Chiefs owner feels Andy Reid isn’t ‘anywhere close’ to retiring. Here’s why
Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt says he has not started a list of potential successors when coach Andy Reid retires.
That’s because there’s no need to — at least at this point.
“I don’t have a sense that he’s remotely close to wanting to be done,” Hunt told reporters at the New Orleans Marriott — the Chiefs’ team hotel for Super Bowl LIX — on Tuesday. “I think he’s always said that he’ll know when the time is right, and I’m sure he’ll share it with me before he shares it with everyone else — at least I hope so. But I don’t sense that he’s anywhere close to being done.”
Reid, who will turn 67 in March, has been the subject of plenty of speculation during the last two Super Bowls, when rumors surfaced that he might retire.
This year’s Super Bowl trip — the Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday — has been different. Reid has hinted in-season that he will be back next season. Hunt also tried to get in front of the narrative after the Chiefs’ AFC Championship victory on Jan. 26, telling reporters, “I know (Reid) is excited about the challenge of coming back next year.”
Hunt said Tuesday he felt “very confident” in Reid’s future with the Chiefs, especially after the two discussed the topic organically in the past few weeks.
“It wasn’t something like, ‘I’m checking in to make sure you want to be back next year,’” Hunt said. “We were already working on next year.”
Reid certainly is one of the primary reasons the Chiefs are aiming for an unprecedented three-peat in Super Bowl LIX.
While dealing with injuries to key contributors like receivers Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown and running back Isiah Pacheco, KC persevered during a 15-1 start while clinching the AFC’s top seed.
“I think one of Andy’s greatest qualities — and something that I know he enjoys — is the teaching part of it,” Hunt said. “I think that helps him get new players or young players up to speed, maybe more quickly than other coaches might be able to.”
When Hunt delivered his preseason speech to Chiefs players at training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, he said he focused on two topics: The Chiefs would be getting every team’s best shot after winning back-to-back Super Bowls, and they’d have to learn to handle distractions while chasing a three-peat.
Hunt believes the Chiefs succeeded against both obstacles thanks to Reid’s steady approach and ability to get players and coaches to focus only on the short term.
“It’s been really easy as an organization for us to look forward to this weekend,” Hunt said of the Super Bowl, “and if Andy had let the players do that, we would not be sitting here today.”
