Andy Reid Admits Mecole Hardman Wasn’t Primary Option on Super Bowl-Winning TD

The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver became a trivia answer Sunday, thanks to his overtime touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman joined one of pro football’s most exclusive clubs Sunday.

With his 3-yard touchdown catch 14:57 into overtime of Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers, Hardman became the third player to win an NFL championship in overtime with a touchdown. He joined Baltimore Colts fullback Alan Ameche in (Dec. 28, 1958) and New England Patriots running back James White (Feb. 5, 2017).

However, according to Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Kansas City’s final play was supposed to unfold differently.

“(Running back Jerick) McKinnon is part of that,” Reid told NBC’s Peter King in a video that circulated online in the wake of the Chiefs’ victory. “And then (quarterback Patrick Mahomes) has a read. And we built ‘Corn Dog’ in, saying, ‘For sure they’ll cover Corn Dog.’”

Andy Reid REALLY wanted to run the Power Shovel to McKinnon, but the 49ers converged on the Shovel and didn’t cover Corn Dog 😂 pic.twitter.com/ROgaHfE36n

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) February 15, 2024

“Corn Dog,” which Reid broke down elsewhere in the clip, wound up clinching Kansas City’s third title in five years.

“We thought that would be a good disguise, (we could) pull an extra man out there, and then we could run the shovel in there,” Reid said. “But they converged on the shovel, and ‘Corn Dog’ worked out. They manned up on the outside, and it worked.”