”
Q: Have you ever run 65 Toss Power Trap?
REID: “We did last week, yeah. We ran it last week. The one that (Isiah) Pacheco caught. (We) tried to score – we didn’t quite score though. It wasn’t as good as the one they ran.”
Q: You’ve done the Super Bowl in New Orleans before. What do you remember about that?
REID: “It’s a great city and the hospitality was unreal back then – as I’m sure it will be now. They know how to put on a show but as coaches and players, you don’t get into too much of that, but it’s a great city. For the fans, I think it’s great.”
Q: Former NFL Coach Mike Holmgren is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In what ways did he influence you as a head coach?
REID: “Yeah, (former NFL Coach) Mike Holmgren, yeah. I felt like when I worked for him nobody did it better. I still feel that way after being a head coach for all these years. He’s a tremendous teacher – I mean, (a) great teacher so (I) took a ton from him in all areas. How he dealt with the players and also the football part, he’s got a great mind.”
Q: You’ve had great success in your 60’s and so did former NFL Coach Bill Belichick. Is that the new sweet spot for coaches?
REID: “I think they put something in the Geritol. Listen, it’s – I don’t know. It’s probably the experience, I guess if you had to – and you have good players, which helps and good coaches – good organization. We’re fortunate to have all of those things if there’s something in common with that.”
Q: Is patience one of them?
REID: “Yeah, I think you’re probably more patient. You’ve seen a lot to get to that point, so I know I’m more patient than when I was a younger head coach.”
Q: You’re a finalist for AP Coach of the Year. Would it be an honor to win this award?
REID: “Listen, I think it’s great for everybody involved, everybody’s got a piece of that. If that happens, it’s great. I look at those (award) more of a – really a team honor because it’s not a one man show. You’re really saying that your coaches did good, your players have done well, the organization’s done well. I mean, if it happens, it happens. I wasn’t even sure that was going on, but you could’ve just made that up.”
Q: When you ran 65 Toss Power Trap last week was that the first time and is that also what it’s called in your playbook too?
REID: “Yeah, that’s what we call it. It’s a tribute to the old guys.”
Q: Have you run that before?
REID: “No, that was the first time.”
Q: Have you seen Patrick Mahomes’ ability to lock in in the postseason evolve over the years that you’ve worked with him or has he always been able to maintain that consistent focus?
REID: “He’s (Patrick Mahomes) been good with that. I’d say that’s been a consistency. You can really see as the season builds up (that) he’s even more focused and more focused and then you get to this time of the year (and) he’s really locked in.”
Q: Have you heard any of the reactions calling Patrick Mahomes Michael Jordan?
REID: “I haven’t – listen, I haven’t heard anything, I try not to listen to anything. I had to do my media things, but I don’t tune in during the season.”
Q: On allegations of the Chiefs getting friendly whistles.
REID: “I mean, I think they (the refs) balance – everything balances out. You have a human element there with the officials. These guys are trying to do the best job they possibly can out there. They take a lot of heat one way or the other. Coaches take a lot of heat one way or the other. I don’t pay much attention to it.”
Q: Some people are tired of the Chiefs winning, do you use this as motivation?
REID: “Yeah, I don’t care. Honestly, I don’t get into that; I don’t use that with the guys. I just want to make sure we get prepped. As coaches, our responsibility is to give them everything we can give them to be even greater than they already are and then make sure we’re digging in on plays to help them with that. Then, for them to focus in on learning it and keeping themselves physically fit and mentally fit to go play. There’s enough to do just with that where you don’t even have to pay attention to the other stuff.”
Q: On the left tackle position.
REID: “It’ll probably be the same. Again, we’ll rotate them (Joe Thuney and D.J. Humphries) all in there, but I think (it’ll) probably end up being the same when it’s all said and done.”
Q: What is it about Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s blitz package that you find most compelling?
REID: “He (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) doesn’t do it every down. Sometimes you become – you have the stigma of being a blitz guy. It’s when he does it and then how he knows the protections or the run scheme, you know for the run blitzes. How he understands the scheme and when to go ahead about using it. I think that’s what makes him so unique and why they’re successful. You can blitz, they know the blitz is coming, they pick it up and it’s one of those deals. The offensive guy calls the right play for that time. His objective is to find when that’s not happening.”
