Kansas City Chiefs Great Jamaal Charles: ‘Andy Reid Can Turn An Average Player Into a Great Player’

Head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons September 22, 2024 in Atlanta (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is widely regarded as the best head coach in the NFL, and it's hard to argue against that notion. The 66-year-old is a three-time Super Bowl champion and has been a consistent winner since he landed his first head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999.

Jamaal Charles — who was one of the NFL's top running backs during the early half of the 2010s — played for Reid from 2013 until 2016 during Reid's first four seasons in Kansas City. The four-time Pro Bowl and three-time All-Pro running back witnessed firsthand what Reid brings to the table as a head coach.  

Despite the fact that Kansas City finished with an NFL-worst 2-14 record during the 2012 season, Reid immediately made the Chiefs into playoff contenders. The Chiefs finished with an 11-5 record during the 2013 season and clinched a playoff berth.

Charles — who also played for Herm Edwards, Todd Haley, and Romeo Crennel during his NFL career — explains what separates Reid from other head coaches.  

"He just has a different mindset compared to other coaches I played with in the past," says Charles in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of his partnership with Tide. "He's just a brilliant play caller, but also has a brilliant understanding of putting people in the right places to make plays, to set you up for greatness, and to bring the best out of you."

The 37-year-old experienced the best season of his pro career in 2013 during Reid's first year in Kansas City. Not only did Charles clinch a First-team All-Pro selection and Pro Bowl berth during that season, he posted career highs with 12 rushing touchdowns and 70 receptions for 763 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. Charles never posted more than seven rushing touchdowns or 45 receptions in a single season prior to playing for Reid.

Charles compares Reid's ability to call offensive plays like an "architect" at work.

"I think that's what it is — I think he has a talent for this," says Charles. "Most people think they have talent, but you can see people that have talent and things they do. He's one of the people that has the talent to play call and also create plays. He creates all these plays — people don't understand — he just thinks of things. He's an architect. Just think about someone drawing. Most people can't do that type of stuff, drawing and art. Coach Reid has that vision to see stuff before it even happens."

An example of Reid's greatness as a coach can be seen during one of his early years in Kansas City prior to the arrival of Patrick Mahomes. Charles suffered a torn ACL early during the 2015 season — he was limited to just five games — and the Chiefs still managed to finish with an 11-5 record. During the 2016 season, Charles was limited to three games due to lingering issues from his ACL injury, and Kansas City finished with a 12-4 record and in first place in the AFC West.

While the Chiefs' injuries are piling up this season on the offensive side of the ball — Rashee Rice, Isiah Pacheco and Marquise Brown could all be out for the season — Charles doesn't believe that will have any effect on the success of the team with Reid leading the sidelines. The Chiefs are one of two remaining undefeated teams — the Minnesota Vikings are the other — in the NFL at 5-0 entering Week 6.

"I don't feel like the injuries will, because I experienced that myself when I tore my ACL when he was here and the team still made it to the playoffs," Charles said when asked if the injuries will catch up to the Chiefs. "We were still able to win games without some of our key players. People don't see the stuff that I see because they've never been in it. But I've been in it and I just think that he's a great coach. He can win with anybody."

It's hard to argue Charles' point considering the Chiefs won the Super Bowl during the 2022 season shortly following the departure of superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who was recently voted the No. 1 player in the NFL. They did it again during the 2023 season despite not featuring a single receiver with 1,000 receiving yards.

In other words, the Chiefs have won back-to-back Super Bowls without a star wide receiver — they've done it behind Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce.

"That's why a lot of people want to play for Coach Reid," says Charles. "Because you can be a nobody and all of a sudden you can be somebody and now everybody knows about you. And if you're really good — if you're just an average player — he can turn you into a great player."

One key reason why the Chiefs may not experience much of a dropoff at receiver this time around is the presence of rookie Xavier Worthy. The fellow Texas Longhorns product — Charles won a National Championship in 2005 at Texas — was the team's first-round draft pick this year and broke the NFL Combine record for the 40-yard dash at 4.21 seconds.  

Worthy — along with veteran Juju Smith-Schuster — are Mahomes' top receivers due to the rash of injuries. He's off to a solid start to his NFL career, posting 12 catches for 179 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including a 54-yard grab in a recent win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Charles actually reveals he has a friendship with his fellow Longhorns alum Worthy and explains why the 21-year-old speedster is destined to have a "great" career in the NFL.

"I've known Xavier since he was a freshman in college," says Charles. "I always ran into him, always motivating him, always talking to him. He's a great kid, he's a very mature kid. I feel like when you start getting paid in college and NIL, you have to be mature because there's a lot of people coming at you at an early age. I think he's a good kid and if he can keep his head straight and keep playing the way he's playing on and off the field, I think he's going to set himself up for a great career."