Andy Reid Named Coach of the Year; Honors Tied to Retzlaff and BYU Cougars in a surprising yet heartwarming twist in the world of football, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been named Coach of the Year—but not for his legendary work in the NFL this time. Instead, the honor came from an unexpected source: a coalition of BYU alumni and fans, who credited Reid’s indirect influence on the rise of BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff and the Cougars’ dramatic 2024 season turnaround.The ceremony, held on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah, featured not only the traditional accolades and trophies, but also a life-size cardboard cutout of Reid, complete with his signature mustache and Hawaiian shirt. “We figured he’d appreciate the gesture,” said BYU Athletics Director Tom Holmoe. “Andy’s always been a Cougar at heart—even if he’s usually coaching guys with more money and fewer curfews.”The connection between Reid and Retzlaff may seem tenuous on the surface. Reid, an alum of BYU himself, hasn’t coached college ball since the early 1990s. But this year’s narrative spun differently. Retzlaff, the Cougars’ fiery, mullet-rocking gunslinger, reportedly spent the offseason binge-watching Reid’s press conferences, taking notes not just on his offensive philosophy, but his deadpan wit and love of cheeseburgers. The QB even showed up to fall camp wearing a Chiefs hat and quoting Reid’s infamous line: “I’m just trying to enjoy a cheeseburger and win some games.”“I learned more about play-calling from watching Reid mic’d up than I did in a year of game film,” Retzlaff said during the ceremony. “Also, I stopped eating salads. Coach Reid’s diet is clearly the key to success.”Under Retzlaff’s newfound leadership—and perhaps divine inspiration from Reid himself—BYU stormed through the second half of the 2024 season, finishing 9-4 and securing a bowl victory over an unsuspecting SEC team that had underestimated “the Mormon Mahomes.” The team’s creativity in offensive schemes, including the now-infamous “Triple Option Reverse Jet Screen Fake Kneel Flea Flicker,” had Reid’s fingerprints all over it—or at least the illusion of them.Reid, reached for comment while enjoying a double-stack burger somewhere in Kansas City, was characteristically humble. “Well, I didn’t technically coach Retzlaff,” Reid said with a chuckle. “But if watching me mumble into a headset helps kids win games, I’m all for it. Just don’t ask me to come back and recruit. I’ve got enough on my plate—literally.”The BYU community insists the honor was more than symbolic. “Reid embodies what we want our players to become,” said one teary-eyed fan, “a guy who wins, stays humble, and appreciates a good combo meal.”As for Retzlaff, he plans to keep channeling Reid as long as it keeps working. “Next season, we’re introducing the ‘Cheeseburger Formation,’” he said. “It’s basically a Wildcat with extra beef.”One thing’s for sure: Reid’s coaching tree just grew another weird, wonderful branch—and this time, it’s wearing blue and white.
