Do the Chiefs Have the NFL's Best Coach-QB Duo? Where Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid Rank

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are the most accomplished quarterback/head coach duo in the NFL, but are they still the best in the league?

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) talks with head coach Andy Reid with tight end Travis Kelce (87) before an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jacksonville Jaguars edged the Kansas City Chiefs 31-28. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs are led by two of the most accomplished people in the NFL at the league's two most important positions. Head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are both future Pro Football Hall of Famers, and they've achieved remarkable success since Mahomes took KC's starting quarterback position in 2018.

However, after last year's disappointing season, does Kansas City still boast the league's best head coach/quarterback duo in 2026?

That question was answered by Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame in a recent piece, taking a closer look at the league's best and worst duos.

For the exercise, Verderame ranked all 32 head coaches and 32 starting quarterbacks before combining those rankings for the duo's total score. For example, Kyle Shanahan was head coach No. 3, while Brock Purdy was quarterback No. 16. That gave the San Francisco 49ers 19 "points," good for the sixth-best duo in the league.

So, where do the Chiefs rank?

Verderame noted that this year's top spot wasn't the absolute slam dunk it has been in the recent past, but Mahomes and Reid still earned the No. 1 spot, with Mahomes as QB1 and Reid as head coach No. 2, behind only Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.

"For the first time in years, there’s a case to be made that the Chiefs don’t belong here," Verderame wrote. "Kansas City went 6–11 in 2025 after three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and Mahomes is now coming off a torn ACL and LCL. While he was on the field for the first day of OTAs, it remains unclear when he’ll be 100%.

"Regardless, Mahomes is the standard-bearer of his generation. He’s a two-time MVP, a three-time Super Bowl champion and has reached five Super Bowls and seven AFC title games. While the Chiefs struggled to a 6–8 mark with Mahomes under center, he still threw for 3,587 yards and 22 touchdowns in 14 games while ranking sixth in EPA (+65.2) despite missing almost a month. In short, Mahomes remains elite.

"The bigger question is Reid, who, despite being a future Hall of Fame coach, struggled to find the right formula last year. The result was the re-hiring of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to replace Matt Nagy, along with changes to the running backs and receivers coaches. Reid, 68, needs to refresh his scheme, creating easy yardage through clever design and going under center more in the run game. Can he do it?"

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