By Chloe Wojtanik
Boston University News Service
The Kansas City Chiefs have the opportunity this Sunday to prove to the world that they are undoubtedly a dynasty in the NFL. In the last six seasons, the Chiefs have reached six straight AFC Championships, appeared in four Super Bowls and are one win away from winning their third Super Bowl Championship.
Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs’ starting quarterback during all six years of the team’s success, is set to make history. At just 28-years-old, Mahomes will become one of eight quarterbacks to appear in at least four Super Bowls, joining the likes of former New England Patriots legend Tom Brady who racked up 10 trips to the Super Bowl. The list also includes John Elway at five games and Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach and Jim Kelly, who all have four Super Bowl appearances under their belts.
It’s easy for the fans and the media to give all the praise to Mahomes and starting tight end Travis Kelce, but there’s one man who deserves all the praise in the world for leading this team to a potential dynasty: head coach Andy Reid. Reid is fourth all-time in wins as an NFL head coach, trailing only Don Shula, George Halas and Bill Belichick. Reid’s record as the team’s head coach currently sits at 127-51-0, with a 15-7 record in the postseason, making him the winningest head coach in Kansas City Chiefs history.
With the clutch gene in the playoffs, the perfect offense, and a hall-of-fame bound head coach, the Chiefs are poised to become the NFL’s next dynasty.
“I think we’re the beginning of one. I think in dynasties, I always say you’ve got to win three,” said Mahomes in an interview with CBS Sports. “Our job is to do whatever we can to win as many as we can, not have any regrets when we step off the field. I think if we keep the mentality we have, we can look back at the end of our career. Then we can decide if we’re a dynasty or not.”
If Mahomes has set the bar for becoming a dynasty at winning three Super Bowl rings, then what NFL teams are actually dynasties? Do the Chiefs deserve to be amongst the likes of these legends if they win on Sunday?
The most famous of all NFL dynasties in the league’s 104 year history are the 2001-2018 New England Patriots. During their 17-year reign, headed by legendary quarterback Tom Brady and future hall-of-fame head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots won six Super Bowls, nine AFC titles and 17 division titles. The Patriots won three Super Bowls from 2001-2004 and another three Super Bowls from 2014-2018.
Another dominant NFL team that is now referred to as a dynasty are the 1974-1979 Pittsburgh Steelers. During that six year span, the Steelers won six division titles and captured four Super Bowls championships. These Steelers are the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice and four Super Bowls in a six-year span. The 1970s Steelers roster featured 10 Hall of Fame players, including Terry Bradshaw and Joe Greene, and several other players who were considered for the Hall of Fame honor.
The Green Bay Packers from 1960-1967 made history that has not since been replicated. In 1961-1962, the Packers won back-to-back NFL Championships, which was the name of the championship before the introduction of the Super Bowl. Green Bay then went on to win three consecutive championships, including the first two Super Bowls, from 1965-1976. No team since then has won three consecutive titles, etching this Packers team in the NFL history books. The biggest reason for the Packers success during this period can be attributed to none other than the legendary head coach Vince Lombardi, the namesake of the Super Bowl trophy, the Lombardi trophy.
Now look back on all of those historic NFL dynasties: they all have long lasting success in both the Super Bowl and their own division, a star player that completely transformed their team and a head coach who was the backbone of his team’s glory.
The Kansas City Chiefs have all of that. They’ve been controlling not only the AFC West and the entire AFC as a whole, but also the entirety of the NFL for the last six years. The part of the Chiefs’ historic run that the rest of the NFL should be most scared of? They don’t show any signs of stopping their dominance towards a dynasty any time soon.
