Tag: Andy Reid

Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles talks playoff experience, Browns matchup

Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles talks about his NFL playoff experiences and his expectations for the Chiefs-Browns divisional playoff game.

Kansas City Chiefs all-time rushing yards leader Jamaal Charles has more than cemented his legendary status in franchise history. The four-time Pro Bowler holds several NFL records, including most receiving touchdowns by a running back in a single game, and most career yards-per-carry for a running back.

Charles recently teamed up with Crown Royal this season, encouraging football fans to stay safe, support their community, and drink responsibly while rooting on teams during the NFL season. Chiefs Wire contributing writer Ed Easton Jr. recently sat down with Charles to talk about his work with Crown Royal, his expectations for this Sunday’s divisional-round battle with the Cleveland Browns and more.

Chiefs Wire: Tell us about your partnership with Crown Royal

Charles: “This football season, I teamed up with Crown Royal to make sure wherever you watching the game to drink responsibly, and stay safe, don’t ruin games for family and friends.”

Chiefs Wire: What are your thoughts on this year’s Chiefs squad heading into Sunday’s game

Charles: “I’m ready to get it on. I’m looking forward to watching the Browns and the Chiefs this week seeing Kareem (Hunt) come back home and try and take vengeance against his former team. I want to see what Baker Mayfield is about to do against the defense, and I want to see Pat (Patrick Mahomes) on the field. I want to see Travis (Kelce) and Tyreek (Hill) and all the great weapons they have on offense, it’s gonna be interesting. As long as the Chiefs don’t start like last weekend with the Steelers against the Browns, they have a great chance at moving on to the next round.”

Chiefs Wire: What are your thoughts on Chiefs’ first-year running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire?

Charles: “He’s having a great year thus far. He’s represented the number [Jersey No. 25] very well. His yards after contact is up there like Derrick Henry if he just comes back healthy. I know the Chiefs would be successful at how he opens the game up for Pat (Patrick Mahomes).”

Chiefs Wire: What was the mood during your first playoff game?

Charles: “It was fun. I played Baltimore in my first game in the playoffs; most people don’t understand that it’s a different building, a different level, a different emotion in the playoffs. I was very upset we lost against Baltimore; it was a tough team playing against Ray Lewis, and basically, we had Matt Cassel. It was just hard to try and put together a game plan, but we could’ve easily won that game.”

Chiefs Wire: Can you describe what was going through your mind when you became the Chiefs all-time leading rusher in 2014?

Charles: “I was just excited to do it excited to get over the hurdle to be the leading rusher in franchise history; that was one of the milestones I wanted to accomplish, and I did, and I was excited. I’m still happy that I am still the Chiefs leading rusher to this day, I don’t stop and stare, but I’m excited to be on the list.”

Chiefs Wire: What makes Andy Reid’s coaching style so unique? 

Charles: “Andy Reid knows how to get the ball to his best players hands, and he also knows to put them in space and make people miss you just gotta do the rest. He’s a great caller you got coach (Eric) Bieniemy that’s helping him out as well; he was there when I was there as well. He put everything in detail, which helps you, even more.”

Chiefs Wire: Were there any similarities between Travis Kelce and Tony Gonzalez? 

Charles: “My first year when I played with Tony (Gonzalez) he was a guy that every time he went on the practice field, he used to run his own routes while the defense was on, I’d be like, ‘what are you doing’, and he just is over there running routes catching a lot of passes throughout the entire practice. And I know playing with (Travis) Kelce, he used to do that as well at a young age and go and catch like 100 balls a day with the jug machine. I saw all that coming with Kelce; he’s gonna be a great player. When he was a rookie, he was doing spectacular stuff. Being able to play with him while I was there, I knew he was a great route runner, I knew he was gonna be one of the best tight ends in the league today.”

Chiefs Wire: What advice would you give the Chiefs regarding utilizing the Arrowhead Stadium fan energy? 

Charles: “Take the energy that you get from the crowd. I know it’s not the same like they experienced last year from the playoffs but be thankful for what you have, be thankful that you have fans. Most people didn’t have fans throughout the entire season so make those fans happy and shout for them because hopefully will be back together next year will have a sold-out stadium. We just have to deal with what we have now; we’re still in a pandemic.”

