Andy Reid is changing Kansas City Chiefs’ identity

Dec 7, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Chiefs 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs made a big decision in 2013 when they hired Andy Reid to be their next head coach. It wasn’t just the move to make Reid the 13th coach in franchise history, it was a decision to start building a championship-caliber team once again in Kansas City.

The front office made an investment. Clark Hunt had to reach deep into his heart, which resulted in reaching deep into his pocket to bring home a winner. This team had lost its identity and winning tradition since the day that Dick Vermeil decided to retire at the end of the 2005 season.  He was the last stable and winning coach the Chiefs had after the Marty Schottenheimer era.

You could argue that Vermeil didn’t have five winning seasons and maybe that era was overrated, but that locker room was solid and if they didn’t run into the Indianapolis Colts in 2003, they might have won a Super Bowl.

When you look at the years after Vermeil, you can’t do it without taking proper precautions and keeping a vomit bag close to you. Herm Edwards was the next guy up and was brought in to keep things stable with the team’s recent success. No such luck. Pretty much the exact opposite took place, sending this team into a downward spiral.

Kansas City made it to the playoffs by some miracle after finishing the season at 9-7 in 2006 and played one of the worst playoff games I’ve ever encountered. The Chiefs didn’t get a first down until about three minutes left in the third quarter. The team and the coaches seemed to get worse and worse after this until the front office, desperate for change, made an offer Reid couldn’t refuse.

Reid was a former BYU player who played both offensive guard and defensive end, a natural transition to his role as offensive line coach early in his career. Andy moved up to the NFL and was an assistant coach under Mike Holmgren of the Green Bay Packers, where he learned the West Coast offense.

In a radio interview a couple of years ago, Holmgren talked about his belief system in running his offense and you can definitely see Reid picked up a few of those traits.

Fans of this organization for the most part have seen and viewed Kansas City as a running team that pounds the ball and wins by controlling the clock and playing good defense. Reid doesn’t play ball the way we’re familiar seeing at Arrowhead. The man likes to keep the ball in the quarterback’s hands and throw to the running back more than actually hand it off.

At first, I was excited to see this change in direction, but found out there’s definitely some yin and yang to this philosophy. How many times in the last two years have you thrown up your hands and screamed at the TV after multiple possessions passed without Jamaal Charles or Knile Davis getting a much-needed carry?

He’s not going to change, unfortunately, as an Eagles blogger predicted.

Next: Can Reid get the job done in KC?