Before Patrick Mahomes became a three-time Super Bowl winner and two-time MVP, he played his college ball at Texas Tech under then-head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Mahomes and Kingsbury will have a reunion of sorts on Monday night when the Chiefs host the Commanders. Asked about his relationship with Kingsbury on Thursday, Mahomes noted how much of a positive influence his former head coach has been throughout his career.
“He’s one of the first people that truly believed in me playing the quarterback position,” Mahomes said in his press conference. “He gave me a ton of advice of refining me, but letting me still just be me and play to my strengths. A great coach, a great person that I still stay in touch with. Not as much this week, but throughout my career, and he helped me get to where I’m at today because he didn’t put me in a box and tell me how to play quarterback this way. He let me just go out there and be myself and play the way that got me there. I think that’s something that is special about him as a coach.”
Mahomes’ success in college didn’t necessarily translate to victories, as Texas Tech went 7-6 in 2015 and 4-7 in 2016 — the quarterback’s two years as a starter. But Kingsbury’s coaching and influence helped set him up to be the successful professional quarterback we’ve witnessed since he ascended to Kansas City’s QB1 in 2018.
“Coach Kingsbury never ever forced me to be just a pocket passer or hold the ball a certain way,” Mahomes said. “He would obviously help with my footwork and stuff like that and going through progressions, but he would just let me play when it came to playing. He was like, once you get to the game, you got to just go out there and play your game. Same with coach [Andy] Reid and ‘Nags’ [offensive coordinator Matt Nagy] when I got here, it was — they wanted to keep refining and refining but at the same time, they wanted me to go out there and play the game the way it got me here.
“I’ve been blessed because you can go to some situations, and I’ve seen quarterbacks in other situations that their game gets kind of boxed in and they don’t get to be the best version of themselves.”
Through seven games this season, Mahomes has completed 66.1 percent of his throws for 1,800 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also rushed for 250 yards with four TDs.