AFC Notes: Patrick Mahomes, Chip Kelly, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Hall of Fame CB Champ Bailey said that current Broncos CB Patrick Surtain is “on a Hall of Fame path.”

“I mean, it means a lot, especially coming from a guy like him who’s done that in a high-level,” Surtain said of the comments. “When you get respect from your peers, that’s the highest honor you could get. It means a lot coming from him specifically.”

Surtain also commented on the chances that he could win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

“Shoot man, it’d mean a lot,” Surtain added. “Especially knowing that the margin is pretty slim for cornerbacks to win it, but yeah, it’d be a huge honor. It was something that I worked for. It was a big goal of mine to reach that at the end of the year so it’ll definitely be a huge honor to add to my accolade sheet.”

Chiefs

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes spoke at length about his legacy, noting that he cares more about the team’s success than his own personal place in history.

“No, I’m just trying to be the greatest Patrick Mahomes that I can be,” Mahomes said, via NFL.com. “I mean, that’s obviously a goal of anyone’s, is to be the greatest at their profession, but in order to do that, you have to be the greatest that you can be every single day, and if that’s on the field and the work ethic I put in or off the field in the father and husband that I am, I’m gonna try to be the greatest in that way, and whenever I’m done with football, if I leave everything out there the way that I feel like I have so far, as far as effort and mentality, I’ll be happy with the results and I’ll let others talk about who the greatest is of whatever profession that is.”

“I care more about the legacy of our team,” Mahomes added. “You know, we’ve put in so much work and worked so hard that I want to be remembered for the team that we are and the team that we built here in Kansas City. I never really think about my legacy; I think about all the guys that I’ve played with and how they’ve kind of left their imprint on this team and I want us to be remembered for that.”

Mahomes also mentioned that he doesn’t take the team’s role as villains around the league too seriously.

“I don’t even think it’s embracing being in the villains,” Mahomes continued. “We embrace who we are, and we believe we play the game the right way. We believe that we play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion for the game and then we win football games. If winning football games makes you a villain, we’re gonna keep going out there and doing it. It’s all fun because I was that guy. I was a Cowboys fan growing up, and I used to hate the Patriots. I think more than anything, I appreciate the greatness of the Patriots more now when I see how hard it was to do what they did. But we just go out there and play the game that we love, the way that we feel like is the right way and all the other stuff is kind of outside noise. Hopefully, we’re just giving people a great product to watch, and they can see the love for the game that we have.”

“You know, as I’ve watched the greats, I think more than anything, it’s just to be able to win,” Mahomes concluded. “I know that sounds easy, but to be able to win with a team that’s around you is something that’s special and that the greatest do, and I think I learned that the most from Tom Brady. He did whatever it took to win the football game, and as a quarterback, that’s what you have to be and that’s what I’ve learned over my career.”

Raiders

Coming off a collegiate national championship, the Raiders hired former OSU OC Chip Kelly to be the OC under new HC Pete Carroll. Kelly outlined his excitement and respect for Carroll from their time competing against each other as head coaches in the Pac-12. 

“I’ve got great respect from when I coached against him my first year in the Pac-10 — and I did say Pac-10, that’s how long ago it was,” Kelly said, via Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “I think everybody in the coaching profession, if you get a chance to work with Pete Carroll, you’re pretty excited about it.”

With question marks at quarterback, Kelly knows they can’t create their own player and will look to find someone who can fit in with everything else they have going.

“It depends on the personnel because you can’t build a quarterback. We don’t have a scientific lab here where we can say we want a 6-foot-5 guy that’s 250 pounds and runs a 4.4 (40-yard dash) and can make every throw. You can’t do that. You have to look at what is available to you whether it’s through the draft or through free agency or on the current roster. And then, what are their strengths and how do we design our offense around their strengths? It has to be designed around how the quarterback plays. So, I think it’s really your evaluation of the personnel that’s available to you and then fitting them into that system.”

With Carroll being 73 years old, some have wondered if Kelly could be the HC in waiting. Kelly shut down those ideas for the moment and said he’s content with his football career to this point.

“I’m really not concerned (about it). If I never coach again after this season, then I would have a life that I never dreamed I could ever have in football. I’m going to coach for a long, long time as long as someone will have me. Whether that’s as a position coach or as a head coach or as a coordinator, I’m not really caught up in that stuff.”