Q: What is your favorite meal in New Orleans?
REID: “I’ll tell you, there is one. Emerils, not that I turn any of them (meals) down but when I was with the Eagles, the chef there, the head chef, tremendous chef, he was a huge Eagles fan. He invited me over and he said, ‘I’m going to start at the ocean and finish in the mountains.’ He put me in the kitchen and said, ‘Have at it.’ He said, ‘I’ll stop when you’re full,’ so four hours later, we were done.”
Q: Are you worried that he would poison your food this time since he is an Eagles fan?
REID: “I probably won’t go there (laughter).”
Q: Did you ever foresee that Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach would eventually become the General Manager of the team you coach after he worked for you early on in your career in Philadelphia?
REID: “You can see right from the get-go his (Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach) energy and how smart he was. Then, his passion for the players side of it, so those guys that came in, I gave them the opportunity to either go personnel or to the football side. He was so passionate about the personnel side and just digging in with it and finding guys. You look at (former NFL WR and Delaware State University Head Coach) DeSean Jackson and (former NFL RB LeSean) McCoy and (former NFL DT Fletcher) Cox, all those guys, he’s throwing those guys on my desk saying, ‘You have to get these guys.’ He just had an eye and a knack for it and that hasn’t changed.”
Q: What is your advice to the rookies and the players who have not experienced opening night before?
REID: “You know what’s kind of neat about that is you get people from all over the world that show up. Now, some of the questions are a little bizarre, so (Vice President of Football Communications) Brad Gee talks to them (the players) just about how you handle those, that’s important. It might be a joke for them but what you say is what you say so you have to be careful with how you present it and present yourself. For the rookies, that’s all new. The veteran guys kind of know that but for the rookies, it’s kind of a wild event.”
Q: What’s the key to calming the nerves in the beginning of the game?
REID: “I think it’s – first of all, it’s (the) preparation before you get there. You have to make sure that you have everything going. You know your juices are going to be flowing so you’ve got to make sure you get in there and prep so you’re not thinking about things while your juices are going as much as you’re just going out and playing. You get excited, it’s an exciting game but you don’t want to hide that either and then you kind of settle down as you go through.”
Q: When you got your 300th win, did Bill Belichick reach out to you?
REID: “I believe he (former NFL HC Bill Belichick) did, yeah. I mean, he’s a good friend, so he’s great with all that. He’s the guy, this is all – an old hat for him. I have a ton of respect for him as a coach but he’s also a friend.”
Q: Was it like “Welcome to 300” or anything like that?
REID: “He’s never going to really reach the real 300 (lb.). There’s a lot of cheeseburgers that went into that (laughter).”
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Quotes
January 30, 2025
Q: On the people calling the Chiefs “Villains.”
MAHOMES: “I try not to listen to it too much. I think more than anything, I just try to embrace who we have in this locker room and the personalities and how we enjoy playing football. I believe (that) if we play football the right way and we compete and go out there and play our best football that I’ll always have my guy’s backs. We have a lot of good dudes in this locker room and all we’re going to do is compete and try to win football games.”
Q: How much is potentially completing the three-peat to join legends like Michael Jordan, the late Kobe Bryant or Derek Jeter a motivating factor to win this game?
MAHOMES: “I mean, I think you always want to leave a legacy and kind of make your imprint on history but more than anything, you just want to accomplish a goal that you have with your teammates. When you start in St. Joe your goal is to win the Super Bowl. We know that’s a hard process, we know it’s a hard week-in and week-out, but I’m proud of how our guys have kind of went about that process. We know it’s not going to be easy, this team we’re playing is a really good football team, but we’re going to go out there and put our best effort out there and play as a team and hopefully that’s enough to get a win.”
Q: How much have athletes like the late Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan influenced you in your career?
