Peyton Manning Complements Chiefs' Reid on Pat McAfee Show

During an interview with Pat McAfee, Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning took time to give his opinion on why Chiefs HC Andy Reid has continued his historic success.

Hall of Fame QB Payton Manning and Tom Moore, a Buccaneers senior offensive assistant and Manning's former coach, talk before the NFC divisional playoff game between the Lions and Buccaneers at Ford Field on Sunday, Jan, 21, 2024. / Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK

There is a reason why Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will one day have his bust sitting in Canton, Ohio. The long-time head coach has had tremendous success in his two head coaching stops and as his current team is set to face his former team in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, the accolades are pouring in for the offensive innovator.

Reid first learned offensive football under LaVell Edwards and Norm Chow at BYU and that thirst for knowledge fulled the successes of his career. Reid helped Brett Favre win a Super Bowl with Mike Holmgren in Green Bay and like Holmgren, Reid took two seperate franchises to a Super Bowl.

Considering Reid first became a play caller in the mid 90s, how has he been successful as an innovator for 30 years? Well Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning shared the answer during a morning interview with the Pat McAfee show. Manning, who is currently in Orlando hosting the Pro Bowl Games alongside his brother Eli, took time to preview Super Bowl LIX and talk about the matchup.

"The smart coaches are the ones that design plays around who they have playing..

That's what both the Chiefs and Eagles do"

Peyton Manning #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/HHSltVfi3X

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 31, 2025

Manning was answering a question posed by McAfee about some of the stereotypes and insinuations revolving around offensive football, especially the role the rushing game has in the modern NFL. During which, Manning complemented Reid by saying "The smart coaches are the ones that design plays based around who they have playing and that's what Andy does."

Manning is completely right. The offense Patrick Mahomes runs today looks nothing like the one he operated during the Chiefs first Super Bowl run in 2019. Reid will use the run game exclusively at times, having Mahomes become a non-factor and once the run becomes too effective and defenses adjust, Reid will call play action.

NFL offenses improve, they innovate but they also rotate in a repeated cycle. The run will be more popular than the pass one minute and then once defenses figure those schemes out, the trends flip. Speed vs strength. Shotgun heavy vs under center. No huddle vs bleeding the clock. Reid knows his teams and he knows what to use at all times. That why, despite a league getting younger by the year with head coaches, it's the old veteran that keeps winning.