Chiefs' Travis Kelce shares how he's grown under Andy Reid

In February 2024, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce credited head coach Andy Reid for seeing "greatness" before the Chiefs made Kelce a third-round pick during the 2013 NFL Draft. 

Ahead of Kansas City's Super Bowl LIX game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelce shared how he has evolved under Reid, comparing it to where the future Hall of Famer was a few seasons into his career.

"It’s night-and-day different," Kelce explained, The Athletic's Michael Silver shared. "I was a lot more focused on individual success and, you know, what comes with having the individual success is being able to be comfortable in who I am, and confident in who I am. And I think with that individual success, I’ve started to really understand what’s real — and what’s real is this game’s only fun if you win football games with the people around you. And once I figured that out, it really just took off for me, and I’ve loved playing in the league ever since, man." 

Red flags hovered over Kelce's draft status after he was suspended for his redshirt sophomore season at the University of Cincinnati due to a failed drug test. Reid nevertheless took a flier on Kelce, and the 35-year-old revealed in February 2024 how he heard from his coach as a rookie that he needed to "grow up" and "be a professional." 

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Kelce expanded on his working relationship with Reid. 

"I think the first year to two years I was with coach Reid, I was like, 'Man this guy’s not messing around.' There wasn’t too much of the personality that I see now," Kelce said, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "Now he’s like a father figure to me, like one of my uncles growing up that I respect so much because of who he is. I owe everything to that man in my career, where it’s gone — where I was [in college] at Cincinnati and where I am now, I have nothing but respect for coach Reid and how he’s helped me get to where I am in my life."

Kelce and Reid helped the Chiefs win three Super Bowls from February 2020 through winter 2024. This Sunday, they, along with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and others, could make Kansas City the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. 

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Chiefs as 1.5-point favorites over the Eagles for Super Bowl LIX. That same outlet had Kelce fourth among the betting favorites at +1500 odds to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. 

Regardless of the game's outcome, Kelce and Reid will return for at least one more season.