It sounds like long-time Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid will be heading to Kansas City before long to coach the Chiefs. I can't really blame Reid for wanting to go to Kansas City. The Chiefs will have the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Their fan-base is great. Also, the division in which they reside - the AFC West - is lacking outside of Denver. Oakland hasn't put a winning team together in well over a decade it seems like and San Diego is heading the wrong direction with theirs. Lastly, the club went 2-14 this year. They can only go up from here. Reid won't be facing nearly as much pressure in Kansas City taking over a 2-14 squad than he would have had he continued coaching Philly. But, while I understand why Reid would be interested in the job, I don't think it'll be a good fit for him, at least in the short-term, and management will need to be very patient with Reid if they really want to see what he can bring to the club.
As Eagles fans know, Reid is a pass first, pass second, pass third, pass fourth, maybe run fifth kind of guy. In Philadelphia, he had one of the most dynamic running backs in all of football in LeSean McCoy, but didn't utilize him very much in the run game. There were times when McCoy was used more catching the ball than running it. This is not how the Kansas City offense is built. They revolve around the running ability of Pro-Bowl tailback Jamal Charles. The O-Line has had a solid reputation for many years as has the running game. Barry Word, Christian Okoye, Jamal Charles, Larry Johnson, Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes, etc. have all run the ball for the Chiefs over the past couple decades. For the time being, they don't have the players on offense to run the offense Reid would like to run very efficiently. They lack the tools at quarterback and receiver to accomplish this. So if Reid becomes the head coach and insists on going about things in the manner he always has, it's going to take some time to bring in players which will be suitable to his style of offense, through draft picks, trades, free agency, etc. The likes of Michael Vick and Alex Smith should be available, but I'm not certain either are ideal fits for Andy Reid's system. They could be if Reid would balance his approach more and utilize Jamal Charles in the running game as he has been in recent years. However, if he's reluctant on doing that, neither Vick nor Smith are ideal quarterbacks for dropping back in the pocket and throwing the ball 35-50 times a game. Vick lacks the size to place himself at that kind of risk all too regularly. Smith lacks the experience at this point in his career. Both would be better off if they were protected by a decent offensive line and were able to feed off a solid running game to open up the play-action passing game and limit their risk of injury.
Of course, at this point, I imagine many Chiefs fans are shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Why not give the guy a shot?" or "Hey, it can't get any worse, right?" I can completely understand that. At the same time, though, I'm not thinking that Andy Reid is the solution, short-term or long-term, that the Chiefs are seeking.
As Eagles fans know, Reid is a pass first, pass second, pass third, pass fourth, maybe run fifth kind of guy. In Philadelphia, he had one of the most dynamic running backs in all of football in LeSean McCoy, but didn't utilize him very much in the run game. There were times when McCoy was used more catching the ball than running it. This is not how the Kansas City offense is built. They revolve around the running ability of Pro-Bowl tailback Jamal Charles. The O-Line has had a solid reputation for many years as has the running game. Barry Word, Christian Okoye, Jamal Charles, Larry Johnson, Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes, etc. have all run the ball for the Chiefs over the past couple decades. For the time being, they don't have the players on offense to run the offense Reid would like to run very efficiently. They lack the tools at quarterback and receiver to accomplish this. So if Reid becomes the head coach and insists on going about things in the manner he always has, it's going to take some time to bring in players which will be suitable to his style of offense, through draft picks, trades, free agency, etc. The likes of Michael Vick and Alex Smith should be available, but I'm not certain either are ideal fits for Andy Reid's system. They could be if Reid would balance his approach more and utilize Jamal Charles in the running game as he has been in recent years. However, if he's reluctant on doing that, neither Vick nor Smith are ideal quarterbacks for dropping back in the pocket and throwing the ball 35-50 times a game. Vick lacks the size to place himself at that kind of risk all too regularly. Smith lacks the experience at this point in his career. Both would be better off if they were protected by a decent offensive line and were able to feed off a solid running game to open up the play-action passing game and limit their risk of injury.
Of course, at this point, I imagine many Chiefs fans are shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Why not give the guy a shot?" or "Hey, it can't get any worse, right?" I can completely understand that. At the same time, though, I'm not thinking that Andy Reid is the solution, short-term or long-term, that the Chiefs are seeking.
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