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AFC playoffs an exhibition of Chiefs HC Andy Reid’s coaching tree

Each of the three head coaches remaining in the AFC playoffs all got their start in the NFL under Chiefs HC Andy Reid.

The roots of the coaching tree in the AFC playoff race run straight back to Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. In fact, each of the three remaining head coaches got their NFL starts under Reid.

In 1998, Baltimore Ravens HC John Harbaugh joined Reid’s coaching staff in Philadelphia as a special teams coordinator. In 2001, Buffalo Bills HC Sean McDermott became Reid’s personal assistant with the Eagles. In the summer of 2005 at Eagles training camp, Cleveland Browns HC Kevin Stefanski was a coaching intern for Reid.

For Reid, how he’s managed to create so many branches of his coaching tree, all goes back to his upbringing through the Green Bay Packers system as an assistant coach.

“I think it’s kind of a neat process as it works out over the years,” Reid said on Wednesday. “I’m part of that process because of Mike Holmgren, so I’ve lived this and it’s kind of a neat deal to be a part of.”

Harbaugh knows as well as anyone that Reid is just as good of a scout for coaches as he is for NFL talent. He became the first of two former assistants in the Reid coaching tree to go on and win a Super Bowl during his career. He also realized just this past week that each of the remaining coaches in the AFC playoff race all got their start under Reid.

“Remarkable. I guess I realized that when it was pointed out to me in practice to me today,” Harbaugh said on a conference call with Buffalo media. “You kind of take a moment and think about it, it’s pretty amazing. I think it speaks really highly of Andy (Reid). The kind of coach that he is. We all learned so much from him.”

But what makes Reid such a success when it comes to finding good coaches? Beyond the football of it all, Reid is just a good judge of people and it starts with that.

“The idea, they’re just good people,” Harbaugh said. “I look back on those years with those guys… just a bunch of great people who are just tremendous friends to this day. I don’t know how to explain it but it’s pretty amazing.”

Even as the Chiefs prepare to face the Browns and HC Kevin Stefanski in the divisional round, both coaches recall Stefanski’s days as a coaching intern. Stefanski would say that it wasn’t exactly a glamorous job, he called it an “anything and everything job.” He would do anything and everything asked of him, be it football tasks or otherwise.

“I knew who he was,” Reid said of Stefanski. “He was a heck of a football player right there at Penn, so I followed Penn, I had a couple of assistants that had been there and coached there, so I knew about it. I was with the head coach there and it’s a neat program. It was right there by our facility, and the tradition is phenomenal. Anyways, all that said, yeah, I knew who he was, and yes, I did see him.”

Not every head coach knows their coaching interns, yet Reid has a way of making all of his assistant coaches feel important. He’s a great delegator, allowing each and every one of them to play a part in the success of a team.

Stefanski certainly learned a lot from that experience and it influenced his path as a coach. Now, what Stefanski admires most about Reid is his offensive genius.

“He’s obviously somebody that I admire a ton,” Stefanski told reporters of Reid on Wednesday. “Just watching how he’s done it over the course of time and just the various ways that he’s structured his offense to the strengths of his team. Then, he’s a great play-caller. I love to watch the great play-callers and how they mix it up, how they call different things situationally as well with Coach Reid.”

At the heart of what Reid does for coaches is to show them to be teachers and mentors. He’s a football empath of sorts, able to relate to players and coaches and put them on the best possible path for success.

“These guys work their tail off and they work all the areas of what you need to be a good football coach,” Reid explained. “It’s not all X’s and O’s. That’s a big part of it, but it’s not all X’s and O’s, it’s how you deal with people and take care of your players and at the same time, try to give them whatever they need to be the best they possibly can be. So, you see guys go through this and you see their players mature, you see them mature, and you go, heck, they sure deserve a job to have an opportunity to run their own building and then teach others how to do the same thing.”

We’re seeing Reid’s development of coaches play out now with the current Chiefs’ coaching roster, just as he says. Assistants like Eric Bieniemy and Mike Kafka both receiving interest for head-coaching positions.

In his 22 years as a head coach in the league, perhaps the greatest testament to Reid’s success has been the coaches that have come through his doors and gone on to succeed elsewhere. That will be Reid’s lasting legacy in the NFL, just as it was with Bill Walsh, Marty Schottenheimer, or Bill Parcells.

