Patrick Mahomes possessed the natural physical talent and mental acuity to excel anywhere, but it was Kliff Kingsbury who gave him his first real shot. The former Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach saw something special in Mahomes when few others did, setting the foundation for the quarterback’s rise to NFL superstardom.
Kliff Kingsbury Shaped Patrick Mahomes Into an NFL Superstar
Kingsbury was actually quite the prolific passer during his playing days. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he starred on his high school’s baseball, basketball, track, and football teams.
As a senior, Kingsbury threw for 3,009 yards and 34 touchdowns while leading his team to a 13-2 record and the Class 5A Division II semifinals.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, he also graduated third in his class and was an Academic All-State selection. But could Kingsbury continue his dominance on the collegiate stage?
Across 43 career games for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the 6’3″ and 220-pound signal-caller completed 1,229 of 1,881 passes for 12,423 yards, 95 TDs, and 40 INTs, setting 39 school, 13 Big 12 Conference, and seven NCAA FBS records along the way.
Like in high school, Kingsbury saved his best for last. He earned the 2002 AP National Offensive Player of the Year Award and first-team All-Big 12 recognition while finishing ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior.
The New England Patriots selected Kingsbury in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft, and although his professional career never truly got off the ground, he did win a Super Bowl as a rookie.
His playing career may have been brief, but it helped build Kingsbury’s understanding of the game. After stepping off the field, he quickly found his calling in developing signal-callers.
He joined Kevin Sumlin’s staff with the Houston Cougars and, from 2008-11, helped coach the most productive QB in college football history: Case Keenum. Kingsbury followed Sumlin to the Texas A&M Aggies a year later and ushered in one of the greatest collegiate athletes of all time: Johnn “Football” Manziel, the first-ever freshman Heisman winner.
MORE: Mahomes Never Won a Heisman, But His CFB Legacy Continues To Grow
Kingsbury reputation as a QB whisper had officially begun, but it wasn’t until he got his hands on Patrick Mahomes that his career really took off.
Six-time Pro Bowler. Two-time All-Pro. Two-time MVP. 2018 Offensive Player of the Year. Three-time Super Bowl champion. Patrick Mahomes has achieved no shortage of accolades, and he may only be halfway through his NFL career.
But before he became the NFL’s ultimate playmaker, Mahomes was a raw talent — one Kingsbury believed he could mold.
Kingsbury knew of Mahomes’ father, Pat, who was an MLB pitcher — “His dad was a legend down in East Texas.” He didn’t know much about his son, but all it took was one highlight reel to change that. After watching Mahomes’ jaw-dropping throws and effortless arm talent, Kingsbury knew he had found something special.
“I just thought he was really raw,” Kingsbury told ESPN. “He’d run around, make plays. He was definitely the best player on the field in any game he played. He just was raw. … We went after him hard and knew that we needed to get him.”
Kingsbury went all-in on Mahomes’ recruitment, which was surprisingly quiet, likely due to his profile as a non-traditional passer and the possibility of him pursuing a professional career in baseball.
Nevertheless, Kingsbury earned Mahomes and his family’s trust and, ultimately, his signature.
“[Kingsbury] was kind of like that first — at least on the college level — coach that believed in me,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes was supposed to sit behind starter Davis Webb during his true freshman season but was thrust into the first-team role after Webb suffered a broken ankle.
Thrown into action earlier than expected, Mahomes didn’t just hold his own — he thrived. In just a handful of games, he showed glimpses of the fearless playmaking that would later define his NFL career, carving up defenses for 1,547 yards and 16 TDs
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Over the next two seasons, he lived up to the motto, “Everything’s bigger in Texas.” He torched the Big 12 for 9,705 yards (led the country) and 77 TDs (led the conference) in Kingsbury’s Air Raid attack.
Even though he forewent his senior season, Mahomes ended his Red Raider career ranked third all-time in passing yards (11,252), TD passes (93), attempts (1,349), and completions (857), as well as second in TDs responsible for (115) and rushing TDs by a QB (22).
Their success led to the Chiefs selecting Mahomes 10th overall in the NFL Draft and the Arizona Cardinals hiring Kingsbury as their next head coach.
“[He’s] someone who’s taught me a ton,” Mahomes said of his coach at Texas Tech. “He got me, kind of out of high school, where I was a baseball player trying to play football. Basically, trying to be on my own. You’re leaving the household and kind of being on your own, and he helped me become who I am today.
“I think the biggest thing is, you see, with a lot of young quarterbacks is whenever they get to a coach, they kind of try to restrict them and kind of make them be this model of how the quarterback position is supposed to be played. And I think [Kingsbury] was early in the game of just saying, ‘Hey, let’s maximize your strengths.’ He would teach me here and there how to be more mechanical and get in the pocket and the fundamentals of the game, but he never restricted who I was.”
Mahomes’ NFL head coach, Andy Reid, also shared his praise for Kingsbury’s coaching acumen.
“Kliff is a tremendous guy,” Reid said in 2022. “He loved Patrick; he could tell he’d be a great professional football player — even though the offense was different — but you see that his offense has been very successful, and you’ve seen Patrick be very successful.
“He was great with it. And I respect his input. It was one of the reasons we went after Patrick as hard as we did.”
Reid may have turned Mahomes into an NFL legend, but it was Kingsbury who first discovered and molded his potential. By believing in a baseball player turned QB and giving him the freedom to play his way, Kingsbury didn’t just develop a great college QB — he helped lay the foundation for one of the greatest to ever do it.
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