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One Tuesday, ESPN.com published a profile of Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
You’ve undoubtedly read many articles about Reid before. But this one is nothing like those.
Assembled by ESPN senior writer David Fleming (and others), the story is told almost entirely through the words of nearly two dozen people who have known, played with, played for and worked with Reid through his career. They tell his story through anecdotes about their time with him — and they reveal aspects of Reid’s personality and character that have never been exposed in this way before.
It’s a lengthy article, but trust me on this: it is worth every moment of your time. I could have chosen a dozen quotes just as good, but two from Chiefs vice-president of sports medicine Rick Burkholder will have to do — the first about how Reid is seen by Hall of Fame players.
“We went to see [Eagles Hall of Fame safety] Brian Dawkins at the gold jacket dinner before he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Andy tells the driver, “Take us to where the Hall of Famers are.” They have their own dinner before the official gold jacket dinner. Andy gets out of the SUV and there’s security at the door, but when the gold jacket guys and the commissioner see him, they all get up, come out and start hugging him. Then I realize: They’re treating him like he’s already a gold jacket guy.”
The second is about how Burkholder himself sees Reid.
“If he wins the Super Bowl, I will sit right down on the field there, hopefully in Miami, and cry like a baby. He deserves this. He’s got a chance. He just needs to win it one time. But for Andy, it’s about so much more than that. If he wins a world championship, you will see so many people and players from all over the league come out of the woodwork to celebrate not just a Hall of Fame coach but a Hall of Fame person. That’s the best way to understand him and his impact: Watch how many people, and how deeply it affects them, when Andy Reid holds up the Lombardi trophy.”
Don’t wait. Read Mahomes, Favre and other NFL stars reveal the larger-than-life tales behind Andy Reid right now. You’ll thank me later.