The Philadelphia Eagles let Andy Reid go because of their decline in the last four seasons, their 1-11 finish in 2012 and their uncertainty at quarterback. Yet Reid seemed likely to coach the Arizona Cardinals although they had the exact same problems as the Eagles. But on Jan. 2, a new team -- albeit an even worse one -- emerged as a challenger for Reid’s services.
The Kansas City Chiefs allegedly talked to Reid for nine hours on Jan. 2, according to Comcast SportsNet’s Reuben Frank. As a result, the former Eagles coach pushed back his interview with the Cardinals, although they were widely regarded as the favorite to hire him. But at the moment, it seems Kansas City has swooped in to perhaps steal him from Arizona.
Of course, the Chiefs’ situation is even less appealing than the Cardinals, after Kansas City finished 2012 with a 2-14 record. Kansas City was once one of the proudest franchises in the NFL and was a perennial contender back in the day, but has sunk to the depths just like Philadelphia has. Yet since things can’t get any worse for the Chiefs and they do have the No. 1 draft pick to play with, Reid may find Kansas City an ideal place to start over.
The Chiefs don’t have a real No. 1 quarterback either, yet they do have a Pro Bowl running back in Jamaal Charles. Although Reid historically under-uses his running backs, Charles is the only offensive weapon the Chiefs have, which may give the coach no choice but to feed him the ball.
One obstacle that may stand in Reid’s way at Kansas City is general manager Scott Pioli. According to ESPN’s Bill Williamson on Jan. 2, there is “heavy speculation” that Reid wouldn’t want to work with Pioli and would probably want the GM job himself.
Given his experience as a general manager and how Pioli’s future is already uncertain, Kansas City may cut Pioli loose although he is still helping its coaching search. In fact, he was part of the team that came to Philadelphia and interviewed Reid on Jan. 2.
Regardless, the Chiefs have made the race for Reid a two-team competition, and now it’s the Cardinals who must play catch-up. But since Arizona already has other candidates and Kansas City doesn’t yet, the Cardinals might find it easier to move on from Reid.
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