KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first time in over a decade, the NFL playoffs are kicking off without the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving the “City of Fountains” in a state of stunned silence. Following a disastrous 6-10 campaign that saw the league’s most consistent juggernaut collapse, head coach Andy Reid has finally addressed the mounting rumors regarding his potential exit.
Amidst a week that many are calling the “NFL Coaching Bloodbath,” where legendary figures like the Ravens’ John Harbaugh were unceremoniously let back into the market, Reid took to a Zoom call on Monday to clear the air about his own status.
“I mean, I think I’m coming back, right?” Reid said with a characteristic, though weary, chuckle. “If they’ll have me back, I’ll come back. You never know in this business… but I plan on it, yeah.”
A Season of Unprecedented Failure
The 2025-26 season has been nothing short of a nightmare for the Chiefs Kingdom. For seven consecutive years, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid were fixtures in the AFC Championship game. This year, however, that streak—along with nine straight AFC West titles and a decade of playoff appearances—came to a screeching halt.
The Chiefs’ offense, once the gold standard of the league, struggled with consistency as Mahomes faced a 6-10 reality for the first time in his career. The frustration boiled over after a Week 17 loss to the Broncos, sparking national speculation that Reid might follow the path of Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll into retirement or a “mutual parting of ways.”
Part of a League-Wide Shift
Reid’s insistence on returning comes at a chaotic time for the NFL. Within the last 48 hours, the league’s landscape has been seismically shifted by:
- The Ravens’ firing of John Harbaugh after 18 seasons and a Super Bowl title.
- Mike McDaniel’s dismissal in Miami following a second consecutive losing season.
- The Raiders parting ways with Pete Carroll after a short-lived experiment.
While Reid signed a massive five-year extension back in April 2024, the “what have you done for me lately” nature of the NFL has never been more apparent. However, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has reportedly given no indication that he is ready to move on from the winningest coach in franchise history.
Looking to 2026
For now, “Big Red” is staying put. As the rest of the AFC begins their Wild Card battles today, Reid and the Chiefs front office are already pivoting to a draft where they will hold their highest pick in years. Whether Reid can successfully “retool the engine” for one more run with Mahomes remains the biggest question of the upcoming offseason.
