KC Chiefs have endured a crazy carousel at left guard

Mike McGlynn

Sometimes you just gotta go with what you know, and that’s exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs did in the wake of losing Jeff Allen to the aforementioned elbow injury in 2014. There was almost an entire regular season ahead of Alex Smith and company, and the Chiefs were still trying to turn the corner from the misery they inherited from Scott Pioli’s years with the team. They’d returned to the playoffs after picking first in the draft, and it was important to follow it up with another competitive campaign.

Unfortunately the offensive line was miserable that season—like Super Bowl LV miserable for an entire year—and Mike McGlynn was a big part of that.

McGlynn was originally a fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh by the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2008. Do the math and you’ll realize pretty quickly that Andy Reid was the head coach and key personnel decision-maker in those days, which meant that he knew McGlynn quite well and had invested in him before. McGlynn signed with the Chiefs shortly before roster cuts were due before 2014 began and he was soon thrust into the starting role at left guard for the duration of 2014.

It should be noted that not only was McGlynn the worst-ranked lineman by Pro Football Focus that year, but as a team, it was the only year in which Reid did not lead the Chiefs to the postseason since he arrived. Suffice it to say, some of you have likely already stopped reading and moved on in hopes of forgetting this ever happened.