Andy Reid coaching tree: Sean McDermott headlines list of Chiefs coach's disciples
Andy Reid has been the leader behind the NFL's most recent dynasty.
The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2024 regular season with the best record in the AFC at 15-2 and are one win away from a historic third consecutive Super Bowl ring. The franchise has been to seven consecutive AFC championship games and is about to play in its fifth Super Bowl in the past six years.
Reid has orchestrated some of the best offenses in history, and last season Kansas City became the first back-to-back Super Bowl champion in two decades under him. The Chiefs locked up their 10th consecutive AFC West title this year.
It took 21 seasons for Reid to win a Lombardi Trophy, and now he is seeking his fourth in six seasons. He is one of four head coaches to make five Super Bowl appearances, and his three titles make him one of only four coaches to win at least three.2024 marked Reid’s 26th season as an NFL head coach (Philadelphia Eagles 1999-2012; Chiefs 2013-present). He owns a 273-146-1 regular season record and adds a 28-16 postseason record, giving him 301 total wins, which ranks fourth in NFL history and first among active head coaches. Reid's 28 postseason wins trails only Bill Belichick (31).
Reid spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers under head coach Mike Holmgren. He served as the tight ends coach, assistant offensive line coach (1992-96), and quarterbacks coach (1997-98).
"Big Red" is one of the best coaches in the sport's history and an extremely creative play-caller. As a result, he has planted dozens of seeds throughout his historic career. Those seeds have grown into sturdy branches of Reid's coaching tree. Here's what to know about Reid's coaching tree and its notable branches.
Steve Spagnuolo
Current Team: Chiefs (since 2019)
Years with Reid: 1999-2006 (Eagles), 2019-2024 (Chiefs)
Steve Spagnuolo could be the first coordinator inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday. Before winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants as the defensive coordinator in 2007, Spags spent time with the Eagles between 1999 and 2006 in various coaching roles. While his defense is intricate and complicated, that didn't translate to wins as a head coach, faltering at his stop with the Rams between 2009 and 2011. However, his failures led him back to Reid and three championship rings.
Spagnuolo has been with Reid for the past six seasons in Kansas City and is the only coordinator to win four Super Bowls, one with the Giants and three with the Chiefs. Last season, he coached the unit to the second-fewest points per game (17.1) and had the second-most sacks in the league (57). This season, the Chiefs allowed the fourth-fewest points per game (19.2) and finished in the top 10 in nearly every significant defensive category. He has helped Reid build a powerhouse and players have popularized the expression, "In Spags We Trust."
Sean McDermott
Current Team: Buffalo Bills (since 2017)
Record: 86-45 (regular season), 7-7 (postseason)
Years with Reid: 1999-2010 (Eagles)
McDermott was hired by Buffalo in 2017 and has brought the team to the postseason in seven of eight seasons. This is notable because the Bills had not reached the playoffs for 17 consecutive years before hiring McDermott. He has unified the city and changed the locker room culture, something Reid also embodies.Buffalo has won the AFC East five consecutive times under McDermott. Buffalo joins Kansas City as the only team to win double-digit games and reach the playoffs for the past six seasons. The Bills hired McDermott after he spent six seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. He led a top-10 defense four times in Carolina and helped the Panthers earn three NFC South titles and a trip to Super Bowl 50 after the 2015 regular season. That year, McDermott’s defense helped lead the way to a 15-1 record.He spent his first 12 NFL seasons with Philadelphia under Reid, working his way up to defensive coordinator in 2009-10. He joined the Eagles in 1999 as a scouting administrative coordinator before being promoted to assistant to the head coach under Reid. McDermott and Reid have known each other for more than a quarter of a century, making every matchup between the two extra special.
John Harbaugh
Current Team: Baltimore Ravens (since 2008)
Record: 172-104 (regular season), 13-11 (postseason), Won Super Bowl 47
Years with Reid: 1999-2007 (Eagles)
It's uncommon to hire a special teams coordinator as a head coach, but Harbaugh and the Ravens have made this arrangement work.
Harbaugh was the longtime special teams coach of the Eagles between 1998 and 2007, pre-dating Reid in Philadelphia by one year. He got his first crack at a head-coaching gig with the Ravens, and it turned out to be the right move for both sides. Baltimore won the Super Bowl in 2012.
The Ravens have gone 68 games over .500, with a Super Bowl ring, and earned six AFC North titles in a rugged division. Harbaugh, now 62, hasn't been back to the Super Bowl since 2012, but he and Lamar Jackson were in the 2024 AFC championship game and Jackson has won two MVPs under Harbaugh's tutelage. Harbaugh's Ravens lost to Reid's Chiefs last season, giving the Kansas City coach another victory over one of his former pupils. McDermott's Bills knocked off Harbaugh's Ravens this postseason.
