Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach became the youngest GM to ever win a Super Bowl after a very bold three-year rebuild.
All but one player on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster in 2019 were brought in with some involvement from Veach. His boldness, however, all started with his persistence in pestering head coach Andy Reid and then-GM John Dorsey about Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes ahead of the 2017 NFL draft. He continuously said throughout the process that Mahomes was one of the best QBs that he’d ever seen.
“People thought I was crazy back at the combine, before he took a start, when I said he is the best player I’ve ever seen,” Veach said ahead of Super Bowl LIV. “He is the best player in the game. I think that’s not just me saying it now, it’s the whole league. He is the best player in the game so whatever he does, it doesn’t really surprise you. He is that good. . .”
When Dorsey was relieved and Veach was made general manager, that’s when he began to get even bolder in his decision making. He secured several role players via trade ahead of the 2017 season. He poached kicker Harrison Butker off of the Panthers practice squad. He attempted to trade for Sammy Watkins and Anthony Hitchens during the 2017 season and when he couldn’t get that done, he added them in free agency the following season.
“Sammy is super talented,” Veach explained. “We’ve just got a lot of weapons and when you are aggressive in the offseason and you make moves, you don’t make moves to make the playoffs. We’ve been a playoff team for years. Since we’ve got here, we’ve been in the playoffs every year. You make moves like that to put you over the top.”
He traded a backup lineman for undrafted free agent cornerback Charvarius Ward, who would become a starter for the Chiefs. He filled needs in free agency and via trade to put the team in the best possible position in the draft in 2018 and 2019. That way they didn’t have to feel like they were reaching for players when the value wasn’t there, and they could also be selective in acquiring players they wanted.
When things didn’t go the way of the Chiefs in the 2018 playoffs, Veach wasn’t afraid to blow the defense up. He was bold and decided to try something different under new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
“I think last year when the season ended, we knew we had work to do,” Veach said. “We put a plan together. I said in the offseason that we just didn’t pull names out of a hat. We identified Frank Clark. We identified Tyrann Mathieu. I think those guys showed, along with other guys like Damien Wilson and Bashaud Breeland, others we brought in here, we were aggressive and we believed in the process. We believed in the guys we went after. We knew that we had to field a defense to complement our offense and we did that. . .”
Veach identified and understood the types of personalities that when put in the Kansas City locker room could get this team over the hump. The ultimate goal was to win the Lamar Hunt Trophy and subsequently win the Super Bowl.
“If you start with the temperament in which a guy plays I think that’s a good starting point,” Veach said during Super Bowl media week. “When you watch the tape of Tyrann Mathieu or Frank Clark, they’re not guys where you have to fast forward to see them hustle or chase down a ball because they’re relentless. I think when you start with a relentless attitude and guys that have a passion for not just the game, but the process. These are guys that when you do your homework, they love to practice and they love to compete. . . I found out over my career if you really invest in guys that love the process you’re going to be more successful than not. That’s where we started with those guys and it’s infectious and it carries through [the roster] from top to bottom.”
He even managed to make some crucial midseason acquisitions that fit into the bigger picture. Players such as Demone Harris, Stefen Wisniewski, Mike Pennel and Terrell Suggs all played pivotal roles in the Chiefs’ success down the stretch. Harris a young upstart at the defensive end position and Pennel a salty vet from Topeka, Kansas that grew up as a Chiefs fan. Suggs and Wisniewski, of course, were two veteran players with Super Bowl rings that helped guide some younger players.
Now that the Super Bowl has been won, Veach is simply in awe of the journey and what it took to get there.
“It feels amazing,” Veach said of winning the Super Bowl. “It’s been quite a ride — quite a journey. These guys have worked their tails off. We’ve had adversity all season, whether it was early on with injuries and into the playoffs, deficits [against all three teams]. But these guys are resilient and they kind of mirror the image of the head coach — just completely resilient, hard-working and determined. And the resolve paid off tonight for sure.”
Many new challenges await as Veach and his staff attempt to build a team for 2020 that can defend a Super Bowl title. We know the foundation for success is already there. They have one of the greatest NFL coaches of all-time in Reid, an ascending QB in Mahomes, and a roster full of players that love the process and knows what it takes to be champions. They also have Veach, and after the 2019 season, we should have trust that he will be able to successfully navigate these new challenges head-on.
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