Over the weekend when the Chiefs face the Browns and the Bills face the Ravens, his legacy will be on full display for the world to see.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides update on RT Mitchell Schwartz

Schwartz won’t be ready to return for the divisional round, but the team hasn’t given up hope.

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The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t expecting starting RT Mitchell Schwartz back from injured reserve this week.

Schwartz has been dealing with a back injury since Week 7. Initially, there was some optimism he’d be able to return, but with each passing week, it became less likely. He was placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 11 and things have been quiet in regards to his status ever since.

With elimination playoff games coming up, Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed that Schwartz won’t return to play in the divisional round.

“Backs are fickle, so he’s not going to be back this week,” Reid said on Wednesday. “And then we’re literally taking that day by day. I mean, these things are crazy. There’s nobody that wants to play more than this guy. You know how he’s wired—you don’t play all the games he played in a row and not enjoy the game. But he physically can’t do that right now and we’ll just see how it goes down the road. I don’t think anybody’s lost hope in that, just sometimes time is an important thing here.”

Reid says Schwartz needs more time but doesn’t exactly know how much time he needs. He hasn’t ruled out a return and said they’re taking things day by day, but it’s hard to imagine that Schwartz would be any closer come the AFC Championship Game if the Chiefs do advance.

Back injuries do tend to be tricky injuries for an offensive lineman and some can potentially be career-ending, but there still isn’t much information out there as to what type of injury he’s dealing with. The way the injury has been handled so far it’s hard not to draw comparisons to Eric Berry’s perpetual day-to-day status back in 2018.

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Sean McDermott, John Harbaugh reflect on Andy Reid coaching tree

Buffalo Bills’ Sean McDermott, Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh reflect on coaching together under Andy Reid.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott and the Ravens’ John Harbaugh don’t often see links to one other in recent memory, but they do exist and are deeply rooted.

The long and short of it is the Andy Reid “coaching tree.”

McDermott took the scenic route to the Bills via the Panthers but prior to that, he was an Eagles guy. Speaking of which, so was Harbaugh. That’s where they’re intertwined.

Both were hired by the current Chiefs coach when he was leading the Eagles. McDermott rose through the ranks there, up to defensive coordinator, while Harbaugh mostly was their special teams coordinator before jumping ship to his current role back in 2008.

As their current teams are set to faceoff against each other in Saturday’s AFC Divisional round matchup, both Harbaugh and McDermott reflected upon their pasts together.

“It’s remarkable,” Harbaugh said via conference call, reflecting upon that time with the Eagles. “I guess I realized that when it was pointed out to me in practice to me today. You kind of take a moment and think about it, it’s pretty amazing. I think it speaks really highly of Andy. The kind of coach that he is. We all learned so much from him.

“Just the guys that we had, we had an amazing group of guys, I guess Andy is a good scout for coaches, too. Not just good… smart, tough, great guys… guys like Sean and Leslie (Frazier) and Dave Culley and that’s here and others. The idea, they’re just good people. I look back on those years with those guys… just a bunch of great people who are just tremendous friends to this day. I don’t know how to explain it but it’s pretty amazing.”

Displaying how close they really are, Harbaugh also took a little jab at McDermott, too.

“He married way out of his league, I know that about him. Really big plus for him,” Harbaugh joked.

But on a more serious note, Harbaugh mentioned how he was first impressed with McDermott’s personality as a coach. He was built for it, he said.

“Sean was like, when he came in there, was really just starting out… and I think two things. First of all just a high character, high quality person. A very hard worker, very disciplined and very hard worker. Wrestler, played football of course at William and Mary but also a wrestler, really tough, mentally tough kind of a person and really smart. Really always wanted to learn, always asking questions always listening. Doing everything he could to improve,” Harbaugh said.

McDermott appreciated the cheek that Harbaugh gave him, and gave the compliment right back as he said Harbaugh’s family ties to football always stood out to him.

“You could always tell he had great leadership quality. He comes from a football family and you could tell he had football intelligence that usually comes with growing up around the game,” McDermott said. “A lot of respect for coach Harbaugh.”

