NEW ORLEANS — Andy Reid has a routine for each Chiefs highway recreation. He gathers the group on the lodge the night time earlier than the sport and imparts some non-football data to his gamers.
“Each Saturday, he talks concerning the native cows and what kinds of burgers we’re going to have,” security Justin Reid mentioned of his coach with a smile. “He has a motto: Let your persona present and I’ll deal with you to a cheeseburger.”
When Andy Reid just isn’t instructing his gamers the sport plan or a way to enhance on the sphere, he’s most frequently sharing with them his ardour, ideas and experiences with meals, which he appreciates as a lot as a 40-yard go play.
A few years in the past, Justin Reid was set to journey to Frankfurt, Germany, to assist promote the Chiefs’ 2023 recreation towards the Miami Dolphins within the metropolis. He was stunned when his coach really useful a restaurant with elite German delicacies, Foremost Tower Restaurant & Lounge.
“It was hearth, brah,” Justin Reid mentioned, shaking his head. “It was so good. It was actually, actually cool.”
A lot of the Chiefs have an analogous anecdote about Andy Reid.
He’s recognized for a lot of issues, together with a penchant for trick performs, mastering the display screen go, the NFL’s hardest coaching camp and an affection for Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts.
Reid can be a licensed foodie.
When anybody mentions meals — any kind of delicacies, restaurant or cheeseburger — Reid’s temper virtually all the time improves.
Previously yr, The Athletic has requested many within the Chiefs group a easy query: What’s the greatest meal you’ve ever had with Reid or due to him? Nearly each participant and coach had a special reply.
“Andy loves meals,” Chiefs proprietor Clark Hunt mentioned. “He loves cheeseburgers, however he loves steaks, he loves seafood and it’s all the time enjoyable to see him having fun with dinner.”
Andy Reid on his favourite restaurant in New Orleans, and why he ‘most likely will not go there’ this yr 😂#ChiefsKingdom @KCTV5 pic.twitter.com/PTwyliYHab
— Marleah Campbell (@MarleahKCTV5) January 30, 2025
Since Reid joined the Chiefs in 2013, each offseason has included an annual group dinner at a steakhouse in the course of the NFL house owners’ conferences in late March. The dinner lately has featured Hunt, Reid, common supervisor Brett Veach and group president Mark Donovan. The gathering additionally serves as Reid’s belated celebration of his March 19 birthday.
“We let him give us the grades for the restaurant,” Hunt mentioned, smiling. “He positively enjoys chocolate cake.”
Reid and the Chiefs are in one in every of Reid’s favourite meals cities, New Orleans, this week as they search to win their fourth Lombardi Trophy in six years. In the event that they beat Reid’s former group, the Philadelphia Eagles, in Tremendous Bowl LIX, they’ll turn into the primary group to win three consecutive Tremendous Bowls.
Reid shared the favourite meal he’s ever had in New Orleans, a eating expertise that occurred greater than 15 years in the past when he was teaching the Eagles. Reid was invited to Emeril’s, the acclaimed restaurant of chef Emeril Lagasse, by the top chef on the time, an Eagles fan.
“He mentioned, ‘I’m going to begin on the ocean and end within the mountains,’” Reid mentioned. “He put me within the kitchen and he mentioned, ‘Have at it. I’ll cease while you’re full.’”
Reid mentioned the meal ended 4 hours later.
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Reid has an affinity for cooks. When potential, he tries to speak with the chef — or a number of cooks — after a meal, which permits him to study extra concerning the artwork of cooking.
“Being a cook dinner is like being a coach,” mentioned Dan Williams, the Chiefs’ assistant quarterbacks coach who spent two years as Reid’s assistant. “You’re making an attempt totally different elements. You’re bringing issues to the desk that may be totally different than what different persons are bringing. You wish to put all of it collectively and make the very best product. I feel that’s how (Reid) equates it.”
Considered one of Reid’s favourite cooks is Michael Mina, an award winner who has 27 eating places. A couple of decade in the past in Orange County, Calif., Reid and Tammy, his spouse, first skilled one in every of Mina’s greatest entrees: the Maine lobster pot pie, which is cooked in a copper pot.
The lobster pot pie sparked a dialog between Reid and Mina, which led to their friendship.
“Oh, it’s unbelievable,” Reid mentioned of the dish. “The crust across the copper pot, that’s the very best a part of it. They don’t put it on the stinkin’ plate. I mentioned, ‘Hey, depart that pot right here!’”
Throughout the 2021 season, the Chiefs’ bye week included Thanksgiving Day, which allowed Reid to spend extra time at house than on the group’s coaching facility. That day, he had a query concerning the turkey. He known as Mina.
“I mentioned, ‘Coach me up on cooking the turkey,’” Reid mentioned. “I already knew cook dinner the turkey. However about an hour later, I had a complete pad of notes on what to place on this stinkin’ turkey. I’m going, ‘That is going to be an unbelievable chook proper right here.’
