PFF says Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are the Chiefs’ ‘cheat codes’

PFF says Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are the Chiefs’ ‘cheat codes’

On Wednesday, Pro Football Focus published its ranking of the 2024’s returning NFL head coaches — and yes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Read leads the list compiled by PFF’s Gordon McGuinness. Reid is followed by the San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan and the Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh.

1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

Pairing Reid with Patrick Mahomes has been a cheat code that has led the Kansas City Chiefs to four Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl wins. On offense, they have ranked inside the top five in EPA per play every season from 2018-2022, even predating Mahomes’ arrival. They dropped to 12th last season, but with some significant improvements at the wide receiver position, expect them to be back inside the top five again in 2024.

Takeaway

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been bringing you PFF’s position group rankings. The Chiefs have been near the top of a couple of them — Mahomes, notably, was ranked first among quarterbacks — but more often, Kansas City’s position groups have been ranked near average. McGuinness refers to Reid (along with Mahomes) as the “cheat code” that has led to the team’s amazing recent success. That helps explain how the Chiefs have been able to do more with less.

But there are other factors, too. In recent years, it’s become fashionable to dismiss the work of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo (and especially that of special teams coordinator Dave Toub) as unnecessary during the Age of Mahomes — but as we learned in 2023, it’s often impossible to predict when the other phases of the game will suddenly become important.

So Reid deserves credit for his own coaching — and his ability to identify (and perhaps more importantly, retain) excellent assistant coaches during his Kansas City tenure.