Two NFL teams competing in their respective conference championship games — the Commanders and the Chiefs — share a special connection through Texas Tech.
While Washington and Kansas City won’t face off against each other Sunday, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes share plenty of history.
The two joined forces for the Red Raiders, with Kingsbury as the head coach and Mahomes as his quarterback. Let’s revisit their history with one another, how much success they had together and more.
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Did Kliff Kingsbury coach Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech?
Yes, Kingsbury coached Mahomes during his tenure as head coach at Texas Tech.
Kingsbury was hired to coach the program in December 2012. Kingsbury played for the Red Raiders from 1998-2002.
Texas Tech offered Mahomes, a three-star quarterback recruit, in January 2013. Kingsbury reportedly heard about Mahomes from the previous Tech coaching staff and immediately recruited him after watching his high school tape.
“I could see what I thought he could be,” Kingsbury said via ESPN in 2022. “… I loved how he’d extend plays and I don’t think anybody thought he’d still be doing it at this level the way he does it. But he has a special knack at it, probably the best ever at doing it.
“We went after him hard and knew that we needed to get him.”
Mahomes played his senior season at Whitehouse High School in Texas during the 2013 season. He won the Texas AP Player of the Year award as a senior, and he signed with Tech’s 2014 recruiting class while Kingsbury was leading the Red Raiders to an 8-5 record during his first season in 2013.
As a true freshman in Lubbock in 2014, Mahomes played in seven games with seven starts. Although the Red Raiders struggled and finished 4-8 that season, Mahomes threw for 1,547 yards with 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Mahomes won the starting job for the 2015 season. He had a breakout year, throwing for 4,653 yards with 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, adding 456 yards with 10 scores that season. Tech finished 7-6 that season. Mahomes became one of just five quarterbacks in FBS history to pass for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing for at least 450 yards with 10 scores, and he set a Tech single-season record for passing yards.
But that wasn’t even close to what he did during his 2016 season. Mahomes had an even better junior year, throwing for 5,052 yards, an FBS-leading 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, plus 260 yards rushing and 12 scores. He was the first Tech signal-caller to lead the nation in passing yards since Graham Harrell in 2008 and — wait for it — Kingsbury in 2002.
Mahomes also set NCAA records, most notably in a game against Oklahoma in 2016. Tech was facing its former quarterback in Baker Mayfield, who transferred from Tech in 2014, after somewhat of a beef developed between the quarterback and Kingsbury during the 2013 season.
Mayfield and Mahomes set off fireworks that night in Lubbock. Oklahoma won, 66-59, and both offenses combined to set the all-time Division I single-game yardage record with 1,708. Mahomes had some impressive individual game records in this one, too:
- He set an NCAA record for individual offense in a game, with 819 combined passing and rushing yards.
- His 734 passing yards tied Washington State’s Connor Halliday for the most passing yards in a Division I game.
- He set several other Big 12 records, including most completions in a game (52), previously held by Kingsbury.
- He set Tech single-game records for passing yards (734), pass attempts (88), completions (52), most plays (100) and yards of total offense (819)
The two quarterbacks set an FBS record for the combined offense by two players, with 1,383, as well as breaking the combined passing yardage in any NCAA game, with 1,279. The game featured 78 combined first downs, which tied an NCAA record.
Although Mahomes had a sensational season, it was an up-and-down year for the Red Raiders. Texas Tech started off the season 5-2 but lost three straight to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia. The Red Raiders ended up losing four of their last six games, including their 56-27 loss to LSU in the Texas Bowl.
Mahomes declared for the NFL draft after that 2016 season.
Did Patrick Mahomes win the Heisman?
No, Patrick Mahomes never won the Heisman, despite the huge numbers he put up over his last two seasons at Texas Tech. He was never a finalist, either.
One of the biggest reasons behind the snub is Texas Tech being largely out of the national spotlight, finishing a combined 11-14 over his last two seasons. The Heisman consistently goes to players on teams winning at a high level. There has been just one Heisman winner whose team had a losing record — Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung, whose Irish team went 2-8 in 1956.
Just two other winners were on teams with four or more losses: 1969’s winner, quarterback Steve Owens, who finished 6-4 at Oklahoma, and 1935’s winner, quarterback Jay Berwanger whose Chicago team went 4-4.
Patrick Mahomes college stats
|
Season |
Comp. % |
Pass Yards |
TDs |
INTs |
Rush Yards |
Rush TDs |
|
2014 |
56.8 |
1,547 |
16 |
4 |
104 |
0 |
|
2015 |
63.5 |
4,653 |
36 |
15 |
456 |
10 |
|
2016 |
65.7 |
5,052 |
41 |
10 |
260 |
12 |
Texas Tech Air Raid offense
Kingsbury learned the Air Raid offense when he was playing at Texas Tech under Mike Leach. Leach, who is largely credited with bringing the Air Raid offense to college football, was mentored by legendary coach Hal Mumme, and the two first ran the offense together at Iowa Wesleyan College, which played in the NAIA.
As the name suggests, the offense is pass-heavy and utilizes multiple receivers to spread the defense out while attacking downfield. It doesn’t feature much of a running game, either. Quarterbacks typically run the offense out of the shotgun, and it’s usually a fast-paced system, most of the time going no-huddle.
In Washington, the Commanders don’t run a pure Air Raid system, even though there are elements to it in the system. Jayden Daniels’ running ability paired with Brian Robinson’s rushing attack makes it a bit more of a hybrid Air Raid.
Unsurprisingly, Mahomes thrived in the offense in Lubbock.
Kliff Kingsbury college record
Kingsbury finished 35-40 over six seasons at Texas Tech. His best finish was the 8-5 year he had in 2013, and he never could top that over his next five seasons.
Why did Kliff Kingsbury leave Texas Tech?
Kingsbury was fired by Texas Tech in November 2018 after the Red Raiders finished 5-7. That marked Tech’s third straight season under .500. While Kingsbury had some talented offenses, his defenses struggled throughout his entire tenure, and Tech never was truly a contender in the Big 12.
Kingsbury was hired by the Arizona Cardinals in January 2019, just a few months after he was fired by Texas Tech. He went 28-37-1 with the Cardinals over four seasons, with just one winning season in 2021.
He spent the 2023 season as a senior offensive analyst with USC before joining Dan Quinn’s Commanders staff before the 2024 season. It’s safe to say he’s found massive success in Washington so far.
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