Super Bowl LIV is set as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers advanced to the big game following their wins on Sunday. We now have two weeks to dissect the matchup and revel in the storylines.
The one narrative discussed even before the Chiefs matchup with the Titans, and now in the intense spotlight, is how head coach Andy Reid has never won a Super Bowl.
Reid, one of the most respected and well-liked coaches in the NFL, has been a head coach since 1999 splitting his career with the Eagles and the Chiefs.
To put that into perspective, Bill Belichick took over the New England Patriots in 2000 and Sean Payton became the head man in 2006 for New Orleans. Payton won Super Bowl XLIV and Belichick has won six times.
Andy Reid has had an amazingly successful coaching career and his teams are almost always competitive. Since 2006, he’s only had one losing season.
However, he’s 2-5 in conference championship games and Sunday’s win is putting him back in the Super Bowl for the second time after a 15 year absence. (His first time was when the Eagles lost to the Patriots.)
Overall, he has 221 NFL wins (including playoffs), which is the most ever by a coach who has not won the Super Bowl.
Year after year his teams have been in the playoffs, but the lack of a Super Bowl win is what people want to see Reid overcome. He now ranks sixth all-time in postseason wins by a head coach (14) and only trails legends Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll, Don Shula, Joe Gibbs, and Tom Landry.
Reid is singled out as the only one without a Super Bowl ring, but now has a chance to remove the tag, “great coach, but needs a Super Bowl win.”
There already seems to be a sense that many people will be cheering for him to get it done and move past the playoff mistakes that have been holding him back. He’s too good, too smart, and too experienced to remain without the Super Bowl hardware.
Just like fans and players want to see Andy Reid transition from being a playoff coach to being a Super Bowl-winning coach, there are people cheering us on to take the next steps in our own lives.
It’s time for many of us to get to that next level at work, in our relationships, and in our personal character. We’re too good, too smart, and too experienced to remain where we are without growing and maximizing the gifts God has given us.
To take it a step further, when it comes to our spiritual lives, many of us have been believers in Jesus for a long time, but haven’t taken that next step in our faith.
It’s time we move past whatever has held us back, stop making excuses, and do what God is calling us to do. We’ve “been around” too long to just remain in neutral or make the same mistakes over and over without growing and becoming “Super Bowl” champions of faith.
Hebrews 5:12-14 (NLT) provides a challenge for many of us today: “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s Word.
“You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
We are all at different stages of our spiritual journeys, but for those of us who have a long tenure of faith, let’s make sure we’re maturing, teaching, and deepening our reliance and understanding of God and His truth.
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please show me the next steps I need to take in my spiritual journey. I pray that my faith wouldn’t only be based on the number of years I’ve known You, but about the growth and impact that’s taken place in me and through me. Help me not to hold back. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
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Is there a part of your life that you know needs to get to the next level?
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What does spiritual maturity look like and why is it important?
