Updated 3:30 p.m. ET, Friday, Jan. 4

There was no better place for Andy Reid than Kansas City. And there was no better coach that the Chiefs could have hoped for but Reid.

Both parties have been through what could be described as the worst years of their lives in the form of heartache and disappointment.

Reid lost his son Garrett, who battled substance abuse for years, to a drug overdose. The Eagles went 4-12, by far Reid’s worst season as a head coach, after starting out 3-1.

The Chiefs had a similar fate. The franchise was rocked by the murder-suicide of LB Jovan Belcher, witnessed by ousted head coach Romeo Crennel and GM Scott Pioli. That was on top of a 2-14 season that was the worst in the franchise's 53-year history.

Some thought Reid, who looked tired during the team’s eight-game losing streak, should take time off. Others thought the Chiefs would look to start fresh with a first-year head coach.

Neither happened. Consider it part of the healing process.

Reid could have gone fishing with his buddy Brad Childress, who was fired by the Browns. He could have taken a year off. But instead, he has chosen to reinvent himself — still young, in coaching years, at the age of 54 and still energized by the challenge in Kansas City.

“Andy is the toughest man I have ever known,” said one of his right-hand men in Philadelphia earlier this season who will not be following him to Kansas City. “I’ve never seen him blink.”