The two best football teams of 2023 are playing in this year’s Super Bowl. Both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers represent the very best pro football offers in terms of building a winning culture. Unfortunately, only one team can win Super Bowl LVIII.
John Maxwell famously said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Therefore, I am picking the Chiefs to defeat the 49ers 27-24 in the game because of the team’s depth and culture of leadership.
Allow me to point out just some of their elite leaders.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt
Four times in the past five season the Lamar Hunt Trophy, representing the AFC champions, has been awarded to his son Clark.
As he received this year’s award, he told CBS’s Jim Nantz, “First of all, I want to give God the glory and I want to congratulate the Ravens on an amazing year. Four years ago, when you handed us our first Lamar Hunt Trophy, I gave it to my mom (Norma) and the first thing she did was kiss it. That moment showed how much she loved my dad and how much she loved the Kansas City Chiefs. … Chiefs Kingdom, we’re going back to the Super Bowl!”
Clark is a wonderfully generous leader with impeccable character.
General Manager Brett Veach
If you want to read a comprehensive article about Veach’s eye for talent in the Draft, free agency, which players to re-sign or allow to leave, and skill as a team builder, click this article from CBSSports.com. For example, two-thirds of the team was drafted in the following rounds:
- First round: 6
- Second round: 6
- Third round: 4
- Fourth round: 3
- Fifth round: 3
- Sixth round: 1
- Seventh round: 4 including running Isiah Pacheco
- Undrafted free agent: 8
Head Coach Andy Reid
The future Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl champion is considered one of the greatest offensive minds in the history of the game. One statistic which stands out to me the most is Coach Reid’s 30-6 career record when he has two weeks to prepare for an opponent.
With Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback, his record is 11-1.
Coach Reid states the secret to his success when having extra time to prepare is ensuring his players get proper rest. He said, “That’s the trick to it. (It is) the balance; how the players utilize their free time — and coaches, for that matter. We’ve got to make sure that we keep on top of the scheme stuff, too… We’ll see how all that works out — but yeah, I’ll tell you that’s the trick to it, to keep the balance to where the players stay sharp and coaches still can add a couple things into (the gameplan) and go from there.”
For more on the leadership of Coach Andy Reid, click Head Coach Andy Reid’s Courageous Play-Off Decision and 5 Lessons On Being A Creative Genius From Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid .
Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnoulo
Coach Spagnoulo has been the team’s defensive coordinator for the last five seasons. The former head coach has won four Super Bowl rings as a coordinator (two with the New York Giants, two with the Chiefs). He is an elite defensive coach.
This year’s team ranked second in the NFL giving up only 17.3 points per game and 289.8 yards per game.
Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy
Coach Nagy does not get discussed much because of the greatness of Coach Reid and Patrick Mahomes. But people forget he was the NFL’s 2018 Coach of the Year leading the Chicago Bears to the play-offs with a 12-4 record. Overall, he took the Bears to the play-offs twice in four seasons with Mitch Trubisky as the team’s quarterback.
Just imagine how much more can he do with Patrick Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes
Speaking of Mahomes, he is one of the greatest leaders in sports. In fact, he is this generation’s Michael Jordan.
Mahomes gives validity to the Great Man Theory. This theory is a hypothesis which was popularized in the 19th century and suggests certain unique individuals possess natural skills and abilities which provide a disproportional effect in outcomes.
In other words, Mahomes is the best player on the field and is often the difference between victory and defeat regardless of what the other team does.
For more on the leadership of Mahomes, click 7 Things That Make Patrick Mahomes Special (Other Than His Physical Gifts).
Travis Kelce
While his relationship with Taylor Swift is garnering A LOT of attention, we should remind ourselves that when his career is finished, he may well be considered the greatest tight end to ever play football.
Mahomes said in this article about his teammate, “He’s one of those guys that loves the challenge. All week, rightfully so, we heard about how great their defense was. And they were, they shut us out in the second half. But for Travis, that’s like, ‘Alright, what can I do against this great defense?’ He has that mindset, and he led us like that. Every single practice, every single walkthrough, he was focused in, he was locked in and bringing energy. It makes my job a lot easier when you have a guy that’s in that room, that tight end room and that receiving room, he can lead those young guys and show them how we do and lead us to an AFC championship.”
Conclusion
Because of this depth of leaders at key positions and the team’s culture, I am picking the Chiefs. However, I do see a way the 49ers can win.
The following are the Chief’s point totals since December – 19, 17, 27, 14, 25, 13, 26, 27, and 17.
If the 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan can figure out how to score 30 points, I think they will win. I just don’t think Coach Spagnoulo’s unit will give that much up.
Once again, I’m picking the Chiefs to win 27-24. But if the 49ers can score 30…..
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