Home for the playoffs for the first time since 2014, the Chiefs are also about to watch an AFC championship game for the first time since 2017. Kansas City’s remarkable run ended with an elimination in Week 15. As the team fought to stay alive, it lost Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL. This ushers in rare uncertainty for the NFL’s safest 2020s bet.
During an offseason in which John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin and now Sean McDermott are relocating, Andy Reid is now the NFL’s longest-tenured HC. Mahomes is also targeting Week 1 for a return. This could remind of a blip, a la the Golden State Warriors’ step back between their Kevin Durant period and resurgence soon after, but the Chiefs still have roster issues to sort out in a division that includes formidable opposition.
Coaching/front office:
- HC Andy Reid agreed to return for 14th season
- OC Matt Nagy interviewed for Cardinals, Ravens, Raiders, Giants, Titans’ HC jobs, Eagles’ OC post
- Eric Bieniemy rehired as OC
- DC Steve Spagnuolo interviewed for Giants, Titans’ HC jobs
- Fired wide receivers coach Connor Embree, RBs coach Todd Pinkston
- Hired Chad O’Shea as new WRs coach
This will be Reid’s 14th season in Kansas City and 28th season as an NFL head coach. The three-time Super Bowl winner is believed to be the game’s highest-paid HC. That and Mahomes’ status gives the all-time great plenty of incentive to come back after his worst season since a 4-12 Eagles showing led to a firing. Reid, who will turn 68 in March, has reshaped his legacy in Missouri by turning the tide for a franchise that had gone 50 years between Super Bowl berths.
