Super Bowl 2024: Travis Kelce insists Andy Reid ‘has got a lot of years left’ amid retirement rumors as the tight end praises the Chiefs head coach for ‘helping me grow both professionally and off the field’

Travis Kelce claimed he would be surprised if Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called time on his career after Super Bowl LVIII.

Reid’s Chiefs will make their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years on Sunday when they take on the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.

Ahead of the NFL season finale, many have speculated that this weekend’s game could be the 65-year-old’s final game.

But his star player, Kelce, debunked the rumors this week, claiming the coach still had a lot left in the tank.

“I think he’s got a lot of years left, yeah,” Kelce told reporters in Las Vegas via the newspaper New York Post.

Reid has led the Chiefs to four Super Bowl appearances in five years as head coach

“I would be surprised as much as anyone else,” he added when asked if Reid’s retirement would come as a shock.

Reid himself has repeatedly dismissed any suggestions that he might walk away in the near future.

When the topic of retirement came up with Reid on Tuesday, he alluded to some advice his parents gave him at a young age.

“My mom and dad told me this when they were at work,” Reid replied. “They said, ‘You’ll know when it’s time,’ and I’m ready to go now. Let’s go.

‘That’s what they told me when I was young. I was a curious child and that’s how I look at it. Somehow you will know when it is time. Today is not the day.’

Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt also claimed there is no indication the coach is preparing to retire after the Super Bowl.

“I have no idea what he’s thinking,” Hunt said. “I know he is very involved and enjoys it, and I have no idea he will retire in the near future. But I don’t know how long it will take. I certainly hope it will last a long time, but we’ll just have to wait and see.’

But NBC’s Mike Florio said Thursday night on the Zach Gelby show that the Chiefs have Reid’s potential departure “on their radar.”

The 65-year-old himself shut down rumors about his retirement during a press conference this week

The Chiefs are coming off wins against the Dolphins, Bills and Ravens in the postseason

He added that uncertainty about Reid’s future could create a logjam in the NFL coaching market because if the Chiefs job were to become available, every candidate linked to a current vacancy would want it.

Kelce also praised Reid for his role in nurturing his two-time Super Bowl-winning career, recalling instances where the coach laid down the law during the tight end’s wild rookie years.

“More than once,” Kelce said. ‘That’s why I love him. He has helped me grow as a man, as an individual, both professionally and off the field. It’s just been fun growing in this offense and in this organization with him being here from the beginning.

“He took me to his office and let me know that the sense of urgency to play was now there. ‘I need you right now. I want you to be a professional. I want you to grow up and become the man we think you can be.”

“That set the tone of, OK, he sees greatness. When he sees that, I would be foolish not to exceed those expectations, or at least meet the expectations he has.”

Kelce also praised Reid for his role in nurturing his two-time Super Bowl-winning career

Reid has once again managed to lead the Chiefs to the Super Bowl despite losing Tyreek Hill two seasons ago and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy last year, with Kansas City suffering from offensive issues at times this season.

But Kelce revealed that Reid thrives on a challenge and uses it as motivation for his players.

“His motivation is to put a challenge on the table and say, ‘This is what we need to do, this is what I need from you, and how are you going to solve this?’ And I challenge you to do that. Kelce said.

“He ain’t changing it, man,” he added. ‘He knows one way, and that is to be himself. That’s why we love him, man. And that goes along with being that leader. He never falls away from being himself, he will always truly be who he is.”