MAHOMES: “I think more than anything is you see the competitors that they are (Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan) is that they’re going to do whatever it takes to win. That’s what you have to be in order to have success in professional sports is a competitor, someone that’s going to put in the work every single week and watching them and listening to the things that they talk about, that’s helped shape my career on how I have to work. Obviously, it’s a long way still for me to go to be mentioned with those guys but I’ll try to do whatever I can to be close enough as I can be.”
Q: Is there something that stands out about this year that makes this year different?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I think just – to me, this team’s been special because it’s been everybody. If you look at our entire season it’s like someone that makes a big play at the biggest moment to go out there and win a football game if that’s offense, defense or special teams. I think that fact that it’s been everybody – it’s not just offense, it’s not just defense, it’s everybody on the entire team (and) it’s something that I’ll remember this season by and hopefully we can do it the right way and get this final win.”
Q: On NFL Films capturing the moment when he said he wanted a third Super Bowl after winning Super Bowl LVIII.
MAHOMES: “I don’t know if it was just this one in particular, it’s just when you’re on that stage and you’re celebrating you start thinking about the guys that are coming back, you think about how young that football team was last year and you knew that we had a chance to be in this position. Even though you’re winning, you’re enjoying that moment, you enjoy it, but at the same time, you have a bigger picture of your entire career, and I want to have as many chances as I can to be in the Super Bowl. It’s cool to have guys like Chris (Jones) and Trav (Travis Kelce) that I’ve kind of spent my entire career with and won all these games with. There’s a few others with James Winchester and Harrison (Butker), I’m probably forgetting someone here or there but it’s cool to have these guys because we’ve built such a great friendship and almost become a family and I think that’s really cool.”
Q: On the fourth quarter and overtime success in the past Super Bowls.
MAHOMES: “I mean, not just start fast but just be consistent throughout the game. I think there’s been games where we’ve started fast and we have lolls, but you have to be able to deal with adversity and whenever you have those moments, just being able to respond. We’ve played a lot of good teams in the Super Bowls (and) a lot of good defenses and we’ve done a good job of kind of figuring out, but if we can start fast, obviously, it would help out and make it to where we don’t have to necessarily have a fourth quarter comeback every time, but however you find a way to win, you find a way to get a win.”
Q: What was it like calling 65 Toss Power Trap in the huddle and what kind of appreciation do you have for the history of that play?
MAHOMES: “I wish we would’ve scored; it got close. The history of that play – the history of this organization, it runs through this entire team. Just like last week getting that Lamar Hunt Trophy back at home, I mean, it’s special for us. That’s one of our goals is to get that trophy and to win it at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, it’s a special moment. Being able to run that play, one that I’ve watched and one that we have a room named after, next time we’ll just try to find a way to get it into the end zone.”
Q: What do you know about that play?
MAHOMES: “I know what’s cool about this organization is that we always go back and look at the history of it. If you look at (PFHOF Head Coach) Hank Stram and (PFHOF QB) Len Dawson and all the Hall of Famer’s – I think there’s like six or seven Hall of Famer’s on that football team. We go and we have museums and we learn, and I talked to other guys and other quarterbacks whenever they come in our room like Carson (Wentz) or Chris (Oladokun) or whoever that is about the history of the Chiefs. I think that’s the cool thing about the NFL is that you can look back at these special moments in organizations and really what defines organizations. That was a huge moment for this organization.”
Q: Who makes you guys aware of those things?
MAHOMES: “It starts with (Chairman & CEO) Clark (Hunt). We talk about it before every single training camp, then it goes down through the line. When you’re with (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid, you hear the best stories of all time. I meet with him every single Friday when we talk about the gameplan, but that becomes like a story time where I hear these stories about the great untold stories about the history of the NFL. One day, he’s going to have to write a book because there are some great ones in there.”
Q: What is Chairman & CEO Clark Hunt like as an owner?
MAHOMES: “I think (Chairman & CEO) Clark (Hunt) does a great job of being there and showing his support and showing that he is invested. You can tell (that) he loves it and not only for his family but for all of us. Then, at the same time, letting (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid help run the organization – the football side of it. He has huge impact on this organization. The way that he comes to work every single day and he’s there and he’s always there. I mean, it is really cool to see. (He’s a) Texas guy so all the best are from Texas.”
