What did Andy Reid mean by ‘last true team’ reference?

In a recent appearance on the Herd with Colin Cowherd, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid revealed that the Chiefs are “one of the last true teams.”

A few weeks ago, Colin Cowherd had Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on his show and asked Big Red a variety of questions. The biggest part of the discussion was Andy praising former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith for his relationship with Patrick Mahomes.

At the beginning of the clip below, Andy actually starts out discussing the limitations of living in a salary cap era, where teams don’t get to keep all the players they want. This was particularly true with the Chiefs having to trade Tyreek Hill earlier this offseason, which Reid notes.

At the end of that conversation, Reid gives a rather cryptic and mysterious line: “This is one of the last true teams for us that we have going.” You can see the quote clearly displayed below Colin Cowherd in the clip below.

But what is strange about this quote is that Reid didn’t bother to explain what he meant, and Colin didn’t follow up on it either. What exactly did Coach Reid mean by “this is one of the last true teams we have going”?

When I first heard it, I immediately wondered if Reid was giving a subtle hint about any future plans to retire. He hasn’t given much evidence that he wants to walk away anytime soon, but it’s natural to start asking those questions for a coach who is 64 years old—a man with only two NFL peers older than him.

If Ried is planning on retiring in the next few seasons, it would make sense that this Chiefs roster that Brett Veach is building could be “one of the last true teams we have going.” It would also explain why the team has undergone something of a rebuild this offseason after losing several stars and restocking with a whopping 10 draft picks—along with a potential dozen more next year. Reid could be wanting to build one last “superpower” to win a few more Super Bowls before riding off into the sunset.

If Reid isn’t hinting at retirement with this comment, he could simply be referring to general trend league-wide, which has seen an incredible amount of turnover (and lack of “team-building”) over the last two seasons, especially in the AFC. Few teams in the conference (and the league) have the sort of tenure at quarterback and head coach that the Chiefs enjoy. In that sense, they really are “one of the last true teams we have going.”

It’s cryptic and maybe it means nothing. But it’s an interesting quote that at least makes you wonder. What do you think Coach Reid meant by this comment?