Before he became the best quarterback in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes lit defenses up at Texas Tech, where he was coached by Washington Commanders head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Now, Kingsbury and Mahomes are gearing up to face each other on Monday Night Football, when the Commanders face off against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ahead of the clash, Mahomes spoke about Kingsbury and what he has meant for his career.
“He’s one of the first people that truly believed in me playing the quarterback position,” Mahomes said, according to Pro Football Talk. “He gave me a ton of advice of refining me, but letting me still just be me and play to my strengths. A great coach, a great person that I still stay in touch with.
“Not as much this week, but throughout my career, and he helped me get to where I’m at today because he didn’t put me in a box and tell me how to play quarterback this way. He let me just go out there and be myself and play the way that got me there. I think that’s something that is special about him as a coach.”
Mahomes also spoke about how Kingsbury aided in his development.
“Coach Kingsbury never ever forced me to be just a pocket passer or hold the ball a certain way,” he said. “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 was like, once you get to the game, you got to just go out there and play your game. Same with coach [Andy] Reid and ‘Nags’ [offensive coordinator Matt Nagy] when I got here, it was — they wanted to keep refining and refining, but at the same time, they wanted me to go out there and play the game the way it got me here.
“I’ve been blessed because you can go to 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.”
It’ll be interesting to see which of the two leaves Monday night with a victory.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.