Much has changed since Chiefs last went to Miami. But the unchanged explains a lot
Patrick Mahomes still gripped a football in his hands when he strolled into the locker room at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Minutes after leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl, he had pulled a gray T-shirt over his shoulder pads, covering his jersey, and placed a hat on the haircut that has since been the subject of a national commercial.
But the football? That came from the game. Mahomes had wanted to preserve a memento from the 60 minutes that prompted the trophy, more so than an item from the celebration that followed.
And yet, today he rarely talks about any of this. Rarely even thinks about it, if you are inclined to believe his responses to questions are more than an ability to pick the right thing to say.
But never will there be a better test, at least in the regular season. The Chiefs make a trip back to Miami on Sunday — the place where it happened — to play the Dolphins. The last time they departed Hard Rock Stadium, they left behind piles of red and gold confetti on the field.
When they return, it will undoubtedly provide a reminder of what last occurred. But to hear them say it, that’s all. A brief reminder.
“I’m sure it will, but at the same time, we’re going down there to play a really good football team,” Mahomes said. “I mean, a quickly as you get those memories, you kind of let those things go, because it will take everything we have to beat a really good Miami Dolphins football team.”
Ten months ago, the Chiefs arrived to the biggest sporting event in the country after their coach had prepared them best he could to the week-long glitz and glamour that comes with it. They had conversations about it daily. They even brought in former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson to a practice to drive home the purpose of the trip — winning.
They return now to an entirely different situation. An in-and-out trip. To a stadium that will house 13,000 people ... at the most. A game that will be played alongside six others in the noon window. There is perhaps no better football reminder of how much has changed in less than a year.
But much hasn’t.
Like what? Well, like the Chiefs. The roster, sure; that was a priority. But the Chiefs have approached 2020 as if 2019 never happened. To a player and coach, they say it was never even brought up in training camp. They used all of one day to celebrate with a ring ceremony inside a virtually-empty Arrowhead Stadium.
Maybe the Chiefs would still be 11-1 even if they were basking in the aftermath of last year’s Super Bowl. Maybe. And maybe you believe it’s lip service when they say it’s not a topic at practice or even in private conversations among teammates and friends.
They sure are convincing, though. This is a franchise built to win multiple championships with a quarterback, already the best in football, actually improving in both obvious and subtle ways. Their best window is now, with Mahomes still on his rookie contract and a salary cap set to decrease next year in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Andy Reid had never won a Super Bowl before February. You know this. But he has plenty of friends who had. The coaching community is a tight-knit group. In other words, he had people to ask for advice.
On this topic? He didn’t bother. Didn’t need to.
He enjoyed a cheeseburger, he said, repeating his favorite punch line, and simply moved on. And he instructed his team to do the same. Enjoy it. Then move on.
The Chiefs have been steadfast in their determination to hold to that. They believe it’s what gives them a chance to do it all over again.
Reid was asked about returning to Miami three times this week — during every single Zoom session he had with the media — and rather than providing even an inkling that it would bring up any emotions, he just wanted to point out at the Chiefs will be in a different locker room (the visiting one) than they were in February (the home one).
So, you know, completely different setting.
“I probably won’t reflect too much about it,” he answered Monday.
“I probably won’t go there too much,” he answered Wednesday.
“I can’t tell you that there’s any fuzzy feelings about it,” he answered Friday.
The irony of it all is this mindset started that very day, in that very city, in that very stadium.
Only a few feet from where Mahomes had embraced every teammate, football in hand, defensive lineman Chris Jones held court in front of his own locker, telling anyone and everyone the plan.
“This is the beginning of something,” he said. “This is a dynasty.”