New Kansas City Chiefs QB Jordan Ta’amu grew up over 3,000 miles away from Kansas City. But now, perhaps surprisingly, Ta’amu has many connections to his new team. He’ll rejoin his old college teammate, Breeland Speaks, in the locker room. One of the strongest connections, however, is through his head coach from the XFL.
St. Louis BattleHawks head coach Jonathan Hayes played tight end for the Chiefs for nine seasons. He was drafted by the team in the second round of the 1985 draft and played in Kansas City through the 1993 season. When Hayes got word that Ta’amu was set to join the Chiefs, there was no one more excited.
When Ta’amu first spoke with the Kansas City media on Thursday, he explained what his former head coach told him about the Chiefs:
“As soon as he heard that I got signed, he reached out to me and said, ‘The Chiefs are going to take care of you, they are a great business, a great team, great coaching staff and my love for them is over the roof. I’m going to make sure that they take care of you too.’ That meant a lot to me, just to hear that comfort level from him. I believe in Coach Hayes 100 percent, so everything he said I’m going to believe. I am just excited to be a part of this team.”
That’s a nice endorsement from Hayes on his former team. It’s clear that his time in Kansas City really inspired him. Hayes helped lead Ta’amu to one of the top performances by a quarterback in the XFL’s relaunch season. Ta’amu led the XFL in completion percentage and rushing yardage among QBs. He also was second in yards per passing attempt (7.8), third in passing yards (1,050), fourth in TDs (5). Ta’amu has built a lot of trust in Hayes because of this and it appears he feels reassured by Hayes in his decision to join the Chiefs.
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