Andy Reid

Early life

Reid was born in Los Angeles on March 19, 1958. He attended John Marshall High School and worked as a vendor at Dodger Stadium as a teenager. Reid first grew his mustache while sailing as a cadet aboard the TS Golden Bear during his time at the California Maritime Academy. Reid played youth sports in East Hollywood, at Lemon Grove Recreation Center, where Pete Arbogast, the radio announcer for the USC football team and play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Bengals, was one of his coaches.

In 1971, at age 13, Reid was on Monday Night Football participating in the Punt, Pass, and Kick competition; he was already so large that he wore the jersey of Les Josephson, who was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and 207 pounds (94 kg).

Playing career

In high school, Reid played football for coach Hiroshi Tanaka while at Marshall and was named a scholar athlete, MVP, all-league, all-city and All-American. Reid was also named all-league in baseball as a pitcher.

Reid played offensive tackle at Glendale Community College in Glendale, California, and planned to transfer to Stanford but injured his knee. While at Glendale, Reid was named all-conference and most inspirational player. BYU head coach LaVell Edwards wanted Reid's teammate and best friend Randy Tidwell, and also recruited Reid to the team to help persuade Tidwell to come to BYU. At BYU, Reid was a teammate of Jim McMahon and Tom Holmoe.

Teammates recalled that Reid did not play often but was very analytical, closely studying Edwards and offensive coordinator Doug Scovil. BYU won the 1980 Holiday Bowl in his senior year.

Coaching career

Early jobs

Reid had thought of becoming a writer, but continued to question Edwards about football strategy, causing Edwards to suggest coaching as a career. After graduating from BYU in 1981, Reid spent one year as a graduate assistant on the school's football coaching staff; colleagues included Scovil, Norm Chow, and Mike Holmgren. He spent the next nine years as an offensive line coach with four colleges.

During his college coaching career, Reid was on the staff of several teams, including San Francisco State, Northern Arizona University, the University of Texas at El Paso, and the University of Missouri. In 1986, as coach at Northern Arizona, he coached Frank Pollack, who went on to play for six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

Green Bay Packers (1992–1998)

Reid was hired by Holmgren at the Green Bay Packers in 1992, the same year quarterback Brett Favre became a member of that team, placing Reid in the Bill Walsh coaching tree. In 1995, he became the assistant offensive line and tight ends coach, where he helped lead the 1996 team to a Super Bowl XXXI win over the New England Patriots. Reid was named the Packers' quarterbacks coach in 1997, replacing Marty Mornhinweg, who left to be the offensive coordinator for his predecessor in Green Bay, Steve Mariucci. Mariucci wanted Reid to be his offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, but Holmgren prevented the move.

Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2012)

Consistent with his reputation for a focus on football details, Reid arrived at his interview with the Eagles with a five-inch thick book he developed on how he would go about running the team if given the job. The Eagles hired Reid on January 11, 1999; he was the second-youngest head coach in the league after Jon Gruden and the first then to be hired as a head coach without first having served as an offensive or defensive coordinator. Some in the Philadelphia news media criticized the hiring, citing the availability of other candidates who had already served previously as successful head coaches.

As he set about leading the Eagles, one of Reid's first major decisions was drafting dual-threat quarterback Donovan McNabb in the first round with the second overall pick, although Reid started former Packers' backup Doug Pederson in the first nine games of the 1999 season. In Reid's first season in Philadelphia, the Eagles improved their record by two games over 1998, finishing 5–11. Among the five wins was the team's first road victory in 19 games, 20–16 over the Chicago Bears on October 17.

In 2000, the Eagles posted an 11–5 regular-season record and won their first playoff game since the 1995 season, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve.

In 2001, Reid was named executive vice president of football operations of the Eagles, effectively making him the team's general manager. Although the Eagles had general managers after 2005 (Tom Heckert from 2005 to 2010 and Howie Roseman from 2010 until Reid's departure), Reid had the final say on football matters.

In 2001, Reid's Eagles won the first of four consecutive NFC East titles, the longest such streak in franchise history, and advanced to the conference championship game in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, losing this game on the first three occasions.

