Chiefs interview Reid; Koetter is out
Atlanta special-teams coach Armstrong is still in the running for Kansas City job.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
One of the NFL’s most accomplished head coaches hit the job market this week when Andy Reid was fired by the Philadelphia Eagles.
But is he the right fit for Kansas City? The Chiefs interviewed Reid on Wednesday in Philadelphia to find out.
Another candidate to replace Crennel, Atlanta offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, took himself out of the running Wednesday by saying he would remain with the Falcons. The other reported candidate for the job is Atlanta special-teams coach Keith Armstrong.
Reid was also scheduled to meet this week with the Cardinals in Arizona about their vacant head-coaching position.
Reid, 55, was with the Eagles 14 years, making him the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach at the time of his firing on Monday. He won 130 regular-season games, making him by far the coach with the most victories in the Eagles’ long history.
“He had the love and respect of every individual in this organization,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said Monday. “This man is amazing to work with, smart and dedicated, and the record will speak for itself.”
Under Reid, the Eagles won six division championships in the competitive NFC East and advanced to five NFC title games. They reached the Super Bowl only once, though, losing 24-21 to New England after the 2004 season.
Things ended badly for Reid in Philly. The Eagles invested heavily in free-agency before the 2011 season, to the point where they were referred to as the NFL’s dream team. But they finished the season at 8-8. Their 4-12 finish this season gave them a last-place finish in their division.
“I think Andy is an outstanding football coach,” Lurie said. “That’s what Andy wants to do. He doesn’t want to transition to other aspects of football operations. He’s a football coach. He wants to coach right now. He was very excited about the future of this team and this franchise. He wanted to stay.”
In an interview this week after firing head coach Romeo Crennel, Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said the new coach would report to him and not general manager Scott Pioli. That represents a change in how the Chiefs do business.
Hunt also said he would lead the search for Crennel’s replacement. Pioli was responsible for hiring the two previous head coaches, Todd Haley and Crennel. Hunt has said the Chiefs would consider candidates who have been head coaches, are working as coordinators and coaches who are working in the college ranks.
Hunt, Pioli and president Mark Donovan were reported to be among the Chiefs’ officials who sat in on the interview with Reid. Pioli also was said to have been in Atlanta on Tuesday when Hunt talked to Koetter and Armstrong.
Hunt hopes to have a new coach hired and a decision on whether Pioli will remain as GM by February but this week declined to reveal how the Chiefs would go about interviewing candidates.
“I’m not going to go into the dynamics of the search process,” Hunt said. “I will say I have the appropriate resources available to help me. We’re very well-organized. We want to be thorough, but we also want to be efficient as well.
“I’m not going to go into the resources, but leave it said we’re well-organized. We’ve got the appropriate people lined up to help.”