Matt Nagy
Current Team: Chiefs (since 2022)
Head coaching record: 34-31 (Chicago Bears)
Years with Reid: 2008-2012 (Eagles); 2013-2017 (Chiefs); 2022-2024 (Chiefs)
Nagy became an assistant coach with the Eagles under Reid in 2008. He spent five seasons in various offensive positions. In 2013, when Reid joined the Chiefs, Nagy followed him to become the quarterbacks coach. Nagy was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2016 and was named the Chicago Bears' head coach in 2018.
Nagy had a terrible quarterback situation in Chicago during his time, leading to an up-and-down tenure in the Windy City. Despite the struggles under center, Nagy led the Bears to the playoffs in 2018 and 2020 and got what he could from Mitchell Trubisky and others.
Nagy often received criticism for his play-calling and game plans, as evidenced during his only season with Justin Fields. Following the 2021 season, he was fired with a 6-11 record and returned to work under Reid again as a member of the Chiefs. He has spent the past two years as the offensive coordinator in Kansas City, winning Super Bowls 57 and 58.
Doug Pederson
Current Team: None
Years with Reid: 2009-2012 (Eagles); 2013-2015 (Chiefs)
Head coaching record: 64-66-1, won Super Bowl 52 (Eagles 2016-2020; Jaguars 2022-2024)
When the Eagles moved on from Andy Reid, there was a massive void to fill, literally and figuratively.
When Doug Pederson was hired to be the head coach of the Eagles in 2016, it was as if the team brought back Reid. Pederson was operating under Reid as offensive coordinator with the Chiefs after Reid landed in Kansas City in 2013. Pederson's second season as a head coach was highly successful as he led the Eagles to a 13–3 record, an NFC East title and the franchise's first Super Bowl championship.
Tensions between Pederson and owner Jeffrey Lurie grew during the following three seasons, leading to Pederson's dismissal. After taking a year off from the game, Pederson returned as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022, helping lead the Jags to an AFC South title and developing quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Pederson was fired at the end of the 2024 season after a 4-13 campaign riddled with injuries. Ironically, in his first season as the Eagles coach, Pederson drafted Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick. Wentz has since bounced around the league and is currently Patrick Mahomes' backup under Andy Reid in Kansas City.
Ron Rivera
Current Team: None
Years with Reid: 1999-2003 (Eagles)
Head coaching record: 102-103-2 (Panthers 2011-19; Washington 2020-2023)
Few bring respect and integrity to the NFL as Ron Rivera does. Rivera worked under Reid as his linebackers coach between 1999 and 2003 before stretching his legs as a defensive coordinator with the Bears and Chargers. He landed with the Panthers as head coach in 2011.
Rivera won the NFC South three times and made it to Super Bowl 50 with Cam Newton as his quarterback. The Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos in a blowout in the Big Game, but Rivera had solidified his reputation around the league. He kept his job and reputation for the next three seasons, jumping to Washington in 2020 following his firing from Carolina.
Despite a 7-9 record in his first season in Washington, he helped navigate the franchise through its messy split from Dan Snyder and two name changes.
Rivera was fired after the 2023 season, but one can argue that he laid the groundwork for Washington's massive success in 2024 with Jayden Daniels solving the quarterback conundrum that Rivera struggled with during his time in the nation's capital.
Todd Bowles
Current Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (since 2019)
Years with Reid: 2012 (Eagles)
Head coaching record: 53-65 (Miami Dolphins interim in 2011; New York Jets 2015-18; Buccaneers 2022-2024)
Bowles had a few stops before landing under Reid for a season, leaving this as a tangential piece of Reid's coaching tree. Still, Bowles built a solid defense with the Arizona Cardinals as defensive coordinator between 2013 and 2014 before getting the Jets job in 2015.
Roster management and general organizational dysfunction, the norm for "Gang Green" throughout the years, became the story of Bowles' tenure in East Rutherford. He got his next shot as a head coach after Bruce Arians' retirement with the Buccaneers, putting together an underwhelming 8-9 season his first year.
Bowles followed that by logging an impressive 9-8 record and winning a playoff game despite Baker Mayfield replacing Tom Brady. Bowles has been a model of consistency with the Buccaneers, who have consistently ranked as a top run defense since he took over. Mayfield, Mike Evans and the emergence of rookie running back Bucky Irving helped Tampa Bay defend its NFC South crown for the fourth consecutive season in 2024.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Andy Reid coaching tree: Sean McDermott, John Harbaugh and more