It's been twenty-two years since Andy Reid was last honored as the single greatest coach in a season of the National Football League. (You can almost hear the elderly lady in Titanic saying such a stat.)
The year was 2002 and the Philadelphia Eagles, of which Reid was head coach at the time, went 12-4 and won an NFC East divisional title. They advanced to the NFC Championship game that season only to fall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a final score of 27-10, led by a defense with Simeon Rice, Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, and more.
Since Reid's win for Coach of the Year back in '02, Reid has had 15 more 10-win seasons or more. He's been crowned NFC champ and AFC champ as well as the obvious three Super Bowl rings. He's outlasted his peers and even his own students as a head coach in the NFL and yet the league has overlooked him time and again.
Maybe not this year.
Reid has been named one of five candidates up for Coach of the Year at this year's NFL Honors event. Not only are the Chiefs among the final four teams in the running for two Super Bowl spots, but he led the Chiefs to the pole position in the AFC with a stellar 15-2 record. After besting the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round, Reid has the Chiefs positioned for a three-peat with two more victories.
Reid isn't the only potential winner from the AFC West. Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos has been nominated after doing such a good job with a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix and returning the team back to respectability—and their first postseason appearance in years.
Beyond Reid and Payton, the other nominees for Coach of the Year include Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions, Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings, and Dan Quinn of the Washington Commanders.
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