There was something wrong with this picture.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid, one of the greatest coaches to ever do so, was making just $12.5 million a year. Roughly half of what Bill Belichick is believed to have been making in New England.
He needed to change. He has finally changed. Although it shouldn't have taken long for the bosses to take care of a response, better late than never.
All along, the Chiefs were already preparing for the possibility of Reed retiring after the 2023 season. The fact that he didn't change doesn't change the fact that the Chiefs were preparing for that possibility. (Although many Chiefs fans believe that by not retiring, Reid never thought about it and the Chiefs never anticipated that possibility.)
This is where I'll lift the veil a little on how to stuff sausages. If/when I engrave the wrong tree on something, I'll inevitably hear about it – from someone on the team, someone connected to the person (if not the person themselves), or an intermediary who was assigned the task from my position respectively. Not once did I hear a peep from the Chiefs, Reid, or anyone associated with them that the Chiefs were not or should not be preparing for the possibility of Reid's retirement.
Publicly, everyone said what they had to say. In private, the Chiefs were already preparing for the possibility of Reid's retirement.
Without a big raise, he probably would have gotten it. Perhaps he (or his agent) suggested retirement as an option without a new deal. Maybe that could have been an option. Why keep doing the job for 50 percent of what Belichick was getting?
There is no maximum salary for coaches. Reid could, in theory, draft Sean Payton, take a year off and then set his price to, say, the Bills.
The move reportedly helped Payton earn $20 million annually. Whatever happened behind the scenes, Reed got what he deserved. If, along the way, he has to make the Chiefs consider their options for life without Reid in order to make that happen, so be it.
Because it worked.