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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid appeared to dress with purpose as he entered Allegiant Stadium for the 2024 Super Bowl vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
Wearing a Chiefs blazer that bears a striking resemblance to Hall of Fame head coach Hank Stram’s iconic look, Reid walked into the championship arena with a determined demeanor. NBA scout Jarrett Sutton shared a side-by-side image of the two coaching legends on X, relaying that “Andy in the Hank Stram jacket is everything.”
With the Dallas Texans/Chiefs organization, Stram won three AFL titles and one Super Bowl. His Pro Football Hall of Fame bio notes an “impressive 131-97-10 regular-season record” (5-3 in the postseason) over 17 NFL campaigns.
Reid obviously has a tremendous record of his own. Over his illustrious 25-year-career as a head coach, “Big Red” has appeared in four Super Bowls — winning two of them. This year’s championship game marks his fourth with the Chiefs and his fifth overall.
On his career, Reid is 258-144-1 during the regular season. In the playoffs, he’s 25-16.
Whether Kansas City wins the 2024 Super Bowl or not, Reid will join Stram in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he decides to retire. At that time, he can trade in his Chiefs blazer for a gold jacket.
Latest on Andy Reid Retirement Rumors
Every season, league insiders speculate on a potential Reid retirement. In fact, NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport stated that his future with the team was still “worth watching” just a few hours before kickoff.
Having said that, no one close to the team truly believes Reid is considering retirement.
“[Reid’s] in a good place, not just with Pat [Mahomes] but with his coaching staff and with the personnel staff,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said ahead of the Super Bowl, per ESPN. “This is the setup he’s always wanted. I think he has a lot of football coaching ahead of him, and I can see him coaching for the foreseeable future here. I think he’s got a good chunk of time left.”
Mahomes also joked that Reid is “all about football and cheeseburgers,” expressing that he sees it as “highly doubtful” that his head coach retires on February 8.
And chairman and CEO Clark Hunt that Reid “remains incredibly energized and excited.” Adding: “I think he has as much energy and passion as I’ve seen in the 10-plus years he’s been with us.”
As for Reid, the NFL great was pretty blunt about these rumors on January 11.
“I haven’t even thought about that,” he told reporters at the time. “I’m thinking about one thing. I figured that would come up when you guys were asking these questions because I’m old — but not that old.”
The “one thing” Reid was referring to at the time was the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City’s first playoff opponent on the path to the Super Bowl.
More on Hank Stram’s Innovative Hall of Fame Career With Chiefs
“I don’t look at myself as an innovator,” Stram once said, per his Hall of Fame bio. “I look at myself as a coach who is striving desperately to win…every head coach has to be a dictator…my only concern is doing it my way and winning.”
Despite his thoughts on the matter, Stram— like Reid — was indeed viewed as an innovator.
“Stram developed or utilized such things as the ‘moving pocket,’ which used the talents of his quarterback Len Dawson,” the HOF wrote. “He devised a two-tight end offense – it provided an extra blocker and slowed down the pass rush.”
Continuing: “On defense, he made famous his ‘stack defense,’ with linebackers stacked behind down linemen. Whether he used a 3-4 defensive alignment or a 4-3, Stram differed from other coaches of that day by always having a man head-up on the center.”
Fellow Hall of Famers Bobby Bell, Buck Buchanan, Willie Lanier, Jan Stenerud and the aforementioned Dawson all played under Stram.
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