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Former Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid hired by Kansas City Chiefs

Andy Reid is the Chiefs’ new chief. The ex-Eagles coach came to an agreement with Kansas City to become their next head coach, two sources close to the situation said on Friday.

Andy Reid has officially signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. (Bill Kostroun/AP)
Andy Reid has officially signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. (Bill Kostroun/AP)Read more

Andy Reid is the Chiefs' new chief.

The former Eagles coach came to an agreement with Kansas City to become its next head coach. The Chiefs tweeted a photo of Reid and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt signing the contract on Friday night.

"Andy Reid and Clark Hunt make it official," the tweet said. "Reid becomes the Head Coach of the Chiefs."

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Reid and his wife, Tammy, boarded a private plane with Hunt and were flown to Kansas City Friday afternoon. When the Reids touched down at Kansas City airport, camera crews were already waiting for the new coach, according to local reports.

Just four days after the Eagles fired him, Reid became the first hire among the seven NFL teams with coaching vacancies.

The contract is for five years, according to CSNPhilly.com. Reid had one year at $5 million remaining on his deal with the Eagles, but the team will have to pay only the difference - if there is one - because of a clause in the contract with the Birds.

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement: "Congratulations to Clark Hunt and the Kansas City Chiefs for hiring a good man and a good coach. We wish Andy, Tammy, and their entire family all the best in their new home."

The Cardinals appeared to be in the running for Reid. But when he never hopped on a flight to Arizona on Wednesday and instead spent nine hours meeting with the Chiefs at Philadelphia International Airport, the Cardinals backed off.

By Thursday, ESPN reported that a deal between the Chiefs and Reid was close to being struck.

One major obstacle to getting a deal done was cleared when Kansas City and general manager Scott Pioli agreed to part ways Friday morning.

Reid is expected to have final say with the Chiefs, as he did with the Eagles, but he needs a right-hand man. Various reports had Reid considering Packers personnel man John Horsey or former Eagles and Browns GM Tom Heckert to replace Pioli.

Reid has been lining up his coaching staff for days, if not longer. Many of the names are familiar. Either Brad Childress or Pat Shurmur could be Reid's offensive coordinator, the other his quarterbacks coach. Juan Castillo, whom Reid fired as defensive coordinator in October, is expected to be either the offensive line coach or a defensive assistant.

Reid is expected to take several assistants from his last staff with the Eagles, possibly including wide receivers coach David Culley and running backs coach Ted Williams. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, with Reid for the last 10 years, will not follow him to Kansas City, a source said.

For his defensive coordinator, there have been murmurs that Reid will try to lure Monte Kiffin, author of the "Tampa 2," out of retirement.

With the Chiefs, Reid will have another reclamation project. Head coach Romeo Crennel was fired Monday after a 2-14 season. It was the Chiefs' fifth losing season in the last six. They have not won a playoff game since 1993.

Reid won 10 in 14 seasons with the Eagles and reached five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl. He finished with a record of 140-102-1, including the playoffs. Reid went 71-37 (.657) in his first six seasons, but 69-65-1 (.515) in his final eight.

He was fired by owner Jeffrey Lurie on Monday after the Eagles finished 4-12. It was their worst record since they went 3-13 in 1998, the year before Reid arrived.

The Chiefs have the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft. Reid has never had a pick so high; he chose quarterback Donovan McNabb with the second overall selection in 1999. There is not a franchise-quarterback prospect in this year's draft, according to most analysts, although Reid could think otherwise.

Matt Cassel had one of the worst passer ratings (66.7) among starting quarterbacks in 2012. He has had previous success, however, in Kansas City and for one season in New England. The Chiefs have other talent, too: Five players were selected to the Pro Bowl.

The team will introduce Reid as its 12th head coach, and fifth since 2005, at a news conference Monday at 2 p.m.

Eagles-to-Chiefs Connections

Andy Reid is not the first coach or executive to go from the Eagles to the Chiefs. Here are some of the others:

Dick Vermeil: He coached the Eagles from 1976 to '82 and the Chiefs from 2001 to '05.

Herm Edwards: The former star cornerback for the Eagles coached the Chiefs from 2006 to '08.

Emmitt Thomas: The Chiefs' defensive backs coach since 2010, he was the Eagles' defensive coordinator from 1995 to '98.

Carl Peterson: He was the president and general manager of the Chiefs from 1989 to 2008 and the director of football operations for the Eagles from 1976 to 1982.

Mark Donovan: The president of the Chiefs since 2011, he was the Eagles' senior vice president of business operations from 2003 to '09.

Contact Jeff McLane at jmclane@phillynews.com or on Twitter @Jeff_McLane.