LAS VEGAS -- Here’s what Chiefs coach Andy Reid had to say after the 25-22 win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday:
Opening statement: “Appreciate everybody showing up. What a great experience. I appreciate our guys for the great job that they did, the players and the coaches. Defensively, our guys came out and played their hearts out like they’ve done all year, kept us in the game. Then, the offense just kind of persevered through it. It was tough in the first half. We did a little better in the second half. Obviously, the last drive was a thing of beauty. Congratulations to the 49ers for being here. Kyle is a great head football coach. The 49ers are lucky to have him. What a game. It could have gone either way. It was just one of those games. I feel fortunate to have been on the positive side of it.”
On winning back-to-back: “It’s a little bit surreal. Back-to-back is rare for this football team and this organization. I don’t know what a dynasty is. You guys have the thesaurus, so you can figure it out. It’s a great win because I know how hard it is to do and how hard the season was. 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, the job that they’ve done. They’re passionate players, and I love that, even if they chest bump me to the other side of the 50. I appreciate it. I just love that the guy wants to play and wants to be in there playing. He knows I love that, so he makes me feel young.”
On Mecole Hardman: “He works hard at it. He run like a son of a gun. He’s fast. We were able to hit him on the deep one. We didn’t capitalize on it with the fumble, but we came back at the end. We’ve got another corn dog that worked for us.”
On Rashee Rice: “I loved what he did. We struggled, and a lot of it was drops. A lot of it was penalties. Then, Rashee was growing, and he was getting better every week. Once that took place, and we eliminated those things or at least minimized them, better things happen. It’s great to have Rashee opposite Kels. It’s tough to double Kels. When you have that guy that can kind of work inside the numbers there along with him, that is a territory that Pat loves to strike. It worked out well.”
On Travis Kelce bumping him during the game: “He caught me off balance. I wasn’t watching. It was a cheap shot, but it’s alright. He did good. He was really coming over to tell me, ‘Put me in. I’ll score. I’ll score.’ That is really what it was. Well. I love that. I mean, it’s not the first time, so listen, I appreciate it.”
On Kyle Shanahan: “He’s a phenomenal football coach. He has a great feel for it. He’s got a good staff and good players to go along with it. Most of all, he’s a great teacher. When you have young guys like we’ve had, that whole staff has done a great job of teaching, but he leads the parade on that. What a heck of a year.”
On Patrick Mahomes: “I think you guys can appreciate him. You get to see him and what he is. I mean, there’s no façade there. He comes to work every day, humble, wanting to be great. He challenges the guys around him to be great every play and never flinches. You drop the ball, we’ll get the next one. Or, listen, I need you in this spot right here. It’s not like chewing them out or any of that bit and likewise with the penalties. Let’s keep our hands tighter. Let’s not grab. That’s the way he operates. A pleasure to coach. Absolute pleasure to coach.”
On trying to get Travis Kelce the ball: “We had him called for a couple more, and it just didn’t work out. They doubled him early. Then, we came back to him in the second half and had him rub off of people. Kind of do a combination of routes, a couple of routes with Rashee and then with MVS. We know we need to get him the ball. We need to get Pacheco the ball, and then Rice the ball. We were struggling on first downs. We weren’t doing very good on first downs. It was all over the place at first. We were going backwards actually. That’s not good against a team like this.”
On what his emotions are like on the trophy stage: “Yeah, listen, I mean, this is a tough profession, which we all know, competitive. I mean, the parity in this league is ridiculous. And so, to watch your guys work and focus and all that, I mean, you just appreciate – I think the older you get, you probably appreciate that also. I mean, I appreciate the first one because it took me a thousand years to get into a Super Bowl. At least being able to hold that Lombardi Trophy. I appreciate every day that I have to do this. I work for a great owner and ownership family. Between Mark Donovan, Veach and myself, we’re lucky to be Kansas City Chiefs. And so, that part feels good. And then, we have a good locker room and we have good coaches.”
On Travis Kelce’s comments about he owes his career to him: “Yeah, he was a little emotional today. So, listen, I mean, I get it. I have five kids, so I get how that goes. The part I love is he loves to play the game and he wants to help his team win. I mean, it’s not a selfish thing – that’s not what it is. And I understand that. And so, as much as he bumps into me, I get after him. And we understand that. He just caught me off balance.”
On what makes Mecole Hardman tick as a player: “Yeah, listen, he was cut and we brought him back. And that’s a tough thing. That’s a tough thing to happen mentally. And he came in with a positive attitude and just said, ‘Hey, I just want to help you guys win.’ And we kind of know what he does best. And, you know, Nagy does a great job of putting him in positions and really, he’s got that mastered with that kid, where to put him and how to use him. So, you saw that tonight, yeah.”