And as if this blast from the past wasn’t enough, it could be a student vs. teacher type of AFC Championship in 2021. Regardless of winner between the Bills and Ravens, we’ll have someone connected to Reid playing in that game… but the man himself might as well. His Chiefs face the Browns for a spot in that same game on Sunday.

The story is just writing itself already.

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Chiefs had free agent OT Prince Tega Wanogho in for a visit

Chiefs have former Eagles free agent offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho in for a visit

Andy Reid loves turning projects into success stories and on Tuesday, the Former Eagles and current Chiefs head coach quietly had Prince Tega Wanogho in for a visit.

An offensive tackle with plenty of upsides, Tega Wanogho was selected by the Eagles in the sixth round (210th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. Originally born in Nigeria, Wanogho was a two-time All-SEC selection at Auburn and started 32 games during his four-year career with the Tigers.

Wanogho spent the 2020 season on the Eagles practice squad and was promoted to the 53-man roster for the Week 17 season finale against the Washington Football Team, playing just two snaps on special teams.

Wanogho originally signed a four-year deal after the draft, but he was waived at the end of training camp and signed to the practice squad.

Wanogho’s practice squad contract expired on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any NFL team.

The 6-5 and 305-pound tackle has the size and physical attributes to become a contributor for the Chiefs.

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Chiefs’ Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes harbor no animosity toward Kareem Hunt

Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes comment on ex-Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt.

It wasn’t long ago that the Kansas City Chiefs found themselves in a predicament with their starting running back.

In the midst of a 9-2 season, former third-round draft pick Kareem Hunt made a number of errors in judgment. It all culminated with Hunt’s release from the team in the middle of the year, putting Kansas City in a compromising position for the final stretch of the season heading into the playoffs.

Despite the rocky history, the Chiefs’ franchise continues to support Hunt from afar. As Hunt prepares to return to Arrowhead Stadium for the first time since his release, both Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes continue to have nothing but good things to say about him.

“Listen, I like Kareem,” Reid told reporters on Monday. “I’m glad things are going well for him. He knows a lot of the guys that were on that team last year and probably felt bad about not being a part of that. So, listen, I get all that. But most of all, I’m happy for him that things are going in the right direction for him and he’s on a good football team, they’re well-coached. And listen, they won their first playoff game, and there’s something to be said about that.”

As a rookie in 2017, Hunt led the NFL in rushing with over 1,300 yards. When Patrick Mahomes took over in 2018, the duo had instant chemistry that looked to be the foundation for the Chiefs’ offensive success for years to come. It didn’t turn out that way, but Mahomes still has a very good relationship with his former teammate.

“Yeah, I mean that’s my dude, man,” Mahomes told KCSP 610 Sports Radio on Monday. “I came in with Kareem (Hunt) and obviously we’re not together anymore but we still stay in touch, he’s a heck of a football player and someone that was like one of my best friends when we first got on the team together.”

Even though they’re no longer teammates, Mahomes still keeps in touch with Hunt. He spoke with him via text shortly after the Browns’ victory over the Steelers in the wild-card round.

“Yeah, for sure,” Mahomes continued. “I actually texted him last night (Sunday). I mean he has a lot of success on that field any opportunity he gets and he’s a great football player and someone that I know will keep getting better and better as his career goes on.”

Mahomes is well aware of the challenge that his defensive teammates will face when they line up to defend Hunt on Sunday. It’s not just from what he saw in the film against Pittsburgh, it’s from what he saw first hand in Kansas City.

“He’s a special football player,” Mahomes said. “He works hard, he finishes every single play. He catches and runs. He can do it all. I’m happy for him that he’s back home in Cleveland and that he’s able to go out there and play really good football.”

For Mahomes, the past is water under the bridge, but it’s not clear if Hunt feels the same. However, both the Chiefs and Hunt have moved on since their split and both are thriving. Mahomes just hopes that his guys will be able to thrive a bit more than Hunt and his teammates come Sunday.

“I still have a relationship with Kareem and he’s still one of my good friends,” Mahomes said. “We just had to continue to battle that year (2018) and now we’ve moved on and he’s moved on and we’re in good spots now. We’re going to continue to battle and we’re going to go up against a really good player and a really good football team this weekend.”

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid provides first impression of Browns

Reid was dialed in on the strengths of the Cleveland Browns to start the week.

