As the confetti fell in Allegiant Stadium and the purple Gatorade poured on the back of Andy Reid, one thing became very clear: Andy Reid had officially elevated himself to elite status. Prior to the win, many considered Reid a top coach, and there were a lot of “what if” questions about his legacy.
But the win put all of those “what if” questions to bed. Andy Reid is the second-best coach to ever coach in the NFL, and there is plenty of data to back that up. Here are three reasons, there there is no reason even to debate the subject.
Six is Still an Eternity From Three
Let’s knock this one out of the way first. Bill Belichick is still the greatest coach of all time. Yes, that can be sort of ironic to say, as Andy Reid is holding up the Lombardi Trophy at the same time that Belichick is interviewing and being turned down for coaching jobs, but six is so much more than three.
Again, at the moment, it is easy to look at the two coaches on today, February 12th, and say Reid is on top of the world while Belichick is unemployed, but Belichick has been on top six times, all in the modern era (32 teams).
Until Reid hits five Super Bowl wins, I’m not sure there can really be a debate. The only exceptions, perhaps, would be for Reid to win his fourth next year and retire, or if he left the Chiefs and won two more times with a new quarterback. However, even then, Belichick and Reid have been head coaches for essentially the same amount of time, so how can you not give it to the coach who has more wins in that time span?
Andy Reid is the Only Modern Era Coach in His Tier
There are three other coaches besides Reid that have either three or four NFL Championships. The difference is that all three of them coached in a different era when there weren’t as many teams or restrictions on salary caps or trades. In other words, some coaches were able to load up on talent and not really have to worry about breaking any salary caps.
Below are the other coaches, as well as how many teams were in the league when they won.
- Chuck Noll – 4 Wins – 26-28 teams
If there is any coach who could be possibly compared to Andy Reid it is Chuck Noll. Noll won four Championships all in the 1970s, but there were fewer teams, and there wasn’t as much restriction on salary caps.
- Bill Walsh – 3 Wins
- Joe Gibbs – 3 Wins
Although both of these coaches have the same amount of wins as Andy Reid, they did so with much more opportunity and freedom. Both of these coaches led their teams with fewer restrictions/rules, and they did it without all 32 NFL teams.
What’s Next For Any Reid?
Could Andy Reid catch Bill Belichick? Maybe, but I’m not sure that is necessarily the goal. Andy Reid will be 66 by the time the 2024 NFL season begins. While he has indicated that he still plans on coaching, one has to wonder how much longer he wants to do so.
Even if he were to win three out of the next six years (which would be phenomenal), that would put him at 72 years old when he ties Bill Belichick. Some people live for that, and maybe Andy Reid does, but it’s hard to see him coaching too much longer unless, of course, the Chiefs can three-peat next year. In that case, I could see Reid really looking at things and trying to catch Belichick.
Regardless of what Reid ultimately decides to do, he has already cemented his name into being the second-best coach of all time. People will be talking about he Chiefs dynasty for years to come, and that is something that Andy Reid can hold onto forever.
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