Peter Schrager breaks down why he has Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson going ninth overall to the Chiefs in his NFL mock draft. (1:07)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In the far back of the ballroom, inside the Arizona Biltmore resort, the site of last week's annual league meeting, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid arrived early.
In the past, the annual breakfast for AFC coaches usually began with Reid receiving a series of congratulations from his peers for yet another long postseason run. In those years, those offseasons felt sped up for Reid and the Chiefs: they'd go from the Super Bowl, straight to the scouting combine, and to the league meeting.
This offseason stretch, however, has been an elongated one for the team, and especially for Reid.
"You have time, a chance to step back and look at things a little bit different," Reid said of the past three months, following the team's worst record (6-11) in his 13 years as coach. "There's some good to that. But you don't want to be in that position."
A few minutes later, Reid bowed his head and looked at his right knee, the one he had forced him to miss the combine after getting surgically repaired in January. Reid knew everyone wanted to ask him about quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is also rehabbing, quite differently, from the surgery he had in December to repair the ACL and LCL in his left knee. As expected, Reid succinctly summarized the experience through his "Aw, shucks" version of comedy.
"If we both do it right, we'll have one good guy," Reid said, laughing. He added of Mahomes: "He's got to play in a game. All I have to be able to do is stand up on the sideline. Mine is a little bit easier than what his is."
Reid is facing a critical year ahead of him. Mahomes is in the midst of an offseason he's never experienced before, as he's hoping to be in uniform when the Chiefs open the season, whether it's Sept. 13 or 14. For Reid, he has quite the objective: Can he -- as the NFL's oldest coach, at age 68 -- reignite the Chiefs offense, both as a leader and playcaller?
In previous years, Reid, who always wears a Hawaiian shirt at the event, has often sat front and center for the annual picture of the coaches. This year, though, Reid was standing in the back row and to the right, a rarity. He was the lone coach wearing a Hawaiian shirt. No congratulations.
Throughout the league, many have wondered how much Reid will change, both with his offensive playbook and overall philosophical approach, for the 2026 campaign. Those who have known Reid for decades, including Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, believe the coach's intentions and actions, which have already begun, won't be too radical. The proof for Reid will be if the collection of small changes he's made -- replacing several members of the coaching staff, enhancing the run game and developing young players -- will lead to the Chiefs' offense returning to form, and the team returning to the top of the AFC standings and reestablishing itself as a Super Bowl contender once again.
And time could be running out to get things right. Only one coach in the Super Bowl era who was as old as Reid is now (or older) -- Bruce Arians (68) with Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- has led his team to the Lombardi Trophy, according to ESPN Research. In fact, there are far more coaching legends (six) in the past -- such as Bill Belichick, Tom Landry, Pete Carroll, Dick Vermeil, George Halas and Tom Coughlin -- who missed the playoffs (13 out of 22 seasons) than those who led their team to its respective conference championship game (Arians and Marv Levy).
In 2024, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt signed Reid to a contract extension that runs through the 2029 season. Hunt said he expects Reid to coach the entirety of the new deal. The word Hunt used last week to describe Reid was one that took him a few seconds to find.
"He's reinvigorated," Hunt said. "Going through multiple years where we were playing in the Super Bowl, creating these really short offseasons, put a lot of stress on him, as well as the entire team, including coaching staff and scouts. He's really benefited from having some time to really step back and think about [last] season, think about what didn't go right and think about what kind of changes need to be made.
BACK IN JANUARY, several people in the Chiefs organization acknowledged how a number of small issues within the team over the past few years had compounded on top of one another last season.
The Chiefs still had the talent to win games last season: They ranked sixth in points allowed per game, Mahomes had a strong season before getting hurt and top players on the roster (tight end Travis Kelce, pass rusher Chris Jones and cornerback Trent McDuffie) were still productive. But they fell in key moments in close games -- something they hadn't done the previous season. They went 1-9 in one-score games, the worst such record in the league. Mahomes, for the first time in his nine-year career, experienced a three-game losing streak as the starter.
"Just from a fatigue standpoint, fatigue wasn't all physical," Hunt said. "I think a lot of it was probably mental."
Reid made odd decisions, too. On Thanksgiving Day, he elected to punt against the Dallas Cowboys when the offense, which had been excellent in short-yardage situations on fourth down all season and had scored a touchdown on such a play in the first quarter, was on the opponent's side of the field.
In the next game, a loss to the Houston Texans, Reid kept the offense, which struggled that night, on the field for a fourth-and-1 from its own 31-yard line with 10 minutes remaining and the score tied. Reid had never made such a decision before in his 27-year career. The gamble failed. A few minutes later, the Texans, with a short field, scored the go-ahead touchdown.
"It was wrong," Reid said that night. "I messed that one up."
Watching film of the offense last season often left many analysts confused and asking questions about the Chiefs' personnel choices and whether or not they were overthinking things on that side of the ball.
Two examples of Reid's curious playcalling occurred in a November loss to the Denver Broncos. On second-and-10 from their 26-yard line with four minutes remaining, with the score tied at 19, the Chiefs had three tight ends on the field with receiver Rashee Rice at running back and Hunt, a running back, lined up as the lone receiver. When Mahomes finished his dropback, none of his receiving options were open.
Following an incompletion, on the following play the Chiefs had Rice chip-block on the opposite side of the Broncos' overload blitz. Although Hunt was an extra pass protector, he didn't block any of the blitzing defenders, leading Mahomes to be sacked. Once again, none of Mahomes' three receiving options -- Kelce and receivers Tyquan Thornton and Xavier Worthy -- were open on the left side of the field. The Chiefs punted on the next play, never got the ball back and lost on a field goal as time expired.
The unit's predictability also became an issue last season -- something Mahomes acknowledged in January.
Certain teams, especially in the secondary, were ready to better cover the Chiefs' sail or flood passing concepts -- three receivers on one side of the field -- on clear-passing plays on third down, according to league sources. If veteran receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster or running back Brashard Smith, a rookie a year ago, was on the field, the probability of a screen pass was high. Thornton was too often used as just a deep threat. Smith-Schuster played 620 snaps (56%), although Thornton (368 snaps for 38%) was a more productive player. And as opposing defenses have improved against run-pass option plays, the Chiefs' success rate for generating explosive gains (despite running the most such plays in the league) was low, no matter which option Mahomes chose.
"This building needs new ideas," Nate Tice, a YahooSports analyst said of the offense. "It's Andy Reid's show. He's going to call the plays. But at least add some new ingredients to the menu. That's all I want to see.
"He loves thriving with quick passes. He is the most true West Coast guy still left. ... Every time they've implemented new ideas, it looks better."
Inside the Chiefs' training facility, things weren't as consistent -- such as some players' habits in meeting rooms and on the practice fields -- as in previous years. Some players' attention to detail -- a staple of most of Reid's teams -- reflected noticeable erosion. The Chiefs committed 119 penalties, the ninth most in the league, and mental mistakes led to a number of those one-score losses.
Last year's disappointing results led to several players realizing they need to better uphold their standards in 2026.
"We've got to be better and that starts with me and then it kind of has to feed throughout the entire offense," Mahomes said. "I want to get back to that winning culture of being accountable to each other."
WHEN OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Matt Nagy began pursuing other opportunities in January, Reid knew he had a decision to make: interview a litany of young, ascending coaches for the role or get back to the basics.
"We're fired up to have him back," Reid said after hiring Eric Bieniemy, who held the same role with the Chiefs from 2018 to 2022, as the team's new OC. "He brings great energy. He knows the offense. It's a seamless transition, so we can keep moving forward."
In Bieniemy's previous stint as OC, the Chiefs led the NFL in offensive points scored, efficiency, offensive EPA, Total QBR, yards per play, third-down conversion percentage, touchdowns per attempt and first downs.
Reid has attributed that success, in part, to Bieniemy's prowess as a disciplinarian, a motivator for Mahomes, and a generator of new ideas for the offense.
"I've had success bringing guys back into the fold," Reid said. "He's a great leader of men. He really takes that to another level. He has the opportunity to control that room. I'm very happy to have him back."
The reception outside of the building was not as warm, however. Almost immediately, the reaction from some analysts and a sizable portion of fans was to criticize the Bieniemy hire. Too much familiarity. The partnership wouldn't create the change and innovation the offense needs.
"The Chiefs will hire him back for the discipline and yelling," former running back LeSean McCoy, who played under Reid and Bieniemy in 2019, wrote on his X account. "Andy getting older and can't do that while also calling plays."
Bieniemy, who was the Chicago Bears running backs coach last season, admitted he wasn't sure he'd ever coach alongside Reid again. In his three years away from Kansas City, he bounced from job to job, taking coordinator positions with Washington and UCLA before joining the Bears.
Among the Chiefs, though, Bieniemy was greeted as a returning hero, with many in and around the team believing his personality was needed to help rejuvenate the offense, even as Mahomes continues his rehab.
"He's one of the greatest dudes," Morse said of Bieniemy, who was instrumental in turning Chicago into one of the NFL's best rushing attacks last season. "He's meant to be a coach, but he was with [Bears coach] Ben Johnson last year. I mean, Ben Johnson is the pinnacle of [innovation]. What kind of stuff did you see in that building? What philosophical changes could we make in the run game?"
Bieniemy answered that question upon returning to the Chiefs.
"There's a standard of excellence that'll be expected," Bieniemy said in late January. He later added of reimagining the run game: "Have I been exposed to a number of run schemes? Yes. We've got to make sure that we're doing what's best for us."
BIENIEMY WILL HAVE help in turning the run game around this season.
After posting the league's eighth-worst rushing attack in 2025, the Chiefs' biggest acquisition this offseason so far has been the signing of reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III on the opening day of free agency.
The hope is that Walker, who signed a three-year deal worth $43.05 million, will take some of the stress and burden off of Mahomes and give the running game the explosive plays it lacked; last season, Walker finished second among all running backs in percentage of carries that resulted in a gain of 10 yards or more.
As offensive success in the NFL appears to be shifting, especially as it appears the run game (just two teams, the Texans and Las Vegas Raiders, were below 40% success rate) has become more important than in previous pass-happy eras (just 14 teams had a success rate of 44% or higher when passing), Reid and Bieniemy can theorize which concepts to weaponize with Walker.
"He adds another element to the offense, another something you can do to throw at the defense, which is important," Reid said. "He's legit. He can take it the distance every time he touches the ball."
The Chiefs are hoping Walker can be their first running back to generate more than 1,000 rushing yards since 2017, when Hunt was a rookie and Alex Smith was the starting quarterback. The pairing of Walker and Bieniemy will be fascinating. Walker is soft spoken and a diligent worker. Bieniemy is known for his demanding intensity. When Walker entered the Chiefs' facility for the first time last month, he was mesmerized by Bieniemy's passion.
"The more he talks about [football], the more intense he gets," Walker said of Bieniemy. "You want a person like that. I'm excited to get to work with him."
For years, analysts have wondered aloud about just how dangerous the Chiefs' offense could be if Mahomes played next to an elite running back. Reid, throughout his career, has thrived at accentuating the skills of talented running backs -- a list that includes McCoy, Hunt, Brian Westbrook, Duce Staley, Jamaal Charles and Jerick McKinnon -- to be all-purpose threats. The Chiefs want Walker to be next on the list.
One way to maximize Walker's skills could be by running more stretch and outside zone plays. When Reid and Bieniemy were together in 2022, the Chiefs averaged 5.8 yards on such plays with a success rate of 46%. Last season with the Seahawks, Walker averaged 5.3 yards with a success rate of 40%.
Walker too wants Reid and Bieniemy to lean on him to push the offense forward, whether Mahomes is fully healthy or not.
"They know how to win, so I feel like it's a great fit for me," Walker said. "I'm just trying to get another [Super Bowl ring]. I think I'll make a great impact. I can get a lot better."
REID HAS ALWAYS considered himself a teacher more than a coach.
"I'm here to teach," Reid said. "I'll try to teach the guy and give them that, hopefully not as much as the old man lecturer, but just to help them in their careers. That'll benefit the team, benefit the kid and help you win games -- if they handle it right."
Back to the basics for Reid means he has to better succeed in developing some of the Chiefs' young players on offense -- whether they are on the roster now or will be soon after the NFL draft later this month. The Chiefs have nine draft picks, including three in the top 40 selections. Many in the Chiefs' rookie class could be tasked with being sooner-rather-than-later contributors.
Last year, the Chiefs were confident Rice was ready to thrive with the responsibility of being the No. 1 receiver. Rice, who was their second-round pick in 2023, had nice moments at times, recording 571 receiving yards and six touchdowns. But he struggled getting open against man-to-man coverage, averaging just 5.9 yards per target (ranking 45th).
Rice, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, has also come with headaches off the field, most recently in early January when a former girlfriend accused him of physical abuse over a number of years. The league launched an investigation into the allegations, which it concluded last week, determining there was insufficient evidence that he violated the league's personal conduct policy.
Speaking last week, Reid praised the receiver's talent but added "he's got to keep his nose clean."
With more time than usual already this offseason, Reid, without giving specific schematic details, emphasized that he had extensive time to reevaluate certain parts of the playbook and specific players. The questions for Reid are aplenty -- and he knows it.
How can he showcase Thornton, who re-signed with the team, as a complete receiver -- and not just a deep threat -- for a full season? How can Worthy get open more often in the middle and intermediate areas of the field? What are the best methods to aid second-year left tackle Josh Simmons -- "Talent wise, he's tremendous," Reid said of Simmons -- in becoming more consistent as a pass blocker?
And don't forget trying to find ways to maximize Kelce, who is back for Year 14.
Last month, Kelce pushed retirement off for at least another year, choosing to once again work with Mahomes, Jones, Bieniemy and Reid due, in part, to the confidence he has in the only head coach he's ever known.
"The biggest thing [in] coming back was that we've got to be even more hungrier than we've been before," Kelce said on "The Pat McAfee Show." He added: "Talking to Pat and Coach Reid and the guys, it's pretty [clear] there's a lot of dawg mentality right now to get this thing fixed."
Kelce also acknowledged that he has heard, and he understands, why there might be a growing number of doubters, whether analysts or fans, who think the Chiefs will not reclaim the AFC West division crown next season. Or those who think Reid will never get the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl again, back to the height of being atop the league.
In his response, Kelce referenced one name, the name he's always referenced.
"We're seeing what the world is doing right now and how everybody's reacting," Kelce said. "But we know we've got the nucleus in Kansas City. We've got some big hitters in Kansas City -- and we've got Coach Reid.
