Clark Hunt proudly holds up the AFC championship trophy bearing his father’s name, indicating that his Kansas City Chiefs were back in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years, and indicating that not long ago, success was elusive. Was looking
It had been 50 years between Super Bowl trips when head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the NFL back to the top in 2020 — five whole decades of heartbreak, disappointment and repeated disappointment.
The always-practical Hunt uses a stretch of football jungle to put the current ride into perspective.
“I don’t know that it gets better,” Hunt said this week, “but we know not to take it for granted. One thing about going 50 years between Super Bowls is that it teaches you how to appreciate it.” You know, certainly over the last five years, we’ve had the privilege of playing in five straight AFC Championship Games, all at home here, and the three Super Bowls that you mentioned.
“It’s special, but we’re not going to take it lightly,” he said.
Nor did his counterpart, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who bought the franchise in the 1990s and lost four conference title games and one Super Bowl before finally winning his first Lombardi Trophy. The Eagles reached two more playoff appearances the following year before slumping to a 4–11–1 record.
Most of the harrowing setbacks of those years occurred while Reid was coach, which only adds to the subplot at the February 12 Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.
“Jeffrey is an extraordinary owner,” said Reid, whose affinity for the man who gave him the chance to become head coach was fired by Lurie. “He’s done a great job for me, for my family, for everything.”
In truth, both owners have done well for their franchises and their cities.
Hunt had unimaginably large shoes to fill when his father, Texas businessman Lamar Hunt, died in 2006. The elder Hunt is a beloved figure in Kansas City. He helped found the AFL, founded the Chiefs and even coined the term “Super Bowl”. He was also one of the key figures in the creation of Major League Soccer.
Clark Hunt made several missteps early on, including a series of coaches and general managers he hired with great fanfare but little result. Slowly, steadily and often behind the scenes, Hunt was becoming one of the NFL’s most respected owners, sitting on important committees and even helping end the 2011 lockout.
Two years later, Hunt changed the entire trajectory of the Chiefs with a trip to Philadelphia.
Reid was fired when Hunt, who had fired Romeo Crennel, picked up the phone and set up a meeting. The interview took place on January 2, 2013, in a conference room at a Philadelphia-area airport, where a plane sent by the Cardinals to ferry him to Arizona for another interview was waiting on the tarmac.
Hunt proved two things that day: He was a shrewd businessman and a salesman exceptional. The owner convinced Reed they could make a winner in Kansas City—he never got on that other plane. Over the past decade, they’ve done just that: seven straight AFC West titles, four conference titles and, they hope, a second Lombardi Trophy.
“Internally we had high hopes,” said Hunt, “but if you listened to much of the national media, you know, you would have thought we had no chance this season. I remember ‘We’re not going to be too bad about ourselves,’ Andy commented in response to a question, as people were talking about these other teams in the AFC West.
“Obviously, really, the credit goes to Andy and the coaching staff.”
Along with the owner.
In Philadelphia, Reid’s firing handed the reins to ultra-successful college coach Chip Kelly. When that experiment failed, filmmaker Lurie fired Reid’s offensive coordinator, Doug Pedersen. Within two years, Pederson had done what Reid could not: win the Super Bowl.
Pederson went to two more playoff appearances before things fell apart. He too was fired. Lurie’s off-the-radar replacement was Nick Siriani, the Colts’ offensive coordinator.
If Reid’s recruitment by Hunt underscored his salesmanship and business acumen, Lurie’s decision highlighted his keen eye for talent and willingness to take the gamble.
The Eagles lost in the wild-card round in Siriani’s first season, and in his second season, they are back in the big game.
“I can’t underestimate the value of coaches,” Lurie said. “Nick is excellent – smart, connects with everyone, cares, passionate. And also, his staff is outstanding. They’re all a similar age, they’re young, they’re great. You have the coaching staff.” There should be a great culture of. He has.
Yet it is Lurie who has established a culture of success within the Eagles organization. Just like Hunt has done with the Chiefs.
“I’ve had dinner with him many times. I talk to him when he’s around the building because he’s here a lot,” Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said of Lurie. “Just really grateful for him and everything he gives to the team So that we can be as successful as we’ve been. He fits right in with the Philadelphia culture. He knows how important Eagles football is to the city.”