Are the Kansas City Chiefs the new Patriots in the AFC?
It’s a great time to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan. The AFC West franchise has won back-to-back AFC Championships and were Super Bowl LIV champions.
Led by 25-year-old superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City looks set to dominate the AFC for many NFL seasons to come. The Chiefs’ recent hegemony has led to comparisons with another championship-winning AFC regime, the New England Patriots, of old, of course.
I, for one, think this comparison is not only premature but also a touch disingenuous to the Chiefs. Here's why.
The Chiefs are no evil empire
The New England Patriots are the most successful NFL franchise of the millennium. No other team has come close to the six NFL championships the Pats have won since 2000.
Now I’ll admit that I’m not a Patriots fan, but you can’t knock the success they have had. But the way the AFC East conquerors went about winning is certainly open to some criticism.
By comparing the Kansas City Chiefs to the Patriots, you will quickly see why the Chiefs are not the next Pats.
Ownership
The Kansas Chiefs are owned by the Hunt family and the franchise is run by Clark Hunt, the 56-year-old CEO. Hunt has helped guide the Chiefs to their recent success without the controversy that has followed the Patriots owner.
Speaking of Patriots ownership, Robert Kraft is the 80-year-old longtime owner/CEO of the New England Patriots. In recent years Kraft has made headlines for his friendships with rappers, relationships with young women, and his arrest in 2019 for solicitation in Florida, which he was later dropped.
Coaches
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is one of the most beloved figures in the NFL. The Andy Reid coaching tree is now legendary in the league and he is respected by everyone in the NFL (except maybe Le’Veon Bell.)
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Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. He is grumpy, rude to the media and cutthroat in his dealings with his players. When he pulls the hood of his sweatshirt up, he resembles the emperor from Return of the Jedi.
Quarterbacks
Patrick Mahomes is a friendly, 25-year-old with a young family. He's the son of a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Mahomes is friendly with the NFL media and has embraced the Kansas City community wholly. He is now a minority owner of the city's soccer team in the MLS and its baseball franchise.
Longtime Patriots QB brady" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tom Brady was not known for his openness to the media or the public. Until he moved to Tampa Bay, no one really knew who Tom Brady really was. He married a Brazilian supermodel and had a weird diet: that was the extent of what NFL fans knew of TB12 during his time with the Patriots.
Scandals
So far, the Kansas City Chiefs have avoided any major scandals during their recent successful run. They cut ties with Kareem Hunt after he was involved in a domestic violence incident and current defensive end Frank Clark is facing weapons charges but is yet to appear in court.
The New England Patriots have been the subject of numerous controversial incidents during their dynasty run. Let’s start with “Spygate.”
In 2007, the Pats were caught videotaping the New York Jets defensive coach’s signals from the stands during a game. The Patriots were fined $250,000 while Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 for his part in the scandal.
The incident led to revelations that the Pats had videotaped the St. Louis Rams practice before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, something New England has repeatedly denied.
“Deflategate” in 2014, was another incident in which the Patriots were found guilty of cheating. This time quarterback Tom Brady had the footballs for the AFC Championship game deflated.
Brady was suspended for four games, the team was fined $1 million by the league and forfeited two draft picks in 2016. While not the most egregious cheating scandal, it was yet another example of the Pats breaking the rules to go all the way.
All this is without mentioning the Aaron Hernandez saga, which is a touch too dark for this discussion.
The Chiefs are crafting their own legacy
The Chiefs will hope to emulate the New England Patriots’ success on the field and continue to avoid the Pats' drama off it. There is nothing more difficult in American sports than creating an NFL dynasty without the dark shadows of Spygate and Deflategate.
The ball's in the Chiefs' hands now.
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