LAS VEGAS, Feb. 11, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The coach-quarterback pairing of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes took a step into legendary territory Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs repeated as Super Bowl champions and hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the third time in five years.
The Chiefs became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls in 19 years with their thrilling 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium.
Mahomes tossed a 3-yard touchdown to Mecole Hardman with 3 seconds left in overtime to complete Kansas City’s rally in the back-and-forth Super Bowl showdown.
Reid, a former offensive lineman and graduate assistant coach at BYU, credited team’s defense throughout the game but particularly in overtime for limiting the 49ers to a field goal, allowing Mahomes to work his magic.
“The defense played out of their minds. How ’bout that D, baby,” Reid said during the CBS broadcast of the on-field trophy presentation. “They just kept persevering and pushing and pushing and pushing and did a great job. I’m so proud of the whole group. Special teams jumped up in there and dominated right at the end there. It was beautiful.”
It’s not the D-word Reid was talking about in the postgame celebration, but the longtime coach now is part of an NFL dynasty.
Mahomes and Reid are now halfway to matching Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, who won six championships in 20 years together with the New England Patriots — including back-to-back titles following the 2003-04 seasons.
Reid has now coached in five Super Bowls, including four in the past five years with Kansas City. He previously guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl in 2004, a 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots.
In his 11 seasons in Kansas City, Reid has led the Chiefs to 10 playoff appearances, eight AFC West titles, four conference championships and three Super Bowl victories.
Reid played at BYU in 1978-80 and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Cougars in 1982.
He’s now one of only three head coaches in NFL history to make five Super Bowls, joining Bill Belichick (nine), Don Shula (six) and Tom Landry (five).
The Chiefs also are only the third team to play in four Super Bowls over a five-year span. Kansas City joins the Pittsburgh Steelers (1970s), Dallas Cowboys (1990s) and New England Patriots (2000s/2010s) as the only teams to win three Super Bowls in five years.
Reid also has a pair of assistants with Utah ties on his coach staff: Alex Whittingham, a former walk-on at the University of Utah, oversees defensive quality control; and assistant running backs coach Porter Ellett is a BYU graduate.
Another former Cougar had a big game in a losing effort for the 49ers. Fred Warner was everywhere on defense, finishing with a game-high 13 sacks (nine solo).
Former Utes punter Mitch Wishnowsky also was stellar for San Francisco, averaging 50.8 yards on his five punts and landing three inside the 20-yard line.
Another superstar with Utah ties helped get the party started as Post Malone sang “America the Beautiful” during the pregame entertainment. Malone lives part of the year in Cottonwood Heights.
