Let’s see how far we can take it” is the creative cooperation mantra shared by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.

While the rest of the team worked on special teams, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a small core of offensive players and coaches were on the practice field in the days leading up to his first Super Bowl.

During Mahomes’ formative years as an NFL quarterback, the Kansas City Chiefs’ special teams time served as his own laboratory, where he was free to push the envelope, breaking the rules, creating plays, and trying out new mechanics. Andy Reid, the coach of the Chiefs, had a saying for that kind of thinking: “I’m giving you the keys.

Mahomes floored the gas and turned the keys during practice before his biggest game ever. He dropped the ball, went full Magic Johnson, and hit tight end Travis Kelce with a behind-the-back throw as he dashed to his right. The Chiefs’ running back coach at the time, Deland McCullough, was stunned into silence.

McCullough clarified, “I’m not talking about Travis being 10 yards away.” It’s possible that Travis was 25 or 30 yards away.

Mahomes had previously toyed with the idea of a behind-the-back pass. Persuaded he could pull it off, he begged Reid to allow him to do it in the game and hinted at the prospect in interviews. Marcus Kemp, a former Chiefs receiver, was reluctant to discuss last season because he was so certain that Mahomes still desired to try a behind-the-back pass.

Kemp remarked, “I believe Pat is still attempting to get it in.” “He has likely been doing this for three years.”

The internet reacted as normal on August 17, the preseason, when Mahomes finally showed off by finding Kelce against the Lions. However, Reid’s response—the guy who gave Mahomes the keys years prior—was the most telling.

Reid informed his QB, “I’ve been telling you to do it for a while.”

One of the most productive teams in NFL history is already Reid and Mahomes.

No club in the league has won more games or scored more points in the six seasons since Mahomes took over as the full-time starter. In addition, there are the three Super Bowl trophies, the six consecutive trips to the AFC Championship game, and this season’s potential for the first Super Bowl three-peat, but the bond goes beyond accomplishments. This creative force is more akin to the prolific duo Lennon-McCartney or Wozniak-Jobs, who live on creative teamwork.

 

According to Mahomes, he made up a behind-the-back pass.

Reid, a 66-year-old Hollywood set designer’s son, wants his players to push the boundaries to where they aren’t on the page rather than colouring outside of them. Mahomes, a 28-year-old quarterback who is the son of a major-league pitcher, aspires to redefine the position in addition to becoming a great quarterback.

Kemp stated, “Reid has created an ecosystem around him where he surrounds himself with people who he thinks have the same underlying principles.” “I do think that’s why he brought Pat in.”

“I was like, ‘Wow,'” McCullough remarked of the surroundings. “There was always a flow of fluids.”

From their first workouts together in 2017, Reid challenged Mahomes to look beyond the box. The quarterback would repeatedly hear the coach tell him, “I want you to stretch the offence.”

That required making bold moves. forcing throws from narrow windows. investigating the possibilities, even if it meant that Mahomes would not always succeed.

Reid would say, “Let’s see how far we can take it.”

Mahomes showed exceptional skill, and as the two grew more at ease with one another, they nurtured a creative atmosphere that enabled them to maximise their own strengths. Reid was the offensive wizard who was willing to try everything. He was the type of experimenter who once tackled a rushing back with a 350-pound nose tackle and begged his assistants to abide by the basic principle of “Don’t Judge.” Mahomes was the quarterback in college who took chances and thought he could do anything. He completed his first no-look ball in the fourth quarter of a close game.

Early on, veteran players in Kansas City started to see something.

Former Chiefs offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz remarked, “That youthful zeal that Pat has rubbed off on Coach and given him some extra life.” This is true, “because he was not required to be quite as rigid. He had this person who could accomplish anything he set his mind to.

Mahomes was able to utilise all of his special and frequently unusual talents because Reid was open to exploring new things. Mahomes managed the scout team in 2017 while serving as Alex Smith’s backup. Reid once whistlingly shouted for Brad Childress, the team’s associate head coach at the time, to come over. To begin marking plays, Reid instructed Childress to take out his play sheet and write, “Play 3, Play 5, Play 6, Play 8.”

Reid had just watched as Mahomes confused veteran linebacker Justin Houston and the rest of the starting defence by completing at least four no-look passes.

Childress remarked, “Justin Houston’s reaction was incredible.” “He examined the flat.” He turned to face the QB. He turned to see where the ball had ended up. He turned to face Coach Reid. He turned to face the QB again. He turned to face the flat. “What just happened?” he asks.

Reid maintained his composure. He urged Childress to just watch the tape of those plays. However, Childress had been here long enough to notice that Reid was disguising a grin.

 

The Chiefs, who had Schwartz as a player from 2016 to 2020, examined film on Tuesday before doing a walkthrough practice. The players dressed normally. Not a cleat. Very relaxed atmosphere.

