Former Chiefs QB Alex Smith reflects on mentorship of Patrick Mahomes

In his triumphant return to the Kansas City Chiefs’ headquarters at 1 Arrowhead Drive in August, veteran quarterback Alex Smith reflected on his time in the Paris of the Plains, and the experience of mentoring a future MVP in Patrick Mahomes. In his new role as an analyst for ESPN, Smith did his first feature on his former backup, and made a point to downplay his part in Mahomes’ meteoric rise to success.

Speaking to the Chiefs’ official team reporter Matt McMullen, Smith opened up about what his tenure in Kansas City meant to him and his family, and had nothing but the best to say about his experience playing for the team from 2013 through 2017.

“It’s so overdue,” Smith said of his long-awaited return to the Chiefs’ facilities. “With the move away, with my injury, and then COVID, I can’t believe it’s been this long since I’ve been back here. I feel like we have so many friends still here in the area, this community, so it’s amazing to be back.”

Asked what his impressions of Chiefs’ Kingdom are after the time away and in his new role outside of the organization, Smith seemed content with what he was able to accomplish in Kansas City, especially his role in turning the team from a 2-14 disaster to a playoff contender in year one.

“I think from an organizational perspective it’s just that,” He told McMullen about his role in the turnaround, “Being part of a culture change, we had the number one pick that year, we were the worst team in football the year prior, then to go 9-0 and go to the playoffs that year, playoffs four out of the five years that I was here. And I think to help build, and then I think the really cool thing is to watch [Patrick Mahomes] and this team takes it to the next level.”

“To see them go take that and do what they’ve done these past three years has been so amazing to watch from afar, and so I think to know that even the smallest of slices that you helped is really, really special.”

On his feature piece on Mahomes, which marked his first return to the team facilities, Smith was characteristically bashful about his first time back. He seemed genuinely humbled by the experience of talking to Mahomes about how far he has gotten after his guidance after his time under center.

“Obviously I’m lucky, fortunate, that they let me back in the building in this capacity,” Smith said. “It honestly was, from my perspective, a really cool experience all the way around. He and I have been natural friends from the get-go, like from the day he was drafted we got along. We rooted for each other even while we competed against each other and I think that is incredibly unique.”

Asked about the constant comments about his role in the MVP’s mentorship from Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid, Smith again deflected, saying the kind words mean more about the constitutions of the quarterback and coach than anything he did for them in his time in Kansas City.

“I think it speaks more to the type of guy Patrick is,” Smith explained of the praise he’s gotten, “I’m not sure I taught him any of the no-look-passing, the backpedaling, hucking it 70 yards, but it’s humbling, it is, it’s humbling. Like I said, I was going through some of the toughest times with my injury when they won the Super Bowl here, and it was really amazing for me to watch.”

Ever the leader, Smith’s comments speak to what kept him on balance through his rough start in San Francisco, the ups and downs in Kansas City, and the tough times in Washington to end his career. Though his gruesome injury and incredible comeback in 2019 and 2020 characterized the end of his career, posterity will remember him best as the player who helped turn the Chiefs in the right direction at their rock bottom and the player set the table for success in the years that followed his departure from Kansas City.

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