Mahomes Explains How Kingsbury Shaped Him at Texas Tech

The Kansas City Chiefs' quarterbacks sees his college coach again Monday night.

Nov 12, 2016; Stillwater, OK, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes II (5) sacked by Oklahoma State Cowboys defensive end Tralund Webber (89) during the first quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-Imagn Images | Rob Ferguson-Imagn Images

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Patrick Mahomes will see a familiar face in pregame this week.

Kliff Kingsbury and the Washington Commanders (3-4) visit the Chiefs (4-3) on Monday Night Football (7:15 p.m. CT, ESPN/ABC, KMBC Ch. 9, 96.5 The Fan). It’ll mark the second time Mahomes has started against Kingsbury, after the quarterback secured a 44-21 win over his Arizona Cardinals in the 2022 opener.

Nov 24, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) talks with Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury (R) during a timeout Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

But their history dates to the time Clark Hunt was finalizing the contract of Andy Reid as his next head coach. That was when Kingsbury – now the Commanders’ offensive coordinator -- was working on his next quarterback at Texas Tech.

And while most college head coaches were trying to find quarterbacks to fit their offenses, Kingsbury was willing to build an offense around a unique quarterback.

Nov 5, 2016; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes (5) throws a pass against the University of Texas Longhorns in the second half at Jones AT&T Stadium. UT defeated Texas Tech 45-37. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images | Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images

“You kind of hear that undertone of that talking of, ‘You can't play that way,’” Patrick Mahomes recalled of his recruiting process. “And Coach Kingsbury never, ever forced me to be just a pocket passer, or hold the ball a certain way. He just let me be me.

“He would obviously help with my footwork and stuff like that, and going through progressions, but he would just let me play. When it came to playing, he's like, ‘Once you get to the game, you got to go out there and just play your game.’”

Dec 31, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) drops back to pass in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The 2017 draft

Fast forward a few years and Matt Nagy noticed. Entering his second season as Chiefs offensive coordinator, Nagy saw something unique in the film of the Texas Tech passer. And before Kansas City traded up to take him in 10th overall in 2017, Nagy loved what he saw.

“Really, really good stuff,” Nagy remembered Friday. “I think that when you go back and you look at the amount of time that we invested in looking at Pat, you automatically right away go to who his coach is and what he did with him. And I have so much respect for Kliff Kingsbury as a person, as a coach, what he's done at the college level, professionally in the NFL.”

Nov 26, 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) throws passes to quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) on the sidelines during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Mahomes sat most of the season as a rookie, starting the season finale after a year of mentoring behind Alex Smith. But the youngster noticed something similar about the way Nagy and Andy Reid coached him.

“When I got here,” Mahomes said, “they wanted to keep refining and refining, but at the same time, they wanted me to go out there and just play the game the way that got me here. And so, I've been blessed, because you can go into some situations, and I've seen quarterbacks in other situations, that their game gets kind of boxed in, and they don't get to be the best version of themselves.”

The best version of Mahomes showed up quickly. In his first season as Kansas City’s full-time starter, he led the league with 50 touchdowns, guided the Chiefs to the AFC championship game and captured his first MVP.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) breaks off a run after escaping from San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (99) and San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford (55) during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Feb. 2, 2020. [ALLEN EYESTONE/The Palm Beach Post] | Allen Eyestone via Imagn Content Services, LLC

First of five Super Bowl appearances

A year later, he was Super Bowl MVP in leading the Chiefs to their first league title in 50 years. It all started with the way Kingsbury recruited him.

“Really,” Nagy said, “he used his strengths and just gave him confidence to be able to just be himself, is what I saw the most. Just go cut it loose. And it's okay if you make a mistake; we'll reel it in a little bit. So, he's doing that now with his quarterback in Washington, and I think that that's a credit to Kliff.”

Sep 10, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes II (5) and head coach Kliff Kingsbury against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first quarter at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Chiefs Kingdom, welcome to the Web’s top information source, totally free with OnSI; the best way to get it is to follow @KCChiefsOnSI, @ZakSGilbert and @Domminchella on X (Twitter). And join the conversation on Mahomes and Kingsbury by visiting our Facebook page (here).