Three KC Chiefs assistants with head coaching potential for 2023
By Jacob Milham
Offensive line coach Andy Heck
"“Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence. If you’re in control, they’re in control.”— Tom Landry"
In recent seasons, I have appreciated Chiefs offensive line coach Andy Heck more and more. He came to Kansas City in 2013, after a nine-year tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars. All told, Heck has been coaching NFL offensive lines for nearly two decades. That is after a 12-year playing career too! Heck has been in the NFL, one way or another, longer than I have been alive. That obviously shows he is doing something right.
You cannot find a bad word out there about Heck as a person or as a coach. Even Chiefs players commend Heck from the podium for several reasons. Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. said Heck “has done an amazing job making sure we’re prepared on Sundays” and credited him with the Chiefs three Pro Bowl selections on the offensive line. Reid credited Heck with calling two game-winning plays against the Broncos and Houston Texans. It is not a huge sample size, but hitting two-for-two is pretty impressive in the NFL.
Heck is obviously experienced at the NFL level, but his long playing career is in his favor. Watching him explain technique is very interesting and you trust him because he did it himself. If Heck told players what it took to win a Super Bowl, they would trust him because he has done it. If he told players what it took to make the Pro Bowl, they trust him because players under his tutelage have done it.
Another interesting wrinkle is Heck’s son, Charlie Heck, plays for a team that might need a head coach. Charlie plays for the Houston Texans and even started at offensive tackle when the Texans and Chiefs played this season. I’m not saying that Houston should hire Heck for that reason alone, but the fit is there and that father-son connection would make for a cool story.