Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, and the Chiefs’ comments on playing the Eagles in the Super Bowl

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In sports, oftentimes media members are forced to dig deep or even reach at straws in an attempt to pull out story lines around a particular game or event. Super Bowl LVII between the Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will not be one of those occasions.

A coach going up against his old team whom he coached for 14 years. Two brothers going head-to-head in the sport’s biggest game. The list goes on and on.

» READ MORE: Andy Reid, Kelce brothers will be more than good stories in an Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl

Almost two weeks before the ball is kicked off on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz., here’s what several members of the Chiefs organization had to say about playing in Super Bowl LVII and matching up with the Eagles:

The Eagles’ all-time leader in both regular-season and postseason wins, Reid amassed a 130-93-1 record (.583 winning percentage) from 1999 to 2012 in Philadelphia. During his tenure, he guided the Birds to the NFC championship game on five occasions and a Super Bowl appearance in 2004.

Reid was fired by Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie on the final day of 2012, but quickly landed the job in Kansas City, where he is now in his 10th year. Reid will be appearing in his third Super Bowl in four years.

“I had a great time there,” Reid said of Philadelphia following Sunday’s 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game. “So 14 years, a long time, huh? I’m happy for them. I’m happy for the city. They’re passionate; they love football. I can’t wait until Kansas City and Philly clash; it’s gonna be awesome. What a great, great Super Bowl.”

When asked about the Kelce brothers, Travis and Jason, facing off, Reid joked, “I’ve obviously invested a lot into those two, so I feel like I am part of the family.”

Travis and Jason Kelce will become the first pair of brothers to play against one another in a Super Bowl. Jim and John Harbaugh previously faced off in Super Bowl XLVII as head coaches.

“I haven’t talked to him yet but cool scenario to be in,” Travis said Sunday night. “My mom can’t lose; I’ll just leave it at that. It’s going to be an amazing feeling playing against him. I obviously respect everybody over there in the Eagles organization, and you won’t see me talking too much trash because of how much I respect and how much I love my brother. It’s definitely going to be an emotional game. That’s for sure.”

Playing with a high right ankle sprain suffered the previous week against Jacksonville, a hobbled Patrick Mahomes threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns in a gutsy AFC championship-winning performance. But while the record-breaking quarterback was happy to be victorious in the game and avenge last season’s AFC title loss to the Bengals, he was quick to point out the Chiefs have bigger goals.

“The job’s not finished for us,” Mahomes said Sunday. “I mean, we got a chance to go up against a great football team in the Philadelphia Eagles, and so we have to enjoy this for about an hour and then get right back to it, because I’ve been in the Super Bowl and winning it is a lot better than losing it.”

» READ MORE: Two Black QBs face off in the Super Bowl for the first time. It was inevitable. This is progress.

While a lot of the talk will surround Reid coming back to Philly and the Kelce brothers, the Super Bowl will also be a reunion for Chiefs general manager Brett Veach. The Mount Carmel native, who played football at the University of Delaware, got his start in the NFL as an intern with the Eagles from 2004-07. He later served as a coaches’ assistant to Reid for two seasons before transitioning to scouting.

Veach, 45, has been with the Chiefs in various capacities since 2013, and is largely credited with selling the organization on drafting Mahomes. He has been the team’s GM since 2017 and in that timeframe, he has led the Chiefs to three Super Bowl appearances, including a victory in Super Bowl LIV.

“They’re a really good team,” Veach said of the Eagles. “I mean from the start of the season they came out of the gate and were undefeated. They built that team with a talented quarterback, both their fronts are amazing, their offensive line is really talented, and their defensive line seems like they have 30 guys who can rush the passer. It’s going to be a really tough game and as coach [Reid] would say, we look forward to the challenge. So it would be a lot of fun to beat this particular team.”