Andy Reid is Already One of the Greatest Coaches Ever and a Super Bowl Win Will Make it Undeniable

If you really think about it, Andy Reid is kind of like the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL. More specifically, he's like Dangerfield's character in Ladybugs, a wildly successful coach using a youthful ringer to dominate the competition.

Unlike Dangerfield, Reid is taking his second franchise to the Super Bowl and he's won more games than any active coach not named Bill Belichick. His teams are constantly and consistently good. His only downfall is that he's had some postseason disappointments.

Despite the fact that he's won his division 10 times and only missed the playoffs six times in 21 seasons, he always comes up short. This is a black mark on his record, but it's also understandable. Fifteen different coaches and 12 franchise have won a Super Bowl since Reid became a head coach. Every season, 31 teams and 31 coaches come up short.

Yet Reid just became the seventh coach to take a second team to a Super Bowl. He joins Don Shula, Dick Vermeil, Bill Parcells, Dan Reeves, Mike Holmgren and John Fox on that exclusive list.

Is it really more impressive to be Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers than Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles or Kansas City Chiefs? Gruden won a Super Bowl, but he also missed the playoffs in four of seven seasons with the Bucs. Reid missed the playoffs just five times in twice as many years in Philadelphia. He's missed the playoffs just once in seven seasons in Kansas City.

Winning the Super Bowl is a fluke, not a reasonable expectation.

If you want to bring up Bill Belichick, let's talk about his five losing seasons in his first six years as a head coach. In 21 seasons, Reid has had a losing record just three times. Reid has now taken both his franchises to the Super Bowl. Bill Belichick has taken just one. Obviously, Belichick has won many Super Bowls and has the third-most wins in NFL history, but how many other coaches can have their resumes earnestly compared to Belichick? He's an unfair standard.

Reid currently has the seventh-most wins in NFL coaching history. Two more seasons with Patrick Mahomes and he'll end his career in the top five. It's going to be tough for anyone to bump him out of that spot. Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton are probably the last coaches who will ever have a shot to catch Reid and they're both just a few years younger.

Win or lose, Reid is one of the most successful coaches the NFL has ever seen. It's just that with a win, more people will finally believe it.