I know it, you know it and the NFL for darn sure knows it.
The Super Bowl is going to be the most-watched television show of the year in 2020. But this year’s edition will blow out past years’ in the ratings for one reason. His name is Patrick Mahomes III.
The Kansas City quarterback carries unsurpassed talent and confidence on to the field and they helped the Chiefs overcome respective 27-0 and 17-7 deficits in the playoffs against the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans. His team is headed to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years.
His leadership, intelligence, style, good looks and Muppet voice have made him not only the face of the Chiefs – he is now the face of the NFL. People who don’t follow NFL football know who Patrick Mahomes is and what he has accomplished.
Mahomes will soon top New England quarterback Tom Brady at the summit of the NFL’s list of top-selling players in terms of merchandise, the NFL Players’ Association announced Monday.
He led all players in league-licensed merchandise sales from March 1 to November 30. If Mahomes maintains his position through the end of February (the Super bowl is Feb. 2), he will end Brady’s reign. Brady has been No. 1 the last two seasons and led all players three times since 2014.
As humble as he is talented – Mahomes will be the fifth-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl. The world is his oyster, but this black pearl is more about winning than personal achievement.
“Playing at Texas Tech, I put up a lot of stats but we didn’t win a lot of football games,” Mahomes told ESPN minutes after the AFC Championship victory.
“I knew going into the NFL I was going to do whatever it took just to win games.”
He proved his point on a 27-yard wild scramble for a touchdown seconds before the end of the first half that put Kansas City up 21-17 in the AFC title game. The Mahomes’ legend grew leaps and bounds on that play and so did his icon stature in Kansas City.
He later said on Twitter, “Thank you Chiefs Kingdom that one was for you. But we aren’t done yet!
Yes, Mahomes and the Chiefs have a daunting task in beating the 49ers. As of Tuesday morning, the Chiefs were a 1-point favorite. The 49ers will bring a stingy defense and punishing running game with them. They are for real.
A record TV audience will be watching – and the guy it most wants to see is named Mahomes.
Time for a change – again
When the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers square off in the Super Bowl, Eric Bieniemy will guide the AFC Champions’ offense and Robert Saleh will direct the NFC Champions’ defense.
Both are coaches of color. Both are coordinators. Both interviewed for the Cleveland Browns head coaching position. Both didn’t get it.
Bieniemy is an African American and Saleh is an Arab American.
There were five NFL head coaching job open when the season ended. Within a month, four of them went to white men. Ron Rivera, who is of Latino descent, was hired by Washington.
Two of the new coaches have never been head coaches or coordinators – at any level of football.
The Associated Press recently reported that two black candidates have been hired to 20 open head-coaching jobs in the past three years.
Rod Graves, executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, said last week the NFL is not serious in its effort to create head coaching opportunities for minority candidates.
“We believe this latest hiring cycle underlines that the league’s commitment to diversity and inclusion needs to be reevaluated,” he told ESPN.
“There is a good ol’ boy system in the league that continues to benefit only a few, regardless of merit or results. We’re in a time within our industry that demands better hiring practices. We’re striving to make a great game better.”
The Alliance, which is named for one of the NFL’s first black players and tracks minority coaching hires at the pro and collegiate levels, was scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday in Mobile, Alabama, site of Saturday’s Senior Bowl. Graves planned to announce ways to expand minority hiring.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II said on the NFL Network it’s time to address the situation – again. He is a son of the late Art Rooney, who created the “Rooney Rule” that mandates at least one minority candidate be interviewed for any NFL head coaching or GM position.
The NFL “is not where we want to be [and] not where we need to be,” Rooney said of minority hiring for top front office positions.
“The first thing we’ll do, as part of our diversity committee, is really review this past season’s hiring cycle and make sure we understand what went on and talk to the people involved both on the owner’s side, management’s side as well as the people that were interviewed.”
Rooney said after rule was passed in 2003, “there was a period there where we did see an increase in minority hiring at the head-coaching position.”
“Since then, that trend seems to reverse itself, particularly in the last few years. We need to study what’s going on and understand better what’s going on and really decide how we improve the situation.”
49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who works with Saleh every day and says he is deserving of a head coaching position, said increasing the number of minority head coaches “is always going to be a challenge.”
“Obviously, Robert Saleh is a person of color and got an interview. But I think there’s tons of coaches out there that deserve a head-coaching job (including former NFL head coach Lovie Smith and Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy,)” Sherman said.
“But those guys aren’t even getting a look. And ones that are getting a look are just getting it so they can check the Rooney Rule box off. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much you talk about it, because it’s not changing.”
The Reid Roundup
The NBA is the only professional sports league – or any major national entity – that properly recognizes Martin Luther King Day. It plays day games throughout the county and its players are dedicated to putting on a show. Here are some of the things that happened on Monday… Portland’s Damian Lillard scored 61 points in a victory over the Golden State Warriors. It is the second time in his career topping 60… During his career, Kemba Walker was 0-28 in his matchups with LeBron James. Walker, now a Boston Celtic, scored 20 points and our own Jayson Tatum tossed in 27 in a blowout victory over the L.A. Lakers… Russell Westbrook had at least one triple double over every team except Oklahoma City – for whom he used to play. He got it on MLK Day with 32 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, but the Thunder defeated Houston 112-107… Ben Simmons tied a career high with 34 points and added 12 rebounds and 12 assists to rack up a triple-double in the Philadelphia 76ers 117-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets… Only six NBA players have scored 60 or more points twice or more: Wilt Chamberlain (32 times), Kobe Bryant (6 times), Michael Jordan (5 times), Elgin Baylor (4 times), James Harden (4 times), and Lillard (2 times)… Dusty Baker interviewed for the Houston Astros managerial position on Monday. His name has been connected to the New York Mets job too… Former LSU player Odell Beckham ruined a wonderful postgame for LSU players by acting a fool on the field (handing out cash to players) and in the locker room (slapping a police officer on the rear end.) His act is tired… I have made repeated calls to a telephone number connected to the St. Louis Battlehawks. No reply. Can somebody tell me how to request a media credential? I’ve written as – or more – about the team than any sports writer in St. Louis. Jeez.
Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” His Twitter handle is aaareid1.
