Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
October 20, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “I don’t have really any reports for you on the finalization of the injury stuff. I’ll get that later here – I’ll be able to do that (or) give to you later, or whatever, whenever we normally give it to you. I’m proud of our guys for how they played. They came out all three phases and I thought (they) really did a nice job against a team (Las Vegas Raiders) that was getting better each week before we had this chance to play them. They (Las Vegas Raiders) just came off a nice win and had some momentum going there and I thought our guys came out and really were able to stay aggressive both defensively and offensively from the start. Which I thought was important and then our fans jump in on that, and that’s a tough ask for a team to come into. There’s a bunch of individual things that I could address from Pat’s (Mahomes) day to the offensive line’s day to (Travis) Kelce had a few catches and getting Rashee (Rice) back in there, I thought was tremendous. The energy that he (Rashee Rice) brings along with Xavier (Worthy) and the other guys, I mean it’s contagious. Then for a defense to shutout another – an NFL offense is very rare. Just by the stat that you guys threw out there (that) I’ve been a head coach and never had a shutout. I’ve coached a couple of years and for that to happen, that’s obviously got to be a tough thing to do. My hat goes off to (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags and his game plan (and) their coaches – the coaches on the defensive side and then our players just really amping it up. That’s a nice feat for our defense. Then special teams, you can see (Harrison) Butker kicking the ball well, and that’s a positive along with (Matt) Araiza. I thought our coverage teams were good likewise and return teams. All in all, it was a good day. As far as Josh (Simmons) goes, I don’t have any updates for you. (General Manager Brett) Veach is handling everything there. We’ll just move on with that. Time’s yours.”
Q: How important is it to have a guy like Kareem Hunt on short yardage situations?
REID: “All our running backs ran hard yesterday, all three of them. Kareem (Hunt) has got a real knack for that (short yardage situations). He’s got great vision, and he’s always been good at that part of it. Having him back there is a – that’s a great thing. Having him on our roster is a great thing because he brings this veteran leadership, a confidence to that group, which I appreciate. He’s seen a lot of things and been through a lot of things and does a great job of handling himself.”
Q: What did you see from Patrick Mahomes after watching film?
REID: “You saw him (Patrick Mahomes) execute all the phases in the offense. We have different categories there, whether it’s play pass movements, whether it’s three-step drop, five step drop concepts and then all the screen game that goes with that. We do a variety of screens. I liked the way he handled that. His checks were good at the line of scrimmage when he had to put a little Hollywood (acting) into things, he did good with that and some of the tricky stuff. I thought he handled everything real well.”
Q: What are you seeing from Brashard Smith’s progression?
REID: “I think (Offensive Coordinator) Matt’s (Nagy) done a nice job along with (Running Backs Coach) Todd (Pinkston) and (Assistant Running Backs Coach) Mark (DeLeone) of just bringing him (Brashard Smith) along. He had, I want to say, 14 touches yesterday or so and did a nice job of that. He’s catching the ball well, and I like where he’s at now. He’s in a good frame of mind and he’s picking things up. So, we just keep coming with him.”
Q: Do you want a running back that can do everything, or do you have different guys for different jobs? Do you think Brashard Smith one day could grow into that guy?
REID: “I’ve always believed that you need three guys. We’ve normally used all three (running backs) when we’ve had them. I’ve done that for a lot of years now. They’re all contributing in their own way. I think it’s important for Pop (Isiah Pacheco) to get in there and get going. He is the best when he does that. Kareem (Hunt) understands that, and Kareem gets to pick and choose where he goes in there or we’re able to pick and choose where he goes in there. And then (Brashard) Smith gives you a whole different – it’s a different deal because he had played the wide receiver position at the University of Miami before he got to SMU so his ability to catch the ball on screens and those type of things is good and he’s got the protections down now so he can stand back there and still protect. He’s not quite as strong as the other guys. If you had to pick something where he can get better at, he’s going to need an offseason to get him even stronger than what he is to tote it every play, but he’ll work on that. He’s a pretty diligent kid.”
Q: Based on grading, do you see Patrick Mahomes as an average quarterback or one of the best?
REID: “I’ll tell you, I think he’s (Patrick Mahomes) the best, but listen I’m partial, obviously. We ask him to do so much stuff and then just look at his game, look at his numbers and how he contributes (and) how he gets everybody on the offense involved. That’s him doing that, and he’s got options on all that stuff. He finds a way to get everybody the ball and then his leadership I think is second to none.”
Q: On Hollywood Brown and what he brings to the cultivation of the Chiefs culture.
REID: “Listen, I love him (Hollywood Brown). He’s one of those energy givers. He doesn’t say a lot but there’s a confidence there that he presents and makes you feel like I got it, I got everything under control (and) dial me up. That’s a great thing to have and when we have – we’re mixing and matching here so everybody’s getting a chance and when he gets a chance to move with the ball in his area he’s coming down with it. His hands are phenomenal. He does a nice job of that. He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s fearless inside which you don’t see a lot of that in this league. Some of his best work happens in there and I appreciate that.”
Q: How important is it to give your coaches specific tasks so they can use them in their future coaching careers?
REID: “Yeah Nick (Jacobs), I think it’s good for them in a few areas. It’s always good to be accountable for something and it makes your game even better as a coach and as a player. These guys have an area that they work, and they dig in on it. (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) Spags does the same thing on the defensive side as (Offensive Coordinator) Matt (Nagy) does on the offensive side. Everybody has a piece of the pie here, and they take a lot of pride in that. The players all know it. They know who does what, and they buy in. To be able to stand in front of a crew and to sell your product, that’s not an easy thing to do and then get results. It’s a great experience for them going forward or whatever direction they decide to go.”
Q: Where do you think this team set their new floor between the Lion’s game and yesterday’s game?
REID: “That’s a good question because I should’ve addressed that first. Last night I mentioned that you’re coming off a hard, emotional game against the Lions – (a) good football team and you’re going against a, now a rival (Las Vegas Raiders). It tells you first of all that you better be up every week. You can’t have an off week in the NFL. That part’s a great teaching tool. That’s a great teaching tool.”
Q: Does the success of the team lead to joyful plays or do joyful plays help get the team in the right spirit?
REID: “The guys enjoy those (joyful plays). If they’re sound, that’s where I’ve got the 51% on the thing. We practice them, and we feel like by the time we use them they’re a part of the offense. We normally can pull them off, we had the one fail on us down there, but normally these things work and that one, had we not botched it up a little bit there with the snap count, it probably would’ve scored. We just got to tighten that part up. We practice these things and spend time in them.”
Q: Can you feel your players’ energy on the sideline and how do you cultivate that?