Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Quotes
January 27, 2025
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, I have no injuries to mention to you. I think we came out of the game pretty clean as far as those go – unless something pops up here, which we’ll let you know down the road. Listen, we sure appreciate the support that we had yesterday and throughout the night there and really even to the celebration after the game, everybody stayed and – that was obviously a Chiefs fan, so it was a great event. When I say all of this, we understand that we have a big challenge ahead of us coming up with the Eagles, but we sure appreciate everybody involved in helping us get to that point. It always starts with the Hunt family and the great job in which they do of supporting and giving us opportunities to be successful. (President) Mark Donovan who doesn’t get a whole lot of credit from anybody, but he’s the President of the organization and really does a ton for the organization in so many different ways and helps bring this community in to be a part of what we do. Then, (General Manager) Brett Veach for the great job that he and his crew do with bringing players in and then the coaches and players. I mentioned this last night and it takes everybody to get to this point. I say this because we’re 19 games into this thing (the season) and it’s not about one person or one player or one coach, it’s about everybody. It’s everybody coming together and there’s no more important game than the one we’re going to play in that we need that joint effort. Then, the other team that we’re playing, the Eagles, they’re there for a reason, and it’s because they’re a good football team, so we’ve got to make sure that we keep everything together and work and get a nice plan together for this group. Anyways, with that, time’s yours.”
Q: You run a lot of different plays out of the same formation. Are those plays usually worked on in training camp or is it a week-to-week install?
REID: “Some of them (plays) we’ve worked on before (but) you always add a little wrinkle here and there to them as you go, and you feel the comfort of how the play’s being executed in practice. We’ve experimented with those all the way back to the offseason and into (training) camp. I would tell you that (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck does a great job with the run game and putting that together. I’ve always mentioned that he gets everybody involved, but he also comes up with some pretty good things there so my hat goes off to him.”
Q: On the thought process during the time out before the third-and-nine play call.
REID: “On that, Jesse (Newell), we go through, and we look at this before the game, like if it comes down to a third down or fourth down and the game’s on the line. We talk to quarterbacks about it, the coaches talk about it and that was kind of our number one option there as a go-to play for this game and it was just a matter of hoping that they’d be in the right coverage for that play, so it worked out okay that way. (Offensive Coordinator) Matt (Nagy) spends endless time going through all of that with the guys. You start on Tuesdays and you kind of refine it down until you get to the game. We just brought the guys over (to) calm the storm just a little bit and talk to them about – make sure (that) everybody was right on their assignments.”
Q: A lot of competitors seem to need extra stuff to motivate them, but you seem to focus on the moment in process. Is that true? How does that motivate you?
REID: “Listen, I think all the guys want to do well. I take that for – maybe for granted. Guys don’t want to be embarrassed out there, so as coaches it’s our responsibility to teach them and put them in the best positions for them to be successful. This is their living that their working at and so you hope they can hang on for awhile and take advantage of that part. Then, (General Manager) Brett Veach does a great job at bringing guys in that kind of have that attitude – that ‘want to’ attitude – and I think that’s very important. It’s an important part of the process. We’re fortunate to have a bunch of guys that feel that way and at the same time, they feed off of each other, which is also important.”
Q: Does the journey and the process fulfill you as much as anything else about the job?
REID: “Yeah, I mean, I like to teach. I think if you’re going to be a coach, you have to be a teacher first. There is a lot that goes into that, it’s not just knowing your stuff, but how it’s presented and the trust that you have in the guys and then the work that goes into each play. I mean, the detail and work that these coaches put in, I think, is important. When we see success, we enjoy that – I enjoy that. I enjoy seeing the guys go out and do something good. I’m happy for them because I know the time and the effort that went into it. There’s an aptitude part of that, you know?”
Q: What do you feel Xavier Worthy has improved at the most in the second half of the season?
REID: “I was actually talking to his (Xavier Worthy’s) mom about that after the game. I mean, the kid every week has just gotten better and better and better, and he’s really put together a nice half of the season (in) the second half here. Not that he didn’t have good plays in the first half, but you can see he was learning in the first half and that the quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) was kind of learning where he was going to be and how he was going to get there and then against all these different coverages that teams throw at you. It looks like they’re on the same page and they’ll have a big challenge this week or this next – in two weeks with the Eagles. Their secondary – they have a real good secondary there too.”
Q: What makes Patrick Mahomes different in close games and what allows him to have success in the fourth quarter?
REID: “Phenomenal player, had a phenomenal night last night. There’s no change in him (Patrick Mahomes) as you go. He comes in competitive; he’s going to finish competitive right down to the end. The pressure part of it when things can dilate you a little bit when things are tight, don’t do that to him. He kind of flourishes in those moments when they’re the toughest and he’s just – he’s wired that way. I’m sure growing up in a locker room with his dad (Patrick Mahomes Sr.) was a big part of that or at least a part of it, but some if it is just innate that’s given to you. He’s one of those guys, the tighter the situation, the looser he plays.”
