Clark Hunt talks Chiefs season, Mahomes, Hill, proposed schedule changes, more
The sting of Sunday’s late-game collapse trickled through the Chiefs locker room in Tennessee, one player crying and two others engaged in loud conversation.
It hit the owner hard, too.
Speaking to the media for his annual in-season conference, Clark Hunt opened his ranging remarks by stating, “I want to start off by acknowledging what a tough loss it was for us this past weekend against the Titans.”
Since being named chairman of the franchise in 2005, Hunt has rarely displayed as much optimism for a season as he did before the year began. Through 10 games, however, the Chiefs sit 6-4, just a half game lead over the Oakland Raiders in the AFC West and three losses behind the New England Patriots in an evaporating race for the conference’s top seed. The unexpected has popped up. Injuries. Struggles at home. Struggles closing out games.
But Hunt says he’s maintained his optimism about the final six games — and potentially beyond.
“We’ve got an outstanding football team with a great coaching staff, ... and I think the team is going to continue to improve,” Hunt said. “I mentioned at the beginning of the season that one of the most important narratives this year was the improvement of the defense and how that took place during the season. I personally didn’t expect that we would start off with a finished product.
“I’ve been very encouraged by what I’ve seen, this past weekend notwithstanding. I do think the defense is improving. With Patrick (Mahomes) back and now getting more of our offensive starters back, I think the offense can be as least as good as it was last year, if not better. And you put that together, and that gives you an opportunity to win a Super Bowl.”
Hunt, the team’s owner, CEO and chairman, addressed several other topics Wednesday.
• On the potential of looking into a contract extension for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, first eligible for such a move after this season: “We’re certainly excited about the opportunity to extend Patrick’s stay with the Chiefs and hope that lasts his entire career. It’s probably a little premature to be talking about a new contract. Everyone knows the first opportunity we’ll have to resign him will come at the end of this season, but that’s a decision we’ll have to make with his representatives, whether this is the right time or perhaps a year from now.
• On talks with defensive lineman Chris Jones, whose contract expires after the year: “There have been ongoing discussions with Chris’ representatives. As I mentioned in the preseason, we’re very hopeful that we can extend Chris’ contract and bring him back to Kansas City for many years to come. He’s obviously a fantastic player (and) great guy in the locker room.”
• For nearly a decade now, Hunt said the league has discussed condensing the preseason schedule in favor or expanding the regular season one, an idea he supports. If the regular season is stretched to 17 games, Hunt said, “One thought is that you could play at least some of those games in a neutral site, and obviously international is one place that we could do that. It would give the league more inventory to play more international games.”
• On giving wide receiver Tyreek Hill a three-year, $54 million contract extension days before the season, Hunt said, “We obviously had some level of comfort with the information we received about the investigation and what Tyreek was doing to make himself a better man, a better husband and a better father. As we looked at the season, we thought it was important to try to get Tyreek done early in the year. We were able to reach an agreement with his representatives that rewards Tyreek for the quality of play we’ve seen over the last three-plus years but also one that protects the organization. That’s really the catalyst that led to that getting done.”
• Hunt expressed he was concerned Mahomes could be done for the season while attending the game in Denver last month. As for Mahomes’ quick return, Hunt remained part of thorough discussions, “But at the end of the day, we left it to the doctors and our training staff.”
• Hunt said he has known future Royals owner John Sherman for more than a decade, interacting with him in various business settings in Kansas City. “I think the city is very, very fortunate to have somebody of John’s character and somebody who loves the city as much as he does buying the Royals.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 4:07 PM.