“From Humble Hot Dog Stand to NFL Sidelines: The Inspiring and Unbelievable Journey of Andy Reid,elling Hot Dogs, Driving Limousines, and Umpiring Games Before Becoming the NFL Coach Everyone Respects and Admires”
Andy Reid will end up in Canton when he finally puts down the clipboard.
The Kansas City Chiefs head coach has won three Super Bowls in Missouri after a near miss with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Reid is one of the greatest minds in NFL history
He began his coaching career at the bottom and fought his way to the top
But nothing was handed to Big Red and his unconventional rise through the ranks required plenty of hard graft.
Few NFL head coaches have taken the top job without having served as an offensive or defensive coordinator — the traditional final step.
Dan Campbell is one and, despite his reputation as an offensive guru, Reid is another.
His coaching journey is detailed in Episode 2 of ESPN’s new show The Kingdom — a six-part series charting the pursuit of a three-peat, which debuts on Monday.
It was legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards who first noted Reid’s potential while he was playing college ball as an offensive tackle and encouraged him to become a graduate assistant.
“He saw something I obviously didn’t see,” Big Red told ESPN.
Andy Reid’s wife Tammy is his college sweetheart
While in college, Reid met his wife Tammy and she knew they would be married by their second date.
What she didn’t know was how brutal his career ladder would be.
“I had no idea what that meant. I have never been around a coach and their families so I had no idea what we were getting in to,” she explained.
“We literally did not have enough money to live off off.”
Northern Arizona was one of Reid’s many stops
He worked with legendary QB Brett Favre in Green Bay
He was fired in Philly after failing to deliver a Super Bowl
To help make ends meet, Reid drove a limousine, made use of his degree in physical education to umpire softball matches and also sold hot dogs on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Tammy would bring their two eldest children to have lunch with their dad to spend some quality time with him.
“Hard times but good times,” she said.
San Francisco State, Northern Arizona, UTEP, Missouri. The stops racked up.
“Bloom where you’re planted,” was their mentality.
The positive thinking worked.
“When I was at BYU I met Mike Holmgren, explained Big Red, “Some day I’m gonna hire you. When I become a head coach.”
In 1992, the call came. Holmgren got the Green Bay Packers gig and brought Reid in.
“I just wanted to be the best line coach I could be,” was his modest goal.
He achieved that — and thensome.
Why was Andy Reid fired by the Eagles?
Reid was handed the Eagles job despite being an outsider thanks in part to a huge folder of notes he had taken after shadowing Holmgren, which he brought to the interview and impressed owner Jeffrey Lurie.
He couldn’t quite get over the line in Philly — falling to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots at Super Bowl XXXIX.
He also had to deal with the tragedy of losing son Garrett, who was on his staff.
The loss is handled sensitively by ESPN and showcased Reid’s incredible mentality in the face of unimaginable personal adversity.
He left the Eagles in 2012, got the Chiefs job a year later and has not looked back.
Five trips to the Super Bowl, three rings.
Incredibly, in each of those trips to the biggest game, the former lineman has started a different left tackle.
Ironically, the position proved to be an Achilles’ heel in February’s loss to the Eagles.
It is a problem first-round pick Josh Simmons will look to fix for years to come.
If he does, Reid’s legacy will only grow as he looks to surpass Bill Belichick’s record six world championships.
