Kansas City head coach Andy Reid doesn’t discriminate. While he will always defend his players while speaking outside the dressing room, behind closed doors that picture changes up quite a bit.
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The Chiefs are looking to go back to their mojo and top the AFC West, and coach Reid gave insights into how he deals with his players to make sure that it happens. Andy Reid was on Coach2Coach with Jason Garrett and was asked how he handles his players behind closed doors.
“At times I’m gonna go after (players). I’ll go after Pat Mahomes, the best quarterback in football,” said Reid. “You have to be able to do this. I know you can. And I’ve seen you do it, and that’s an example to the other guys that, as great as he is, Chris Jones, as great as you are, Travis Kelce, as great as you are, there’s always room to be better. And to be great as a team, we’ve got to be able to do these things. And if you can do them, surely these other guys can that are trying to become as great as you.”
For the Chiefs head coach, it isn’t about him putting his players down or opting for the hair dryer treatment, but rather it’s more about tapping into players and getting them to be better. And Reid believes that if he can ask players of the quality of Mahomes to strive to do better, the rest of the team follows.
Reid also spoke on how important it is to be able to push players in the right manner and ensure they see that everything that is being done works towards a common goal.
“I think it’s important,” said Reid, and then clarified how he approaches players. “But I’m not a belittler. I’m a coach; I’m gonna try to give them things that help them become greater than they are. So it’s not belittling because I think they’re trying to be great. They’re not doing things not to be great, but just a reminder: you’re as great as you are because you did this.”
While he is constantly pushing players to get better, the beauty of what Coach Reid does is knowing when to put pressure on. Currently, all the talk surrounds Mahomes’ return from his ACL and LCL injury.
Mahomes was in Tampa Bay when the Chiefs lost 16-15 to the Buccaneers and said that he really wanted to play, but it will be Reid’s call when he returns to the gridiron. And the way things are currently looking, the star quarterback is ready to return by week 1, but he was clear that it would be the coach’s call when he plays.
Reid may push Mahomes when he needs to make him feel like he can get even better, but the ability to keep him game-hungry and yet protected to ease him in after a major injury is exactly why the Reid-Mahomes dynamic works so well.