Andy Reid Provides Updates on Phase One of Chiefs’ Offseason Program

The Chiefs' head coach speaks less than two weeks before the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Chiefs celebrated their Super Bowl LVII victory for a short time but if one thing has been made clear over the course of the still-young offseason, it's that the team is ready to get back to work and pursue another championship for the 2023-24 season.

Over the past several weeks, NFL free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Combine have dominated storylines. As some players have landed in new spots for the upcoming campaign, prospects have worked hard attempting to help their draft stock. Teams are also making the most of their time, using it to prepare for late April's draft and the rest of the offseason. The Chiefs are no different, with head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach hitting the ground running.

On Monday, Reid took the virtual podium via Zoom to speak to the media as Kansas City enters the initial phase of its offseason workout program. Twenty-six of the league's 32 teams began their respective programs on Monday, although not all of them are doing so in the same fashion as the Chiefs. For the second year in a row, quarterback Patrick Mahomes is hosting receivers down in Texas for group workouts while the defense operates more with the coaching staff. The team will report to coaches via Zoom. When asked about what he's learned from this opening phase in past years, Reid said he believes it's more beneficial for his offense: 

"Yeah, so phase one is good for the offense probably more so than the defense," Reid said. "[For] the defense, working with the Zoom part of it's important, working with the strength and conditioning part is important. The offensive guys can get together and throw the ball around — you can't do that on the defensive side necessarily."

The Chiefs can afford not to follow the same pattern on the defensive side of the ball, as Reid said in his opening comments on Monday that the coaching staff will be "status quo" moving forward. While Steve Spagnuolo's unit is a young one, there's also more continuity in place following an epic 2022 draft class and some free-agent signings from a year ago. Those pieces have a year of Chiefs-specific experience now and will look to build on that during the offseason program.

Offensively, Reid's coaching staff has undergone one very significant change near the top. Eric Bieniemy is no longer entrenched as the club's offensive coordinator, instead taking a similar role with an assistant head coach perk attached to it with the Washington Commanders. Matt Nagy assumed Bieniemy's old position, but it's also a role Nagy has experience in for Reid in the recent past. With Nagy having more influence in the 2023 offense than the 2022 group, Reid said things still won't be that much different during the offseason.

"I wouldn't say different," Reid said. "It'll be the same format as we go into it. There's nothing that we've made drastic changes on. Now we've gone through scheme evaluation, so there are things we'll take out and new things we'll put in and do, and Matt's a big part of that too."

There's one final element of phase one that's worth reiterating: Mahomes is in a pretty unique position. He's counted on to step up and serve as the best player on the team and face of the franchise, but he also holds those expectations on a league-wide level as well. The two-time Super Bowl MVP doesn't turn 28 years old until September, so the heights he's already reached are quite uncommon with all things being considered. 

That applies to the offseason program, too, and Reid said his superstar signal-caller has been in touch with him and Veach routinely this offseason in an effort to stay in tune with what form the team is shaping into. As the next several days, weeks and months continue to unfold, it appears that the pillars of the Chiefs organization will be functioning as one well-oiled machine once again. 

"Pat's been on it right from the get-go," Reid said. "He's been all over it with the guys, with the coaches. He checks in all the time [asking], 'Hey, how are we doing in free agency? How are we doing with the draft?' He's interested in that, which is unique. He's either talking to myself or Brett all the time."

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