Is Patrick Mahomes or Andy Reid more important to Chiefs?

Is Patrick Mahomes or Andy Reid the bigger key to the Chiefs’ success?

The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champs and arguably the safest bet to get back to the big game again this season. One of the biggest keys to success in the NFL is a tremendous union between coach and quarterback, which the Chiefs have with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.

Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, no doubt deserves a lot of credit for his role in leading the NFL’s most dynamic offense. Chiefs’ fans shouldn’t forget, however, that Reid played a very important role in this team’s success.

Reid has long been one of the NFL’s most successful head coaches, building a consistent winner in Philadelphia and guiding the Eagles to five NFC Championship Game appearances and one Super Bowl, a loss to the New England Patriots. Reid is one of the game’s best offensive minds and was immediately snatched up by the Chiefs when the Eagles let him go.

Kansas City has thrived under Reid, going 77-35 over his first seven seasons and making six playoff appearances, including four straight AFC West titles. Alex Smith was the Chiefs’ quarterback when Reid first arrived, showing that he could win with anyone, but it was clear that there was a limit to how far Smith could take Kansas City.

The big turning point came in 2017 when Reid fell in love with Mahomes in the pre-draft process and the Chiefs orchestrated a big trade-up in the draft to land him. Mahomes’ ability to learn under Reid and Smith helped position the Chiefs to become a modern NFL dynasty behind the game’s most dynamic quarterback.

Asking whether Reid or Mahomes is more important to the Chiefs is a bit like trying to figure out whether the chicken or the egg came first. There’s no doubt that having Mahomes helped Reid pick up a legacy-changing Super Bowl ring, but Mahomes wouldn’t have been in a position to have that kind of success without Reid’s tutelage.

The question’s ultimate answer is a bit of a cop-out since both men are equally important to the Chiefs’ success. There is no guarantee that Mahomes would have turned into a star under a coach besides Reid while it is also apparent that the Chiefs probably wouldn’t be champions if Smith was still the starting quarterback.

The quarterback-coach relationship is a huge key to successful NFL franchises and Kansas City has found the right partnership to carry the franchise into the future. That kind of stability is something the other 31 teams have to be jealous of as Mahomes looks set to dominate the league for the next 15 years.