He’s the man behind the scenes, but Chiefs GM Brett Veach deserves a lot of credit
The Chiefs are on a mission to “Run It Back,” having cruised through the 2020 regular season with a 14-2 record before winning a second straight AFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl LV.
The quest began shortly after their victory in Super Bowl LIV, the team’s first championship in 50 years.
The Chiefs’ foundation remains young, after all, and is coached by creative NFL genius Andy Reid. Moreover, the Chiefs have their share of All-Pro and Pro Bowl superstars on both sides of the ball, in the likes of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, tight end Travis Kelce, defensive tackle Chris Jones, defensive end Frank Clark and safety Tyrann Mathieu.
While much attention falls on the head coach and players as the Chiefs take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, there’s a man behind the scenes who is worthy of praise.
General manager Brett Veach might not command the spotlight. But the work he’s done to put (and keep) the right pieces in place has the Chiefs in position to perhaps become the first NFL team since 2004 to win back-to-back championships, a fact not lost on Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.
“I credit Brett Veach for the job he did with our roster,” Hunt said. “Obviously, most of the starters were the same ones we had last year, but there were a few changes. As he does every year, he found good players who could fill those roles.”
BUILDING BLOCKS
Veach took over as the Chiefs’ GM in June 2017 and went about building this team, and in part his own legacy.
Mahomes, Hill, Kelce, Jones, left tackle Eric Fisher, right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif were carryovers from the John Dorsey era (2012-17). Veach soon brought in Clark and Mathieu.
He also secured running back Damien Williams, Darrel Williams, wide receiver Sammy Watkins, cornerback Charvarius Ward, linebacker Anthony Hitchens, defensive end Alex Okafor, linebacker Damien Wilson and cornerback Bashaud Breeland, among others. All have been key contributors over the past three seasons.
Then, the general manager hit paydirt in the past two NFL Drafts to bolster the roster with safety Juan Thornhill, wide receiver Mecole Hardman, cornerback Rashad Fenton, guard Nick Allegretti, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.
There was a methodical approach at play here, as the Chiefs believed they had a team capable of competing for not just one Super Bowl ring, but multiple championships.
“I think the pulse that we have is we had a good core and nucleus with Pat (Patrick Mahomes) and Chris (Jones) and Tyrann and I think our mindset was to just fill in as much talent as we could,” Veach said. “I mean, I think you know when you have a Hall of Fame coach and you have the best player in the National Football League that you’re going to have a chance to win every game.”
With Veach providing the tools, Reid and his coaching staff are in the midst of an impressive run since the 2018 season, making it to the AFC Championship Game three straight years and now appearing in their second consecutive Super Bowl.
Along the way, the Chiefs have amassed a 38-10 record since 2018, including a franchise-best mark in 2020.
Mathieu, who has also played for the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans, said the Chiefs have brought together the right group of players — guys willing to buy into the team’s culture and coaching staff and cultivate and respect the locker-room leadership.
Mathieu, who joined the Chiefs in 2019 and quickly emerged as a clear team voice, has been one of Veach’s best finds. And he deflects credit back to the GM.
“I think if you have enough money, you can just go get anybody,” Mathieu said. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about guys that are going to come in and add to the culture, guys that are going to come in and really adopt the philosophy, the coaches around them and the leaders around them.
“He (Veach) has done a great job of putting the right guys inside the locker room and I think that’s a big reason why we’re so close and we’re so committed to winning with one another.”
KEEPING THE BAND TOGETHER
The 2020 offseason arguably provided Veach’s defining moments.
With the Chiefs up against the salary cap, and knowing taking care of Mahomes and Jones were priorities, Veach and his staff worked magic behind the scenes.
Salary cap guru Brandt Tillis led the way as the Chiefs reworked their contracts with Clark, Watkins and Duvernay-Tardif to gain much-needed cap relief. This free space allowed the Chiefs to lock down Mahomes, Jones and Kelce to long-term deals and bring back Breeland, fullback Anthony Sherman, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and backup quarterbacks Chad Henne and Matt Moore.
In the case of Mahomes, the Chiefs inked the superstar quarterback in July to a record 10-year deal worth more than $503 million, the richest in sports history.
A week later, the Chiefs then took care of Jones by signing the two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle to a four-year deal worth more up to $85 million. Kelce joined the party in August by signing a four-year extension worth up to $57 million.
Jones remains awestruck by the organization’s rapid-fire work and commitment to hammer out lucrative deals with key players.
“I’m very fortunate to be here,” Jones said. “Veach and his team are remarkable for how they were able to manipulate the contract situation to keep us all together, especially when Pat (Mahomes) texted me saying he left money on the table.
“That still baffles me to this day. How in the hell did you leave money on the table when you got a half a billion-dollar contract? I still don’t get it, but some way they figured it out.”
It was all part of the bigger picture. Because in the Chiefs case, where there was a will, there was a way.
“When we brought the nucleus of this team together, the idea was to have a team that would be together for a number of years,” Hunt said. “Many of the key contributors were very young when we either drafted them or signed them as free agents, and we’re just watching the group grow up in front of our eyes.”
THE LEAGUE STANDARD
The Chiefs, winners of five straight AFC West division titles, could cement their status as an emerging NFL dynasty with a win in Super Bowl LV.
And with Mahomes under center, surrounded by talent on all sides of the football, the notion of a Chiefs reign over the rest of the league isn’t far-fetched.
“Last year, we certainly had the opportunity to show what type of talent we have on the field,” Veach said. “And I think this year we got to show them what type of talent we have in the organization to get through this season with all the adversity, everyone just chipping in.”
In addition to receiving contributions from the team’s core foundation, the Chiefs’ general manager has shown a knack for locating under-the-radar role players like defensive tackle Mike Pennel and guard Stefen Wisniewski, who were each added in 2019. Both men will play in their second straight Super Bowl.
This past season, Veach’s move to bring in veteran offensive lineman Mike Remmers paid off, too. as injuries felled Schwartz and Fisher.
“I think we know that there’s a good chance that we could go out there and compete week in and week out,” Veach said. “It was just a matter of filling out the depth of that roster and making sure that when we do run into some issues throughout the course of the season, we’re prepared from a depth stand point.”
What Veach describes isn’t a secret formula, of course, but the Chiefs have added their own ingredients from the top down.
In the process, this franchise seems to have become the NFL’s new standard-bearer for building a championship roster. The Chiefs’ ownership group doesn’t take that distinction lightly, evidenced by Hunt signing Veach and Reid to their own contract extensions this past offseason.
“I’m very proud of the group of people that we have here,” Hunt said. “I guess if there was one thing that I would really point to, that starts with Andy, Brett Veach, (team president) Mark Donovan, the leaders in the locker room.
“I think that group of people has allowed us to build a team that’s a consistent winner and one that can hopefully compete for many championships. I certainly don’t take it for granted.”
