The quarterback-coach duo is staying in the NFL. The competition must fear the worst with their close relationship

Dominik Kaiser, Christian Koch and Rainer Nachtwey report from the Super Bowl

It’s a short “yes”. Andy Reid ends the discussion before the question is even finished.

The Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs is not even thinking about ending his career. Speculation had previously arisen that a victory in Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers could be his last game as coach in charge – as it turned out to be.

“I don’t see why I should quit,” the coach says when asked about his reasons, “just because I’m the oldest coach now?”

So it’s bad news for the competition to have to deal with the Reid/Patrick Mahomes duo again next year. The brilliant coach-quarterback combo is the one to beat.

Super Bowl a carbon copy of the season

What is it?

According to the bookies, the 49ers, who lost in the Super Bowl, are the top favorite to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy, followed by the Chiefs.

Mahomes goes straight on the attack when mentioning the odds: “We’re taking the new season as motivation. The Chiefs should never be considered underdogs.”

The competition should have learned that by now. As bumpy as the start to the new season was, the Chiefs found a way to be there in the decisive moments, whether in the season or in the individual game.

The Super Bowl summed up the Chiefs’ entire season. A tough start with a loss to the Detroit Lions to open the season and a come-from-behind victory to end the season on a high note

Mahomes: Legendary thanks to three-peat?

On the evening of the Super Bowl,

Mahomes set the “three-peat” – the third title in a row – as his goal for the following season” “Three, that would be legendary.”

No team has ever achieved three Super Bowl triumphs in a row in the NFL. Not Tom Brady in his early or late phase with the New England Patriots, not Joe Montana with the San Francisco 49ers or even Troy Aikman with the Dallas Cowboys or Terry Bradshaw with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Andy Reid also joins in: “Three, that would be something. “

Mahomes: Reid like Uncle Andy

Mahomes and Reid – as different as they are in stature – one with a walrus moustache and a love of Hawaiian shirts, the other a well-trained athlete (or almost) and a testimonial for a sportswear and men’s outfitter – that’s how similar they are in spirit. They are on the same wavelength.

There have always been these coach-player duos, most notably Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Also the aforementioned quarterbacks and their head coaches, Aikman and Jimmy Johnson, Bradshaw and Chuck Noll, Montana and Bill Walsh.

But while the Belichick/Brady relationship was considered to have cooled towards the end, the relationship between Mahomes and Reid is familial.

In a conversation with Maxx Crosby at the 2021 Pro Bowl, recorded by NFL Film, Mahomes describes Reid as a kind of uncle, “he’s cool, but you don’t want to let him down either.”

Just how close the relationship is can also be seen in joint commercial shoots, when cheeseburgers, fries and “Nuggies” – how could it be anything other than food with Reid – are used to explain insurance

Mahomes: Fridays at the Reid house

The initial teacher-student relationship has long since moved on to another level.

According to “The Athletic”, Mahomes comes to Reid’s house on the Fridays before Sunday games to discuss the games with the coach. They are said to be honest when Mahomes doesn’t like Reid’s plays – and the coach is grateful for it.

The success of the Mahomes/Reid combo is therefore not easier to explain, but easier to accept. It is this informality that connects the two of them and allows them to blossom.

“Patrick makes everything look so easy,” says Reid, describing the playing style of his former pupil, who is currently more of a partner in crime, “his playing is so fluid. He plays like he’s throwing a few balls in the garden.” And not like playing for the biggest possible title on the biggest possible stage.

Mahomes: Following in the footsteps of Tom Brady

With the third Super Bowl victory in five years, the question of a “dynasty” keeps coming up in the American media. The last time there was one was in the early 2000s with Tom Brady and the Patriots and also in the mid/late 2010s.

Now one of the Chiefs?

“I’m not deciding if it’s a dynasty,” Reid says, turning to the journalists, “You guys say that.”

But all he had to do was say “yes” again.