Eliah Drinkwitz Head Coach Of Missouri Tigers, Just Announced His Departure
In his 11 seasons in Kansas City, Andy Reid has contributed to the development of the Chiefs into a winning team.
After finishing the previous season with an NFL-worst 2-14 record, which ended a six-year period in which the Chiefs went a combined 29-67, the team was in disarray when he was hired in 2013. An organization that longed to return to the Super Bowl but had been unable to do so repeatedly was one that hadn’t won or even made an appearance in one since the 1969 season.
That swiftly altered while Reid was in charge. In Reid’s first five seasons, Kansas City turned into a consistent winner and qualified for the playoffs four times. His replacement of quarterback Alex Smith with Patrick Mahomes turned a good and deserving club into an overwhelming force. The Chiefs, who consistently field one of the most thrilling and high-scoring offenses in the NFL, have won two Super Bowls and participated in six AFC championship games since Mahomes took over as the starting quarterback before to the 2018 campaign.
ESSENTIAL READING: Andy Reid’s journey to the Super Bowl began at Mizzou
A franchise that was once almost hopelessly incapable of taking home the championship is about to establish itself as the modern-day dynasty of the sport as it prepares to take on the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday. But Reid made quite an impression some 120 miles east on I-70, decades before he worked his magic in Kansas City.
In his final three-year tenure as a college coach, Reid, who was much younger, oversaw the offensive line at Missouri from 1989 to 1991. Reid looks back on it with fondness, even though it was only one stop on his extensive and decorated resume.
Reid declared, “I loved my time in Columbia,” in 2020, just before the Super Bowl. “I hold the University of Missouri in high regard. It’s a fantastic location. During my tenure, we were improving, even though we weren’t as good as we could have been. What a wonderful experience it was to work for Bob Stull there and get to know the Columbian community! It’s an amazing place.
Andy Reid’s coaching career in Missouri
Reid started his coaching career, like many others do, by taking on menial jobs in the sport’s shadows after earning his degree from BYU in 1981.
After serving as a graduate assistant at BYU for one season, he went on to San Francisco State, where he spent three seasons coaching the offensive line before the program was shut down ten years after Reid’s last year there. He played for Northern Arizona in 1986 before being hired as the offensive line coach at UTEP, where he started his professional career. In Reid’s two seasons there, the Miners improved dramatically, finishing 10-3 in 1988 and 7-4 in 1987 (after finishing just 4-8 the year before), which set a program single-season record for victories that is still in place.
Following that triumph, Bob Stull, the head coach of UTEP, was recruited by Missouri and, remarkably for Reid, brought his entire staff with him to Columbia.
Once Stull arrived, his goal was to give the Big Eight Conference and the Tigers a completely new identity. With his spread-out, passing-oriented style, Stull broke away from the wishbone and power-running schemes that dominated the league at the time. A coaching staff that included Reid and two other future NFL head coaches, Marty Mornhinweg and Dirk Koetter, was responsible for at least some of that effort.
Reid, who was only thirty years old when he was sent to Missouri, was welcomed with open arms by the players he was assigned to train.
In 2020, Reid’s rookie season as a right tackle for the Tigers, Andy Lock, remarked, “His personality was very warm.” He exuded lighthearted sarcasm. Because he is young and we felt that he was already a part of the group when he joined, he kind of organically drew us in, and we quickly grew to respect him.
In 2020, Gene Snitsky, a former offensive lineman from Missouri best known for his professional wrestling career, remarked, “It was almost like he was a fellow offensive lineman.” “Everyone just fit in with him, and he fit right in with them.”
Reid was well-known for being a hard worker throughout his tenure at Missouri. He would arrive at the football offices before five in the morning and stay late. As a former offensive lineman, Reid understood the position that he would attempt to impart to his guys. It was observed during 1990 spring practices that he stayed with his position group to complete additional conditioning exercises after practice concluded. During the film review, he claimed to have been open and honest with his players, without single-outing any of them and making sure to give them credit when it was due.
In 2020, Reid stated, “Every player you talk to who has ever worked with him loves him because he’s a great teacher, No. 1.” You can always be sure that he is rooting for you and won’t ever disparage you or do something similar. He’s going to challenge you, but as long as you’re busting your ass and studying the right stuff, you should be alright.
Perhaps the most memorable game during Reid’s time at Missouri was the Tigers’ historic Fifth Down Game defeat against Colorado in 1990, which ended in a 33-31 loss. Although Reid played down the incident in the wake of it, claiming he wouldn’t think about it too much and that he was more concerned with the Tigers’ upcoming opponent, memories of the event followed Reid throughout his career. Eric Bieniemy was a standout running back on that Colorado squad and was one of Reid’s long-term aides with the Chiefs before he left after the 2022 season.
“They cheated,” Reid mocked prior to the 2020 Super Bowl. “Took them five downs to beat us, so I remind him of that often.”
Reid’s players were drawn to him because of his wit and charm, but his wisdom and lessons had an even greater impact.
Russ McCullough, an offensive tackle for Missouri, said of the player in 1992, “He works as hard as anybody I know.” From an offensive lineman’s perspective, he has taught me far more than I could ever hope to repay him.
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Andy Reid left Missouri, but why?
Despite the excellent influence Reid had on his players, Missouri had a difficult three seasons under Reid, finishing 9-23-1.
Reid was presented with a new opportunity in 1991 following the Tigers’ 3-7-1 record: When Reid was a graduate assistant at BYU in the early 1980s, Mike Holmgren had recently been appointed as the team’s new quarterbacks coach. The two continued to communicate and build a connection from that point on.
Holmgren became the Green Bay Packers’ coach in 1992. He approached Reid with an offer to take over as the team’s assistant offensive line and tight ends coach while he was trying to assemble his first staff.
In January 1992, Reid remarked, “It’s a mixed deal because I’m leaving a great situation.” “Dick Tamburo, Bob Stull, the athletic director, and everyone else here have been amazing.” However, you have the chance to push yourself to the limit.
He left behind a program for which his absence was noteworthy.
In January 1992, Studll commented, “We hate to lose him, but I think it’s a good move for him.”
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Andy Reid’s coaching track record
Following seven seasons as the Packers’ assistant coach, Reid was appointed head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles following the 1998 season, and he has since led an NFL team every season.
Before his contract was not renewed after the 2012 season, Reid led the Eagles to five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl participation in 2005. He went 130-93-1 in 14 seasons with the organization. He has a 128-51 record in 11 seasons with the Chiefs, improving his career record to 258-144-1.