Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid met with the media over Zoom conference call Monday, with the team set to begin its Divisional round preparation on Tuesday.
Watch the full presser above or by clicking here. Here were the most significant takeaways:
Reid said he is happy for running back Kareem Hunt, who will return to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
The Chiefs released Hunt midway through the 2018 season. He landed with his hometown Cleveland Browns, with whom he has compiled 1,145 scrimmage yards this year. Hunt had two rushing touchdowns in the Browns’ Wild Card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I like Kareem — I’m glad things are going well for him,” said Reid. “He knows a lot of the guys that were on that [Super Bowl] team last year and really felt bad about not being a part of that. Listen, I get it. I get all that, but most of all, I’m happy for him that things are going in the right direction for him and he’s on a good football team, they’re well-coached. Listen, they won their first playoff game, and there’s something to be said about that.”
Reid sees the development in third-year quarterback Baker Mayfield.
With Kevin Stefanski, Mayfield is on his third head coach in as many years.
“He’s matured on the field,” Reid said o Mayfield “I think he’s really fallen in love with this scheme it looks like and mastered it. He’s doing very well. That’s not an easy thing to do when you’ve been given a couple different things as a young quarterback, a couple different schemes to try to be the best that. That’s not easy to do for these quarterbacks. A lot of guys get lost in that and it looks like he’s really powered through it and done a nice job.”
The Browns run a bit of play-action, which is effective thanks to their elite running back tandem of Nick Chubb and Hunt.
“That’s where it starts — is with the runners and then they’ve got a good quarterback, obviously,” Reid said. “They do play (action) passes off of that and they make it look just like they do the run plays. So you’ve got to be able to decipher in the transition — they’ve got good receivers and tight ends. You’ve got to play physical on those guys because they do a nice job. That offensive line does a nice job in the run and pass game.”
Reid complimented Cleveland’s front seven.
The player to watch is defensive end Myles Garrett, who led the team with 31 pressures, including 12.0 sacks this season.
“Defensively, their front seven is tough,” said Reid. “They fly around, make a lot of plays, and their back end does the same thing. They’re going to challenge you and so you’ve got to be ready to go, and they’ve gotten better, likewise, just as the offense has throughout the season. Stefanski, he’s done a heck of a job there. What a great job he’s done putting this whole thing together and putting guys in the right position. It didn’t take him very long to figure out who could do what, which is a compliment to him and his staff — and really on both sides of the ball.”
Stefanski actually started in the NFL with Reid as a summer intern in Philadelphia in 2005.
Stefanski worked under then-Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress, who brought him along to Minnesota when Childress was named the Vikings head coach in 2006.
“Brad thinks the world of him,” noted Reid. “He’s a good kid and most of all, he’s a good football coach and he’s worked his tail off. He’s done everything from emptying the garbage on up. He’s worked his way up from the bottom up, so he’s done a real nice job with it. And he’s humble, which is important, too. He keeps it all in perspective. Good person.”