In 2017, Patrick Mahomes landed in an advantageous situation, being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and Andy Reid, one of the best coaches of all time.
Under Reid's inventive mind, Mahomes flourished. Following a redshirt season, Mahomes has won two MVPs in five seasons, two Super Bowl MVPs, made five Pro Bowls and taken the Chiefs to three Super Bowls (winning two) and five AFC championship games.
During an interview on the AP Pro Football Podcast with Rob Maaddi, Mahomes discussed just how important Reid has been to his already Hall of Fame career.
"He's meant the world to me. He's just the best," Mahomes said of Reid. "He's the best coach, obviously, one of the best coaches of all time, but he's just one of the best people of all time. He's learned how to get the most out of me every day. He doesn't let me be satisfied with where I'm at. He teaches me a ton.
"Not only the quarterback position, but how to be a leader and how to be a great dad and how to be a great husband. He lets me be who I am every single day. I think if I'd have went to some other places, I would've had to learn how to play the quarterback position a different way, and he just lets me play the quarterback position the way that I want to play it. I think that's what's made me such a different type of quarterback in this league."
In an alternate universe, perhaps the NFL doesn't let Mahomes slide to No. 10, in range for the Chiefs to trade up for the QB. Maybe, if, say, the Bears do indeed select him, Mahomes is thrown into the fire too soon, not given the creative license he has in K.C., and doesn't soar as high. Maybe.
Thankfully, we live in this timeline. The talent was always there for Mahomes to be a star, but Reid and his staff allowed it to flourish and pushed it to new heights. The highlight plays the QB makes on a weekly basis with the Chiefs can fill an entire documentary series. The NFL is better with the Mahomes-Reid pairing.
And let's not forget that the QB lifted the coach from "great teacher and successful coach who couldn't get over the Super Bowl hump" into the discussion among the best of all time.
Despite all the accolades the 27-year-old Mahomes has already generated in his young career, the star signal-caller said he's focused not on legacy but improving daily.
"I think everybody thinks about legacy and how they're remembered, but I think you have to think about that and at the same time evaluate every day how you can become better," he said. "How you can really maximize every single day, and then whenever your career's done, you have no regrets. And I think that's what I've always preached is it's not about success of that day. It's about having no regrets at the end of your career. I think that if you work hard every single day and put everything you have into the game, then when you look back at the end of your career, however many trophies you have or however many Super Bowl rings you have, you'll have no regrets."
That's a similar attitude that molded Tom Brady into the G.O.A.T. and earned him seven Super Bowls. Mahomes is on a trajectory to chase Brady's records and reshape the legacy of everyone involved -- one day at a time.
