Bill Belichick or Andy Reid? Julian Edelman and LeSean McCoy debate who’s a better coach
"Every great coach has a quarterback linked to them."
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Julian Edelman hosted LeSean McCoy on his podcast, “Games with Names,” where the two debated who’s the better coach between Bill Belichick and Andy Reid.
The discussion began when one of the crew members asked McCoy what he says in reponse to difference in the number of Super Bowl rings between the coaches.
“Tom Brady,” answered McCoy.
“But Mahomes, though,” said the crew member.
McCoy opened his argument with how Patrick Mahomes has been starting for the Kansas City Chiefs for the past seven years. Since his start, the team has gone to the AFC Championship every year, as well as appeared in four Super Bowls, winning one in 2019 and two consecutively in 2023 and 2024.
Reid has coached the Chiefs since 2013, meaning he drafted and has been coaching Mahomes throughout the franchise’s success.
The former running back attributed Belichick’s achievements to the successful defense that New England already had.
“[Patriots] had all these Hall of Fame defensive players,” said McCoy. “My first year was ‘09 [and] I remember playing [a] dude named Richard Seymour. He played for the [Las Vegas] Raiders. And they [were] like, ‘He’s really good, but you should’ve seen him when he was younger.’ I was like, ‘younger?’ He was a beast.”
“[Belichick] drafted him,” said Edelman, siding with his former coach over Reid.
McCoy did acknowledge Belichick’s strengths, but it was followed by his dismissal of Belichick’s coaching skills on defense.
“Now he is crafty with the way he schemes, I’ll give him that. I’ll give him credit for that because I’ve played against him,” McCoy said. “But you can’t give him credit for all [those] defensive players.”
Edelman noted the connection between many great coaches and quarterbacks with “generational talent.”
“Every great coach has a quarterback linked to them. Andy Reid ain’t linked to anything before this Kansas City team.”
“You can’t say that,” said McCoy.
“Yeah, you can,” replied the former wide reciever.
“One of the most offensive minds in football?”
“Yeah, but he never won Super Bowls,” said Edelman, referring to Reid’s time as head coach at the Philadelphia Eagles and assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers.
“That’s hard to do,” said McCoy.
Edelman agreed to this statement.
“And if you don’t have Tom Brady, you’re not winning many that quick[ly],” said McCoy.
“Probably not,” replied Edelman.
“Give him a guy like Mahomes, you see how that sh*t [is] going.”
“Yeah, a generational talent,” Edelman said, bringing the conversation back to his original statement.
The conversation segued into the current placings of the teams and where they could potentially be if roles were different.
“If Andy had the Patriots, they would win games. They [wouldn’t] be like the bums of the division,” said McCoy, referring to the 4-13 record for New England that landed it in last place in the AFC East.
“They wouldn’t have the defense, though,” Edelman rebutted. “Our team played complimentary football.”
The conversation took a turn in previous draft selections from the coaches. McCoy took note of Reid’s offensive picks.
“Andy drafts very well,” said McCoy. “Drafted McNabb, drafted myself, DeSean Jackson, Travis Kelce, Jason Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Jeremy Maclin. I could do this forever.”
“He drafts good offensive guys,” Edelman agreed but then went back to his point. “It’s the same way Bill goes on defense.”
McCoy talked about his experience facing Belichick and the Patriots when he was playing for the Bufalo Bills.
“We’ve never feared the Patriots defense.”
To this, Edelman asked, “How many times did you guys beat us when you were in Buffalo?”
“We never beat you guys,” answered McCoy. He quickly followed with, “Ain’t because it’s a great defense. It’s because this big dude, 6’5″, with these big boots and a quarterback,” referencing Tom Brady.
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