KC coach Andy Reid shares stories of odd pregame rituals Chiefs players have had
On the surface this seems like a strange pairing, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid joined the Kansas City Symphony’s podcast this week to talk sports and music.
It was a lively and fun conversation that touched on a number of subjects, mostly in the realm of football.
But there is some overlap between coaching a football team and conducting a symphony, with managing a large group of people and allowing some creativity within the confines of the job.
Here are a few of the highlights of the podcast, “Beethoven Walks Into A Bar,” which you can listen to here.
Pregame rituals
Reid was asked about pregame rituals in the Chiefs locker room, and with 53 players on a gameday roster, he’s seen a lot of different things.
“I always tell the guys (to) let their personality show,” Reid said. “I tell that about on a daily basis. So with that, it gets complicated, right? There are a lot of different personalities on a team. These guys are from all different areas in the country. They’re from all different religions, they are from all different races, and we’re asking them to come together and be one. Some guys are a little bit more superstitious than others to the point where they have to do everything the same way every week and if they don’t, they truly believe that they’re not going to be successful and the team won’t be successful.
“And so, I wish it was that easy. I’m not really a superstitious guy and I relay that to the guys, that I wish it was that easy or I wouldn’t be spending the time doing this that I do. ... It’s not only the guys. It’s the coaches ,its ownership, everybody has their own little deal that they feel like helps them perform at their best.”
Reid gave a couple of specific examples of what he’s seen. And while Reid didn’t give any names, it certainly sounds like former Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman made sure his teammates were all alert for each game.
Really, really alert.
“We had a fullback here that was very popular last few years and he’d walk around with a Dasani bottle filled with smelling salts, and he’d make sure everybody took a smell of this, and it’d about blow your head off if you smelled it,” Reid said. “But they’ve all got their deal. And it’s kind of funny. We had a secondary player here and he’d walk around with a football and he’d make sure you touch the football. He went around and had every team member, every coach touch this football, and he felt like that would help us win.”
Having the players use their sense of smell or touch to prepare for a game was fine with Reid. He lets the players do their thing.
“Like I said, I laugh at what these guys come up with, but it helps them settle nerves. Maybe the little bit of difference in (football) and in the symphony is that we’re going out there in a violent sport,” Reid said. “This is one where you’re risking limbs to go play and so it’s not war, but it’s about as close as you can get to it without killing each other. So it is a violent sport. These guys play hard and aggressive. They dedicate their lives to it.
“And so whatever goofy things they come up with, I’m all in. I just go, ‘All right. That’s awesome. Go ahead. I’m not doing it. I mean, I’m not in. I’m not believing all that but I mean it’s whatever makes you feel right. Let’s go.’”
Reid’s message for the players
The Chiefs are finishing up voluntary organized team activities where he’s overseeing nearly 100 players. His message is the same for each of them.
“We have a lot of new faces here right now at this time of the year, and so wherever you came from, whether it was college or another pro team, the attitude here is we’re going to practice hard, we’re going to practice fast, but there’s a certain attitude to it,” Reid said. “It’s not to beat you up. That’s not what it’s for. It’s so that you can be better and we can maximize our potential that we have. Let’s try that, let’s not be afraid to find that ceiling or at least strive to find that ceiling and have fun doing it.”
Reid is 64 years old, and he wants the Chiefs players, who are decades younger than him, to relish the chance they have in front of them.
“This is a great time of your life to be able to do this and so the attitude on how you climb through this thing is important. And that’s also important for life, even if you’re not in the symphony or in football,” Reid said. “You’ve only got so much time that you have on this earth and so whatever you believe after this, you believe, but you have so much time here. That’s kind of a proven fact.
“And so maximize that and enjoy it. I mean, enjoy what you’ve got going and be an energy-giver as opposed to an energy-taker. And that will help you with whatever direction you’re willing to go in your life or you want to go with your life.”
Letting personalities show
The NFL has often been called the No Fun League, but Reid makes a point of telling the players to let their personalities show. That’s not always easy in the NFL, but Reid thinks they can pick their spots. He used a driving analogy.
“We all have to stop at red lights. But before the red light, there’s some yellow and it’s not for a very long period of time,” Reid said. “It’s for a very short period of time. And during that time there you can go ahead and have a little let-your-personality-show moment. But you have to do it within the rules. You still have to stop at the red light.
“And so go ahead and let your personality show that part of it. I’m gonna give you the game plan and I’m gonna teach you the plays. I’m gonna teach you the discipline of the plays. Within that discipline, there’s a little bit of yellow there that you can work with. And so go ahead and use that, and that’s where your personality can come into the picture.”
The Chiefs are known for their creative plays on offense, and much of that comes from Reid. But he does let the players cook up plays during practice. When special teams are on the practice field, the offensive skill players can go off and work on their own trick plays.
“They come up with just bizarre things,” Reid said. “So we go off the theory of ‘who says you can’t do something?’ Now I would imagine in music that boundary is unlimited. And I feel like within the hundred yards and 51-yard wide field that most things have been tried. ...
“(But) go ahead and let your mind go and create, and so we come up with some bizarre things. And then listen, I’m the head coach so I have 51% of the vote on it, whether we go forward or throw it out, but they know that I’m open to just about anything — within reason. So expand the boundaries.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 9:27 AM.
