February 2005 consisted of the Super Bowl match-up between the eventual champion New England Patriots and the Andy Reid-led Philadelphia Eagles. Just two months later, Alex Smith was selected number one overall in the draft.
Andy Reid finally led the franchise to the big game after being bounced in the NFC title game the previous three seasons. As for Alex Smith, he was at the top of his draft class waiting to lead the San Francisco 49ers back to prominence after concluding a stellar college career at the University of Utah. Smith’s time is college was highlighted by the perfect, BCS-busting 12-0 squad in 2004 where he finished the campaign as a Heisman candidate and led the Utes to a Fiesta Bowl victory.
It seemed as things were looking up for the two, but history would record otherwise.
Reid’s last eight years in Philly consisted of four playoff exits, including a fourth loss in the NFC Championship, and four sub-par seasons mainly featured by the infamous and disappointing “Dream Team” campaign from 2011.
After finishing 4-8 in 2012, owner Jeffery Lurie decided to relieve Reid of his coaching duties after two straight woeful seasons and losing the players in the locker room in the process.
Alex Smith’s career in the Bay Area did not start smoothly by any means. In just his first year, Smith was sacked 29 times and threw for a dismal 1 TD to 11 INT ratio with a final passer rating of 40.8. As a result of his struggles, the 49ers offense was horrific finishing 30th in points scored and dead last in total offense.
The struggles for Alex Smith would continue after his rookie season as the San Francisco 49ers went on to miss the playoffs the next five years accumulating a combined record of 33-47. Smith’s statistics over that span were 51 TD, 53 INT and a combined passer rating of 67.3.
Despite Smith only playing one full season of football in his first six years —including missing all of 2008 with a back injury— and having four different offensive coordinators in his first four seasons, analysts and scouts considered him to be a bust.
2011 proved to be different for Alex Smith as the 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach. Harbaugh played quarterback in the NFL in the ’80s and ’90s and later held coaching positions as a quarterbacks coach and most notably a head coach for the Stanford Cardinal featuring current NFL phenom, Andrew Luck. Smith finally had an offensive-minded coach to play for after orchestrating under celebrated defensive minds Mike Nolan and Mike SIngletary to start his career.Smith had career highs in passing yards, completion percentage, passer rating and quarterback rating in 2011 en route to lead the Niners to the NFC Championship game.
Alex Smith had a solid start to the 2012 season as he accounted for the third highest passer rating in football with 104.1 and the league’s highest completion percentage with 70.2. With a 6-2 record halfway through the year, San Francisco was once again a force to be handled until Smith suffered a concussion against the St. Louis Rams. Backup quarterback Colin Kapernick would then take over the starting job. Kapernick’s first career start came on Monday Night Football at home versus the Chicago Bears; he recorded an impressive 16-23 for 243 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 32-7 win. Coach Harbaugh was so impressed that he kept Kapernick as the starting quarterback even after Smith was cleared to play again. It was a difficult decision because Smith was having a great season, but Kapernick proved to be more dynamic than Smith with his performances especially when the team ran the Read-Option offense, a new playing style that exploded onto the NFL scene in 2012 with the help of rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. Even though Smith supported the team’s decision initially, he grew frustrated knowing that he was not going to get his job back and as a result he demanded for trade at the end of the season. Kapernick eventually lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl, but ended up losing to the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens.
Andy Reid may have finished his 14-year stretch as the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach as the franchise’s leader in wins (120), winning percentage (.609), and playoff victories (10) and Alex Smith’s career may have turned back in the positive direction, but their tenures on their respective coasts were up.
On January 4, Andy Reid took the helm as the next coach for the Kansas City Chiefs after signing a 5-year contract with the franchise. The Chiefs finished 2012 with a 2-14 record and desperate need of help from a number of positions, especially the quarterback. Late in the next month, the 49ers agreed to trade Alex Smith to the Chiefs in exchange for a second round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft and a conditional pick in 2014 Draft.
Critics doubted that Reid and Smith could coexist as a unit due to contrasting styles; Reid was popular for passing the football especially deep down the field whereas Smith became known for being a “game-manager” quarterback who only throws short passes and commits minimal to no mistakes. The new duo answered with an excellent beginning to their season.
The Chiefs started 2013 with a 9-0 record going into the Sunday Night Football showdown against the Denver Broncos on the national stage. Smith has modest numbers thus far and the Chiefs have not been explosive offensively, but their defense has dominated ranking in the top ten in passing defense, scoring defense and sacks. The rushing attack featuring Jamaal Charles has also taken pressure off of Alex Smith this season. Coach Reid has changed the entire culture of the franchise in less than one season, surpassing the team’s win total by seven games, and becoming an indisputable candidate for Coach of the Year honors.
An old saying in the NFL suggests that a good defense and a good running game travels. If that is the case, the football world should expect to witness the Chiefs making a trip to New York next February.
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