Does Mahomes/Kingsbury history give Arizona an edge? A former NFL coach weighs in

When he was coaching at Texas Tech, Kliff Kingsbury knew instantly he wanted quarterback Patrick Mahomes to be a Red Raider.

Mahomes played three seasons for Kingsbury at Texas Tech, and both are now in the NFL. They remain friends but that fellowship will be put aside Sunday when Mahomes and the Chiefs face Kingsbury’s Cardinals in Arizona.

Some may wonder if Kingsbury has an edge in the game having coached Mahomes at Tech. That question was posed to three CBS Sports analysts during the network’s preview of the 2022 NFL season.

All three had the same answer.

Bill Cowher, who guided the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship, during his 15 seasons as Pittsburgh’s coach, sees no edge for the Cardinals.

“I don’t think so. I mean, you’re talking about Patrick Mahomes running an Andy Reid offense and there’s so much command of that offense, No. 1,” Cowher said. “And in the years that he’s been there, I think we’ve seen enough tape on Patrick Mahomes to know that he can improvise with the best of them, I think a lot of the focus to me is going to be on Kyler Murray.

“You’re talking about Kyler Murray who got the big contract in the offseason (and) really has yet to win a postseason game. And the Arizona Cardinals for their part have started out so quickly these last two years before, for whatever reason, they’ve faded at the end.”

Boomer Esiason, the former All-Pro quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, echoed Cowher’s comments. He said the onus Sunday will not be on Kingsbury, but Arizona defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

“I don’t think there’s any advantage whatsoever,” Esiason said. “I mean, this is a completely different player. This is probably the best player in the NFL in Patrick Mahomes. And quite frankly, stopping him is not really going to be Kliff Kingsbury’s problem. It’s going to be the defensive (coordinator’s) problem.

“And good luck with that. Even without (former Chiefs receiver) Tyreek Hill, I still think that he is a player that creates so much offense all by himself that he’s a different player now than when Kingsbury was his head coach.”

Phil Simms, who won a pair of Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, believes any talk of the Chiefs offense being in trouble without Hill is misguided.

And, like Esiason and Cowher, he doesn’t believe Kingsbury will have an edge having coached Mahomes.

“I’ll say there’s no advantage at all,” Simms said. “I don’t know how Kansas City is going to operate because listening all offseason and reading everything, oh, my god, Tyreek Hill is not there. They just can’t do it. It’s really amazing.

“But what they did, the Kansas City Chiefs for this matchup, they protected their salary cap. They went out there and they kind of rebuilt their football team. Two first-round draft picks on the defensive side, a second-round wide receiver. I mean, they went out and really replenished their defense. So as we talk about Patrick Mahomes and this matchup, to me the big thing is Kansas City two years ago, rebuilt their offensive line that worked out great and I think this offseason, they rebuilt their football team, especially the defensive side.”

Arizona, which had an 11-6 record a year ago, made the playoffs and Cowher expects Sunday’s contest to be entertaining. He noted that Murray is a threat to run and pass.

“This should be a very good game. Again, Kyler Murray is a very unique quarterback,” Cowher said. “He’s very, very good and spontaneity is a part of his game, with his feet with his arm and so I think it’s a classic matchup.”