By james art As the undefeated, back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs continue their push to make NFL history, a familiar theme has resurfaced. Who cares about all this football? When is Andy Reid going to retire?!
In part of a larger piece detailing the Chiefs’ dynasty, organizational structure and where it stands over the next decade, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN devoted some time to Reed’s future, describing Reed as having an “uncertain retirement timetable”.
“Here Reid sits in 2024, 66 years old, with zero signs of slowing down,” Fowler wrote. “[Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark] Hunt told ESPN that Reid, who appears to be in good health, could “absolutely” coach the Chiefs for another five years. Reid doesn’t drink or smoke and works on football almost year-round.”
The story then quotes Hunt directly.
“He certainly seems rejuvenated, I would say, from the team’s success over the last few years and having one of the most special defensemen of all time,” Hunt said. “I don’t feel like he has any interest in retiring any time soon, which is fantastic. But I think every leader has to think about succession… Eventually that day will come.”
To Fowler’s credit, that wasn’t the point of his story, nor was he exaggerating the angle, but many other members of the media in recent history have handled the subject much worse. Noting that my upcoming vitriol is not directed at Fowler or this particular story, I have to ask…
As someone who has spoken and written extensively about these persistent Reid retirement “rumors,” take a closer look at how Fowler presented the aforementioned part of his story as the conversation turns to Reid’s future:
“The whispers in certain circles around the league continued into September 2021 when Reed felt ill late in a loss to the Chargers and was hospitalized for dehydration,” the section begins. “Will Andy be forced into retirement? There was no evidence that Reid was considering such a move, but the question was asked. His name occasionally comes up in discussions of the coaching carousel as agents and media try to predict upcoming jobs.”
This is very indicative of why this is an annual conversation. Yes, at 66, Reid is the oldest active head coach in the NFL. On the other hand, Bill Belichick, who is currently at the center of almost every upcoming head coaching conversation for jobs that may open up in 2025, is 72 years old. Alabama legend Nick Saban surprisingly retired at age 72.
Let me repeat that for the sake of absolute clarity: The media conversation about the 72-year-old Belichick centers around his next move, which will begin around his 73rd birthday. Reed, 66, is in at least his third year of retirement questions.
The reason “the question was asked” is because “agents and media are trying to predict upcoming openings,” not because Reed is slowing down. It’s a self-fulfilling evergreen topic because a handful of loud but detail-unburdened media members keep making it so.
No one should expect Reid to coach into his 90s, and no one should expect him to choose to retire after this season, even if Kansas City completes its first-ever NFL three-peat. Maybe at some point Reed’s health will pull him back before he wants out, but telling that timeline is as useless as it is disgusting. Hunt’s admission that “eventually that day will come” says more about human mortality than Reed’s current mindset. Not exactly groundbreaking.
Reid’s only notable response to the retirement rumors was to sign a contract extension. Even with Reed under contract to the Chiefs through 2029, that conversation continues. Perhaps Reid will retire before his deal is done, but it seems abundantly clear that Reid’s every intention is to at least last through the ’29 season as he pursues history with the greatest quarterback to ever coach. Even after the 2029 season. Reed would still be just 71 years old — younger than Belichick is now as he prepares for another act moving off the line next season.