Chiefs’ Andy Reid Says Chiefs Won’t Feature Pistol Offense
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
The Kansas City Chiefs recently hired former Nevada head coach and creator of the Pistol offense, Chris Ault, as a consultant, leading many to speculate that the Chiefs would be exclusively running the Pistol offense.
Speaking to the media yesterday after the Chiefs’ OTA practice, head coach Andy Reid said his team would not necessarily be running only Pistol plays.
“Well it is an option, literally,” said Reid when asked if running the Pistol offense was an option. “We do a little bit of everything, so that’s what we’ve always done. We’re not featuring that. But we mess around with a little bit of everything.”
Reid clarified that Ault isn’t moving to Kansas City and that he will work on special projects given to him by Reid. The coach also mentioned that Ault will work with the Chiefs’ Spread Game Analyst, Brad Childress.
“Chris is a consultant and I brought him in,” said Reid. “He’s actually been here once and visited with the defense and spent some time there. He visited with Brad Childress a little bit and they went over some stuff. He will not be here, he’s not moving here, that’s not what he’s doing. He’s living in Reno. I’m doing with him what I did with Tommy Brasher for the last six years and that was I would give him projects to do and between him and Brad [Childress], they’ll do that and work together on some things for us.”
The Chiefs aren’t going to come out and talk too much about what their plans are for their offense. While I doubt KC will use only Pistol formations, even if that was the plan, Reid isn’t likely to tip his hand in May.
Chances are the Chiefs will run a bit of a West Coast/Pistol hybrid. Reid has always been a West Coast guy and QB Alex Smith thrived in a similar system in San Francisco.
Still, the Chiefs will benefit from mixing things up a little bit in an effort to keep their opponents guessing. With more and more teams running versions of the Pistol and other college offenses, the Chiefs’ defense will also benefit from practicing against the Pistol.