Tyreek Hill says his benchmark for team success is Michael Jordan’s run with the Bulls.
The Kansas City Chiefs are feeling confident these days. As the defending Super Bowl champions, they have good reason to be.
This offseason, the phrase “run it back” has become an unofficial motto for the Chiefs to go all the way once again, a tall order for any team in these days of NFL parity. It sounds especially odd for a franchise that required a half century to win its second championship just last winter, but this particular roster is loaded for a run.
The Chiefs offseason approach was to bring back as much of the band as possible, and they began with retaining the starting lineups from both sides of the ball. Only two players are missing from those units, which means 20 of 22 starters are back for the Chiefs. The greatest offseason losses suffered by the Chiefs include offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski, who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, cornerback Kendall Fuller, who returned to Washington, and longtime punter Dustin Colquitt, who was released after 15 seasons.
Perhaps that’s why the Chiefs feel quite confident they can do it again, since such a young core is back with championship experience. In recent days, defensive lineman Chris Jones said he believed the Chiefs could win 5 Super Bowl rings before all is said and done. That apparently wasn’t enough for star wideout Tyreek Hill.
Hill recently appeared on ESPN’s First Take and gave the following response to Jones’ prediction of 5 championships:
"“Well, I’m not gonna say he’s telling a fib,” Hill said when asked about Jones’ comments. “But Chris Jones, he’s definitely — he’s definitely a man of his word, and we’re definitely creating something special here in KC, so I don’t see why not. Why say five? Why not go seven rings? Right now we’re just chasing [Michael] Jordan, so that’s what we do. So I’m going over five, and I’m saying seven.”"
Michael Jordan’s run with the Chicago Bulls produced six NBA championships during the 1990s. If the Chiefs were able to win that many championships, it would be an unparalleled run by any team in NFL history. Both the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots are tied for the most Super Bowls ever with six apiece, meaning the Chiefs would be the most successful NFL team in history if Hill and his teammates can win six.