Andy Reid close to Chiefs deal

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As Andy Reid moved closer to finalizing his future as the new coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, league sources said Reid's interview Friday with the Arizona Cardinals had been canceled. One Cardinals official confirmed the team was informed of Reid's pending deal with the Chiefs and characterized that the former Eagles' coach was "out with us."

The Chiefs had no response but league sources say the team is hopeful of announcing a deal with Reid by Friday. The Chiefs have not scheduled any other interviews with coaching candidates because they were encouraged by their negotiations with Reid the past two days.

The Chiefs will hold a meeting with their coaches Friday morning, presumably to talk about the club's coaching search and ongoing talks with Reid, according to sources.

A team source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, however, that the team's move to part ways with GM Scott Pioli on Friday does not mean a deal has been finalized with Reid.

Reid also has canceled an interview with the Chargers. San Diego is interviewing other candidates.

Neither Reid nor his representative, Bob LaMonte, could be reached for comment.

As the two sides continue to negotiate details of organizational structure, salary and coaching budgets, league sources said the nine hours of meetings Wednesday were necessary for Reid to meet with various key members of the organization -- owner Clark Hunt, former general manager Scott Pioli, executive Ryan Petkoff, president Mark Donovan, and Ted Crews, vice president of communications for the AFC West franchise.

While Reid had a warm relationship with Pioli, sources said it was highly unlikely that Reid was going to build his front office with Pioli on board if the deal gets done with Hunt.

The same sources insist Reid did not demand that former Browns GM Tom Heckert had to be a package deal as the team's future general manager because he still wants to gauge whether John Dorsey, the Packers' director of operations, would consider the position of GM, the sources added.

One assistant coach aligned with Reid even told ESPN on Thursday morning that Reid is going to Kansas City, not Arizona.

Reid spent 1999-2012 as Philadelphia's coach, leading the Eagles to the playoffs nine times during that period. He won 130 regular-season games and 10 playoff games. The Chiefs, meanwhile, had 98 wins, three postseason appearances and no postseason wins under five different head coaches, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Kansas City fired coach Romeo Crennel on Monday after a 2-14 season.

Information from ESPN NFL reporter Ed Werder was included in this report.

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Chris Mortensen

NFL reporter

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• ESPN Senior NFL Analyst
• Joined ESPN in 1991
• Has covered every Super Bowl since 1979

Adam Schefter

NFL

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• ESPN NFL Insider
• Joined ESPN in 2009
• Former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and the author of four books