NFL: Is Andy Reid One of the All-Time Great Coaches?

When it comes to all-time coaches people will bring up the greats like Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, and more recently Bill Belichick. Those coaches alone bring up a winning tradition that has echoed across the NFL for years. When it comes down to the all-time greats, is it time to put Andy Reid on that shortlist.

If winning is the ultimate bar of how great a coach is take Reid’s record into account. In 22 seasons as a head coach Reid has, as of this writing this post, a winning record of 215-129-1 (.625 win %). He’s sixth all-time in the wins column and only 7 out of 22 seasons has he posted less than 10 wins. He’s won with great quarterbacks like Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, and Patrick Mahomes. He’s won with a “game manager” like Alex Smith. Most skeptics will point to his playoff record and bump him from the list.

However, if Super Bowl wins are your bar, you may get a little push back from skeptics. Andy Reid after 22 seasons as a head coach just won his first Super Bowl last season. However, Don Shula coached for 33 years and won just two Super Bowls. Chuck Noll won 4 in 23 seasons. Mike Shanahan won 2 with the Broncos but his career spanned 20 years in the NFL. By today’s standards Mike Tomlin has coached the Steelers for 13 seasons and has won just one Super Bowl. The only coach that has consistently won is Bill Belichick. With the Chiefs being a powerhouse in today’s NFL Reid could very well get his second Super Bowl win within the next few years if he doesn’t retire.

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Andy Reid deserves his spot as one of the all-time great coaches to bless the NFL. Compared to Bill Belichick (68), Pete Carroll (69), or Bruce Arians (67) Reid still has some coaching left in him at just (62) years old. None of those coaches seem to be slowing down and neither should Andy Reid. If he decides to coach into his early 70’s there’s no doubt he wins at least one more NFL championship. The Kansas City Chiefs are sitting on what could be the next great dynasty with one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the game. Even if he stopped at 70, he’d have 8 more seasons under his belt and a betting man’s chance at another Super Bowl.

Andy Reid might not be the top of the list, but deserves recognition when it comes to the greatest coaches of all-time. Only mislead skeptics and Cowboys fans would leave him off that list.