Where Does Andy Reid Rank Among Greatest NFL HCs of All-Time?

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has felt like a shoo-in Hall of Fame candidate for a few years now. Now that he’s won a second Super Bowl as a head coach—and second in a four-year span—we have to start considering where he ranks among the greatest head coaches in NFL history.

Even before winning his second ring as a head coach on Sunday, Reid had spent his 24 years at the helm of two different teams surging up the rankings of winningest head coaches in NFL history. By the end of the 2022 regular season, he was fifth on the list in all-time wins as a head coach with 247, just three wins behind Hall of Famer Tom Landry in 32 fewer games. Last year, he became the first coach in NFL history to win 100+ games as the head coach of two different teams.

As far as the postseason goes, Reid’s 22 playoff wins are second all-time and just nine fewer than the Patriots’ Bill Belichick. With his second ring, Reid also matched some other all-time greats on that winningest head coaches list—Don Shula, Landry, Bill Parcells—all of whom are already in the Hall of Fame themselves.

Obviously, Reid’s win count and accolades alone should put him in that all-time top tier of NFL head coaches. But the way he got so many of those wins and titles is the most impressive part of it all. Reid is one of the greatest leaders and offensive minds the game has ever seen, and this season—and Super Bowl LVII in particular—provided a fantastic microcosm of just what he’s been able to do over his 24 years as an NFL head coach.

Heading into the 2022 season, there were plenty of people in the NFL community and media (myself included) who doubted the Chiefs’ chances at continuing their dominance in the AFC. Losing wide receiver Tyreek Hill and replacing him with a more lackluster receiving corps on paper looked like a major hurdle for Reid and his offense to overcome. Well, thanks to Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy making significant changes to their offensive schemes—for instance, investing in the run game more despite having one of the greatest quarterbacks ever—the Chiefs eventually secured their seventh straight AFC West title.

Similarly, things weren’t looking great for Kansas City when they entered the locker room at halftime of Super Bowl LVII trailing by 10 points. Not only was there the score deficit to contend with, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes seemed to have aggravated his ankle injury toward the end of the first half. Reid and the offense needed to make some serious adjustments to pull the Chiefs back within reach of the Eagles and eventually win the game. That’s exactly what happened.

Kansas City scored touchdowns on its first three drives of the second half. Mahomes had just one incompletion all half and the run game thrived with running back Isiah Pacheco leading the way. And it was thanks to Reid and Bienemy’s fantastic offensive game planning—finding weaknesses in the Eagles’ defense to exploit—that Mahomes’ three touchdown passes in the game were almost completely stress-free: three passes to wide-open pass-catchers.

Mahomes to Kelce but make it Super.

📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/2O8sClXZIM

— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023

TIE GAME. HERE WE GO.

📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/kibzBw5WYe

— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023

SKYY'S ARE CLEAR ☀️ pic.twitter.com/GGCQvS0gs9

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 13, 2023

Reid clearly deserves so much credit for the work he’s able to do on the field, but where he really pushes his way into the all-time greats conversation is his leadership off of the field. The players love who he is and the way he empowers them not just as players but as people. There are countless examples of his players shouting out Reid’s ability to connect with them and to bring out the best in them on and off the field. It’s so apparent that he’s gotten everyone in each locker room he’s been in to buy into his mission, and the results on the field have been speaking for themselves with his 18 playoff berths in 24 years at the helm of two different teams.

As things stand right now, Reid deserves his spot on the Mount Rushmore—or at least the top five—of all-time great coaches. And judging by his comments after the game on Sunday night, the 64-year-old still isn’t ready to hang up the whistle. With more wins (and potentially more rings) in his future, Reid’s legacy could end up even greater when all is said and done.