Before Andy Reid was a coach, he wanted to be a sportswriter. His columns were ... unorthodox

There was once a time in Andy Reid’s life that he had dreams much more humble than leading his team to a Super Bowl. About 40 years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs’ head coach was a backup offensive tackle for the BYU Cougars, without much hope of a career as professional player.

Reid’s goal instead was to be a sportswriter.

“There’s a point in college where you’re not exactly sure what direction you’re going, but I always thought it would be fun to write for Sports Illustrated,” Reid told the Kansas City Star in 2017.

So Reid became a columnist at the Provo Daily Herald, a daily newspaper servicing the metropolitan area around BYU. Alas, that career path never came to fruition. In 1982, Reid was hired as a BYU graduate assistant and he was the San Francisco State offensive line coach one year later. He bounced around the college ranks for another decade before joining the Green Bay Packers as an offensive assistant in 1992.

The rest is history. After 14 seasons as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and seven more with the Chiefs, Reid is seventh in NFL history in wins. He now has a chance to win his first Super Bowl too.

From a salary standpoint alone, Reid’s decision to pursue coaching instead of journalism has paid off. He told The Star he still has all his Daily Herald columns, but didn’t want to share them because “it would be a bad, ugly deal.”

Unfortunately for Reid, the internet has made those articles accessible. Here’s a sampling:

The column — like most of Reid’s work — waxes poetically about his BYU teammates. In this case, it’s Mike “Mad Dog” Morgan, a defensive tackle for the Cougars, along with the rest of the defensive line. And it is ... colorful.

“Morgan has no fears. His crew tells of stories that Morgan was found wrestling sharks in the South Pacific. Only child’s play for the Mad Dog. Morgan does not support a dorsal fin but all other characteristics are definitely shark-related.”

Here’s another from Reid that heaps effusive praise on BYU quarterback Jim McMahon, even comparing the future Bears quarterback to Abraham Lincoln.

The column (by ANDY REID “The Man”) is a defense of McMahon, who was evidently written about in a poor light by a Wisconsin reporter. According to Reid, McMahon was painted as a “traitor, egotist, anti-religionist” player.

“Jim McMahon is not a traitor. Traitors do not sacrifice their bodies on a Saturday afternoons. Traitors do not take badmouthing from their fans. Traitors leave at the first opportunity or devise schemes to sabotage their counterparts. This is not part of Jim McMahon and never will be. Jim McMahon is not a traitor!”

But wait, there’s more.

Look at that pull quote!

“If General Patton would have taken lessons from Sir James, he might be alive today. Sir James is a leader beyond the level of any leader witnessed in recent history.”

That’s an offensive lineman who will go to bat for his quarterback.

Reid aptly described his writing to The Star as “mostly verbal caricatures of the players and coaches. I’d just make stuff up and go with it — a real writer.”

If Reid pursued the career, he would’ve presumably reached the point when he couldn’t just write about BYU football. He never had to make that transition and found his true calling in coaching.