USA TODAY International Edition
49ers and Chiefs reflect on impact Kobe had on them
Jarrett Bell column: Players talk about NBA great’s ‘ Mamba Mentality’ and more.
MIAMI – Kobe Bryant could have been a whale of a football coach, too.
That thought crossed my mind as Super Bowl LIV participants took center stage at Marlins Park for their first media sessions of the week, and one player after another talked “Mamba Mentality.”
Whether Bryant would have been a creative genius on offense or a master defensive strategist seemed secondary to some of the essential elements of coaching that struck me as players from the 49ers and Chiefs reflected.
Coaches need to connect with their messages. Check. The best ones can motivate – and I’m not talking rah- rah speeches – their players to reach higher levels. Check.
No, the component that has thwarted one hotshot coaching whiz after another – mediocrity in the leaders- of- men category, which NFL decision- makers too often whiff on in assessing candidates – would not have been an issue.
“He made all of us ask ourselves: Are we competitive enough?” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “Do you work hard enough? Every moment that he had to show the type of work he put in, it showed.”
Sure, not every star player is cut out to be an outstanding coach. But as NFL players reflected on Bryant’s impact, the crossover material could not be ignored.
49ers all- pro cornerback Richard Sherman: “Different game, same beast.”
Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark: “He made me respect football like he respected basketball.”
As usual, Media Night brought the spectacle with it. There were standard silly questions like, “Which type of animal would you be?” And kids were on display, including the one who brought along slime for special handshakes.
Yet when Bryant was mentioned on Monday night, the hype easily gave way to reverence.
“I think about the last game he played in, scoring 60 points,” Mathieu said. “I think that was the buildup of all the work he ever put in. All those late nights and early mornings. And the world was able to see that. We were able to see Kobe work himself to greatness. He wasn’t the biggest, the fastest or the strongest, but he really dedicated himself to his craft, and that put him in position to be one of the greatest of all time.”
The 49ers and Chiefs were both on their chartered flights when news of the tragedy broke on Sunday. Clark took it so hard that he lay on the floor of the airplane, grieving, after learning that Bryant, 41, perished in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, with his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others.
“He was my idol,” Clark said.
It is not a coincidence that, like Bryant, who created the “Black Mamba” nickname for himself, Clark calls himself “Black Elvis.” Said Clark, “I’m a rock star on the field.”
He sounded like he was a quintessential student of all things Kobe. Clark, 26, said he was in second or third grade when Bryant landed on his radar. As he matured, he learned about the Mamba Mentality – which for an older generation might compare to the “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” credo of legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi. Clark became resolved to apply the principles.
“That’s when I started understanding alter ego and the place I had to go to be successful,” Clark said.
No player in Super Bowl LIV, however, had more of a connection to Bryant than Sherman, a Los Angeles native who became friends with the NBA legend several years ago. When Sherman suffered a torn Achilles tendon in November 2017, he walked off the field – rather than being carted off – because that’s what Bryant did upon suffering the same injury in April 2013.
Bryant became a resource for Sherman as he rehabbed from surgery. Sherman told ESPN that some of the insight he received from Bryant, including the mindset of being more proactive than reactive during the early stages of rehab, was essential to his recovery, which strengthened their bond.
And there was Mamba Mentality influence, too.
“He gave me the advice, ‘ Don’t be a baby,’ ” Sherman reflected of a call he received from Bryant while rehabbing.
Bryant knew the mental toughness needed to overcome the injury and implored Sherman to not make excuses or wallow in self- pity.
“That’s what I meant about his mentality,” Sherman added.
Sherman was asleep when 49ers general manager John Lynch tapped him on the shoulder and told him of the tragedy. Sherman met Bryant at a Nike photo shoot not long after winning the Super Bowl with the Seahawks, and he later appeared in a Nike commercial for a line of Bryant’s shoes. And Bryant once played in Sherman’s charity softball game in Seattle. Sherman said the last time they talked the message was about winning a championship as an ultimate marker in getting through the adversity of his darkest days with the injury.
Now, in the aftermath of tragedy, Sherman spoke of another layer for that theme.
“When it comes to events like this, nothing takes precedent over this,” Sherman said. “He would think it was selfish of us to think of him ... if we’re not using it to go dominate and win. Obviously, we want to do this for Kobe. I want to, my teammates want to. I’m sure there are guys on the Chiefs that want to win for him. He’s such a special person. ... You want to honor that man.”
Sherman believes Bryant would also tell him, “Stop being a baby. You’ll have time later to cry, to appreciate it, to really feel it. But do it for me.”
It’s obvious that Bryant transcended his NBA stature to leave an indelible mark across the entire sports world and beyond. Yet it has also been striking to witness what he meant to this generation of NFL players who grew up marveling at his greatness.
Sherman, of course, said it as well as anyone. “I’ve tried to apply a lot of parts of his game to my game,” he said. “It’s a different sport, a different game. But his dog factor, the killer instinct, his clutch factor, the ability to finish, that’s what I tried to do. His ability to understand the game, have a cerebral mentality about it ... and then when his body started breaking down to still be able to play at a high level, I’ve tried to understand that and apply it.”
Which sounds a lot like coaching on a high level.