OPENING STATEMENT: “I don’t have injuries or any of that for you, we’re at the end here. Whatever you want, go ahead and fire at me, time’s yours.”
Q: Is it going to motivate the team next season knowing history can be made becoming the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row?
REID: “I think they probably know all that. I don’t have to say much in that area – or didn’t have to say much, we just met. You know that that’s a great challenge and most of all you’re going to be challenged by other teams. If we thought we were challenged this year, we’re definitely going to challenged double that next year.”
Q: Is there something that this season taught you more than any of the others?
REID: “I think what you’re seeing in the game today is these defensive coordinators – and I’ll tell you ours included – are very flexible with the coverages. So, it’s not just one or two coverages that they’re going to throw at you. They’re being able to teach multiple coverages, and they’re not afraid to use them at any time during the game. That’s where I’ll tell you the game has changed a little bit. As far as myself, obviously patience was one thing that we had to do on the offensive side as guys learned, the young guys learned and the new guys learned. Very grateful for the job that (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags did with the defensive side. I thought that they were a great example to everybody of taking young guys, teaching, them and watching them grow, like they had to do last year, and we were able to really come to a strength last year on defense for the playoffs and it kind of worked that way this year with the offense.”
Q: When you talk to the team about the parade, how much of your message is telling them to have fun but don’t get too crazy?
REID: “Yeah, that was mentioned a couple times. It’s great to have fun but be smart.”
Q: What gives you the confidence that Patrick Mahomes will ramp up his game next season and not get complacent?
REID: “He (Patrick Mahomes) has a love for the game, and so when you have that type of love, especially as young as he is, I don’t think that’s going anywhere. He doesn’t let all the outside events effect his play. I mean, he’s one of those guys that is known worldwide really, and that really doesn’t faze him.”
Q: On the doggy pile with Chris Jones after the game.
REID: “I was so happy for him (Chris Jones), I kind of had been riding him a little bit. We needed him in there and he was spent, He was tired, but he sucked it up and he got out there and he pushed himself probably further than he thought he could push himself. He took himself to that state, that wrestling state where you got to really reach down in there and kind of get through that evil thing that is kicking your butt internally. He did that and I was so proud of him for that.”
Q: Was it the end of regulation or during OT when you really needed Chris Jones?
REID: “It was both, I mean it was both.”
Q: How much would it mean to get Chris Jones back for next season?
REID: “I think (General Manager Brett) Veach has said it before, we’d love to have him (Chris Jones) back. They just have to work all that out, but I think that the effort will be there probably on both parts to try to get something done.”
Q: How much fun was it to have your son Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach Spencer Reid on staff with you this season and be able to celebrate with him?
REID: “It was great. It was great to have him on board. I thought he (Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach Spencer Reid) did a nice job along with the strength coaching staff – they kept us in a good position throughout the year injury wise, they worked with the trainers (to) make sure guys got back quick. It’s great, there’s no feeling like that to have one of your kids there in a situation like that.”
Q: What did it mean to have two west coast offenses make it to the Super Bowl and see PFHOF Head Coach Bill Walsh’s offense still being used today?
REID: “You could even take it further to (PFHOF Head Coach) Paul Brown who taught (PHOF Head Coach) Bill Walsh. That’s something – to say that its time tested is probably an understatement. We’ve stretched ours in a certain direction and (49ers Head Coach) Kyle (Shanahan) has done the same thing. Like I said, it’s time tested and really a good deal. Kyle did a heck of a job this year, and I don’t want to let that slide on this. He really is a heck of a football coach. That game could have gone either way, that was one of those kinds of games. Fortunate to say we came out on the positive side, but it could have easily gone that other way.”
Q: What do the next couple of weeks look like after the parade for you?
REID: “The coaches will take right around a week off, but then we have the Combine coming up, so we’ve got to get ourselves ready for that. Then it just goes from there, we’re in the swing of things after that once you get to the combine.”
Q: On the sideline interaction with Travis Kelce.
REID: “He (Travis Kelce) and I have talked and that’s not a big deal. I wouldn’t anticipate other players doing that.”
Q: How do you manage playing so many extra games with long playoff runs every season?
REID: “We try to manage that the best we can with the offseason so the guys can refresh and get themselves back and ready to go. The way training now, it’s year around, so guys know how to manage that. It’s all worked out okay. I’m not too worried about that.”
Q: In what ways have you been able to appreciate the moment and keep everything you’ve accomplished in perspective?
REID: “To win one is tough, to win two back-to-back is really tough. That’s not an easy thing to do. To know the effort the guys put into it, the way they stuck together through the highs and lows. You see offensive guys wearing t-shirts around that say, ‘In Spags we trust’, it’s a joint effort. There wasn’t an offense versus defensive thing. It was us playing as one group – (and) special teams likewise. The guys jump in and just do a phenomenal job on special teams when needed. Everybody had a little piece of the pie, and that’s gratifying as a head coach to be around something like that.”