For the latest on the Patriots, check out WEEI and Audacy's "1st and Foxborough."
Danny Parkins missed the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City by mere months, leaving his radio host gig in Kansas City for 670 the Score in Chicago in January 2017.
But the Audacy “1st and Pod” host knows the kind of situation Mahomes got to walk into as the star quarterback kicked off his NFL career and how it set him up to succeed.
“He joins the offensive coach [Andy Reid], the good team, is able to sit, is able to learn from a smart quarterback [Alex Smith], learn from a smart coach,” Parkins said of Mahomes, who joined a Chiefs team that won the AFC West in 2017 as the then-rookie sat behind Smith and watched.
“Then he gets in the game, and he’s got a future Hall-of-Fame tight end (Travis Kelce), one of the three best receivers in football (Tyreek Hill)…an All-Pro right tackle in Mitch Schwartz, the No. 1 pick at left tackle in Eric Fisher. He just has so many things that were just there that, in addition to his supernatural talents, were just able to take off, which is why he signed basically the lifetime contract. ‘As long as I got Andy Reid, I’m good.’”
So far, the results have been very good. In Mahomes’ five years as a starting quarterback, he’s won two MVPs, made five conference championships and three Super Bowls, winning one in 2019. The personnel may change, especially as Mahomes’ massive contract has taken effect, but the Mahomes-Reid constant remains the same.
In fact, Parkins thinks no quarterback has had it this good in more than 20 years – since, well, you know.
“It’s the best single best pairing of coach and quarterback that we’ve seen since…Brady and Belichick," Parkins said. "But it’s for the new age because it’s offensive coach and quarterback, and the commitment is like nothing we’ve ever seen in the sport.”
That latter portion is an interesting point: can you imagine Belichick and the Patriots just giving Tom Brady a 10-year deal or, crazier yet, a two-year deal at the end of his career to retire as a member of the organization?
Kansas City certainly seems like it’s spawned a match made in heaven with the obscenely awesome quarterback and offensive-minded head coach that can just keep building around him as long as he wants.
But in terms of the results, Kansas City needs a few more rings to start putting themselves in the 2000s (or 2010s) Patriots' rarified air. Though the Chiefs have made five straight AFC title games, they're lacking in that department (NE 3 - KC 1).
If any franchise in the NFL has a shot to challenge those dynastic Patriots runs, though, it’s the Chiefs, who can enter the chat more definitively with a win on Sunday.