Modern Keys to Build Successful Teams

The 2010s New England Patriots and late 2010s/2020s Kansas City Chiefs have given the rest of the NFL the blueprint on how to build sustained success in the NFL. Maybe Bill Belichick should take notes.

1. It all starts with a great ownership group. I’m not saying this is the most important thing, but it is what gets the ball rolling. Having great owners like the Krafts and Hunts is a bedrock for success. At the end of the day, even great coaches, players, and GMs get fired/released, retire, or move on, but families who are great owners can last until the end of time. Just look at the Rooney Family and the Steelers. The only down side is that is true for bad owners too (looking at you Lions).

2. Great owners will hire great GMs who know football like Belichick and Brett Veach, who can in turn fill out the rest of the front office with quality people. A great GM and front office then hire a great coach and draft/sign/trade for great players. Give Belichick all the shit you want about not being a great GM lately, but he is the architect of the 2000s-2010s Patriots (a dynasty that lasted two decades).

3. A great coach will work with the front office to bring in quality players. They will then develop them and coach them up to fit in the system. Andy Reid and Belichick obviously are experts on the side of the ball they grew up coaching, but also have a great level of knowledge on the other side too. They also hire coaches on their staff who know what they’re doing and bring a lot to the table. This all leads to high quality coaching on and off the field that is necessary for success.

4. This is the most important aspect: a star QB who is willing to take pay cuts. I know this seems to go without saying. But not only does a QB need to be great, especially in key moments, but they need to be willing to take pay cuts for the team. This allows the organization to create a better team around the QB. Brady and Mahomes are the only two QBs who seem to have realized this.

5. This will outline different positon groups in no particular order

• Running backs: No need to spend big on this position. It’s better to have a running back by committee. That way you don’t commit too much salary cap to RBs and aren’t fucked if one goes down by injury.
• Receivers: You need one great receiver and the rest don’t have to be stars, but need to have a few big moments when called on. The Pats and Chiefs lucked out that their star weapons have been TEs in Gronk and Kelce. Not only do they create matchup nightmares that open up the field for everyone else, but they produce as well as a star WR, for much less money. Outside of you star receiver, your other WRs and TEs should be solid guys but nothing special. Yes, one of the Super Bowls Mahomes won he had Tyreek Hill, but he proved last year he could win with a rag tag bunch of WRs too. Mahomes is so good he made them better, and they made plays when they had to. For the Pats, it was the same way. Julian Edelman was especially clutch, but he would not be the same player without Brady. Guys like Chris Hogan, Martellus Bennett, and Danny Amendola also stepped up when needed.
• OLine: You need a solid unit that gels, but you do not need any superstar tackles or players. It is most important to have a unit as a whole that is great.
• Defense: This is where the two teams differed. The Pats had overall great defenses who ranked in the top 10 in scoring each year from 2014-2018, but they did not have a constant superstar the entire run, more so just a great unit. The Chiefs defense has been better than people have given it credit the past 4 seasons, finishing 3 of them in the Top 10. Their biggest asset has been they stepped up their game in the postseason. Their only star defensive player for both rings has been Chris Jones. The rest of the defense has been a solid unit that played well together and wasn’t very expensive.
• Special teams: Special teams need to be well coached and disciplined. They need to not lose their team’s games and ideally make a couple big plays throughout the season, such as a clutch kick or punt return.

The blueprint is there for teams and players to follow. It’s easier said than done but the NFL is a copycat league and unless another team adopts these ways, the Chiefs will keep dominating.