Chiefs Finally Make Andy Reid’s 4-Word Message Permanent as Clark Hunt Follows Cowboys

The Chiefs had just ended a 50-year championship drought in 2019. Andy Reid, standing on a stage in Miami, grinned under the confetti storm. His voice carried the loud happiness. “How ’bout those Chiefs?” It was familiar, almost too familiar. Reid’s version wasn’t a coincidence. The bridge between Andy Reid and Jimmy Johnson isn’t built on playbooks or shared locker rooms. It’s built on four words.

Back in January 1993, Jimmy Johnson stood in a locker room dripping with champagne. The Cowboys had just punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. Johnson looked straight into the lens and fired off a line that would outlive that moment, “How ’bout them Cowboys?” It wasn’t scripted.

Clark Hunt understood the weight of that echo. On August 4, 2025, the Chiefs made it official on X while unveiling their new Red Friday flag. The caption read, “About time we immortalized Coach’s phrase.” That wasn’t just a merch drop, it was a statement that Kansas City now sees itself in the same cultural race the Cowboys once dominated. And with the Chiefs surging in national popularity, it’s a race they might actually win.

After all, this is a franchise that began life as the Dallas Texans before moving to Kansas City. Now, in a twist of NFL fate, the old Texans are challenging the Cowboys for America’s football soul.

In YouGov’s latest football team popularity rankings, the Chiefs sit 5th overall, behind legacy brands like the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers. Their 86% fame puts them among the most recognized franchises in the league, but their 42% popularity shows they’re still polarizing. The Cowboys, long branded as America’s Team, have historically topped these charts, while the Chiefs are now within striking distance, signaling a potential shift in the NFL’s cultural hierarchy.

When it comes to Super Bowl success, Andy Reid and Jimmy Johnson share the same total, two Lombardi Trophies each, but their paths couldn’t be more different. Johnson’s wins with the Cowboys came in back-to-back seasons (1992, 1993), cementing a short-lived but unforgettable era of dominance. Reid’s victories (2019, 2022, and 2023) are spread over a five-year span, anchored by a consistent playoff presence and Patrick Mahomes’ brilliance.

This mix of rising popularity, polarizing perception, and a coach whose steady hand mirrors but also modernizes Johnson’s legacy puts the Chiefs in a unique position. If Reid matches or surpasses Johnson’s total, while closing the gap on the Cowboys’ popularity crown, Kansas City could complete the cultural takeover Clark Hunt seems to be chasing.

Andy Reid urges action from locker room

The sun beat down on St. Joseph, Missouri. Helmets gleamed, whistles pierced the humid air, and Andy Reid stood at the center of it all, clipboard in hand, eyes locked on his offense. This is not a victory lap. This is a demand for more.

The Kansas City Chiefs, since 2020, have turned calculated risks into championship banners. They’ve converted 111 of 229 third downs last season, good for second in the league. On fourth down, they gambled 17 times and succeeded on 12, an elite 70.6% clip, ranking third in the NFL. Numbers any coach could boast about. But not Reid. Not now.

“Red zone, third downs, you can always get better at them,” Reid told reporters on Sunday, August 1st. “Even though we were one of the top third-down teams, well, you gotta be better at that. We tried to focus on that throughout there.” His voice didn’t carry celebration, it carried challenge. To his players, staff, and himself.

At training camp, Reid is drilling the red-zone attack like a surgeon sharpening his scalpel. More second- and third-down plays. More situational reps under pressure. He knows the AFC is a gauntlet, and complacency is the first step toward collapse. History says this is when great teams loosen their grip. Reid refuses to let it happen.

This is the difference between a team that wins and a team that lasts. Moreover, Kansas City already owns the numbers. Now Reid wants the margins. If they master those, the Chiefs won’t just be hard to beat in 2025, they’ll be nearly impossible.