The NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame recently released their 2010s All-Decade team, and there was one notable exclusion. The list included two head coaches, with the honors going to Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll. Belichick obviously earned his spot on the list, but Andy Reid deserved the second spot over Carroll.
Andy Reid, Not Pete Carroll, Deserved All-Decade Honors
Traditional Metrics
Ultimately, the job of any head coach is to win football games. At first glance, the win-loss record actually shows these two to be equals. Since 2010, the Seahawks head coach has a 100-59-1 record, winning one Super Bowl, appearing in another, and guiding his team to the playoffs eight times. Reid, meanwhile, is 99-61 with just one Super Bowl victory. While he’s brought the Chiefs to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, he also lost his job in Philadelphia after leading a dreadful 4-12 campaign in 2012.
Based on that alone, one could make the case that Pete Carroll was the better coach. However, the above doesn’t account for the coaches respective quarterback situation. Since 2012, Carroll has had the pleasure of coaching Russell Wilson, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. While Carroll certainly deserves some credit for helping to develop this young talent, the fact remains that winning football games is a lot easier when you have an elite quarterback. In games without Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll has a 44% winning percentage as Seattle’s head coach.
For the vast majority of the decade, Andy Reid has had Alex Smith as his quarterback. Smith isn’t terrible by any means, but he’s the definition of mediocrity and is nothing more than the sum of his parts. Reid has won 66% of his starts with Smith as his quarterback, while Carroll has won 67% of his games with Wilson. Wilson is easily the better quarterback, so the fact that these two coaches have the same winning percentage with dramatically different quarterbacks shines in Reid’s favor.
The Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes Era
Over the past two seasons, Andy Reid finally had an elite of his own in Patrick Mahomes. Reid is widely considered one of the best offensive minds in football, and he finally had a quarterback capable of doing everything Reid could ever imagine. With Mahomes under center, Reid helped create the most dangerous offense in all of football. Over the past two seasons, Kansas City has gone 24-8, winning the Super Bowl in 2019 and coming one drive away from making another in 2018.
Even when Mahomes had to miss time to injury, Reid still managed to keep his team afloat. The 2018 MVP missed two games in 2019, and Reid had to turn to journeyman quarterback Matt Moore to make a few spot starts. The one-time retiree performed admirably, completing 64.8% of his passes for 659 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. While he obviously didn’t make anyone forget about Mahomes, Kansas City still averaged 25 points per game in his starts.
Pete Carroll is a fine coach, but he’s clearly carried by Russell Wilson’s greatness. Andy Reid is the best offensive mind in football and proved his ability to win with or without an elite quarterback. No matter how you look at it, he deserved the second spot on the 2010s All-Decade Team.
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