The Kansas City Chiefs have won the Super Bowl three times in the last five years, including the last two in a row. Even so, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are making sure to set the bar even higher ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
The Chiefs aim to become the first team in National Football League history to achieve the three-peat, which is why they’re accepting extra help this offseason. And that explains Jon Gruden’s presence in training camp.
The coach that led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Super Bowl victory in 2003 has been seen with Chiefs’ gear this week, sparking speculation about a possible role in Kansas City this year.
Reid and Gruden know each other from their time together as coordinators on the Green Bay Packers between 1992 and 1994, so many could see them working together again after so long. The Chiefs coach, however, doesn’t see his friend staying in Kansas City for much longer.
“He advises a lot of people so he’s staying busy,” Reid said Wednesday, via FOX4 News Kansas City. “The grass isn’t grown under his feet, man, he’s rolling. So I think he’s just gonna keep doing that. Hopefully, he’s able to get back in and get a head coaching job. He’s a phenomenal football coach. He touched everybody here, both sides of the ball, special teams, he got to sit down in those meetings. So just a heck of a coach.”
Andy Reid explains why Jon Gruden is at Chiefs’ training camp
So if Reid doesn’t imagine Gruden working with the Chiefs in the 2024 NFL season, why is he showing up to training camp? Well, it looks like Gruden’s presence is still valuable for Kansas City at this stage of the year.
“He loves football,” Reid said. “He and I go way back 30 years, so we’ve known each other for a long time. So it’s good to get him up here. He’s always had good input on things. He’s very smart. He’s a great football coach. [I] enjoy having him around. [He brings] great energy.”
Patrick Mahomes happy to have Jon Gruden helping Andy Reid in Chiefs’ training camp
Apart from his old teammate, Gruden also has Mahomes’ blessing. The 28-year-old is open to getting all the advice he can this offseason as he prepares to chase an unprecedented three-peat in the NFL with the Chiefs.
“It’s always great to hear offensive minds and obviously someone that we’ve went up against so you kind of can listen to ways that they were trying to go against us and combating stuff that we did well,” Mahomes said. “[Gruden] and Coach Reid have a long history. And so just to hear them talk about old-school football plays is always cool for me being a football historian. It’s been fun to have him out here and just listen to him talk about football.”