One distinctive aspect was that Reid would go about each week carrying a small piece of paper with fresh plays written on it that even his assistant coaches had never seen before. In an attempt to visualise the geometry, Reid moved tight ends a few yards in one direction and pulled receivers into new locations, seeming to players and coaches like a guy weaving through a large chess board.

It was not a one-person job. As Kemp put it, Reid would hold up a notecard during the huddle, giving players time to “sort it out in their minds.” They would then form a line. Typically, the play had no title at all.

McCullough stated, “He might go through seven or eight items, and maybe four of them make the cut.”

It demystified the process because it felt so fundamental, like a play was being created in real time. Gamers were able to contribute their own ideas and modifications. Reid had wanted it precisely.

According to Kemp, that’s when Patrick began to feel secure enough to write those plays on his own. It was watching the team leader handle it and find a solution on the pitch. You weren’t required to present him with a flawless play.

Reid made the Chiefs famous by using plays from wherever, including rival teams, friends, Rose Bowl games, and college football games. even from bizarre concepts encountered in walkthroughs.

According to Schwartz, “It seems like Coach just kind of watches what Pat does during practice having fun and thinks, ‘Hmm, that could be quite good.'”

On January 7, 2023, the most unconventional partnership of the Reid-Mahomes era took place. That was the day the Chiefs performed “Arctic Circle,” also referred to as the “Circle of Death,” a piece that started with a whirling assembly and finished in utter chaos.

Reversing coursePositioned in the shotgun, Jerick McKinnon executed a run-pass option before flipping the ball to quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes halted and returned the football to wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who darted into the end zone, only to have the touchdown nullified by a holding call.

The swirling huddle was even more bizarre than the dazzling plan. The players on the pitch were the only ones who remained unfazed.

According to Kemp, “we had seen it for pretty much the entire year in different capacities.”

 

The play originated from the Chiefs’ Saturday walkthroughs, where they would practice a set of end-of-game trick plays and Hail Marys. The team began searching for methods to liven things up after four or five years of largely the same looks.

Pat and the entire offence should use their creativity at that point, Kemp added. “Whether it’s legal or not isn’t really important.”

Someone at some point thought, “What if, instead of breaking the huddle, we all started spinning in a circle?”

What appeared to be mayhem was actually a skilfully crafted screenplay. Reid’s ability to take an odd concept and break it down piece by piece is one of his greatest assets. Kemp remarked, “He’ll pick apart the specifics so he can teach it over and over and over again.” He gave detailed instructions to everyone of them about where to go, when to stop, who would make the call, how to turn, and what particular actions they needed to take. I believe that the details are what made it work out.

Reid signed off, saying, “Let’s put it in,” after spending several Saturdays fine-tuning and refining the circle-of-death notion.

Naturally, Mahomes possesses the kind of skill that elevates any concept to the level of excellence. “Pat is one of those guys who just kind of clicks at everything he does,” Kemp remarked. “So he might just kind of do something at random and a coach or he himself will figure out a way to use it.”

Upon assuming the starting position in 2018, Mahomes began advocating for the use of underhanded shovel passes, believing that they would better conceal the action than standard shovel passes. Reid spent two or three weeks creating a new structure in case the time didn’t work out.

The play was a mainstay.

Austin Reiter, the centre, began practicing snaps while moving at about the same time as Mahomes did. After starting off as just another entertaining drill, the quarterback asked assistant coach Tom Melvin if it was permissible. He then brought it to the special teams phase, known as the finishing lab, where he worked on plays with Kelce. Reid was the last person to install a play titled “Ferrari Right.”

“Coach Reid understands that delicate balance between being just crazy enough and safe enough,” former Chiefs quarterback Anthony Gordon said.

Further stating, “It was never a stressful workplace,” said former quarterback Matt McGloin. It was enjoyable every time. It was always thrilling. It was amazing that you were always learning. It always required a lot of teamwork.

Mahomes and Reid went over a play sheet for an impending preseason game the day before the 2018 campaign began. In the previous season, Mahomes had made his only career start against Denver, and Reid was in his 20th season as an NFL head coach. Reid, however, marked it off when Mahomes stated he wasn’t fond of a play in the game plan.

According to McGloin, “that’s the confidence that Andy had in his guys.”

After six years, the collaboration is strong.

Mahomes and Reid had another meeting the night before the AFC Championship Game in Baltimore the previous season, during which the offensive staff of the team discussed end-of-game plays. Mahomes stated he wanted a play that could overcome man-to-man coverage and the Ravens’ pressure if they had to convert a third-and-long to win the game.

Next night, with 2:19 remaining, the Chiefs had a 17-10 lead over the Ravens. Third and nine, that is. Mahomes moved to the opposing sideline.

“Hand me the ball,” he uttered.

Reid was aware of Mahomes’ preferred play. Once more, he gave Mahomes the keys.

After the Ravens displayed Cover Zero and the Chiefs set up three receivers to the left, Mahomes hit receiver Marques Valdes-Scantling with a deep pass over the middle to send Kansas City back to the Super Bowl.