Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid got his 230th win on Sunday, over the Carolina Panthers, which puts him in fifth place for all-time career wins for NFL head coaches. Reid is now only 40 wins away from tying Tom Landry for fourth place and 117 wins from tying the great Don Shula for the most wins by a head coach in NFL history.
There’s no doubt that Reid has put together an impressive resume since 1999, his first season as a head coach. In his time with the Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2012) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013-pres.), Reid has 10 division championships, 15 postseason appearances, two conference championships, and a Super Bowl ring to top it off.
Over the years, Reid has seen 10 of his assistant coaches receive head coaching gigs with other teams which include: Brad Childress, John Harbaugh, Steve Spagnuolo, Leslie Frazier, Ron Rivera, Pat Shurmur, Todd Bowles, Doug Peterson, Sean McDermott, Matt Nagy, and it won’t be long before Eric Bieniemy makes this list as well.
In 21 seasons, Andy Reid has surmounted himself as one of the best head coaches to ever take the sidelines and will surely make the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day. Though that may not be for a while since his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes is locked in a 10-year contract extension.
The future is very bright for Reid and the Chiefs going forward, but how does he stack up to previous coaches in the franchise’s history? Is Reid the best Chiefs head coach?
When you go down the list of previous head coaches in team history, the competition isn’t that fierce. Actually, Reid instantly makes the top four and is in company with Dick Vermeil, Marty Schottenheimer, and the great Hank Stram. See the chart below.
| Name | Years Coached | Regular Seas. Record | Postseason Record | Postseason Appearances | Div. Championships | AFL/AFC Championships | Super Bowls |
| Stram | ‘60 – ‘74 | 124-76-10 | 5-3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Scott. | ‘89 – ‘98 | 101-58-1 | 3-7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Reid | ‘13 – Pres | 85-36 | 5-5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Vermeil | ‘01 – ‘05 | 44-36 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
From 2006-2012, the Chiefs went through two general managers, three head coaching regimes, and posted a combined 38-74 record. Since taking over as head coach in 2013, Andy Reid has turned a dysfunctional organization that needed direction into one of the best-run franchises in the NFL.
In eight seasons, Reid is 85-36 in regular-season play and has not suffered a losing season, he’s missed the playoffs once, won the AFC West four consecutive times, has made the AFC Championship twice, and won a Super Bowl.
Compare Reid’s success while in Kansas City to the all-time winningest head coach in Chiefs history, Hank Stram, and it’s remarkable how close their stats actually are.
Hank Stram leads the Chiefs with a 124-76-10 regular-season record and was 5-3 in postseason play from 1960-1974. However, in 15 seasons, Stram’s Chiefs made the postseason only five times and won the AFL western division four times.
It should be taken into account that the 60s (Stram’s heyday) was a totally different era of football. Far fewer teams made the playoffs back then, and to even qualify, teams had to win the division, and that’s how a lot of championship games were decided before the AFL adopted the divisional round in 1968.
Still, when looking at Stram’s first eight seasons as head coach (1960-1967), he was 64-43-5 in the regular season and went to the playoffs twice, resulting in two AFL Championships and appearing in the first-ever Super Bowl.
That’s pretty similar to the success Reid’s had thus far. Although Stram didn’t make the postseason as many times as Reid, his teams made it count when they did.
Again, you also have to consider times, which is why it’s very difficult to truly compare the 60s to the way the game is structured today. Considering, Stram only had to win his division for a one-way ticket to the AFL Championship in 1962 and 1966. While Reid has to secure the 1st seed in the conference just to avoid playing a full three rounds in order to make the Super Bowl this year.
When compared to Marty Schottenheimer and Dick Vermeil, Reid blows both out of the water because of consistent success in the regular season and during the playoffs.
While Reid and Marty both match one another in terms of playing well during the regular season and bringing exciting football back to Kansas City, Reid has put together a better track record in the postseason, a .500 record, and winning a Super Bowl.
As for Dick Vermeil, he and Reid are both beloved coaches amongst fans and the players. However, in five seasons as head coach of the Chiefs, Vermeil put together just two winning seasons with one trip to the postseason and built one of the worst defenses in franchise history. While both coaches have managed to create a high-flying offense, Reid has also been able (though it hasn’t always been perfect) to get the most out of his defense in recent years.
In the end, I’m not trying to take away from the accomplishments all four of these coaches have done in their time leading our beloved Chiefs over the years. But when it comes down to it in the NFL, what matters most, are the number of championships that are in the trophy case.
That means Hank Stram and Andy Reid are technically neck and neck as two of the greatest head coach in franchise history. Only time will tell where Reid stands when it’s all said and done.
One thing’s for sure, whenever Big Red does decide to put away the play sheet for good, he’ll be regarded as one of the best head coaches, not just in Kansas City Chiefs history, but in NFL history as well.
