Rob Gronkowski knows a thing about winning. That much is obvious.
What's likely lost on most of us is the internal mechanisms at work within such a strong organizational culture like what the New England Patriots had in place when Bill Belichick was head coach and Gronkowski was helping the team establish the single most dominant dynasty in NFL history.
The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to make history themselves with a third consecutive Super Bowl title as SB LIX approaches on February 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles. While they are largely there due to the talents of their stars—such as quarterback Patrick Mahomes and defensive lineman Chris Jones—the truth is that Andy Reid and company began to lay the framework for long-term success back in 2013 when he was first hired.
Ahead of the big matchup between the Chiefs and Eagles, Arrowhead Addict's Sterling Holmes caught up with Gronkowski to talk more about what goes on behind-the-scenes on such successful teams. Gronk had some intriguing insights about the level of accountability required to be the best at such a high level over any length of time.
"Everyone's gunning for you because you're the champions," said Gronkowski. "Everyone else wants to be the champions as well, so you're getting everyone's best shot. And in order to stay on top of your game and stay above everyone else, because you're getting their best shots as well, is that you've got to be able to amp it up week in and week out.
"That's what we did as Patriots," he continued. "We kind of figured out an angle or a different way every single week in order to win the games. We stayed on top of each other and held each other accountable every week, so no one was slacking. You've got to make sure you're dedicating yourself week in and week out, and you're putting the work in as well to stay at the top."
As the Chiefs have established themselves as the new dynasty to rule over the rest of the NFL's 31 other franchises, Gronk admitted that what Clark Hunt's team has been able to do is "just incredible."
"That's what the Kansas City Chiefs are doing, and it's nothing short of just impressiveness of what they're doing as well. You've got to appreciate it because they're putting the time in. They're dedicating themselves to the game of football. They're finding ways to win games, you know, at any given situation that's presented to them, and they're going for a three-peat now," he says.
"Anyone that's going for three championships in a row that's never been done before, by the way, is just incredible. You've just got to appreciate that because you know how much work and time they're putting in just like we did with the New England Patriots."
You can catch the rest of the interview below: