1 week Ago
Andy Reid already has his championship rings. But what does the Super Bowl coach think of another program chasing a title? Reid likes what he’s seeing out of his alma mater, BYU, these days. The Cougars won 11 games, were a few plays away from a Big 12 title game berth, and blew out Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.
“The defense really stepped up,” he said. “Defense did a really nice job with how they presented themselves. That’s a tough conference with a lot of speed, and they were able to match up with physical football.
Likewise, on the offensive side. BYU is known for the offense, and defense just doesn’t get a lot of credit there. They sure deserve to be appreciated.
” Reid was back in Salt Lake City last week, breaking down the state of college football in Utah. He’s close with both programs: Utah and BYU. He played with Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham when they were in Provo.
And he’s friends with Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake, too . Reid hired Whittingham’s son, Alex, to be his assistant defensive line coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. He swung by Whittingham’s office last week to talk shop.
“I’ve had a chance to visit with him, so we stay in contact. He’s a phenomenal football coach,” Reid said. “He’s got a great mind.
Things he’s done at this university here are very hard to calculate.” But his true loyalty rests with BYU, he said, and gave high praise for Sitake and his group. He likes BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who made headlines recently for saying he wants to win the Heisman Trophy next year.
“I like Jake,” Reid said. “He’s got a good arm. He’s mobile, which is a big thing in the National Football League.
Run away from those 300-pounders. He has all that ability.” The Big Thing (Matt York | AP) Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid participates during Super Bowl 59 Opening Night, Monday, Feb.
3, 2025, in New Orleans, ahead of the NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. Reid’s strongest connection rests with BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. Both played for LaVell Edwards and have a relationship dating back to the 1980s.
When Reid was just starting out as a coach with San Francisco State, Holmoe was playing for the 49ers. It was clear, even then, that Holmoe wanted to be an athletic director. He told his friends as much.
But Reid asked him to try his hand at coaching, having him out to San Francisco State whenever the schedule permitted. “He was on the practice squad there for just a bit, and he would come up and coach with me at San Francisco State on gamedays,” Reid recalled. Holmoe did get into coaching, both with the 49ers and at the college level.
He was Deion Sanders’ position coach and had a four-year tenure as Cal’s head coach. “I tried to scare him into becoming a coach,” Reid joked. “He did well before he decided to get back into what he really wanted to be, an athletic director.
” (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, who announced that he will be retiring from his position at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, joins the BYU football team at the Utah Capitol for recognition to the team’s season on Wednesday February. 26, 2025. Two decades later, Holmoe is stepping away.
He will retire in the next few months after guiding the Cougars from the Mountain West, through independence and ultimately the Big 12. Reid has been watching from afar, happy to see his friend step away. “He’s had a phenomenal career.
Things he’s done for BYU are just off the charts,” Reid said. “I’m glad he stuck around to let [BYU] enter a new phase in the Big 12.” Fourth down 1.
KC living Reid went to the Big 12 basketball tournament the last two years to watch BYU play. Does he want to be more involved with BYU in the future? “I enjoy it. I’m proud of it,” he said.
“I think it is important that all the alums get out.” 2. The BYU connection There was one BYU connection that got Reid into the NFL.
He was coaching at Missouri when Mike Holmgren, then the Green Bay Packers head coach, hired him as an offensive line coach. “Progressively moved up with another guy from BYU, Mike Holmgren,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to have worked with great people with a great foundation in this profession.
” Both can trace their roots back to LaVell Edwards, who Reid joked is responsible for “a lot of grey hair,” for getting them into the business. 3. Hall out Dallin Hall is leaving BYU, but there are still two major decisions left for head coach Kevin Young .
Egor Demin and Richie Saunders have to choose between coming back or going to the NBA. 4. Top recruit goes to Provo Brock Harris is coming to BYU, picking the Cougars over Michigan, Georgia, Miami and Utah.
He is the first top prospect in Utah to sign with Sitake’s staff..
