Andy Reid has been coaching football for a long time and has seen his share of competitive seasons during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. Since 2013, he has rarely failed to make his mark on an individual season’s story, from the no-receiver-touchdown year to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship in 2020.
But this season has been different. Both of the league’s conferences have several teams that seem capable of winning it all in February, and the top of the AFC conference standings has been a dogfight all year. Asked about what has changed in the NFL that has enabled the any-team-can-win dynamic, Reid told reporters on Thursday that the league has been heading in this direction for some time.
“I’ve been doing this a couple years, I remember [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell talking about this and Paul Tagliabue talking about his, but they wanted to try to get as much parity among the organizations that they possibly could – through free agency and so on,” Reid explained. “The way all the rules and regulations that go in with that and to give players options to go different places and for teams to be able to get good players, not only in the draft but also through these other processes.
“I think that it’s come to fruition here. We’re seeing it, we’re living it and I think it’s great. It’s great for all the cities, they have a chance – every city has a chance to be good and that makes our game. You can turn on any game in the National Football League, and you’re going to get great entertainment.”
Reid may be right in his assessment, but he is working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure that Kansas City’s Christmas-eve matchup against the Seattle Seahawks is a snoozefest. With the AFC’s top seed in the playoffs up for grabs, the Chiefs need a win to continue staying in the hunt for the elusive first-round bye.