Q: What do you think drives Head Coach Andy Reid?
MAHOMES: “I think what drives (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid is just the greatness and becoming better people every single day. I think that’s something that is special about this is he doesn’t care if he’s playing Week 18 or Week 1 or Super Bowl or a preseason game, he’s the same. He’s the same (and) he’s going to expect greatness out of you and when you leave the building, he wants you to be a better person than when you got in the building. I think that makes you want to be better every single day that you’re in the building. When people talk about three-peat and everything like that, we’re focused on how we can be better today to prepare ourselves for the next day and it starts with him.”
Q: Do you ever hear him say something like “three-peat?”
MAHOMES: “I think the only time I’ve heard him (Head Coach Andy Reid) say it is like to the media whenever y’all ask him about it. He’s very locked in on just, ‘How can we be great with our cadence today at practice?’ so that’s just the stuff that Coach Reid focuses on.”
Q: What do you appreciate most about what Kareem Hunt has done this season and why did you choose to invite him to your wedding?
MAHOMES: “I think first off – I mean, with Kareem (Hunt), obviously he made his mistakes, but I knew the person before, and I knew the person after and I knew that he had a good heart and he had to learn from his mistakes and become a better person because of it and he did that. He dealt with the consequences and he’s kind of tried to rebound and just be a better person for the community more than anything. Just knowing him and how close he was to me but also how he treated Brittany (Mahomes) and how he treated my family has always been special, so I wanted to have him at my wedding. I didn’t think anything of having any – all of my coaches – I was just having all the people that I love at my wedding. Obviously, I think (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid talked to him there and they were able to talk about just things. We never knew that was going to be coming back to the Chiefs, but getting him back now, you can tell that he appreciates the moment, he appreciates being out there on the practice field and being in the building and it’s been fun. For him to have the impact on this team that he’s had, and it’s been a big impact – to get to the Super Bowl with him, because as someone that was one of the first people I met when I got to Kansas City and not to be able to enjoy the Super Bowls with and finally getting to enjoy one with him will be a special moment and hopefully we can get a win and he can enjoy that too.”
Q: Does Head Coach Andy Reid encourage trash talking on the field and showing your personality?
MAHOMES: “Well, for me, I’m pretty good – I don’t really talk trash unless I get trash talked to me, so I’m usually pretty calm. (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid is great about showing your personality and we want you to go out there and play with fire and we want you to show how much you care about the game, but we have respect for the game as well. We respect the guys on the other side of the football because we know how hard it is to get to this point and how great of a football team and great football players you have to be. That’s why it’s just genuine. You’re just honest and you respect the guys on the other side of the football. When you’re in between the lines, you show your fire, you show your love for the game, but when you’re off the field, you show respect for the game, and I think that’s important, and I think that’s why we’re in the position that we’re in.”
Q: On playing against former Kansas State Head Coach Bill Snyder.
MAHOMES: “First off, playing against him (former Kansas State Head Coach Bill Snyder) and then getting those letters after the game, I’ve kept those letters. Just a true, great person and iconic coach and iconic leader and just made his imprint in football forever, especially at K-State (Kansas State), but just throughout the Big 12 and football in general. (I) played a lot of games, I think I only won one of them, I came into the fourth quarter I believe of one of them. Then, (I) played at Texas Tech (and) we lost – I mean, we won at Texas Tech in Lubbock, (Texas). Then, (we) went to K-State and I came off and injury and we ended up losing that game. I tried to do a Hail Mary at the end of the game and got hit. I think I threw a pick to (New York Jets CB) D.J. Reed who’s in the NFL. It’s always cool when you play against the greats and you get to see their impact and why they’re so great. It was some fun moments for me in college.”
Q: Did you get a letter after every game?
MAHOMES: “I got two of them. The first one, I didn’t get one because I came in at the fourth quarter probably, but then the second one and the third one, I got one.”
Q: How did Alex Smith leave an impact on you to get you to where you are now?