LAS VEGAS — Andy Reid woke up as the fifth head coach to win at least three Super Bowls, a class that includes Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs, Chuck Noll and Bill Belichick.
Reid confirmed he will be back next season as head coach but is leaving dynasty and three-peat talk up to others.
“Honestly, I haven’t even thought of it. I get asked it. I’m still kind of in awe of the game. I haven’t thought why or what,” Reid said Monday when asked why he wouldn’t ride off into the sunset. “It’s not going to just be easy. We’ll have changeover on our team, there’s always the unexpected, have to keep battling through it. I just asked (quarterback Patrick Mahomes), has anyone done in three (consecutive) times? He said no. It’d be great.”
Super Bowl LVIII MVP Patrick Mahomes ended his seventh season with his third Lombardi Trophy, and hit the pillow early Monday morning thinking about becoming the first team in NFL history to three-peat.
“It’s legendary — no one’s ever done it,” Mahomes said Monday of his trophy mindset. “Only eight teams have done it back-to-back. We felt like we had the best opportunity we’ve ever had. All you can do is come back next year with the best mindset and try to do it again. I know how hard these guys work. I know how hard they get after it. I know how hard these coaches work.
“To be able to have our stamp on NFL history is something I’ll never take for granted.”
Mahomes said the Chiefs entered the halftime locker room trailing 10-3 on Sunday night very confident because they weren’t executing.
“For us, we just had to be us. Give it everything we have and live with the results after,” Mahomes said.
Reid said Mahomes’ performance and excellence can be easy to take for granted, but he’s still getting better.
“He makes it look easy,” Reid said. “This is a fluid game with the best athletes in this sport in the world. You’ve narrowed it down to the top two. And he’s out there playing like he’s in the back yard, like it’s nothing. From a head-coaching standpoint, guy that works with offensive guys, all you can ask for.”
–Free agency begins with the franchise tag window running from Feb. 20 to March 5. Seven players were tagged last year.
Teams can retain their own free agents prior to the start of the unrestricted free agency negotiating period, which begins at Noon ET on March 13. Contracts can become official on March 15 at 4 p.m. ET.
Among top players eligible for free agency are Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and 49ers defensive end Chase Young.
“I know how hard it is to do and how hard the season was,” Reid said. “The ups and downs of the season and how proud I am of the guys for just hanging with each other and staying positive with each other. The young guys grew up, and nobody ever pointed fingers at the offense when the offense was growing. It all kind of came together during the playoffs and worked out well. Great leaders in Patrick, Chris and Trav (tight end Travis Kelce), the job that they’ve done.”
Mahomes said he’ll work with the Chiefs to remain “as flexible as possible as far as the cap and stuff like that” to keep the franchise in position to add talent to the roster.
–Kicking off LIX: New Orleans will host the Super Bowl for the 11th time next February, tying Miami for the most in league history, which included three games at Tulane Stadium before the Superdome was unveiled.
“I think it’s 363 days until Super Bowl (LIX) 59 begins,” Goodell said. “We look forward to being there.”
New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson was on hand for the “handoff” from the Las Vegas host committee on Monday morning.
“I am confident we will pull together as we always do to deliver our guests from around the country and world the greatest experience possible,” Benson said.
–Field Level Media