Tweet showing Reid (left) and Hunt (right) signing documents at Arrowhead
Kansas City Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt got his man four days after firing Romeo Crennel.
Former Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid has been hired, the Chiefs announced on Friday evening via Twitter with a photo and caption of: “Andy Reid and Clark Hunt make it official. Reid becomes the Head Coach of the Chiefs.”
While the Chiefs didn’t release details of the contract, it is reportedly a five-year deal.
Hunt and a team of interviewers, which included team president Mark Donovan and then-general manager Scott Pioli, began the courtship of Reid in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
[Related: Timeline leading to Reid’s hiring]
That interview between the two parties turned into a reported nine-hour process, with details hammered out on Thursday and into early hours of Friday morning.
The Chiefs then parted ways with Pioli on Friday, culminating in Reid agreeing to become the head coach.
With Pioli out, the spotlight falls squarely on the hiring of one of the league’s most accomplished active head coaches.
Reid spent the previous 14 years in Philadelphia before being fired on Dec. 31, 2012 after the Eagles finished 4-12.
Still, he amassed a 130-93-1 record (.583 winning percentage) in the NFC East and led the Eagles team to nine playoff seasons, which included 19 games where the Eagles compiled a 10-9 record (.526).
The Eagles under Reid’s leadership won six division titles and made five appearances in the NFC Championship game, advancing once to the Super Bowl.
According to ProFootballReference.com, Reid got his start in coaching in 1982 as a graduate assistant at Brigham Young. His other coaching positions at the college level included stops at San Francisco State (1983-1985, offensive coordinator and offensive line); Northern Arizona (1986, offensive line); University of Texas-El Paso (1987-1988, offensive line); and Missouri (1989-1991, offensive line).
He entered the NFL in 1992 as a member of Mike Holmgren’s coaching staff with the Green Bay Packers. Reid’s position under Holmgren included tight ends/assistant offensive line coach (1992-1996) and quarterbacks coach (1997-1998).
The Eagles hired Reid as head coach for the 1999 season.
Meanwhile, Reid becomes the 13th head coach in Chiefs history and takes over a team that finished the 2012 regular season at 2-14. He’ll have the No. 1 pick overall in April’s NFL Draft to start the process of turning the Chiefs around.
Reid walks into a familiar situation.
He assumed the Eagles head coach job in 1999 and took over a team that went 3-13 the previous season. The Eagles owned the No. 2 pick overall in the 1999 NFL Draft, which Reid used on quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Kansas City’s quarterback position has been a glaring weakness in the last four seasons, as Matt Cassel has failed to inspire since Pioli traded for him in 2009.
With Reid, the Chiefs secured a coach whose offensive reputation surrounds the West Coast offense and passing game. And it remains to be seen if Reid will keep Cassel, who has two years remaining on his contract.
Prior to hiring Reid, the Chiefs interviewed two members of the Atlanta Falcons’ coaching staff – offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong.
The Chiefs now turn attention to hiring a new general manager. Numerous recent reports have linked the position to John Dorsey, current Green Bay Packers director of football operations.
A news conference introducing Reid is scheduled for Monday afternoon, according to the Chiefs official Twitter page.
====
