Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs have agreed in principle on a five-year contract that will make Reid the 12th head coach in Chiefs history, a league source said late Friday morning.
The source said the deal was not yet signed but said all that's left is for some contract language to be agreed on. He said all major issues have been agreed on and a formal announcement by the Chiefs should come soon.
The final major stumbling block between Reid and the Chiefs was eliminated earlier Friday morning when the Chiefs fired General Manager Scott Pioli.
Pioli, who was part of the group that interviewed Reid, had been the Chiefs GM since January 2009.
His dismissal cleared the way for Reid to bring in his own general manager. A source said that will be either Tom Heckert, theformer Eagles and Browns general manager, or Packers Director of Football Operations John Dorsey, who was director of college scouting in Green Bay when Reid was on Mike Holmgrens Packers staff in the 1990s.
Reid has remained very close to both Heckert, who left the Eagles for the Browns after the 2009 season, and Dorsey.
Sources told CSNPhilly.com early Friday morning that Reid and the Chiefs had met past midnight Thursday night into Friday morning and had agreed on major portions of an agreement.
Reid, fired Monday by the Eagles, emerged quickly as the Chiefs topand onlycandidate for their head coaching vacancy. The Chiefs fired Romeo Crennel Monday after they went 2-14 in his only full season as head coach. He was interim coach for three games in 2011.
The only other candidate the Chiefs have interviewed is Falcons special teams coach Keith Armstrong, a Bucks County native. That fulfilled the Chiefs Rooney Rule obligation to interview at least one minority candidate.
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Reid won more playoff games with the Eagles (10) than the Chiefs have won in their 53-year history (eight). The Chiefs last playoff win came in 1993, with 37-year-old Joe Montana at quarterback.
Barring a last-minute setback, Reid will be the Chiefs fifth head coach since 2005.
Reid is expected to bring in Juan Castillo and Doug Pederson from his Eagles staff.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com