Andy Reid: Patrick Mahomes ‘wants to be the greatest’
By Matt Conner
In an interview on Wednesday from training camp, Andy Reid talked about Patrick Mahomes quest for greatness in the NFL.
Andy Reid knows a thing or two about greatness.
As an active coaching legend in the NFL, Reid himself will likely occupy a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio one day (and he will most certainly be helped if the Kansas City Chiefs can bring him that elusive Super Bowl win). Even more, he’s coached up some of the league’s greatest players of his generation—from Donovan McNabb to Terrell Owens to Travis Kelce to Patrick Mahomes.
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It’s the latter that has the real chance to burrow himself deep into the NFL’s record books—that is, if he can remain healthy and focused. The former is all about luck, at least a great part of it, but the rest of it is up to him. Can he stay teachable? Can he remain devoted to excellence and learn as the league adjusts to his talents? As he grows older, can his intelligence help make up for any athletic traits that fade over the years?
Andy Reid thinks that Mahomes is destined for greatness because he knows what it takes. When asked by B.J. Kissel of the Chiefs official site while behind the scenes at training camp, Reid says motivating the team’s starting quarterback and the league’s reigning MVP is simply not a problem.
"“He’s a competitive guy by nature. He wants to be great. He wants to be the greatest. He has that drive and he has it every day, which is unique. You saw it when he was a young guy here in these last couple years. I haven’t seen anything change during the OTAs, and I don’t presume I’ll see anything different here.”"
Reid says Mahomes soaked in much of what it takes to succeed on this level as a child, as he was growing up around his Major League Baseball playing father, Pat Mahomes.
"“He grew up around professional sports—baseball—and he had a dad who was highly competitive. He was aroujnd some great players in that locker room. So he understands it’s not an easy thing to achieve and to be a champion, it’s tough. It’s a tough thing. Only a select get to have that award, so he understands we have a lot of work to put in.”"
Reid also says that same mentality extends to the rest of the roster. Despite being so close to the Super Bowl just last season, Reid doesn’t think his roster will believe they can coast to another postseason. Instead he points to the team’s leadership and says they have the right mentality going into the season.
"I think we have good leadership on the team, and we’ve got coaches who have had some success and they understand that it’s every day. You can’t take a day off. You have to start from scratch and build it up. That’s what we bank on."
It will be interesting to see how the personality of this team, and especially the defense, takes shape under Reid with a new coordinator and coaching staff on the defensive side. Here’s hoping the imports from Steve Spagnuolo down to Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu can help define the attitude it takes to win on that side of the ball and that the team comes together under this same umbrella in 2019.