"Little" Andy Reid competing against other kids his age at a 1971 Punt, Pass & Kick competition
Posted on 01/27/2025 10:29:03 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
For a sense of from where these Chiefs come, it’s instructive to have a glimpse at the origins of head coach Andy Reid, who grew up on what one friend called an “idyllic” street a mile from Hollywood Boulevard.
“The people there were there forever. Nobody left,” said Reid. “Kind of died off after a little bit, but nobody ever left.”
The oversized child, who has “a heart as big as he is,” former neighbor Reba Poor said, is the son of a radiologist mother and artistic father and an apt reflection of both his mother’s precision and seriousness and his father’s creative, whimsical way.
Growing up in a neighborhood from which they could see the lights of Dodger Stadium, young Andy embraced his studies and became as comfortable with carpentry and welding as writing. In fact, because of his love for legendary Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray, he for a time entertained a living as … a sportswriter.
“I was intrigued by it,” said Reid, who has kept journals for years and wrote a regular sports column for the newspaper in Provo when he was in graduate school at Brigham Young.
…Reid’s first job as a teen was at the Nicola Twins Market, where he handled anything from fetching pickles out of a barrel of brine to slicing bologna to lugging groceries to cars to helping cater gigs at local television shows, including The Tonight Show.
…Reid would regularly hang around his brother’s football games at John Marshall High, the school just blocks away that also produced the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Judge Lance Ito, Heidi Fleiss and Julie Newmar, better known as “Catwoman” to those of us who watched Batman back in the day.
(Excerpt) Read more at amp.kansascity.com ...
I wouldn’t say he’s the main force. I mean it helps a lot they’ve got a once in a lifetime QB. And the GM has built a solid team around him. Reid is at least a good enough coach to not muck it up though. I was never terribly impressed by him in Philly, but he’s definitely earning his reputation in KC.
It’s no surprise that someone in the sports entertainment industry grew up in Hollywood.
He is - along with his long-term staff, especially defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuola.
Mahomes is good, but he wouldn't have anywhere near his success without these two coaches - and vice-versa. Same with Brady and Belichik. The two complemented each other.
With my limited understanding of the sport, I realize the difference a coach can make. Highlighted right now with Buffalo actually. There is something that sets apart teams that are talented, and those that are talented AND win when it counts most.
Bills need a coaching a reset.
"Little" Andy Reid competing against other kids his age at a 1971 Punt, Pass & Kick competition
That’s an interesting layer there. Because Sean McDermott is a very good coach. I think he’s one of the best coaches in the league right now. BUT, he was terrible last night, from letting his team take the field obviously distracted (I haven’t seen the Bills take an illegal formation penalty in months, they took 2 in the first half), and just making bad calls (dude, KC obviously figured out your QB sneak STOP), he was just not on it. But I wouldn’t fire him, he’s a great coach... when he’s not playing KC in the playoffs.
Meanwhile Reid has obviously done a good job helping KC maximize a very talented roster with a great QB. Of course last year they had a great play taken off the board because one of his wide receivers lined up offside. So he ain’t perfect. And he’s got great assistants, especially Spagnuolo, holy crow is he good. It’s a complicated sport and there are very few simple explanations for success or failure. KC is a great team, and there’s at least a dozen guys that are why they’re a great team. And Reid is one of them.
I have a old baseball team photo from when I was a kid... One dude is much larger than the rest of us, and it's just as hilarious.
The Bills actually have more wins over the Chiefs than losses, if one counts regular season. KC beats every other team in the league as well.
Bills coaches also easily beat most other teams in the league. KC is their only obstacle.
Again, look at Brady and Belichik. Did any other coach and QB duo have power over them? If Bills fire their coach, what are the chances they find someone who suddenly has the ability to defeat KC in the playoffs?
Or what's the chance they make the Bills worse?
LoL so regarding a sport I understand better...figure skating...ahem :)
There was Michelle Kwan back in the day, Sasha Cohen to a lesser extent...But Kwan was consistently, statistically the world’s best, world champ...But she always failed to pull off *GOLD* at the Olympics. Yes it could be a psychological hang-up on her part...The pressure that comes with being number 1 and the weight of expectation...
But the bit I’ve seen of Josh Allen, it’s not the pressure.
reposting:
In figure skating: there was Michelle Kwan back in the day, Sasha Cohen to a lesser extent...But Kwan was consistently, statistically the world’s best, world champ...But she always failed to pull off *GOLD* at the Olympics. Yes it could be a psychological hang-up on her part...The pressure that comes with being number 1 and the weight of expectation...
But the bit I’ve seen of Josh Allen, it’s not the pressure. I think it’s a coaching mismatch. Especially at the most crucial junctures of the season. It must be an intricate art: how to utilize someone with supersize talent as Allen *AND* knowing how to “match” HIM with the rest of the team’s strengths and weaknesses too...
Very good friend of another California boy, Mike Holmgren (Green Bay, Seattle). Both part of Bill Walsh’s west coast offense system.
(continued) And given how down to the wire these games are… Good coaching vs epic coaching is seen in how the teams pull off wins with seconds left on the clock. Those down to the wire decisions.
He was born in LA but is a Mormon.
301 wins in the NFL is rather IMPRESSIVE to me.
LOTS OF MORMONS IN LA
“Bills need a coaching a reset.”
Why?
They had a lot of injuries.
They didn’t have the refs.
They were one dropped pass from going to the Super Bowl.
I don’t think Josh Allen & McDermott click well when push comes to shove — even if they get along personally.
Yeah you would figure the physically fit coaches with good hair fit the stereotype of being from LA, not the big, heavy, bald older dude.
No disrespect to the legends of the past like Lombardi, Madden, Noll, Shula, Walsh, etc. but Andy may likely end up catching Shula for wins and possibly Belichick for rings by the time he is done, assuming he and Mahomes stay healthy.
Yes his overall bearing, but the mustache too! I was so sure he was from another part of the country! LoL
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