From the FanPosts -Joel

After yet another playoff loss many people are blaming Andy Reid, saying he's a playoff choker. I for one couldn't be happier. The more blame that goes on Reid the higher Alex Smith's trade value, and the main goal this offseason is to trade Smith for as much as possible. But despite what Joel might tell you, Arrowhead Pride is not a major force in influencing the opinions of NFL GM's, so I'll go ahead and explain why this idea that Reid is somehow particularly bad in the playoffs is wrong.

Reid is one of the most successful coaches of all time. With 183 regular season wins, he's 11th all time. By the time he retires he'll almost certainly be at least 7th (Marty Schottenheimer currently holds that spot with 200) if not higher. But when it comes to playoff wins Reid ranks even higher, 9th, with 11. And again he can easily move up the list, with only 2 more he can match Mike Holmgren for 6th.

But this isn't enough for the skeptics, they say the 11 wins aren't as impressive because they go along with 13 losses. So let's look at the other coaches with more playoff wins and see if we can find a pattern.

Bill Belichick 26

As much as people talk about the Patriots' dynasty, the one thing that dosn't get enough attention is the number of playoff victories. Once they retire the number they set will be one of the most unbreakable records in the NFL.

However, before Drew Bledsoe got injured and Belichick was forced to start Brady, he had already coached 6 seasons in the NFL, 5 in Cleveland and 1 in New England, and in those 6 seasons he had only one playoff appearance, going 1-1. As good as he's been with Brady, people will always question what he would have done without him.

Tom Landry 20

Like Belichick, Landry coached for many years without much success, only getting his first winning season 7 years into his coaching career. Once he started winning in the regular season he struggled to win in the playoffs, going 3-5, until Roger Staubach replaced Don Meredith (best known for failing to win Hank Hill $1 million). With Staubach, Landry went 12-6 in the playoffs, winning 2 Super Bowls. Unfortunately for Landry once Staubach retired he again had mediocre success in the playoffs, going 5-5 before being fired.

Don Shula 19

Best known for coaching the Dolphins for many years, Shula started his career with the Baltimore Colts and Johnny Unitas. Despite having who some consider the best QB ever Shula only went 2-3 in the playoffs with the Colts. (Ironically those 2 wins weren't with Unitas, but with Earl Morrall, who's the Forrest Gump of NFL history. Seriously, he not only got the Colts to Super Bowl 3 where Unitas lost, he got the 1972 Dolphins to the Super Bowl to be replaced by Griese.)

Shula continued to be blessed with HOF QB play when he went to Miami, this time with Bob Griese. This time he had a bit more success, going 10-6 during the time he had Griese and won 2 Super Bowls. Griese retired in 1980, and only a couple years later Shula got yet another HOF QB in Marino. But like with Unitas, Shula didn't have much luck winning in the playoffs even with Marino, going 6-7.

Joe Gibbs 17

Gibbs in one of the exception to the rule that I hope will be obvious from this list. He started out his coaching career with Joe Theismann and went 6-2 with him. Although Theismann isn't a HOF QB, he was the league MVP the year they won the Super Bowl. But unlike most other on this list, Gibbs continued to win in the playoffs even after Theismann retired, going 11-5 and winning another two Super Bowls.

Chuck Noll 16

Noll won 4 Super Bowls with the Steelers, those teams mainly being known for having an all-time defense, but they also had a HOF QB in Terry Bradshaw. With Bradshaw Noll went 14-5 in the playoffs, but once Bradshaw left and the defense fell apart Noll found it much harder to find playoff success, going 2-3 before retiring himself.

Mike Holmgren 13

Holmgren coaches for many years in both Green Bay and Seattle having Brett Favre and Matt Hasselbeck at QB respectively. In Green Bay he went 9-5 in the playoffs and won a Super Bowl, in Seattle he went 4-6 and did not win a Super Bowl. I wonder what the difference could be.

Bill Cowher 12

Cowher went 12-9 in the playoffs, with his last playoff run resulting in a Super Bowl victory. However, before that Super Bowl run with Ben Roethlisberger Cowher had a 8-9 playoff record.

Tom Coughlin 12

The last coach on our list is the second exception to the pattern that should be obvious by now. Despite never having top-tier QB play he went 12-7 in the playoffs and won 2 Super Bowls.

Conclusion

The pattern is clear, and continues when you look at other coaches who have been successful in the playoffs. With a few exceptions, even the top coaches in NFL history struggle to win in the playoffs without a HOF QB. To do what Reid has done in the playoffs without a QB who's even close to HOF level is simply astounding. There are only a handful of guys in the history of the league who could do what he's done.

With that history in mind, the wise course of action is to see what he can do with Mahomes. If Mahomes is as good as we all hope and we're still losing in the playoffs, then it'll be time to talk about moving on. But until then there is just too much precedent of Super Bowl winning coaches struggling in the playoffs before getting their HOF QB to conclude that Reid can't do it no matter who's throwing the ball.