Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid’s name has become synonymous with post-bye week success since the bye week was implemented back in 1990.
In games following over 30 combined regular-season and postseason bye weeks, Reid has amassed an 87.1% winning percentage. Extra time to prepare has been more of a boon for his teams than any other teams in the league. While he’s claimed in the past that there is no rhyme or reason to their success after the bye week, Reid seems to have an idea of what it’s all about now.
“That’s the trick to it, is the balance, then how the players utilize their free time so – and coaches for that matter,” Reid told reporters last Monday. “We’ve got to make sure that we keep on top of the scheme stuff too. We’ll see how all that works out, but yeah, I’ll tell you that’s the trick to it is to keep the balance to where the players stay sharp, and coaches still can add a couple of things into the guys into their mix and go from there.”
Balancing rest, study and staying active is important for the players, but a lot of this falls on how the coaching staff utilizes its time too. During the regular season, they typically do a self-scout, evaluating and addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the team. During the postseason, the bye week is spent getting a head-start on possible divisional-round opponents and game-planning.
“Yeah, I think he has a great balance of the amount of time he gives guys off and the amount he gets guys in there to get them moving and prepare for the next week,” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said of Reid’s bye week strategy. “And then obviously, the coaches did a great job of game planning. I’m sure this week they’ll game plan like three or four different teams and try to get a good game plan to the guys early in the week so they can execute it at a high level. And then he goes out there and we do what we usually do so he just has a great feel for the amount of time he gives guys off and the amount of time he has them in the building.”
When players aren’t in the building, Reid gives them a rough idea of the things they can do to best take advantage of the bye week and the opportunity that lies ahead.
“I think the guys understand all that,” Reid said. “We had a meeting this morning – a team meeting this morning and we covered what we’re going to try to do (and) attempt going forward here with practices and meetings and all that. They’re well aware of it, and they understand the magnitude of where they sit right now and the opportunity that they have. It’s not a lot of teams playing right now, so it’s a great opportunity and you want to take full advantage of that, the best you can.”
Ultimately, it’s up to the players to take that message seriously and make the most out of it. At this point of the year, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a player that is not fully bought in.
