KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs went 0-3 Saturday night when it comes to NFL awards. Not only was former offensive lineman Will Shields not selected for the Hall of Fame, but Andy Reid failed to win coach of the year, and Jamaal Charles is not the offensive player of the year.
I've made my thoughts clear on Shields. Perhaps his time will come next year.
As spectacular as Charles was this season, it's difficult to argue that he deserved offensive player of the year more than Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, so that one isn't a surprise. By the way, Charles finished third in the voting. Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy was second.
That leaves Reid, who finished second to Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers. This season had a few strong candidates: Reid, Rivera, Mike McCoy of the San Diego Chargers, Chip Kelly of the Philadelphia Eagles and Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots.
Reid and Rivera were the strongest of candidates. I get the arguments for Rivera. He is a worthy choice. Tough call, but I went for Reid, and here's why:
No doubt there was more to like about Carolina's body of work this season. The Panthers won their division. Kansas City was 10-0 against non-playoff teams and 1-5 against teams that made the postseason. But I still believe the Chiefs traveled a longer distance. Reid did more than help the Chiefs win games. He helped change what had been the miserable, rotten culture that permeated the entire organization. When he walked in the door, the Chiefs were infested with people who pulled in different directions and were out for themselves. He got everybody to believe in the greater good. He was able to get a lot of players to put aside personal goals for those of the team.
So Reid and Shields were the real losers in the group.