Kevin Harlan: Never forget about Alex Smith’s role in helping Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes
Kevin Harlan will be calling Super Bowl LV for Westwood One, and it will be his 11th straight time calling the NFL’s biggest game.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, Harlan joined “The Rich Eisen Show” on Tuesday and talked Chiefs, the team for which he once called games on the radio.
Harlan, who still has a home in the Kansas City area, said if the Chiefs defeat Tampa Bay on Sunday, it would be fair to call them a dynasty.
“Don’t you think that back-to-back championships in this NFL, this era of pro football has that as you say dynastic feel to it?” Harlan asked. “Last time we had to repeat champion was Brady 16 years ago. There have only been, what, eight or nine repeat champions in pro football Super Bowl history?
“So it’s hard to do, and this is the longest span by the way from repeat champion, to the next repeat. It’s always been like eight or nine years ... it’s never been 16, which I think is reflective of where we are: free agency and contracts, salary cap and all the things you’ve got to navigate. It just is a very difficult thing to do.”
Harlan then mentioned Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ incredible start to his career: NFL MVP award, Super Bowl MVP award and two straight Super Bowl appearances.
He also noted that Mahomes’ stock wasn’t as high as others heading into the NFL Draft. But the Chiefs saw something in Mahomes and how he’d fit with coach Andy Reid.
Having Alex Smith to help guide Mahomes through that first year in the NFL is something that Harlan believes can get overlooked.
“I never forget to mention that Alex Smith was here for Mahomes’ first year, the consummate professional right? And Mahomes got to watch what it was like to be an NFL quarterback, the routine, the practice habits, the study habits, film work, all of it,” Harlan said.
“I don’t think you can talk about Mahomes and the success he has now without mentioning Alex Smith, and then the perfect coach Andy Reid. There have been a lot of contributing parts. Certainly Mahomes is at the center of it, but those guys were huge in his rocket start that he’s had.”
Here are the clips of Harlan talking Chiefs with Eisen:
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 10:33 AM.