Q: How do you explain the parity in the league after winning so many close games?
REID: “I think it’s a little bit of what I was saying there just with Pat (Mahomes) that, I think the guys, they kind of thrive on that. I look at (Leo) Chenal and he goes out (in) the Texans game and goes, ‘I’m going to block the field goal.’ He tells (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Toub that. Toub goes, ‘Let’s go, let’s go. We can get the’ – he (Leo Chenal) goes, ‘No, it’s done.’ I mean, that’s kind of the attitude that these guys have and it’s not just him, it’s all these guys. When given an opportunity, they’ve stepped up in those situations and as a coach, you love that part, and you know that’s a rare thing. These games could’ve gone either way and no different than last night and guys, they take so much pride in stepping up and they don’t shrink in those situations.”
Q: In what other ways are the Eagles different than when you saw them in the Super Bowl two years ago?
REID: “Well, those receivers are – been in the offense now for a while and they have good tight ends, they have good receivers, I mean real good receivers and they have a running back (Eagles RB Saquon Barkley) that arguably is one of the best in the history of the game. Their offensive line, for all those guys to work, their offensive line has to be good, too. Then, their quarterback (Eagles QB Jalen Hurts) is dialing it up right now so whatever injuries he had early in the season, I mean, he’s playing like crazy right now. That’s a heck of an offense and another huge challenge for us.”
Q: How does the trust in the defense build and how important is it in big moments?
REID: “Listen, (Defensive Backs Coach) Dave (Merritt), (Safeties Coach) Donald (D’Alesio), (Defensive Line Coach) Joe (Cullen) – I mean, all of these coaches – (Linebackers Coach) Brendan (Daly), I mean, they’re all in with (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) Spags. They know the scheme like the back of their hand. Spags has confidence in them and then the players have confidence in their coaches and Spags. That and they want to learn the system, that’s a tough system, Matt (Derrick). You have to really – you have to stay focused during the meetings, you have to detail it at practice, you have to detail the walkthroughs that you do (and) meetings on the field. Then, most of all, you have to execute it on game day, but there’s that trust, that whole foundation that you’ve built with the trust and these guys, they’ve got that. Then, likewise, I have the confidence in Spags and in certain situations, I just know he’s going to – I don’t even run over to him and go, ‘Hey, let’s not do that or this.’ I have enough confidence in him and been around him long enough to know he’s going to make the right call for the right time.”
Q: How quickly did you turn the page from the game last night to the Eagles?
REID: “He (Chris Jones) was off by a couple hours, but I’ve been watching it for a while here. I try to get back on it – listen, it’s about the game, right? It’s about how you perform in the game and the Eagles didn’t get there because they’re not a good team, the Eagles got there because they’re the best team in the NFC. They’re a great football team. As coaches, we’ve got to dig in and get going and make sure that we can feed the players a good gameplan for them. Most of that work, Matt (Derrick) gets done this week. I know it's a two-week period before the game but once you get down to New Orleans it’s a bit chaotic, so you want to make sure you take care of business now.”
Q: What kind of energy do you get from the new guys who haven’t been through this before?
REID: “That’s a great question Todd (Leabo). I mean I love that part; I went around all those guys, man. I was so happy for them. Just seeing Kareem (Hunt) standing there going, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable,’ or D.J. (Humphries) jumping up and down, who’s been in this league a while and been through a few things or DeAndre (Hopkins), he had a smile on his face, it was a mile wide. I mean all those things, (Samaje) Perine goes and helps seals the game for us – a new addition. All that stuff is great, that’s why you do this, that’s why you do this as a coach. To get to see those guys that have achieved like they’ve achieved here.”
Q: Did getting guys healthy and opening up the playbook lead to you guys scoring the most points you’ve scored all season?
REID: “Yeah, sure. It was a good day to get over 30 (points). You knew you were going to somewhere do that and there was no better time than against that team because they’ve got an explosive offense. You knew you were going to have to go for it for – whatever term you want to use but there’s certain situations where you just have to cut it loose a little bit. I think we’re at that point where guys are back healthy and they’ve been able to practice fast with Pat (Mahomes) and then you cut it loose a little bit, yes.”
Q: On Kareem Hunt coming back this season.
REID: “He (Kareem Hunt) called me, Vahe (Gregorian). I mean, he just said he wanted to be there, I knew he had changed. I had spent some time with him at Pat’s (Mahomes) wedding. He’s got a good heart, even when he went through his deal, he’s got a good heart. I had confidence that he could jump in and help us. I knew he wanted to redeem himself amongst the community and kind of get that part that people can change and ‘I’m changed’ is what he’s saying, so I think that’s been a positive.”
Q: On the long review on fourth down.