Andy Reid took two decades to become an overnight sensation.
He started his head coaching career with the Eagles in 1999 and posted a 140-102-1 record before being fired after the 2012 season when the Eagles slumped to 4-12 after an 8-8 season.
The rap on him is that he couldn’t win the big one. He went to only one Super Bowl in Philadelphia and lost it to the Patriots after the 2004 season when he failed to go to an up-tempo offense trailing by 10 in the fourth quarter and wound up losing by three. He made it to five NFC championship games and lost four of them.
He was quickly hired by the Chiefs in 2013 to take over a 2-14 team that had the first pick in the draft.
He had an immediate turnaround, going 11-5 in his first year to make the playoffs as a wild card team but lost his first playoff game to the Colts.
He then missed the playoffs in 2014 with a 9-7 record but made the playoffs in 2015 as a wild card team at 11-5 and won his first playoff game with the Chiefs by beating Houston before losing to New England.
Then in 2016 he started a string of seven consecutive division titles and started a string of hosting five consecutive AFC title games in 2018, won three of them to make the Super Bowl and won two of the three Super Bowls.
And now he is a folk hero and a first ballot Hall of Famer. He is one of the most liked coaches and pokes fun of himself for his weight, calling himself “chubby” and talks about loving cheeseburgers and pizza.
He will turn 65 next month and is being asked if he is considering retiring. But why should he retire?
Reid saved the best for last. He has been a head coach in the NFL for 24 consecutive years and shows no signs of burning out. He got a lot of props for his innovative play calling in the second half of the Super Bowl.
And Patrick Mahomes hasn’t even hit his prime yet.
While Bill Belichick doesn’t have a playoff win in the last four years, Reid has won his first two rings the last two years.
Don’t be surprised if he wins a few more.