Andy Reid won one of the biggest games of his coaching career Sunday. But it wasn’t enough to fully validate him as a great coach.
Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs brought an end to a 50-year streak between Super Bowl appearances (we’re talking 800 games between regular season and postseason) with a 35-24 win against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game. For Reid, 61, it ranks as no worse than the second biggest win in a head coaching career that began in 1999.
The only other win that compares was when Reid was in Philadelphia and beat the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl XXXIX, a game the Eagles lost to New England. But Reid has lost five conference championship games.
Although he has a .618 winning percentage in the regular season in time with Philadelphia and Kansas City. That’s very solid. But Reid is now 14-14 in the postseason. That’s not that good.
The league and fans are aware of Reid’s postseason woes and that’s why he’s viewed as a coach who chokes in the big games. That can’t be denied. It’s fact. Reid never has won the biggest of all games.
Maybe he made some mistakes along the way. Maybe he just ran into better teams. Or maybe it was a combination of both.
I say this was the biggest win of Reid’s career.
“It’s not done,’’ Reid said after the game.
Reid’s exactly right. It’s not done. He needs to win the upcoming Super Bowl to fully get the respect he should. If he loses, the “choker’’ label will stay and grow. If he wins, he’ll go down as one of the greatest coaches of his generation.
Tony Dungy used to carry the same reputation for not winning the big game, until he won it. His winning percentage wasn’t all that much better than Reid’s. But Dungy finally won a Super Bowl and that got him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Reid can do the same thing – and more. Let’s be real honest. Reid has a chance to win more than one Super Bowl. He has a chance to create a dynasty. He has a team that can win multiple Super Bowls.
With apologies to the good Philadelphia teams Reid coached, the current Chiefs are the best team he’s ever coached. With apologies to Donovan McNabb, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback Reid has ever coached. Mahomes is in only his third year. The Chiefs are going to be a good team for a long time.
Reid already has a reputation as a good coach. Now, with a Super Bowl win (maybe wins), he’s got a chance to be considered as one of the best coaches in history.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.