Andy Reid’s third Super Bowl victory puts him among the greats

When the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night in Las Vegas, the narrative quickly turned toward Patrick Mahomes’ legacy. 

With another Super Bowl victory, Mahomes, 28, became just the sixth quarterback to win three Super Bowls and just the third player to win three Super Bowl MVPs.

Mahomes is now one Super Bowl win away from tying Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the second-most Super Bowls by a quarterback, and Tom Brady’s mark of seven rings is at least within sight. 

Mahomes’ march toward greatness will be the talk of the sport over the next decade, much like Brady’s pursuit of Montana was during his time. 

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And while Mahomes deserves the lion’s share of the attention, there’s another member of the organization who needs to be discussed in a historical light. 

Andy Reid. 

Kansas City’s head coach also took home his third Super Bowl trophy Sunday not all that long after his ability to win the big game was questioned. 

Let’s take a look at Reid’s legacy after he won back-to-back Lombardi Trophys. 

Andy Reid has joined the greats

NFL fans often forget, but Reid had one heck of a resume before he was known as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. As head coach of the Eagles for 14 seasons, Reid took Philadelphia to five NFC championship games with one Super Bowl appearance. 

The Eagles fell to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the 2005 Super Bowl, the second of New England’s back-to-back championships. 

Reid was never able to get the Eagles back to the biggest stage, ending his tenure in Philadelphia by missing the playoffs two consecutive seasons. 

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Despite being unable to bring a title to the city, Reid won 130 games as head coach of the Eagles, the most by a head coach in the history of the franchise. 

“He’s one of the best coaches of all time. I believe he’s the best coach of all time,” Mahomes said after this year’s Super Bowl. “I know he didn’t have the trophies yet, and I have a lot of respect for some of those great coaches. But the way he’s able to navigate every single team he has, continue to have success no matter where he’s at.

“And, for me, he brings out the best in me because he lets me be me. I think what’s important is he doesn’t try to make me anyone else. I don’t think I’d be the quarterback I am if I didn’t have Coach Reid. Other than that, he wants you to be the best person you can be. And I think that’s truly special.”

Reid immediately took over as head coach of the Chiefs in 2013, a team that went 2-14 the year before he arrived in Kansas City. 

In his first five seasons in Kansas City — with Alex Smith under center — Reid went 53-27 and took the Chiefs to the NFL Playoffs four times. 

And then Mahomes was given the keys to the car. 

Like all great head football coaches, Reid needed a franchise quarterback to reach the highest level of the sport. 

Bill Walsh needed Joe Montana, Chuck Noll needed Terry Bradshaw, Belichick needed Brady and Reid needed Mahomes. 

With Mahomes, Reid is now mentioned among the greats. 

Kansas City’s victory Sunday gave Reid his third ring, putting him in a tie with Walsh and Joe Gibbs for the second-most Super Bowl trophies by a head coach. Reid is now three Super Bowls away from tying Belichick’s record-setting six rings and one away from Noll, who finished his career with four. 

Reid’s brilliance was on full display against the 49ers Sunday as Kansas City came back from a 10-point deficit to win in overtime. His play call on Kansas City’s final play got wide receiver Mecole Hardman wide open for the game-winning score.

Kansas City now has a chance to become the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

“Well, you know the goal has always been to get three,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said on stage after the win, according to NBC 4. “But we couldn’t get here without getting that two, and having that target on our back all year. … How about that? We get a chance to do it three times in a row.”

After 25 years as an NFL head coach, Reid has officially entered the GOAT conversation, and he’s coming back for more.