Getty Andy Reid won his first Super Bowl title as head coach in the NFL on Sunday in Miami.
This one was a long time in the making. Twenty-one years to be exact but who’s counting, right?
Wrong. Everyone was counting — until now. Andy Reid is a Super Bowl champion. The same coach who refused to run the football in Philadelphia ran it 29 times in Super Bowl LIV. He also watched his Kansas City Chiefs team overcome a 10-point deficit with nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
Reid even had extra timeouts at the end of the game to make sure he could properly run out the clock, without incident. All the little things that infuriated Eagles fans for 14 years were washed away in a sea of red-and-yellow confetti. Congratulations to Andy, the future Hall-of-Fame head coach!
Time’s yours, Andy.
As soon as the final whistle blew, Reid’s many former players rushed to social media to express their gratitude. It was a stunning show of solidarity and support for a man who has given so much to the game of football. Former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins had vowed to shed tears of joy earlier this week and he delivered on that promise.
‘Congratulations, Coach,” a downright giddy Dawkins posted on Twitter. “Congratulations, I told y’all I’d be shedding tears of joy and I did. Man, I’m so proud … first of all, as someone who played under you, you are a friend of mine and I’m so happy for you, Coach. It took a while but you have deserved it.”
CONGRATULATIONS COACH REID!! You finally got the hump off of your back. You have been a blessing to so many of us as a Coach yes, but also as a man. You’ve learned & given so much to so many… You Earned it!! LOVE YOU!!! #BigRed #SuperBowlChampion
“You blessed so many people along the way, to help and redeem themselves, to help coach individuals, you’ve been there as family for a lot of us,” Dawkins continued. “So congratulations, Coach, love you and I wanted to say congratulations, you are a Super Bowl doggone champion!”
Of course, Dawkins wasn’t the only one. Far from it. Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said he was “so happy for my guy” and told everyone to “give him the credit he deserves.”
So happy for my guy. Well deserved for the @Chiefs. Now give him the credit he deserves. First Class coach, friend & dad.
Brian Westbrook, who played eight seasons under Reid in Philadelphia, sent his well wishes.
Congrats Big Red
Former Eagles linebacker Ike Reese, a current sports talker for SportsRadio 94WIP, simply stated: “OMG.”
Even Terrell Owens, the mercurial receiver who Reid kicked off the team in 2006, referred to Big Red as his “favorite coach.”
CONGRATS TO MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE COACH ANDY REID ON YOUR 1ST SUPER BOWL WIN!! YOU DESERVED IT! CONGRATS @CHIEFS! Super Bowl LIV Champs
“I’m so happy for our players, coaches and fans,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said, via ESPN. “And especially Andy Reid. Nobody deserves this trophy more than Andy Reid.”
Reid was so popular and universally adored that his name was trending on social media as some of the most high-profile names in athletics applauded his first Super Bowl championship. For example, LeBron James offered Reid arguably the biggest shout out of the evening.
Happy as hell for the big guy Andy Reid!! Congrats Coach!!! 👏🏾🙏🏾
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