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Andy Reid has spent nearly all of his adult life in coaching. For more than the last quarter-century, Reid has patrolled the sideline as an NFL head coach, first guiding the Philadelphia Eagles and now leading the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reid cemented his legacy in Kansas City with three Super Bowl titles, but his age, Patrick Mahomes’ season-ending ACL injury and the uncertainty swirling around Travis Kelce’s future have fueled speculation that he could step away as soon as 2026.
Despite those factors — including the Chiefs missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014 — Reid confirmed his plans to return to the sideline in 2026. “I mean, I think I’m coming back, right?” Reid said in jest during a call with local reporters on Tuesday.
“If they’ll have me back, I’ll come back. You never know in this business. That’s a tough one. But I plan on it, yeah.”
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The 67-year-old Reid is accustomed to answering questions about his future in February, after the Chiefs have played in the Super Bowl, which they had done each of the past three years. But he’s less familiar with facing those questions in the final days of December, a time when the Chiefs have routinely been preparing for a postseason run.
Kansas City is 6-10 as it prepares for its season finale on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Reid, who reportedly signed a five-year, $100 million extension with the Chiefs in April 2024.
Reid has 307 wins overall. He needs 18 to pass George Halas for third on the NFL’s career list behind Belichick and Don Shula. While Reid’s return to the sideline seems likely, the continuity of the rest of the coaching staff remains less certain. Matt Nagy, who is in his second stint as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, is in the last year of his contract.
Shortly before Mahomes underwent surgery to address damage to his left ACL and LCL, Reid expressed confidence in the quarterback’s mindset regarding his rehab approach.
“He’ll attack it, just like he does everything else,” Reid said of Mahomes’ upcoming rehab. “There have been some pretty good quarterbacks who have had the same injury, and they’ve done pretty well after they came back. He’ll get after it, and he’s got good people here to rehab him. He’ll be right on top of all of that.
“As long as the surgery goes well, as expected, then I would expect a fairly quick recovery for him just because of those factors.”
Kelce faced questions about retirement last season. He sparked more questions about his NFL future after he became less definitive about his 2025 playing prospects following the Chiefs’ loss to the Eagles in February’s Super Bowl.
But a couple of weeks later, ESPN host Pat McAfee revealed Kelce sent him a message confirming he would return in 2025, which said, “I’m coming back for sure.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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