The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Cleveland Browns in the AFC’s divisional round of the playoffs.

Speaking to the media for the first time since their opponent had been revealed, Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided his initial impression of the Browns, starting with their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round.

“We had a bird’s-eye view of [The Browns] yesterday watching them, and they’re a good football team,” Reid said in his opening statement. “We had a chance to study them last week, as we did the other three teams that were potentially involved that we might be playing.”

If you’ll notice, Reid only mentioned preparing for three teams during the bye week. That suggests that they didn’t do work on the Baltimore Ravens, who they actually already had faced during the regular season. Each of the other three possible opponents — the Colts, Titans and Browns — never played against Kansas City during the regular season. That’s a smart move by the team to maximize their time during the bye week.

Getting back to the task at hand with Cleveland, Reid is namely concerned with the running game with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. The Browns often utilize the run game to set themselves up for success in the passing game.

“Well, that’s where it starts, is with the runners,” Reid said on Monday. “Then, they’ve got a good quarterback, obviously, and they do play-passes off of that and they make it look just like they do the run plays. So, you’ve got to be able to decipher and then transition. They’ve got good receivers and tight ends, so you’ve got to play physical on those guys because they do a nice job. And that offensive line does a nice job in the run and pass game.”

As for Browns starting QB Baker Mayfield, Reid has been impressed with how quickly he’s been able to pick up the new scheme brought in by head coach Kevin Stefanski.

“Yeah well I mean he’s matured on the field,” Reid said of Mayfield. “I think he’s really fallen in love with this scheme and mastered it so he’s doing very well. It’s not an easy thing to do when you’ve been given a couple of different things as a young quarterback, a couple of different schemes to try to be the best at. That’s not easy for a lot of these quarterbacks.”

On the flip side, Reid’s offense will face a challenge against the Browns’ defense. The rankings might tell you otherwise, but Reid would be first to tell you that none of those rankings are real.

“Defensively, their front seven is tough,” Reid said. “They fly around and make a lot of plays, and their back end does the same thing. I mean, they’re going to challenge you, so you’ve got to be ready to go.”

Beyond the players on the field, Reid is generally impressed with the coaching job done by Kevin Stefanski in his first year as a head coach.

“(Kevin) Stefanski’s done a heck of a job there,” Reid said. “What a great job he’s done putting this whole thing together and putting guys in the right position. It didn’t take him very long to figure out who could do what, which is a compliment to both him and his staff, and really on both sides of the ball.”

Reid knows that the intensity from the Browns will be taken up a notch and now this week he’ll be tasked with getting his players prepared to match that intensity. It’ll be a tough job, but he believes in the resiliency and playoff experience that his team has.

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Eagles GM Howie Roseman set to hire his 3rd head coach in the last 8-years

Howie Roseman will hire his third head coach in the last 8 years

Howie Roseman recently talked about the urgency in the Eagles’ need to hit on the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

He’ll now need to include hitting on a new head coach after the Eagles parted ways with Doug Pederson after five seasons.

Roseman and Pederson have reportedly clashed over the past few seasons and the lack of talent on offense could have been at the crux of their divide.

Roseman is Jeffrey Lurie’s right-hand man in the organization and he’s now one of the few general managers in NFL history to survive three coaching changes if you add the firing of Andy Reid.

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Report: Texans to interview Ravens WR coach David Culley

The Houston Texans are interested in interviewing Baltimore Ravens receivers coach David Culley for the coaching vacancy.

The Houston Texans continue their cultivation of assistant coaches throughout the league and seek to find the right replacement for Bill O’Brien.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Texans are expected to interview Baltimore Ravens receivers coach David Culley for the coaching vacancy.

Culley has been with the Baltimore Ravens since 2019, and has also functioned as assistant head coach. Culley was also the Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach from 2017-18, and then was with Andy Reid’s staff from 2013-16 with the Kansas City Chiefs in the same capacity as he is in Baltimore.

Where the 65-year-old spent the majority of his career was with the Philadelphia Eagles. From 1999, the first year Reid coached the Eagles, to 2010, Culley was the receivers coach. From 2011-12, he took on the additional role of senior offensive assistant.

The Texans are also reportedly interested in Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who also worked with Culley in Philadelphia from 1999-2002.

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