Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is currently preparing for his sixth consecutive AFC Championship Game, but there is talk that the future Hall of Famer is considering retirement. You can see where these rumors are coming from, as the legendary head coach will be 66 at the start of the 2024 campaign and isn’t getting any younger. With his legacy already secured and seeing coaching legends like Nick Saban and Bill Belichick depart their teams, it’s fair to wonder if Reid will follow suit.
Fortunately for Chiefs fans, NFL insider Benjamin Allbright does not believe Andy Reid will walk into retirement any time soon. While on X (formerly Twitter), one user asked about Reid’s future with the organization. Allbright responded, saying that he does not believe Reid will call it a career quite yet.
Yeah, i've seen that rumor floating around. I do not believe that's happening. https://t.co/UknE1wFVjw
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) January 25, 2024
NFL Insider Gives Update On Andy Reid Retirement Rumors
Before we talk about the rumor itself, we first need to discuss Allbright’s credibility. As is the case with literally every single reporter, the Broncos insider does not have a flawless track record. With that being said, his track record is better than most, as the reporter has been ahead of the curve with several reports, especially within the NFL Draft world. Allbright believes that Andy Reid will not choose retirement, but his choice of words is interesting. This is not a definitive report by any stretch of the imagination – based on the Tweet, Reid could still retire, Allbright just doesn’t believe it’s particularly likely.
As of this posting, the Chiefs are one of four teams still alive in the race for the Super Bowl. While they are underdogs against the Baltimore Ravens, you never want to bet against a superstar quarterback like Patrick Mahomes. If the two-time NFL MVP can take down the presumptive MVP in Lamar Jackson and then defeat whichever team emerges from the NFC, would Andy Reid walk into retirement and go out on top? It’s impossible to say for sure, but it would be easy to end on a high note like that.
Possible Replacements
For the sake of argument, let’s say that Andy Reid will choose retirement if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl. While hoisting the Lombardi is the obvious goal, this would the Chiefs in an unfortunate situation for the future. The Los Angeles Chargers have already hired Jim Harbaugh, and this could lead to a chain reaction of hirings. Boomer Esiason reported that Ben Johnson will agree to terms with the Washington Commanders, and there is a real chance that all of the big-name coaching candidates will already be gone by the time Reid calls it a career.
In this scenario, the Chiefs could potentially turn to some familiar faces. Current offensive coordinator Matt Nagy did not have a successful run during his time with the Chicago Bears, but you can’t blame him for struggling with Mitchell Trubisky. The former second-overall pick crashed and burned even harder with the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it’s safe to say Nagy was not responsible for the quarterback’s performance. He deserves a shot to see what he can do with a real quarterback.
Eric Bieniemy left the Chiefs because he wanted to prove he was more than just a byproduct of Andy Reid, so it would be fitting if the coach’s retirement brought him back to Kansas City. Bieniemy spent the 2023 season with the Washington Commanders and got some good play out of Sam Howell in the first half of the season. While his second-half collapse is worrisome, the organization clearly thinks highly of their former offensive coordinator.
Main Photo: Mark Konezny – USA Today Sports
