We worry because we care: On the broader health of KC Chiefs coach Andy Reid
Andy Reid’s considerable sense of humor often is obscured by his resolve to reveal absolutely nothing that can be used against his Chiefs. And by his subtle delivery. Some might even misjudge the Chiefs coach as a bit drab.
But one of Reid’s most precious resources is comedy, perhaps informed by his father, Walter, a Hollywood set designer and prankster, or by Reid’s time catering at “The Tonight Show” as a teen.
He’s apt to deploy it for everything from general morale to diffusing stress to simply putting others at ease, and it’s arguably even part of his winning formula in the sense of how he connects with those around him.
For all the other ways he harnesses comedy, though, Reid also summons it astutely as a deflector shield. And that goes well beyond his habit of making self-deprecating remarks that are often about his weight.
So he drew on that Wednesday to fend off probes for clarity about his health, which has been a lingering mystery since he failed to conduct his usual post-game news conference after the Chiefs’ 30-24 loss to the Chargers. He left immediately after the game last Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium as a precaution because he felt “ill,” the Chiefs vaguely said at the time.
As it happened, Reid was on his way to the University of Kansas Health System Hospital, where he spent the night before being released on Monday … and returning to work later that day in preparation for the team’s game at Philadelphia on Sunday.
In the information void between Sunday and Wednesday, we hoped Reid might provide at least a glimpse at what took place and, thus, perhaps some insight into the implications for a heavy-set 63-year-old man who has an exacting job.
Because, honestly, this episode makes us worry about him, as a person and as the coach who revived the Chiefs. And the concern is further fueled by the absence of insight as to one measly symptom of his illness.
Alas, Reid effectively revealed zilch during a news conference that began with him joking about giving an “injury report” on himself (tracking his habit of opening with an injury report).
His session was punctuated in the middle by him playfully saying he wished he could have gotten out of a few more news conferences, and it ended with him deadpanning about there never being a “cheesesteak that I didn’t like” in Philadelphia, where he coached from 1999-2012.
“I’m feeling great, first of all, and it’s good to be back,” he quickly said. “It’s good to get on with business as usual here.”
Nothing to see here, in other words.
So he spoke about the signing of receiver Josh Gordon and the jarring 1-2 start of the Chiefs and returning to Philly, where he said he loved his time — and where he also could win his 100th game as the Chiefs’ head coach since losing his job with the Eagles after the 2012 season.
As for any details about what happened to him Sunday?
“Ah, I’ll probably just skip that … I’m not much (for) talking about all that stuff,” he said. “Wish it would have never happened, but it did and I’m moving on. But I feel great. I appreciate the doctors for taking care of me. They were phenomenal.”
At least, though, Reid entertained a question about whether whatever happened was cause for him to reset some of his routines.
(When Reid was an assistant coach at Green Bay, he typically went to work at 3 a.m. so he could be back home to have breakfast with his children, for instance. And while it’s unclear how often he goes to the office at that doubtless sleep-deprived hour now, at least as recently as Super Bowl LIV he was headed into work at … 3 a.m. On Thursday, safety Tyrann Mathieu playfully said, “I think he sleeps here” when he noted how he could never beat Reid to the office.)
As he considered the question, Reid seemed about to shrug it off, perhaps even with that little swatting gesture he likes to make to downplay things.
Then he said, “You’re probably right.” He proceeded to almost inaudibly add something about perhaps going back and looking at things … before he more emphatically declared again that he feels great right now.
“And everybody that’s dealt with me is confident that it will continue that way,” he said. “So I’m good if they’re good, right? They’re the experts.”
Indeed. And to be clear, we understand that this stance is Reid’s prerogative.
We also get that it defies logic to think he would have been released from the hospital and cleared to return to work by anything less than a team of doctors with his best interests in mind.
But Reid and the Chiefs need to understand that it remains unsettling for those who care about Reid, thousands around the nation, and Chiefs fans to be left guessing.
The fact that it was more than six hours before the Chiefs provided an update Sunday night, and the evident ongoing strategy to divulge nothing relevant, means questions remain about whether there is more than meets the eye here.
If it was simply a matter of dehydration, as a source told ESPN, for instance, why not say so?
Instead, the closest description of anything approximating the goings-on was when quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he had “worried just in general” when he got word of Reid being treated. Then he added that Chiefs officials “kept me kind of at ease, knowing that it wasn’t a real crazy situation. It was something that they had under control, that they had handled.”
“And so whenever you get a sense like that from the people that you trust, then usually your emotions can kind of settle a little bit.”
The rest of us outside the bubble don’t have the benefit of direct insight as to how Reid was or is now, described by Mathieu as “back to himself, cracking jokes, just being him.”
So we’re left to fret … and speculation will keep percolating.
Especially since being an NFL head coach makes for an all-consuming job and an incredibly stressful life to begin with. It can only be all the more so during a pandemic, both in terms of challenges for the team and being of a certain age.
In the case of Reid the last few months, he also has been contending with the traumatic issues surrounding son Britt, a former Chiefs assistant coach, facing a felony charge of driving while intoxicated during a crash that injured two children.
One of the children, 5-year-old Ariel Young, suffered a traumatic brain injury, which Reid addressed directly and immediately after the Super Bowl when he said his “heart goes out to all those involved … in particular, the family with the little girl who’s fighting for her life.”
Meanwhile, over the spring and summer, Reid also at times relied on a cane, a matter that also has gone effectively unexplained … consistent with Reid’s way of publicly internalizing hardships.
Still, as much as his offensive genius and that sense of humor, it’s also true that such stoicism over agonizing circumstances is part of what makes Reid who he is.
Meanwhile, for those of us concerned Reid may be coming back sooner than is optimal for his health, Mahomes makes a fine point.
“I know he loves this sport, he loves being able to coach us,” Mahomes said. “So I’ve always thought if you’re doing something that makes you happy, usually it helps you live longer.
“So I’m pretty sure he loves doing what he does, and I’m sure (Reid’s wife) Tammy will help him stay healthy as time goes on.”
Asked later whether he worries about Reid’s health, Mahomes said he doesn’t.
“Just because I’m around him so much,” he said. “I know how much fun he’s having, how much he’s enjoying this. I don’t think he wants to be anywhere else in this world than in this building with us.
“So I don’t have that worry. Obviously, I want him to stay healthy and be a part of this for the long run. But, you know, he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else but here, so why not let him be here?”
That remains a secret among Reid, the doctors and the Chiefs — one to which they’re entitled but that lends no comfort on the other side of the wall of silence and quips.