Reid’s leadership paying dividends for veteran players

By Riley Funk

The Kansas City Chiefs are remaining poised during the 2024 Super Bowl run due to more than just great play; it’s a credit to coaching.

Andy Reid has been crowned the king of the Chiefs coaching staff since 2013. On Sunday, Reid has the opportunity to win his third Super Bowl with the team.

Players like quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce will be taking the Super Bowl field under Reid for the fourth time in their careers.

They met with media on Thursday on how Reid has prepared the team for this moment.

“I have a good feel for the game plan, good feel for how he calls plays. And a lot of the times he’ll call the play that I want him to call before I even get it in,” Mahomes said.

Kelce has been in the public eye for many reasons outside the game of football, however, he said his coach has kept him grounded. This has been the case throughout his entire career with the team.

“He’s never got off track. It’s been a constant incline of greatness. And I’ve been very fortunate (to have) him overlooking my career and helping me out both on and off the field as a professional, as a human being,” Kelce said.

The theme for vets such as Mahomes and his star tight end is consistency in the big-time moments. For Reid, he knows not every game is going to go perfectly from a player standpoint, but he said preparation through the week pays dividends on game day.

“Success and failure in a game doesn’t always depend on whether I think they’re ready or not ready. There are times where our rhythms look a little down and (then) they go play like crazy,” Reid said.

Mahomes said the work that Reid instills through his leadership gives him and the entire team confidence as they take on the 49ers on Sunday.

“I mean, just just having a good feel for what he’s thinking. I think that’s what great coaches and players connections kind of go is whenever you can kind of call the plays that the coach is going to call,” Mahomes said.