Andy Reid has earned quite the reputation as one of the NFL‘s top head coaches, largely from his highly successful recent tenure as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the longtime head coach cut his teeth with the Philadelphia Eagles, learning plenty throughout an up-and-down run in his first head coaching job at any level of football.
Looking Back on Andy Reid’s Time With the Eagles
Reid worked his way up in the coaching ranks through nearly two decades’ worth of various gigs at the collegiate and professional levels before earning his first shot as a head coach.
He started out as a graduate assistant at BYU in 1982 and slowly made his way up the ladder collegiately before getting his first NFL gig as a tight ends and assistant offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers in 1992.
He was part of a staff that helped Green Bay reach two Super Bowls, winning one in the 1996 season, and gained a strong reputation for his eventual work with Brett Favre after becoming the team’s quarterbacks coach.
Reid’s success there parlayed itself into a shot as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach in 1999, a bit of a leap for Reid considering he’d never even been a play-caller or coordinator for either side of the ball at the college or professional levels.
His tenure in Philadelphia got out to a bit of a bumpy start with a 5-11 record in 1999, though that was still an uptick from the team’s 3-13 showing the previous year.
Reid quickly found success after that, guiding the Eagles to an 11-5 record and playoff berth in 2000. Philadelphia went on to win 11 or more games in five straight seasons, and his squads made four consecutive trips to the NFC Championship Game from 2001-2004.
The Eagles broke through for a Super Bowl appearance in the 2004 season, though they ultimately fell by a 24-21 score to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 39.
Philadelphia struggled to find the same level of success throughout the remainder of Reid’s time at the helm. The Eagles missed the playoffs in two of the next three seasons before finally getting back to the NFC Championship Game during the 2008 season, though they were knocked out at that point by the Arizona Cardinals.
Things went downhill from there, as Philadelphia exited in the Wild Card Round in each of the next two seasons, then missed the playoffs at 8-8 in 2011 and hit rock bottom with a 4-12 showing in 2012.
Reid was fired by the Eagles following the season, bringing an end to a 14-year run as the franchise’s head coach.
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He then took over with the Chiefs and has now made it to four Super Bowls in the last five seasons, winning the game’s 54th and 57th iterations behind stellar play from superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Reid aims to add a third championship ring to his collection in Super Bowl 58 as Kansas City looks to repeat with a win over the San Francisco 49ers, a rematch of Super Bowl 54.
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