Andy Reid explains hire of Greg Lewis as WR coach
By Matt Conner
Greg Lewis is the newest member of the Kansas City Chiefs coaching staff, joining Andy Reid’s staff as a wide receivers coach.
Early in the offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs replaced their wide receivers coach David Culley, who left to be the quarterbacks coach for the Buffalo Bills, with a player-turned-coach who is very familiar to Andy Reid and his system in former NFL wide receiver Greg Lewis.
As Lewis becomes familiar with the weapons he’s been employed to help improve, he’s got a helpful veteran who also knows the schemes inside and out in Jeremy Maclin. Together they will work to develop a young group that includes last year’s rookie sensation Tyreek Hill, this year’s fourth round pick Jehu Chesson, holdover young targets like Chris Conley, DeMarcus Robinson, De’Anthony Thomas and Albert Wilson. There are also lots of hopeful rookies in camp hoping to upset roster expectations.
Reid believes Lewis is up for the task after serving last season under Doug Pederson in the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles. On Thursday, Reid described Lewis’ intelligence and work ethic as a player and said he was suited to eventually do exactly what he’s been hired to do today.
"I coached him forever. There are certain guys you just kind of think when they’re players that they would make a good coach. I’m not telling you he was the most talented guy we had, but he maximized his talent. He wanted to know everything about every position. He wanted to play, and did play every position from the wide receiver spot to stuff in the backfield. I just thought someday he would be a good coach and I hired him."
In his eight-year NFL career, Lewis played in 116 games and had 152 career receptions for 1,992 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns. He spent six of those seasons with the Eagles before spending his final two years with the Minnesota Vikings, making a move with Brad Childress when he left the Eagles staff to become a head coach. Childress is now with the Chiefs as well, bringing everything full circle for Lewis.