Alex Smith feels ‘source of pride’ for his part in helping build Chiefs’ dynasty
General manager Brett Veach took a seat at Tuesday’s SiriusXM Town Hall from Chiefs training camp and addressed one of the people asking the questions.
“I know he’s too humble, but are any of us here right now if it’s not for this guy right here?” said Veach, who pointed to former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith. “He established a winning tradition and a culture, and I mean, in this league, it’s so hard to have success and sustained success, but I don’t think any of us are here, including the guys you see on the field right now, if this guy didn’t come in here and do what he did and really paved the way for all of us. So thank you, Alex, for everything.”
A crowd of about 20 Chiefs fans was in attendance and burst into applause. Chiefs fans have shared Veach’s sentiment on social media, with at least one fan making a TikTok tribute to Smith’s time in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have a number of incredible streaks over the past decade. There are the back-to-back Super Bowl champions and have three Lombardi Trophies won in five years, four Super Bowl appearances in five seasons, six straight AFC Championship Game appearances, eight consecutive AFC West titles and nine straight playoff appearances.
Those latter two began when Smith was the Chiefs quarterback on season after they had a 2-14 record in 2012. Andy Reid was hired as coach after the season and the team acquired Smith in a trade shortly thereafter. The Chiefs haven’t had a losing record since.
I spoke with Smith about his part in helping build a championship culture in Kansas City.
“It is a source of pride to be a part of the culture change that took place here,” Smith said. “We had the No. 1 pick in the draft that year for a reason. They won two games the year before. I think there was such a great young nucleus of that team, though, from the year prior that stayed, especially defensively. We were a part of, obviously, what Andy was trying to build, certainly trading for me and bringing me in, along with a bunch of other people.
“I do think the foundation was built those five years I was here. I think that’s something I’m proud of, and then obviously more proud of to watch where they’ve taken it now. It’s such great heights, historic heights, and to see the young core of those guys that I saw come in that building — (Travis) Kelce, Patrick (Mahomes) and Chris Jones — you know, just to see what those guys have become, and the leaders they are. And now back to back Super Bowls and going for a third.”
Worst to first
The 2012 Chiefs had the NFL’s worst scoring offense, and the defense was ranked 25th. They lost 12 of their final 13 games and, as Smith noted, had the first pick in the NFL Draft.
A year later, Smith and the Chiefs won their first nine games and made the playoffs. That was the first of four postseason appearances in his five seasons. Smith won 50 games as the Chiefs starter, threw for 17,608 yards and 102 touchdowns and helped mentor Mahomes.
“I do think the expectations changed in those five years, right?” Smith said. “Going from just trying to win some games, and then the expectation was to win the division and go to the playoffs and win playoff games. And now the expectations, they’re even higher. Now I think the expectation is so high for this entire team and Patrick. I like to see how they just kind of stayed true to themselves and dealt with this. I think it’s really cool.”
Ties to the Chiefs
Before taking part in the SiriusXM event, Smith went into the Chiefs locker room at Missouri Western and walked down to the practice fields.
“I think most of all just to come back and still have those friendships with the people and those guys, along with all the coaching staff — which is for the most part the same that I was with — is very cool,” Smith said. “But obviously it was a tiny part I played in that.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2024 at 9:29 AM.
