Kevin Ross says his 1990s Chiefs ‘probably would have had four rings’ with Mahomes
.JPG "(STAFF/JOE LEDFORD) Kansas City Chiefs defensive players Kevin Ross (right) talked with Jerome Woods during a time out at the game against the St. Louis Rams August 22, 1997 at the Trans World Dome. (Staff/Joe Ledford)")
One of the best cornerbacks in Chiefs history will be doing his best to deny the franchise a second straight Super Bowl championship.
Kevin Ross, who played for the Chiefs from 1984-1993 and again in 1997, is the cornerbacks coach for the Buccaneers, who will face Kansas City on Sunday in Super Bowl LV.
The Chiefs added Ross’ name to the Ring of Honor in 2011. In addition to intercepting 30 passes in his career with the Chiefs, Ross scored touchdowns in four different ways: two interceptions, a pair of blocked field-goal returns, a blocked punt return and a fumble recovery.
“It’s unreal, really,” Ross said. “I watched them last year win it, and I was very happy for them. Now to play against them in the biggest game I’ve ever been involved in is special.
“I hate that somebody has to lose, but somebody has to lose.”
Ross and the Chiefs made the playoffs each year from 1990-93, reaching the AFC Championship Game in that final year. But the Chiefs were never able to break through and reach the Super Bowl.
“No disrespect to the quarterback,” Ross said, “but if we had (Patrick) Mahomes back then, we probably would have had four rings at least.”
Ross isn’t the only former Chiefs player on the Buccaneers’ coaching staff. Todd McNair, who spent all but two of his eight NFL seasons with the Chiefs, is Tampa Bay’s running backs coach.
McNair noted he learned a lot from the coaching staff when he was in Kansas City (1989-96 and 1996).
“From a player development standpoint, we had an incredible staff,” McNair said. “I really, really respected Marty (Schottenheimer), a lot. He taught us a lot from an approach to the game, studying, being a student of the game and preparation. He was a great, great teacher.
“In my career there, we had Marty Schottenheimer, we had Tony Dungy, Herman Edwards was the assistant DB coach, Bill Cowher was the defensive coordinator, Art Shell coached the O-line, we had Alex Gibbs, the O-line guru coaching, the late Howard Mudd was coaching. We had an incredible staff a long the way. We learned a lot of football.”
Facing the Chiefs in the Super Bowl is surreal for McNair. He posted a photo last month on social media in his NFC champions hat. The first person he heard from was Allen Wright, the Chiefs director of equipment.
“He texted me like get that out of here,” McNair said with a smile. “Then the fans on there, they’re like, we don’t approve of this. You’re a Chief. It runs through your veins. It’s kind of surreal. It’s neat.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2021 at 11:14 AM.
