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Alex Smith reflects on first meeting with Chiefs HC Andy Reid
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- Alex Smith reflects on first meeting with Chiefs HC Andy Reid
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke with ESPN NFL analyst and former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith .
In his interview with Easton Jr., Smith discusses his partnership with global health leader Abbott and Real Madrid's "Abbott Dream Team" campaign. He also reflects on the first meeting with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid after being traded to Kansas City in 2013.
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"Always love being back here (in Kansas City for Abbott Dream Team)," said Smith, "It's such a special place and community for my family and me, and so any chance I have to come back here and take part in it, it's a no-brainer."
Before the 2013 season, Kansas City hired Reid as head coach and, shortly after, traded for Smith as the new starting quarterback, ushering in a new era in Chiefs football. A signature moment Smith remembers very well today.
"I remember it very well, and the first words he said to me were, 'Can you run 22-ZN', which is a staple West Coast offense. I was such a fan from afar; it seemed like my first seven years in the league. I played Philadelphia every year and seemed to end up on the wrong side of it because they were so good. I was such a fan of what they did offensively," said Smith, "So when the opportunity came when he came here to Kansas City, and then traded for me, I was so excited, given everything that I had been through in San Francisco , and the opportunity to come here and play for him, so I jumped at it, absolutely jumped at it."
Going into the 2026 season, Reid is the league's longest-tenured head coach, having already won three Super Bowl titles and appeared in five Super Bowls while with the Chiefs.
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"It's funny looking back, like the narrative at that point, for Andy, certainly everybody I think respected what a good coach he was, but it was like this coach couldn't win the big one, and so amazing to have seen him, absolutely, erase that narrative," said Smith, "I think there are very few late-in-life learners in this world, and Andy's one of them. There's a guy who continues to grow, evolve, and learn, as we would come into this time of year. I know the Chiefs are in OTAs right now, and the stuff we would be running, and be like, Where did he get this? and it was every year we didn't just run the old staples, which is so prevalent across the league, and it was always trying to learn, incorporate new things. What's going on across the league? What's going on at the collegiate level? How can we get better? That's contagious."
The Abbott Dream Team seeks talented young soccer players aged 18-19 from across the United States, offering them a life-changing opportunity to travel to Madrid to showcase their skills, learn from Real Madrid's coaches, meet club legends, attend a Real Madrid match, and more.
