PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Super Bowl LV is set as the Kansas City Chiefs will look to repeat against Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In addition to many interesting storylines, this game features several Philadelphia connections.
The one that stands out most is former Eagles head coach Andy Reid appearing in his third Super Bowl as a head coach, and his second in a row — after finally winning the Lombardi Trophy last season.
Following his team’s 38-24 win over the Buffalo Bills, Reid was asked about the sense of normalcy his club provided Kansas City during a most unusual year with a pandemic and president election.
"We feel bad for the people that have suffered from this, and some have lost their lives, but we also know that a positive can come out of this and something for people that are suffering a little bit to live for. I think that’s been a real plus for the guys and for the city," he said.
"And probably -- listen, if you look at the National Football League right now, it’s probably great for the nation, and it gives them hope. And right now, that’s what we need. And stay safe and move forward."
Several of Reid’s assistants also have Eagles connections — all of them through him:
· Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (running back 1999)
· Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo (assistant coach 1999-2006)
· Quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka (backup quarterback 2010-2011)
· Wide receivers coach Greg Lewis (wide receiver 2003-2008 and wide receivers coach 2016)
· Tight ends coach Tom Melvin (assistant coach 1999-2012)
· VP of Sports Medicine and Performance Rick Burkholder (longtime Eagles head athletic trainer under Reid)
Kansas City All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce is the younger brother of longtime Eagles center Jason Kelce.
And Villanova and Wissahickson High School alum Tanoh Kpassagnon is a Kansas City defensive end.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers are coached by former Temple head coach Bruce Arians (1983-1988), who at 68 years old will be a head coach in a Super Bowl for the first time in his professional career.
Arians didn’t become a full-time NFL head coach until 2013, when the Arizona Cardinals hired him. He’s also a prostate cancer survivor, and has experienced other cancer scares before taking a break from coaching in 2018. He joined the Bucs prior to the 2019 season, and thus took his squad to Super Bowl in only his second year in Tampa.
"There were times when I never thought it would happen," Arians said after the Buccaneers held off the Packers 31-26 in the NFC Championship Game. "I never thought I’d get a head coaching job, and after the cancer scare in Arizona, sitting out that year and coming back, this has been the most rewarding year of coaching in my life."
And according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank, Arians’ staff is loaded with other local connections too.
Time for a repeat?
Kansas City will try to be the first repeat champion since Brady’s Patriots did so in Super Bowl XXXIX against Reid’s Eagles.
The 43-year-old Brady, in his 21st NFL season, is making his 10th Super Bowl in the last 20 years, with this one coming in his first year in Tampa Bay.
"Being able to go up against one of the greatest, if not the greatest quarterback of all time, in his 150th Super Bowl," 25-year-old Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes said, by way of exaggeration. "I mean, it’s gonna be a great experience for me."
On top of that, this season was the first time the Buccaneers made the playoffs since the 2007-08 season and won a postseason game since capturing Super Bowl XXXVII in the 2002-03 campaign.
Making NFL history
If that wasn’t enough, the Bucs are going to be the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in their home venue, as Raymond James Stadium is the site of Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7.
"Now a home Super Bowl for the first time in NFL history, I think, puts a lot of cool things in perspective," Brady said. "Any time you’re the first time doing something, is usually a pretty good thing."
And they accomplished this winning three road games in a row against division winners.
"That’s the scary thing about coming to the Super Bowl at home: We’ve been playing so good on the road," Arians said with a smile and chuckle. "... But to be able to come home and play the Super Bowl at our place and not have to get on a plane and do all the things that this crazy year that has us doing, it would be weird. It would not even feel like the Super Bowl. We wouldn’t have all those damn press conferences."
Super Bowl LV should be a fun matchup to preview over the next couple of weeks.