Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid says Patrick Mahomes is the best player he’s ever coached as the team go in seach of a third-straight championship at Super Bowl 59 on Sunday.
With victory over his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, Reid would become just the third coach to bag at least four titles – along with Bill Belichick (six) and Chuck Noll (four) – while his 301 career wins ranks fourth all time, Don Shula holding the record with 347.
Reid’s NFL coaching career started as an assistant with the Green Bay Packers in 1992, before taking over the Eagles in 1999 and then the Chiefs from 2013, with Hall of Famers Brett Favre and Terrell Owens among the players he has led, as well as Donavan McNabb, Michael Vick and Travis Kelce.
Speaking to Sky Sports on just how highly he rates his current quarterback, Reid said of Mahomes: “He’s a great person, a great leader.
“He has the offense down pat – no pun intended – and he is all around, if not the best, one of best I’ve ever been around. And he’s young!”
Reid and Mahomes are a combined 17-3 in the playoffs, the pair booking a fifth Super Bowl visit in the past six seasons this week, having already won three – and two on the bounce
Mahomes is still only 29 and with the chance already to clinch a fourth title as he chases Tom Brady’s record haul of seven.
“To me, it starts with Coach Reid, he sets the tone,” Mahomes told reporters this week, crediting his coach with his success.
Reid’s opposite number, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, has also been fulsome in his praise. “I can’t tell you how much respect I have for him and the job that he’s done,” Sirianni said.
“The tape just oozes off of how good a coach he is. You can watch a tape and really see a team and be like, ‘man, this staff is a special staff’ and that’s how I feel when I watch him.”
Reid too mentioned his staff around him when identifying how the Chiefs have been able to stay so consistent over the years.
“It’s a combination of things; the players we have, the coaching staff, [general manager] Brett Veach bringing in the right people and Clark Hunt as owner giving us all the opportunity,” Reid told Sky Sports.
“We’ve got that whole mix of chemistry that goes on, which allows our consistency to take place.”
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Reid: We have to focus on the Eagles – not the three-peat!
The 66-year-old coach, who has promised this week to return for at least one more season with the Chiefs, is also not taking the challenge posed by the Eagles on Sunday lightly.
Two years ago, Philadelphia and Kansas City squared off in one of the most thrilling Super Bowls in NFL history, with the Chiefs battling back from a 10-point deficit at half-time to ultimately triumph 38-35.
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A look through the lens of both Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts in their epic battle during Super Bowl LVII two years ago.
“There is so much parity in this league right now, the competition is such that you know these games are going to go the distance and most likely come down to the fourth quarter as to who wins,” Reid said.
“You go through all of the different situations and scenarios that can take place over training camp and the offseason, but very seldom do you have to use them all – but we’ve had to use them this year! The ball has bounced the right way a couple of times for us.”
On chasing NFL history and an unprecedented three-peat, Reid added: “When you’re in the mix of it, you’re so busy trying to get ready for the next opponent that you don’t really look at that.
“In this business, if you’re looking back or looking forward, you’re probably going to get your tail kicked.
“We try to look at the team we’re playing, and make sure that we maximise everything we can possibly do to have success against them.”
The Chiefs haven’t always been at their dominant best this past year, despite reaching yet another Super Bowl, with 11 of their 15 regular-season wins coming by only eight points or fewer.
They have come in for some criticism from a fair few disgruntled fans complaining of favourable treatment from referees, but with little substance – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell labelling it a “ridiculous theory” earlier this week.
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Sky Sports’ Pheobe Schecter believes Kansas City’s continued success is no fluke.
“No way would it be just luck for them to be back here and attacking that three-peat,” she said on the Inside The Huddle Podcast. “That doesn’t just happen.
“That happens because you’ve done the right things, and if you do the right things, you’ll end up with a positive outcome.”