“I might’ve needed to go to the shop and purchase half the shop to place on this turkey. I had a number of of the issues and went with it and it turned out nice.”
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Two summers in the past, after President Joe Biden honored the Chiefs on the White Home, Reid broke down the meals served to them as if he had been analyzing a touchdown-scoring play. Earlier than the 15-minute ceremony within the Rose Backyard, throughout which the Chiefs had been celebrated as Tremendous Bowl LVII champions, Reid devoured an entree he had by no means tried earlier than: a French Toast grilled cheese and ham sandwich.
“They sprinkled a bit little bit of powdered sugar on,” Reid mentioned. “It was phenomenal. There was an abundance of this. That they had unique hen fingers.”
Then, Reid remembered one other dish.
“The very best half, which I hadn’t seen earlier than, was little bite-size squares of the center of the watermelon,” he mentioned. “I went again and talked to (the chef). I simply go, ‘You guys are unbelievable.’ Whoever minimize all of that out and had the endurance to try this, my hat goes off to them.”
What kinda meals does the White Home serve to the Tremendous Bowl champions?
The total assessment from Andy Reid 🍗⬇️ (by way of @Chiefs) pic.twitter.com/a7mDaFBBeL
— NFL (@NFL) June 8, 2023
Final June, after the Chiefs’ second go to to the White Home, Reid praised one other dish: fried fish tots.
“I had an opportunity to fulfill all of the cooks,” Reid mentioned. “Every part was chew measurement, so it will get harmful.”
Reid doesn’t have a lot time to cook dinner, however, in accordance with a number of members of the group, he has perfected mac and cheese. In March 2018, Reid shared the cheeses he makes use of — fontina, mozzarella, parmesan, sharp cheddar, all grated, gouda and gruyere — with sportswriter Charles McDonald when the 2 met at an airport.
Final yr, Nick Jacobs, a sports activities producer in Kansas Metropolis, tried to get extra particulars on Reid’s mac and cheese recipe simply days earlier than Thanksgiving. Reid was coy.
“Yeah, you’d prefer it,” Reid informed Jacobs. “You and I might do some harm on that factor. So long as it tastes good, we eat it. That one tastes fairly good. I can’t give away the secrets and techniques, man.”
Rising up in Los Angeles, Reid’s favourite dining-out meal as a child was a cheeseburger from Authentic Tommy’s, a quick meals joint that has 34 areas, largely in California.
“I liked it — and chili cheese fries,” Reid mentioned.
Reid loves Authentic Tommy’s cheeseburgers a lot that he has them flown into Kansas Metropolis from Los Angeles.
His love for cheeseburgers has remained all through his teaching profession, utilizing them as a method to reward and encourage his gamers. When Reid was in Philadelphia, a number of Eagles gamers used to eat a cheeseburger within the locker room after a pivotal victory. He even recommended a cheeseburger be the prize for a enjoyable guess between him and a participant throughout a recreation.
Throughout his time with the Chiefs, Reid added a brand new occasion to his weekly routine: Friday night time date night time with Tammy, who can be a licensed foodie. Plenty of these dinners are — you guessed it — cheeseburgers from 5 Guys.
Lunchtime 🍔 pic.twitter.com/IQJpJ2GSlR
— Kansas Metropolis Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 25, 2020
He informed 96.5 the Fan make his good cheeseburger.
“I prefer it medium,” Reid mentioned in 2015. “It’s laborious. I imply, it’s a must to execute that factor the precise manner. You need to get it to the place it’s good and juicy while you minimize it open however not uncooked. Then a pleasant slice of fine, recent Vidalia onion on it. Some mayo and ketchup. Just a little squirt of mustard however not an excessive amount of. Pickles, lettuce and tomato and I’m able to roll.
“The bun turns into essential. To place all that collectively and make it good, there’s a while concerned. That’s the place it is available in. You apply, you get it proper, after which while you chew into it, child, it’s ecstasy proper there.”
The Chiefs gained their first championship in 50 years when the group rallied from a 10-point deficit in Tremendous Bowl LIV to beat the San Francisco 49ers. Considered one of Reid’s first on-field interviews after the victory was with NFL Community.
“I’m going to get the most important cheeseburger you’ve ever seen,” Reid mentioned, smiling and laughing. “It may be a double.”
On Christmas Eve in 2022, the Chiefs beat the Seattle Seahawks. After Reid’s brief postgame speech within the locker room, his gamers, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight finish Travis Kelce, stunned him with a wrapped reward. Reid smiled when he opened the field and noticed a freshly made double cheeseburger.
“Thanks,” Reid mentioned to his gamers. “Might you all get a present as nice as this: cheeseburgers in paradise, child.”
