Andy Reid stayed the course in the Chiefs' Super Bowl win, which is now one of the all-time greats

LAS VEGAS — Andy Reid running back Chris Jones, the defensive cornerstone of his three Super Bowl-winning teams.

Jones lay sprawled on the field, physically exhausted and reveling in that new dynasty feeling after the Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Reid joined Jones on the grass, sat on his hands and vigorously shook his player's shoulder pads.

“What do you think, huh?” Reid shouted at Jones as the confetti fell around them. Reid moved his face closer to Jones and repeated this for effect. “What do you think?!”

This childlike joy was a rare display of emotion for the Chiefs' veteran head coach. Reid's bushy eyebrows and mustache and small, round glasses give him a distinct appearance and also have the effect of obscuring his true feelings.

ALL THE FEELINGS 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/yd1ByK7VPw

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 12, 2024

“He never shows no emotion,” cornerback L'Jarius Sneed said after the game. 'He looks like a snake, ah! I'm coming to get you. That's what I love about him, like a little rattlesnake.

Rattlesnake Reid sunk his fangs into the Niners on Sunday in Las Vegas when receiver Mecole Hardman scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime. It marked the debut of new overtime playoff rules, inspired by the Chiefs' 2021 playoff win over the Bills. Kansas City didn't win the coin toss this time, but the Chiefs still couldn't be stopped.

The 25-22 victory is Reid's third Super Bowl in his fifth attempt. He is now the fifth head coach to win at least three, joining Bill Belichick (six), Chuck Noll (four), Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs (three), and the seventh coach to win it all in back-to-back. ..years back.

“It's a bit surreal,” Reid said in his post-match press conference. “Back-to-back is rare for this football team and organization. I don't know what a dynasty is. You have the thesaurus, you can figure it out. It's a great win because I know how hard it is to do. I know how difficult the season was, the ups and downs of the season.

Reid's Chiefs were a little more definitive in their summary of the season – and of their coach.

“Dynasty, I think we did all the qualifying for it,” receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling said in the locker room after the game. “If he's not the best, he's one of the best to ever do this.”

“Check the stats, check the numbers,” Sneed said. “He's legendary.”

“He's one of the biggest guys in football, and this just makes him one of the best coaches,” Chiefs assistant running backs coach Porter Ellett said. “Now it becomes harder to argue that he's not in the top two or three ever.”

“He was already a Hall of Fame coach before tonight,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “But adding that third Super Bowl trophy in five years, I think it really cements his status as one of the best of all time.”

“I wouldn't want to play for any other coach,” center Creed Humphrey said. “He is the best coach there is right now.”

Reid's three Super Bowl titles put him in rare company, and he's not done yet. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

At halftime, when Kansas City trailed 10-3, Reid didn't panic. The offense stalled. Mahomes was under constant pressure, was sacked twice, and running back Isaiah Pacheco fumbled away the Chiefs' most promising drive. But Reid's message to players and staff was the same: keep going.

“When you're in the Super Bowl and you're down seven points, it feels like 20,” Reid said. “And so you just calm it down – we're there, we get the ball to start the second half and everyone just stays together – and good things can happen.”

“When you're down 10 in a big game like this, a lot of coaches don't handle it well and start throwing things at the wall and hoping it sticks,” Humphrey said. “But he stuck to the game plan. And he had a great game plan for us. He did a great job, a masterful coaching job.”

“No matter how good of a coach he is, he never changes,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “He stays on course. He is a leader of men and a great teacher. And he doesn't just teach his players, he teaches his coaches how to be good leaders. And then you stick together and make things happen.

The two players who scored touchdowns for Kansas City on Sunday are direct evidence of that close-knit quality that coaches say makes Reid special. Valdes-Scantling, who scored the first touchdown on Sunday, has struggled with costly drops all season. Hardman returned to the Chiefs in a trade after being waived by the Jets midseason and struggled this postseason, most notably fumbling out of the end zone in Buffalo before scoring the game-winner.

“Coach Reid is one of those guys who stays the course no matter what,” Valdes-Scantling said. “We're all here for a reason and we all play, and we all have the special skills that we have, and the fact that he can continue that and stay the course with us has been good.”

Ellett is in his seventh season on the Kansas City staff. He injured his right arm in an accident when he was four years old and later had it amputated. He never played football and came into contact with Reid when a job as Reid's assistant became available. Reid has since taught him how to be a coach.

“He never gives up on a man. He puts a lot of trust in people. And if you reward faith, he will continue to trust you,” Ellett said. “I mean, I'm a good example of that. People don't hire one-armed football coaches who haven't played football.”

At 65, there is increasing speculation about Reid's future. How much longer will he coach? How many more rings will this emerging dynasty acquire? When asked after Sunday's win whether he would coach Kansas City again next season, Reid was nonchalant: “Yeah, I haven't had time to think about it, but yeah, definitely.”

Chiefs players don't listen to that sound.

“There's still a lot left in the tank,” Humphrey said.

“We won two Super Bowls in a row,” Valdez-Scantling said. “We're trying to go for another one.”

Plus, the boss is confident Reid will stick around for a while.

“I know Andy is energetic and loves what he does,” Hunt said. “I certainly expect him to be back next year to defend our title.”

(Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)