We are living in the Golden Age of Kansas City Chiefs football. The Chiefs have won two of the last four Super Bowls, they have appeared in five straight AFC Championship Games, they are coached by the best head coach in the NFL, and they are led on the field by the best quarterback in the NFL.
The Chiefs, Andy Reid, and Patrick Mahomes have already claimed a spot in NFL history with their achievements to date, but another Super Bowl win this season would cement their legacy amongst the best of all time.
Before we look at what another Super Bowl win would mean for Reid and Mahomes' legacies and how another Super Bowl win would make them an undeniable dynasty, let's look at where another Super Bowl win would put the Chiefs franchise historically.
The Chiefs are currently one of ten franchises with three or more Super Bowl wins. They are currently tied with the Washington football team and their division rivals the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders. Here's what the current list of Super Bowl wins by franchise looks like.
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Where the Kansas City Chiefs rank in all time Super Bowl wins
1. Six Super Bowl Wins
Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots
2. Five Super Bowl Wins
Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers
3. Four Super Bowl Wins
Green Bay Packers and New York Giants
4. Three Super Bowl Wins
Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders, and Washington Commanders
While being in the top ten franchises of Super Bowl wins is already a great accomplishment, you can see that another win would elevate the Chiefs into the company of some of the most historic franchises the league has seen. If the Chiefs could someday get to five Super Bowl wins it would put them along side the very best teams in NFL history.
Next up, let's look at where another Super Bowl win would put Andy Reid.
Andy Reid's Legacy
Andy Reid is poised to become the winningest coach in Chiefs history this season and is already a lock for the NFL Hall of Fame. He currently ranks 5th in all-time coaching wins and with just four wins next season he will pass Tom Landry and move into 4th place. He also currently ranks 2nd all-time in playoff wins behind only Bill Belichick. For years the only thing missing from Andy Reid's résumé was a Super Bowl win and now he has two of them.
Reid is currently one of 14 NFL head coaches to win two or more Super Bowls. However, look at how one more Super Bowl win would elevate him out of the large pack of coaches with two Super Bowls into elite company with three or more.
- 6 Super Bowl Wins - Bill Belichick
- 4 Super Bowl Wins- Chuck Noll
- 3 Super Bowl Wins- Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs
- 2 Super Bowl Wins- Andy Reid, Vince Lombardi, Tom Flores, Jimmy Johnson, George Siefert, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin, Bill Parcells, Tom Landry, and Don Shula
Another Super Bowl would put Reid in the top five for Super Bowl wins for head coaches. If you combine that with being in the top four for regular season wins and top two for playoff wins and you have an almost indisputable case for Reid being on the Mount Rushmore of NFL head coaches.
Now let's look at what another Super Bowl would mean for Patrick Mahomes' legacy.
Patrick Mahomes' Legacy
When it comes to his Super Bowl legacy, Patrick Mahomes finds himself in a very similar place to Andy Reid. Mahomes is one of 13 quarterbacks in NFL history to win two or more Super Bowls. However, a third Super Bowl would lift him out of the log jam of quarterbacks with two wins and into elite company with three or more.
Here is the current list of most Super Bowl wins by a starting quarterback.
- 7 Super Bowl Wins - Tom Brady
- 4 Super Bowl Wins- Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana
- 3 Super Bowl Wins- Troy Aikman
- 2 Super Bowl Wins- Patrick Mahomes, John Elway, Bob Griese, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger
Much like Reid, Mahomes is already in good company with two Super Bowl wins, but that third win would lift him into the top five in NFL history. If he were to do that before even turning 30 years old it would be truly remarkable. Then when you add all the statistical accomplishments that Mahomes has achieved and you start to make a strong case for him being one of the greatest to ever play the game (he's also a pretty great golfer).
,While Mahomes hopefully has a long career still ahead of him, it would also be nice for Mahomes and Reid to win one more Super Bowl together before Reid retires. In the history of the NFL there have only been three coach/quarterback combos that have won three or more Super Bowls together. Those three are:
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady: 6 Super Bowls
Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw: 4 Super Bowls
Bill Walsh and Joe Montana: 3 Super Bowls
ThisIf Reid and Mahomes could add their names to that list it would be just another case for this current version of the Chiefs being one of the most special in NFL history. Which leads me to my final point. A Super Bowl win next season cements the Chiefs as a true NFL dynasty.
A Kansas City Chiefs Dynasty
We started this piece off by looking at the franchises with the most all-time Super Bowl wins, but that list is different than a list of NFL teams that have pulled off true NFL dynasties. The Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers (twice), San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and New England Patriots have all won back-to-back Super Bowls. However, the general consensus is that even two consecutive Super Bowl wins will not make you a dynasty.
No NFL team has ever won three consecutive Super Bowls. Only a few have pulled off three Super Bowl wins with some of the same pieces and just three franchises have managed to win three Super Bowls over a five year period. Those are:
The 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers - The Chuck Noll/Terry Bradshaw Steelers won four Super Bowls over a six year period between 1974 and 1979.
The 1990s Dallas Cowboys - During the Troy Aikman/Emmitt Smith/Michael Irvin era in Dallas the Cowboys won three Super Bowls (1992, 1993, 1995).
The Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era New England Patriots - During the Belichick/Brady era in New England the Patriots won three Super Bowls over a five year period twice. The first was between 2001-2004 and then again between 2014-2018. To accomplish that feat twice with the same coach and quarterback with that many years between the two is amazing.
Despite not winning three Super Bowls in a five year period, I think you can still make a case for two other teams being in the dynasty discussion during the Super Bowl era of the NFL.
The 1960s Green Bay Packers - The Vince Lombardi/Bart Starr Packers teams won the first two Super Bowls. However, they also won three NFL championships in the five year period before the first Super Bowl. I think that puts them above other teams that won back to back Super Bowls.
The Joe Montana San Francisco 49ers - The 49ers never won three Super Bowls in a five year period, but they did win 4 Super Bowls over a nine year period while Joe Montana was their quarterback.
So in the history of the Super Bowl era, I believe there is a case for five dynasties. If the Chiefs were to win a third Super Bowl in a five year period, I believe that cements them as a sixth Super Bowl era dynasty. Especially when you factor in that they will have been to six straight AFC Championship Games and both their quarterback and coach will have earned spots amongst the greatest of all time as we have previously discussed.
If that wasn't enough, I'd also like to point out a fantastic stat that I saw in Seth Keysor's Chief in the North Newsletter (if you aren't subscribed, you should do that ASAP). Travis Kelce is second all-time in playoff receptions behind only Jerry Rice. He needs just 19 more to pass him. For comparison, he's averaged 24.75 postseason receptions over the last four seasons.
I simply don't see any argument that can be made that the Chiefs wouldn't be every bit as worthy as the '90s Dallas Cowboys teams with another Super Bowl win. They're a long way from the crazy numbers put up by Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the Patriots, but beyond them, the Chiefs would be right there with the other greats of all time. They would have an all-time great head coach, an all-time great quarterback, and another all-time great player in Kelce, and they would have accomplished a feat that only a few select teams in NFL history have achieved.
This era of Chiefs football has already been a dream come true for many. They have already given their fans a lifetime of memories. Now the only question is how far up the list of all time greats can they go?