Why Chiefs' Andy Reid thanked Raiders' Antonio Pierce for Super Bowl run

Shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs earned a 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII held at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid revealed he thanked Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce via text message last week. 

"I just said, 'Hey, beautiful facility, first of all,'" Reid explained about that interaction during a post-game conversation with NBC Sports' Peter King.

As noted by Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, multiple Chiefs players admitted they were "blown away" by what they found at the Raiders' facility as Kansas City used its division-rival's workspace to prepare for the matchup versus San Francisco. The 49ers, meanwhile, didn't hide the fact they were "furious" over the conditions of the field at UNLV’s facility, where San Francisco held pre-Super Bowl practices. 

Following Kansas City's 17-10 AFC Championship victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 28, Reid called his club's 20-14 Christmas Day home loss to the Raiders "a good wake-up call for us." Reid referenced that defeat in his text to Pierce. 

"And I appreciate you kicking our tail because you taught us a lesson," Reid continued during his chat with King. "You get complacent in this business, the margin between winning and losing is tiny. You better step up. There’s a time and a place for these players that have been here before. You know what it takes. If you’re the veteran that’s dropping the ball or you’re the veteran getting the penalties, you better figure it out. Figure it out quick. This season’s gonna go down." 

The Chiefs fell to 9-6 for the season on Christmas and seemed no match for an advertised championship contender such as Baltimore while floundering in front of a national television audience. Kansas City then didn't lose another game en route to winning the Super Bowl for the third time since February 2020. 

As for Pierce, he went 5-4 as an interim coach this season before he was officially promoted to the full-time role. 

He shared last week he wants "to be holding that Lombardi Trophy with one hand and a cigar in the other," and the fact that Reid hoisted the trophy at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday night should give Pierce some bulletin board material as he prepares to gather players for springtime workouts.