American football coach
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Also known as: Andrew Walter Reid
Written by
Fred Frommer
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Andy Reid
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- In full:
- Andrew Walter Reid
- Born:
- March 19, 1958, Los Angeles, California, U.S. (age 66)
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Andy Reid (born March 19, 1958, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is one of the most successful coaches in the National Football League (NFL). He transformed the Kansas City Chiefs into an American football powerhouse and guided them to three Super Bowl victories (2020, 2023, 2024). Reid also was on the coaching staff of the Green Bay Packers when the team won the Super Bowl in 1997.
Early life
Reid is the youngest of two sons born to Elizabeth Reid, a radiologist, and Walter Reid, a scenic artist in the entertainment industry. The family lived in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles. While growing up, Reid played numerous sports, including baseball and basketball, but he was most interested in football.
By the time he was 13 years old, Reid towered over other kids. One of his teachers in junior high school later estimated that Reid was already 6 feet 2 inches (about 1.9 meters) and weighed 220 pounds (almost 100 kg). His size was an asset on the playing field, and he was considered a natural athlete. In 1971 he competed in the NFL’s Punt, Pass & Kick competition during halftime of a nationally televised Monday Night Football game. (None of the youth jerseys fit him, so Reid ended up borrowing one from Los Angeles Rams running back Les Josephson.)
While in high school, Reid was a lineman on the football team, and he also pitched for the school’s baseball squad. After not receiving any football scholarship offers, he enrolled in Glendale (California) Community College and then transferred to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. There he played offensive tackle, though he did not see much playing time. Reid, who initially studied journalism, also wrote a column for the Provo Daily Herald. In the early 1980s he earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in professional leadership in physical education and athletics.
In 1982 Reid began working as a graduate assistant to BYU head coach LaVell Edwards. In a relationship that would pay off during his pro career, Reid got to know Mike Holmgren, the team’s quarterbacks coach. In 1983 Reid left BYU for San Francisco State University, where he served as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.
Pro coaching career
Reid held several other college coaching jobs before joining the Green Bay Packers of the NFL in 1992; the team’s head coach was Holmgren. Reid held a number of jobs with Green Bay, including tight ends coach, assistant offensive line coach, and quarterbacks coach. During his two years in the last post, he worked with star QB Brett Favre. In Reid’s seven years with the team, the Packers made the playoffs six times and played in two Super Bowls, winning the championship in 1997.
Philadelphia Eagles
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In 1999 the Philadelphia Eagles hired Reid as the head coach, and he took over a team that had gone 3–13 in 1998. At that year’s NFL draft, Reid selected quarterback Donovan McNabb, who would become one of the NFL’s leading dual-threat QBs. During Reid’s first season, in 1999, however, the Eagles continued to struggle, posting a record of 5–11. But the following season Reid transformed Philadelphia into a playoff team as the Eagles went 11–5. Over Reid’s 14-year career in Philadelphia, the Eagles made the playoffs nine times and appeared in Super Bowl XXXIX (2005), which they lost to the New England Patriots, 24–21. Despite several strong subsequent seasons, Philadelphia failed to return to the Super Bowl, and, after the team went 4–12 in 2012, Reid was fired.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs quickly hired Reid, who once again took over a rock-bottom franchise—Kansas City had gone just 2–14 in 2012. In his first season (2013) in Kansas City, Reid engineered the best single-season turnaround in team history, as the Chiefs improved to 11–5 and made the playoffs. He has been credited with revamping the team culture while also solidifying his reputation for inventive offensive plays. He also developed a strong partnership with Patrick Mahomes, who joined the team in 2017 and became one of the NFL’s leading quarterbacks. In addition, Reid’s sense of humor proved popular with both players and fans.
In Reid’s first 10 seasons with Kansas City, the Chiefs made the playoffs nine times. In the 2019 season he led them to a 12–4 record, and the team advanced to Super Bowl LIV (2020), where it came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 31–20. The following season the Chiefs returned to the Super Bowl (2021) but lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the 2021 season Kansas City reached the American Football Conference championship game for the fourth consecutive year, but the Chiefs were defeated by the Cincinnati Bengals. In Super Bowl LVII (2023) Reid and the Chiefs faced his former team, the Eagles. Kansas City made a field goal in the final seconds to win its second Super Bowl in four years. The following season the team cemented its dynasty status after winning Super Bowl LVIII (2024); the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, 25–22.
Personal life
Reid has been married to his wife, Tammy Reid, since 1981. The couple met while they were students at BYU. They later had five children, and two of their sons struggled with drug and alcohol addictions. In 2012 Garrett Reid died from an accidental heroin overdose at the age of 29. Ten years later Britt Reid was sentenced to three years in prison for a 2021 drunken-driving accident that seriously injured a young girl.
Fred Frommer
