(Audacy Sports/WGR 550) - A lot of eyes will be on Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid this offseason, even if he hasn’t explicitly stated that retirement is on his radar.
The legendary coach is about to take part in his fourth Super Bowl in the last five years, having won two already. However, he’ll turn 66 in March, and already has cemented himself as one of the winningest coaches in league history - theoretically, it could be a reasonable time for him to call it a career.
It should be little surprise then that there has been plenty of conjecture about Reid’s future.
One of the NFL’s most plugged in reporters, Adam Schefter, speculated on ESPN a scenario in which Reid walks off into the sunset after winning the Super Bowl and is replaced with Bill Belichick. Although he wasn’t sourcing anything, antennas always get raised when Schefter starts kicking around ideas.
His ESPN colleague Sean McDonough, who was in Baltimore for the AFC Championship Game, told WEEI’s "The Greg Hill Show" that, if nothing else, he wouldn’t be surprised if Reid retired this offseason.
"There was some talk about [the rumors], not a lot,” McDonough said. “It certainly didn’t come across as imminent, but where there’s smoke there’s fire, too. I trust Adam Schefter. It wouldn’t surprise me if Andy is considering it, I mean he’s definitely toward the end of his career. I kind of believe in going out on top, so if he were to win and he was pondering it, I wonder if it might compel him to be more likely to retire and go out with a Super Bowl championship.
"Whether Bill winds up there or not, wow, that would be a lot. I would guess that would not happen, but 'Schefty’s' plugged in, that’s for sure. So, who knows."
If Reid does indeed retire, a marriage between the Chiefs and Belichick could be mutually beneficial. The Chiefs would be able to have guidance from another iconic coach with their championship window wide open, and Belichick would be inheriting a team that is built to win now.