Why is Andy Reid here? And why is he rocking a blue and white jacket with a BYU logo on it?
Those questions swept through T-Mobile Center in Kansas City last March as Reid, a month after guiding the beloved hometown Chiefs to their second-straight Super Bowl title, appeared courtside before the Big 12 basketball tournament quarterfinals and chatted up BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark.
“We love having BYU in the conference,” Yormark told Reid, according to KSLsports.com. “Thanks for all you do for Kansas City.”
Meanwhile, dozens of BYU fans, and some Kansas City locals sporting Chiefs attire, got as close as they could to Reid to chat and get a selfie with the local legend. And the BYU fans gladly told their neighbors about Reid’s ties to BYU, and how the former BYU football player and graduate assistant continues to support his alma mater in not just football, but every other sport in which the Provo school competes.
Right up until the BYU basketball team tipped off against Texas Tech — alma mater of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — Reid patiently took pictures and signed autographs.
“I love BYU,” Reid told the Deseret News in March of 2022 after participating in head football coach Kalani Sitake’s high school coaches clinic. “I bleed blue. I have a (BYU) football helmet in my office and I am all-in.”
But Reid isn’t thinking about the Cougars’ football program as much this week. The 66-year-old coach is trying to lead the Chiefs to their third-straight Super Bowl championship, which has never been done before in the history of the NFL.
BYU coaches grateful for the support
Although Texas Tech held off BYU 81-67 that day in Kansas City, then-BYU basketball coach Mark Pope made a point of thanking Reid for his support, and for a pregame motivational message in which Reid told the team to “cut loose, boys, and enjoy” the ride.
Wednesday, BYU football coaches expressed their gratitude as well and talked about their relationship with the man head coach Kalani Sitake and defensive coordinator Jay Hill called “the best coach in football.”
Sitake said he considers Reid one of his greatest mentors, along with the late and legendary LaVell Edwards and current University of Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.
“I would like to talk to Andy a lot more than I do, but I think I bug him enough,” Sitake said. “I try to stay in touch with him. … I have said this over and over again: His relationships with his players reminds me of LaVell.
“He is very close to what I see in LaVell,” Sitake continued. “The Super Bowl is going to be a lot of fun. You know you are running a great dynasty when people are sick of you being there. So that is a good thing that Andy is doing.”
Sitake has said that Reid occasionally offers advice, but mostly he just delivers encouragement and love.
“We would be crazy not to look at his stuff and see the things that he has been able to do, how he adapts,” Sitake said. “They say coaching is a young man’s game, but he is the youngest of us all if he is able to do what he does consistently. He’s been a head coach in the NFL for 26 years, so that is amazing.”
Aaron Roderick, Jay Hill weigh in on Reid’s influence
Of course, Reid, who has won three Super Bowls, is known for his offensive creativity, which is obviously aided by having talents such as Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce at his disposal. BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said he doesn’t have a close relationship with Reid, but has met the former offensive lineman a few times.
“The first time I met him was when I was a grad assistant. I had a chance to have lunch with him and (former BYU assistant coach) Lance Reynolds. I am sure Andy Reid doesn’t remember that, but it was a big deal for me,” Roderick said. “But I am a huge fan of his offenses. Of course, we watch everything they do. There is a lot of similarities between our offense and theirs. There have been a few times when I have been able to ask him questions, and he has been great about answering them. So yeah, I am a huge fan.”
So is Hill, who has studied what Reid’s defense has accomplished this season as it prepares to deal with the Philadelphia Eagles and their dual-threat quarterback, Jalen Hurts.
“I don’t know him that (well), but I do know he’s the best coach in the NFL right now and has (had) great success. So our admiration for him is huge,” Hill said. “We are excited about watching the Super Bowl. I would love to establish that relationship with a former BYU great, because I would love to just sit back and pick his brain. It is a pretty special deal, what he is accomplishing.”
Tuesday, Reid said he will return to the Chiefs for the 2025 season, which will be his 13th season in Kansas City. He was the Eagles’ head coach in Philadelphia for 14 years before his time in the City of Fountains.
The Los Angeles native has 301 career NFL victories.
Keeping an eye on Kellen Moore
Sitake and Roderick said they will be a little torn in their rooting allegiances in Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX (4:30 p.m. MST, Fox) because they have a good friend in the Eagles organization, Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
“I am excited for Kellen. He’s calling plays, and doing some really cool things. Brother Moore is doing some work there. So there is some good representation from our church in this game.”
— BYU coach Kalani Sitake on Eagles OC Kellen Moore
Moore, 36, is also the leading candidate to get the New Orleans Saints’ head coaching job and join former Cougars Taysom Hill and Dallin Holker on that team. Moore, a former Boise State quarterback, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Last September, former BYU quarterback and ESPN analyst Steve Young told a Boise radio station that Moore “needs to be a future coach at BYU.”
Sitake told BYUtv’s “Sports Nation” on Wednesday that he has “connections” to both teams and will be happy for whoever emerges victorious.
“I am excited for Kellen,” Sitake said. “He’s calling plays, and doing some really cool things. Brother Moore is doing some work there. So there is some good representation from our church in this game.”
Sitake said Moore visits Provo and BYU in the offseason and has “spent a lot of time with ARod and with the offense” at BYU.