The 2003 team qualified for postseason play after opening the season with two losses, both at home, and was also the first NFL team ever to reach the conference title round of the playoffs after having been shut out at home on opening day. The 2004 team was the second NFC East squad to defeat all of its division rivals (New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins) twice during the same regular season (the Dallas Cowboys did it in 1998). The 2004 Eagles clinched the NFC #1-seed with a 13–1 record and proceeded to rest their starters for the final two games. After three straight NFC Championship losses, the team beat the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 27–10 and made it to Super Bowl XXXIX but fell to the New England Patriots 24–21.

Kansas City Chiefs (2013–present)

Reid expected the Philadelphia Eagles to not extend him and was already preparing to hire a new coaching staff. Three teams reportedly had airplanes in Philadelphia to fly him to interviews. On January 4, 2013, Reid reached a five-year contract agreement to become the head coach of the Chiefs. That same day, the Chiefs fired general manager Scott Pioli. Reid's contract made him the final authority in football matters, the same power he had in Philadelphia. However, the Chiefs hired John Dorsey a week later, who had previously worked with Reid as an assistant in Green Bay, as general manager. Reid and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt announced that Dorsey would have the final say in personnel matters. That same day, Hunt announced that Reid and Dorsey would report to him on an equal basis; in the past Chiefs coaches reported to the general manager.

On February 27, 2013, the Chiefs agreed to trade their second round pick in the 2013 NFL draft and a conditional pick in the 2014 NFL draft to the San Francisco 49ers for quarterback Alex Smith. The deal became official at the beginning of the new league year on March 12. Reid would announce Smith to be their starting quarterback for the upcoming season.

In Reid's first game as head coach, the Chiefs beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 28–2. It was the widest margin of victory for the Chiefs on opening day since they defeated the Denver Broncos in 1963 by a score of 59–7. In Week 3, Reid returned to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for a Thursday Night Football game between the Chiefs and his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles. As Reid walked out onto the field before the game started, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. The Chiefs went on to win 26–16 and Reid received a Gatorade shower from his team. Reid went on to lead the Chiefs to a 9–0 record to start the season, tied for the best start in franchise history. Despite losing five of their last seven games, the Chiefs finished with an 11–5 record to clinch a wild card spot in the AFC playoffs. In the wild card round, they were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts 45–44 after surrendering a 28-point lead in the third quarter. This was a remarkable turnaround from the previous season, in which the Chiefs finished with the worst record in franchise history at 2-14.

Under Reid, the Chiefs recorded a winning record in the 2014 season, finishing 9–7. However, they failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Coaching tree

Reid has served under five head coaches:

LaVell Edwards, BYU (1982)

Vic Rowen, San Francisco State (1983–1985)

Larry Kentera, Northern Arizona (1986)

Bob Stull, UTEP (1987–1988), Missouri (1989–1991)

Mike Holmgren, Green Bay Packers (1992–1998)

Eleven of Reid's coaching assistants have become head coaches in the NFL:

Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings (2006–2010)

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens (2008–2025), New York Giants (2026-present)

Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams (2009–2011), New York Giants (2017, interim)

Leslie Frazier, Minnesota Vikings (2010, interim, 2011–2013)

Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers (2011–2019), Washington Football Team / Commanders (2020–2023)

Pat Shurmur, Cleveland Browns (2011–2012), Philadelphia Eagles (2015, interim), New York Giants (2018–2019)

Todd Bowles, Miami Dolphins (2011, interim), New York Jets (2015–2018), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2022–present)

Doug Pederson, Philadelphia Eagles (2016–2020), Jacksonville Jaguars (2022–2024)

Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills (2017–2025)

Personal life

Reid is married with three sons and two daughters. Reid and his family are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Reid's oldest son, Garrett, died of a heroin overdose on August 5, 2012. Britt, his second son, served as an assistant coach under his father until 2021 when he was suspended and not offered a new contract after he was involved in a DWI car accident causing severe injuries to a five-year-old girl. Spencer, his youngest son, is an assistant strength coach for the Chiefs.

Reid has appeared in commercials for State Farm with Patrick Mahomes and for Snickers. He made a guest cameo as himself in the 2024 Hallmark Channel original film Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.

Reid is known for his love of cheeseburgers. He has stated that he once ate 60 cheeseburgers while filming a State Farm commercial with Patrick Mahomes.