Mahomes-Reid combo gives Chiefs shot for lengthy reign
EVERY time we have a Super Bowl winner with a young quarterback, we wonder if this is the beginning of a new dynasty.
Over the past decade, we questioned whether the next dynasty was coming from Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks or Carson Wentz/Nick Foles and the Eagles. Now, we are asking it again with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Of the first three, only Wilson has made it back to the Super Bowl, and his interception at the goal line kept him from winning two in a row. The failure of those teams to win another Super Bowl shows just how difficult it is to be a dynasty in the NFL. Don’t be fooled by how easy Tom Brady and Bill Belichick made it look.
The league has hurdles set up to prevent dynasties from the salary cap to drafting last and playing a tougher schedule. Even so, the Chiefs feel like they could win two or three more Super Bowls in the next five years.
It starts with the quarterback-coach combination. Now that Brady and Belichick are divorced, there is not a better one in the NFL than Mahomes and Andy Reid. In three seasons, two as a starter, Mahomes has won a league MVP and a Super Bowl MVP. He looks like he will be an all-time great.
Reid is one of the best coaches ever. Only six men have more regular-season wins than Reid’s 207. All of them except Belichick, who is still active, are in the Hall of Fame.
The team of Reid and Mahomes has given the Chiefs an offense that scores in bunches. They averaged 35.3 points per game in 2018 and 28.2 points per game last year when Mahomes missed two games.
They just gave Mahomes a 10-year, $450 million contract extension that will eventually have salary cap repercussions, but it is team-friendly during the first few years. They also have a group of offensive skill players under contract for a few more years with Tyreek Hill (signed through 2022), Travis Kelce (2021) and Mecole Hardman (2022).
The Chiefs won’t be able to keep everyone. GM Brett Veach is going to have to draft some defensive core players.
The Patriots overcame a lot of roster issues because they had Brady at quarterback and Belichick at coach. The Chiefs will be able to do the same with Mahomes and Reid.