This Green Bay East grad just won his second Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs

Cassidy Kaminski keeps moving up the scouting ranks for the Kansas City Chiefs and collecting Super Bowl rings along the way.

The 2004 Green Bay East graduate was standing on a red and yellow confetti-littered field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, earlier this month, giving the Lombardi Trophy a kiss after the Chiefs’ thrilling 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

Kaminski brought his mother to the Super Bowl when the Chiefs won in 2020. This time, he brought his younger brother.

It’s those moments he dreamed about growing up. It’s what he hoped for when he finally got his first full-time NFL job with the Chiefs after a crazy journey that started with a job at a gas station when he was a teenager.

“Ultimately, it reminds me of where you came from and appreciate where you are at,” Kaminski said. “And really how they coincide together.”

Kaminski already was in draft meetings one day after the team flew home, working to keep the Chiefs at the top of their lofty mountain.

But he did get an opportunity to bask in the win last Wednesday during the Chiefs’ victory parade through the streets of Kansas City.

As Kaminski waved at thousands of celebrating fans, it was impossible not to be flush with memories.

He was 10 when he attended the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI victory parade on a frigid January day in 1997, when he saw Reggie White on a blue city bus while getting an opportunity to touch the Lombardi Trophy.

“That little boy is still inside of me thriving during these situations,” Kaminski said. “I mean, that was 26 years ago and here I am like it was three years ago. I can still picture it being on Walnut Street with those guys hanging out of those buses.”

He’s now the one on the bus.

“To me, every little kid I saw, you don’t know what it’s going to mean to them just to be able to make eye contact from the bus and wave at them and hit them with a ‘How about them Chiefs?’” Kaminski said. “Just to see what I perceive to be the little Cassidy in the crowd, enjoying that all.”

Kaminski started his career with the Chiefs as an intern in 2017, was hired as a combine scout the following year and became the team’s northeast area scout in spring 2021.

He’s like any player, coach or member of the front office.

The more he learns and the more experience he gains simply is a reminder that there is more to learn and more experience to gain.

It’s a cycle that never will stop.

“I think that’s the beauty of this, is what I’m starting to find,” Kaminski said. “You are not going to find the perfect team. You are not going to find the perfection you are chasing, but you are OK with that.”

Finding a gem in Isiah Pacheco

Kaminski is too humble to say, ‘I told you so,’ about anything. It’s not the way he rolls. He always deflects praise to others.

The list of people he is thankful for, the ones he believes he owes for his success, is so long it would make an Oscar speech blush.

He raves about Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and how inclusive he is with everyone.

He only has good things to say about head coach Andy Reid, whose strong relationship with Veach allows conversation to exist between the coaching staff and the scouts leading up to each draft.

It’s more than just the obvious examples.

It’s also former East boys basketball coach Rick Rosinski, who showed him how to be accepting and work with all different backgrounds. It’s former East football coach John Kolstad, who helped teach him the game and what it was like to be around it. It’s also longtime NFL front office executive John Dorsey, one of his mentors who got him in the door with the Chiefs.

Without them and so many others, Kaminski might not have two Super Bowl wins and a promising career ahead of him.

But while he is busy pointing to everybody else, it’s not difficult to see how he played a part in where the Chiefs stand today.

It never was more evident than in the Super Bowl. Kansas City’s backfield was led by rookie running back Isiah Pacheco, a seventh-round pick out of Rutgers who rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown.

It was Kaminski who initially scouted Pacheco. The story behind him landing with the Chiefs really started with a miscommunication at an all-star game.

Pacheco arrived in the lobby of a hotel at 9 p.m. for a scheduled interview with Kaminski. Kaminski had texted Pacheco earlier in the day and told him to let him know when he arrived, but Pacheco never saw that part of the message.

Pacheco waited in the lobby for an hour, and when it started to get late, he texted Kaminski.

When the two realized what had happened, Kaminski headed down to meet him.

Interviews with a prospect usually last 20 or 30 minutes. This one went for an hour and a half.

Kaminski already was sold on Pacheco as a player from watching him practice and reviewing film, but the interview confirmed everything he could have hoped.

He felt his energy and passion. He viewed it as a strong sign of Pacheco’s character that he waited so long in the lobby after a long day. He loved that when they watched film together and Kaminski asked about certain runs, Pacheco never faulted what most thought was a bad Rutgers offensive line and refused to throw any of his teammates under the bus.

By the time the two parted ways, Kaminski almost was on a mission for the team to add Pacheco and the physical running style he offered.

He presented his thoughts to the draft room about Pacheco and his views on how he would fit, and the decision makers took it from there. He again credits Veach for allowing the scouts to give their input and the conversations between the staff and the scouts.

Running backs coach Greg Lewis and former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy listened to what Kaminski said and kept an open mind about Pacheco, before eventually offering their stamp of approval after they learned more about him.

Pacheco was one of the final 12 players selected in the NFL draft. When Kaminski met with the Kansas City media after he was picked, he told everyone he would not bet against the young man.

Pacheco finished the season with 830 rushing yards and five TDs, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and starting 11 games. He led all rookies in total yardage when factoring in his work as a receiver and kick returner.

One year after their meeting, Pacheco and Kaminski were carrying the Super Bowl trophy together.

That, in the scouting world, is what you’d call a home run.

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It was the exchange Kaminski had with Pacheco’s parents before the game that still makes him emotional. He had the opportunity to introduce himself and tell them all the things they have done in raising their son inspired him to be a better human.

He thanked them for Pacheco becoming the person he is, and all their efforts in a trying young life that saw both his brother and sister murdered in separate instances.

“Powerful beyond measure,” Kaminski said. “It’s the humane side of it all that is special.”

How could he not love this job?

Kaminski still has a dream of being a GM someday, but his current gig and his growing ring collection makes life pretty sweet.

“It’s always going to be the goal, but being around this game and being involved in this game at this level, it’s surreal in itself,” he said. “You just take it day by day. Look at how much has happened in the last three years already. I’m here, nose down, ears open.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay East grad Kaminski wins Super Bowl with Kansas City Chiefs