Reid’s sustained success must prompt “what if?” questions in Green Bay

PHOENIX, AZ (WBAY) - The NFL world will spend the next week hyping Super Bowl LVII as the “Andy Reid Bowl” -- as Reid has coached both teams in this showdown.

But history could be quite different if he had head coached another team entirely.

What if? The Packers have to ask that as they prepare to watch Reid coach in yet another big game.

What if? Because on January 11, 1999, they hired Ray Rhodes to be their next head coach to replace Mike Holmgren. On that exact same day the Eagles hired Reid to be their head coach. Reid, of course, was Holmgren’s assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at the time.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Reid spent 14 seasons as head coach in Philly, guiding the Eagles to 4 straight NFC Championship Games at one point and one Super Bowl. And he has spend the last 10 years propelling the Chiefs to now 5 straight AFC Championship appearances and 3 Super Bowl trips in the last 4 years.

In that span, the last 24 years, the Packers have made it back to the big game just once, and only once made consecutive trips to the NFC title game.

Reid’s consistent track record of success is unparalelled. And the hallmark of that success has been prepared and dominant coming off of a bye week. he is 28-4 coming off of either a regular season or postseason bye week. If you give this man extra time, he will make you pay.

“I try to keep the balance to where the players can stay sharp and the coaches can still add a few things into their mix and then we go from there,” Reid said. “That’s the trick, the balance, and then how the players use their free time. And coaches for that matter. We have to make sure we keep on top of the scheme stuff.”

So much to dissect, and we will have reports all week from Super Bowl LVII.