KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the Philadelphia Eagles played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX, a 46-year-old Andy Reid assumed it was the first of many.
He may still be correct, but next week represents only the second Super Bowl appearance in Reid’s 21-year career as an NFL head coach, including 14 seasons with the Eagles from 1999-2012 and the last seven with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reid only took Philadelphia to one Super Bowl, a 24-21 loss on Feb. 6, 2005, despite reaching the NFC Championship Game four other times.
Reid also led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game last season before breaking through last week to earn a second trip to the Super Bowl.
“Now that you’re a little older ... you respect it and appreciate probably even a little more than I did back then,” Reid said.
Part of that is because, ahead of Super Bowl XXXIX, Reid hoped he was “going to get to a million of them.”
Instead, he’s gone a decade-and-a-half between appearances.
But Reid, now 61, said he can lean on that experience in preparing the Chiefs for Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2 against the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
“I wouldn’t say anything out of the normal other than you’ve been there,” Reid said. “You’ve been through it, so you know what to expect.”
Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson is the only player who was expected to not practice Wednesday. Reid said he is ill.
The Chiefs will be subject to curfews next week in Miami, “just so we can keep track of them,” Reid said. “But it’s not because we don’t trust them.”
“There are a lot of events and a lot of media responsibilities, so we’ve just got to stay on top of that,” Reid said.
