The Kansas City Chiefs just won their third Super Bowl in five years, on their fourth trip to the big game.
They also won back-to-back Super Bowls for the first time in 19 seasons, establishing the next NFL dynasty and becoming the envy of every NFL team.
Chiefs fatigue seems to finally be setting in among other NFL fanbases and with Patrick Mahomes at only 28 years old, it looks like they will be around for a while, winning titles and irritating fans of parity.
But these aren’t your father’s Chiefs. Or your grandfathers.
No, it’s been a long, arduous journey for Kansas City to get its QB savior and multiple championships.
The Chiefs lost Super Bowl I to the Green Bay Packers in 1966. They returned three years later and beat the Minnesota Vikingsin the final Super Bowl before the AFL and NFL merged for the 1970 season.
For those years in the ‘60s, Kansas City was led by a pair of Hall of Famers; coach Hank Stram and quarterback Len Dawson.
Now, don’t get me wrong, those weren’t the only HOFers, Kansas City’s defense was loaded back then, too. With Buck Buchanan, Curley Culp, Willie Lanier, Bobby Bell and Emmitt Thomas, among others.
But as we all know, champions are so often defined by their QBs.
Dawson, as great as he was, had very ‘60s QB stat lines. One can hardly compare the numbers because by modern standards they seem so bad. But it was an entirely different sport back then. Dawson never threw for 3,000 yards, never threw more than 29 touchdowns, and led the AFL in completion percentage six consecutive years but never completed more than 59 percent of his passes.
After the Chiefs’ win in Super Bowl IV, they entered the wilderness. They had just one playoff appearance in the next 16 seasons and only two in their next 20.
They had a big-name coach at that time, too. Marv Levy held a 31-42 record with zero playoff appearances. He would go on to be a Hall of Fame coach for the Buffalo Bills, leading them to four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s.
KC also struggled to find a quarterback after Dawson. They cycled through guys like Mike Livingston (second-round pick; 31-43-1 record as a starter; 56 TD, 83 INT), Steve Fuller (yes that Steve Fuller, 1st round pick, 13-18 record with KC; 22 TD, 32 INT) and Bill Kenney (34-43 record; 105 TD, 86 INT, one Pro-Bowl, zero playoff wins). They also spent another first-round pick on a QB in Todd Blackledge. Blackledge never became the full-time starter, never led the Chiefs in passing yards in a season and was entirely underwhelming (13-11 record; 26 TD, 32 INT)
But the Chiefs turned a slight corner to relevance in 1989 with the hire of Marty Schottenheimer. Six straight playoff appearances followed, including an AFC Championship appearance, but still no breakthrough and a lot of heartbreak.
Schottenheimer also cycled through QBs like Steve DeBerg, Dave Kreig, late-career Joe Montana and Steve Bono. Guys you’re used to dropping into the Immaculate Grid more than great QB lists (Montana aside, obviously).
The rest of the ‘90s was much the same, with Dick Vermeil, a great and respected coach but fewer playoff appearances and more journeymen QBs; Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac and Trent Green.
During this time in the QB abyss, the Chiefs famously did not select a QB in the first round. The next QB the Chiefs would take a swing on in round one was Mahomes.
Mike Elkins (32nd overall in round two in ‘89), who appeared in one career game, throwing two passes and one INT was the highest draft QB between the two first-rounders.
Others were drafted, though: Matt Blundin, Steve Matthews, Steve Stenstrom, Pat Barnes, Brodie Croyle, Ricky Stanzi, Aaron Murray, and Kevin Hogan.
But none of those guys cracked the starting spot for very long.
They were cycling through castoffs and journeymen—Guys like Damon Huard, Matt Cassel, and, the best of the bunch, Alex Smith.
The coaching was often bad, too. Herm Edwards, Todd Haley and Romeo Crennel were in there before Andy Reid.
But then everything came together in 2017, Alex Smith was playing QB at a Pro-Bowl level, the best QB that Chiefs fans had seen since at least Joe Montana.
It was clear though that he wasn’t a win-because-of QB. They wanted more. They did their due diligence and traded up for Patrick Mahomes. He sat on the bench for one year and then rest is history.
The Chiefs wandered the QB abyss for exactly 50 seasons. They cycled through coaches and QBs and could never get it all right. They came close a couple of times but never had the breakthrough.
They turned their back on a promising, if underwhelming, QB for someone they believed could be special, and they helped him develop to his fullest potential.
And now they’re the kings of the NFL.
I have a Chiefs fan friend. I’ll never forget he texted me when the Chiefs traded Smith. He said “Why would they trade Alex Smith? He’s the best QB they’ve had in forever. This Mahomes guy had one good game.” I told him if what everyone says about Mahomes is true, you’re not going to care that they traded Smith.
The Chiefs waited 50 years. Now they’ve hoisted the Lombardi trophy three times in four years.
I don’t know if Caleb Williams will work out. But it’s the hope. The Chicago Bears fell into an insanely improbable opportunity to have the pick of any QB prospect they want.
It’s their best chance to stop wandering in the QB abyss and hopefully pick up their ticket to a possible dynasty.
It’ll be exactly 40 years since the Bears’ last Super Bowl win in January 2026…
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