Why Super Bowl Champion Kupp Compares Macdonald to Chiefs’ Reid

And Travis Kelce wonders what it's like playing for a young head coach.

Aug 15, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald stands on the sideline during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Travis Kelce has had one head coach over his entire NFL career.

Three months after Clark Hunt landed Andy Reid in 2013, Kansas City selected Kelce 63rd overall in the third round of the draft. Since that day, they’ve won more games together (167) than any coach-player combination in the NFL. The league’s oldest active head coach, Reid turns 68 next month.

May 28, 2024; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) talks with head coach Sean McVay during OTAs at the team training facility at California Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Three months after the Rams hired 30-year-old Sean McVay as head coach in 2017, they drafted wide receiver Cooper Kupp 69th overall in the third round. And after Kupp just won another Super Bowl with 38-year-old Mike Macdonald, Kelce of course was curious on Wednesday’s edition of New Heights.

“I feel like you've only had coaches under the age of 40,” Kelce told Kupp, “which is insane. “What is the everyday like? Because I've literally only been in a building where it feels like my football dad, or like my uncle is looking at me like, ‘You need to pick this sh-- up,’ and it's like, there's an authority figure that has the wisdom through guys like Brett Favre, the legends that we grew up with.

“Like, I only have that understanding through that. What is it like playing for a guy that's young, high-energy -- not to say that Andy's not…”

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (10) catches a pass against New England Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones (25) in the first half in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kupp, who earned his second Super Bowl ring on Sunday, said he’s only known young coaches. From his college days at Eastern Washington – where three weeks after his high-school career ended, 40-year-old Beau Baldwin gave Kupp his first college scholarship offer– through McVay and Macdonald, Kupp said lack of wisdom has never been an issue.

But there was one item he said that impressed him about Macdonald, something Andy Reid also shows regularly (even though he’s now the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach).

Sep 17, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid tight end Travis Kelce (87)and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson talk before a game at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Humility and accountability

“What I've appreciated from Mike,” the wide receiver said, “there's been a humility that I think is really special. And I think the accountability is a big part of that, being able to admit that you don't know everything, and that's a huge part of being a leader. That’s undervalued. And if you think you know it all, it's tough to collaborate. And collaboration is where football lives.”

Where the Chiefs live is a bit uncertain. Coaches have said multiple times they have a spirit of collaboration with both themselves and with players like Patrick Mahomes. But how much Reid’s experience and Super Bowl success stands in the way of his staff and players challenging him is unknown.

Jan 7, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looks on in front of center Jason Kelce (62) during the second half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Transparency and hunger

Kelce’s brother, Jason, played for Reid in Philadelphia over his first two NFL seasons (2011-12), then played for Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson and Nick Sirianni. The former center said younger coaches have an advantage with today’s players because coaches are trying to grow with their players, and they know how to earn player trust.

“Don't get wrong, Andy Reid’s a one of one,” Jason Kelce said his brother, “but I find a lot of the times these young coaches that are hungry, and really trying to make it, do have this growth mindset, just inherently. They want knowledge, they're trying to grow as much as possible and they don't think they have everything figured out. And that's definitely one of their advantages.

Feb 9, 2026; San Francisco, CA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike MacDonald poses with the Vince Lombardi trophy during the Super Bowl LX winning head coach and most valuable player press conference at Moscone Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“As a player on the team, if I feel like you genuinely want me to be a better football player, not for any ulterior motive of career furtherment or whatever other bullcrap gets in the way, I can tell that you just want me to be the best version of myself, I will follow that guy.”

Whether the Chiefs will follow Andy Reid will never be a question – at least until they start stringing together losing seasons. His resume and accomplishments earn Reid instant buy-in. The real question, though, is whether he’s committed to changing certain offensive philosophies that have clearly run their course, or set in his ways.

Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shakes hands with Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Encouraging signs

One encouraging trend was Reid’s aggressiveness in keeping his offense on the field. The Chiefs finished 21 of 25 (.840) on fourth-and-short conversions in 2025, second in the league behind AFC champion New England (16 of 19, .842).

But signs were everywhere over the second-half of the 2025 season that defenses had solved the Chiefs’ concepts, that Kansas City was too predictable. Defensive coordinators and head coaches like DeMeco Ryans in Week 14 seemed to be reading Reid like a book.

Dec 7, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (4) intercepts a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Hollywood Brown (5) during the fourth quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Three of the most important Chiefs’ offensive coaches are now gone, another encouraging sign that Reid was willing to change. Matt Nagy’s contract expired and he joined John Harbaugh as Giants offensive coordinator. Reid fired wide-receivers coach Connor Embree and running-backs coach Todd Pinkston.

How different the offense looks remains to be seen.

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