Getty Andy Reid drafted LeSean McCoy in 2009 with the Eagles.
LeSean McCoy and Andy Reid are reuniting in Kansas City after their football bromance was cut short in Philadelphia. Neither one has ever captured that elusive Super Bowl ring, so now they’ll go after it together.
McCoy, who was surprisingly cut by the Buffalo Bills Saturday, will sign a one-year deal worth a reported $4 million to play for Reid’s Chiefs in Kansas City. The 31-year-old running back has a great shot to usurp the starting tailback duties from Damien Williams.
Reid, of course, drafted McCoy in the second round of the 2009 draft as Brian Westbrook’s eventual successor for the Eagles. McCoy lived up to all the hype in his six seasons in Philadelphia, including four electrifying ones under the former Eagles head coach. Let’s take a look at the best moments between the willing teacher and prized pupil.
1. LeSean McCoy Punches Andy Reid
McCoy was so fired up during a 2011 game against the Washington Redskins that he actually came over and punched his coach in the gut on the sideline. The jovial kid from Harrisburg was enjoying another stellar performance in the year he led all NFL running backs in touchdowns (17) and thought it was a good idea to sock Reid. McCoy finished with 126 yards and a score in a 20-13 win for the Eagles. The punch? Well, McCoy was celebrating after gaining a first down on a crucial 2nd-and-2. The play sealed the game for the Eagles.
2. Big Hug Before Eagles-Chiefs Game
Former #Eagles RB LeSean McCoy is reuniting with Andy Reid in #KChiefs after being Released by #Bills per @AdamSchefter & @RapSheet
Reid was fired from the Eagles after 14 very successful years as head coach. In fact, the team never referred to the move as a firing and even threw the coach a huge going-away party. Within days, the all-time winningest coach in Eagles history found a new job in Kansas City. McCoy stayed behind in Philadelphia under incoming coach Chip Kelly and when the two met as opponents for the first time in 2013, there was nothing but love.
“We all love Coach Reid to death,” McCoy told NFL.com in 2013. “He means a lot to me and a lot of other players. We’ll give each other a big hug, and then once the game starts, I know how Coach Reid is. He’s so focused. All in all, we always know it’s always love and mutual respect between each other, but we have a job to do.”
3. Jeremy Maclin’s Wedding
Jeremy Maclin was a very productive and reliable wide receiver during his five seasons with the Eagles. He racked up 4,771 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns as one of the team’s top targets before following Reid out to Kansas City. In 2017, Maclin got married and it inspired an impromptu reunion among several former Eagles coaches and players. At the top of the list: Andy Reid and LeSean McCoy.
4. The 2009 NFL Draft
Brian Westbrook was coming off a year in which he ran for 936 yards and nine touchdowns when the Eagles drafted his replacement. They took a kid from the University of Pittsburgh with cut-on-a-dime ability and never looked back. Andy Reid was the man who pulled the trigger on that pick as he drafted LeSean McCoy in the second round (53rd overall) and turned the Eagles’ backfield into a committee. It was genius. (Note: McCoy wore No. 29 when he first came into the league before switching to No. 25).
5. McCoy Torches Dallas for 185 Yards
In 2011, LeSean McCoy was hitting his stride as the starting tailback for the Eagles under head coach Andy Reid. He rumbled for 185 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-7 rout of the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 30, 2011. After the game, his coach couldn’t stop smiling.
“Well listen, you guys know him, he’s got a smile on his face when he comes to work, he loves to play the game, and he wants to be the best,” Reid said in 2011, via SB Nation. “This particular week you’re going to see a lot of different looks, maybe more than you see throughout the year, with ones that you’ll tape. Until you play them again, right? It was important that he came in and he wanted to make sure he stayed up on that, and that’s a compliment to LeSean.”
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Top 5 Andy Reid & LeSean McCoy NFL Moments