The very best reward for the very best coach ❤️ pic.twitter.com/2Nvw6Oz3BO
— Kansas Metropolis Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 24, 2022
The Chiefs’ success, turning into the NFL’s latest dynasty, has allowed Reid to point out his persona via nationwide commercials alongside Mahomes selling State Farm insurance coverage. When Reid and Mahomes filmed their commercials in Los Angeles in 2023, one in every of them needed to be them consuming cheeseburgers collectively.
“The funniest half was the producer wished me to attempt to speak and do my strains with my mouth stuffed with the cheeseburger,” Reid informed Complicated Sports activities this previous summer time. “Pat is sitting proper in entrance of me and I’m making an attempt to do that and there’s cheeseburgers flying in every single place at these guys. They couldn’t maintain a straight face. They had been dying laughing. Lastly, Pat goes, ‘Reduce it! We’re not doing this!’”
Reid’s most well-known line from the commercials with Mahomes is one he now hears on a regular basis from individuals — “Clarify it once more, with these nuggies.” The business ends with Reid making an attempt to steal Mahomes’ hen nuggets.
“He finishes his meals quick,” Mahomes informed NBC Sports activities in September. “I’m fast about consuming as effectively. He’ll seize from different individuals’s plate. The business is basically actual. That line within the business, he made up. He mentioned it as soon as and I keep in mind the director being like, ‘I like that, let’s hold operating with that.’”
The Chiefs’ final group assembly the night time earlier than a recreation all the time ends the identical manner — with Reid’s signature line: “Deal with you to a cheeseburger.”
A ramification of meals awaits the gamers, all the time together with cheeseburgers.
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Six years later, Dave Merritt can nonetheless keep in mind one in every of his favourite conversations with Reid.
Merritt, a former NFL linebacker, turned a profitable defensive backs coach below coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, serving to the New York Giants win two Tremendous Bowls. When Reid employed Spagnuolo on Jan. 29, 2019, because the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, Merritt was a number one candidate to hitch the teaching employees. However he additionally was contemplating becoming a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. When Merritt and Reid chatted, their conversion turned towards contract phrases.
“I mentioned, ‘Coach, I don’t care concerning the contract. Inform me concerning the meals right here,’” Merritt mentioned. “He began getting excited, going, ‘Oh, it’s essential to go to Q39! Now we have the very best barbecue!’”
As soon as Merritt agreed to hitch the Chiefs, one other deal was made: Reid promised Merritt to deal with him to his first meal at Q39, one in every of Kansas Metropolis’s hottest barbecue eating places. Merritt ate the dish Reid really useful: the meat burnt ends.
“I needed to report again to him,” Merritt mentioned. “I mentioned, ‘Coach, you had been proper.’ It was fairly doggone good.”
After the Chiefs gained their first championship, Reid took Tammy and different members of the family to Q39, which stunned the restaurant stuffed with Chiefs followers.
“I had a longing for burnt ends,” Reid mentioned. “I had onion straws with mac and cheese. Doggone it, I had a Weight loss program Coke to chase it.”
Merritt marvels at how Reid bonds along with his gamers over meals.
“It could be one thing that you just don’t like that possibly he’s eaten,” Merritt mentioned. “Andy eats every part. He can adapt to no matter it’s you want. He can join with all individuals.”
Reid had one quibble with Merritt’s assertion.
“I like every part besides liver,” Reid mentioned.
Three years in the past, the Chiefs wished to signal Justin Reid, who was an unrestricted free agent for the primary time in his profession. Justin agreed to a three-year deal after dinner with Reid, Veach and Spagnuolo at Inventory Hill, one in every of Kansas Metropolis’s greatest steakhouses.
All through the season, Spagnuolo brings massive aluminum pans into the Chiefs’ coaching facility on Fridays. Every pan holds 15 beneficiant parts of banana pudding made by Spagnuolo’s spouse, Maria. A few years in the past, Williams took his first chew of Maria’s banana pudding alongside Reid.
“Man, that took the cake, for positive,” Williams mentioned. “It was phenomenal, the feel, the crunch of the cookie. (Reid) was like, ‘Each time this is available in, we’re having it collectively.’”
Defensive sort out Tershawn Wharton and proper guard Trey Smith are referred to as the Chiefs linemen who can eat probably the most meals. Smith mentioned his greatest meals with Reid are within the group lodge on Saturday nights earlier than a recreation.
“That unfold we’ve got, it’s wings, brisket, burgers, scorching canines, pies and desserts,” Smith mentioned, smiling. “It’s ridiculous. Each week, with the ability to share that meal with him is basically the very best.
“He’s identical to me. I like meals, he loves meals and we’re each large guys. He will get it. Nobody desires to see a kale wrap the night time earlier than a nerve-racking recreation.”
(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Andrew Mather / Kansas Metropolis Chiefs by way of AP)