At present, the Kansas City Chiefs’ winning cheat code holds the Patrick Mahomes-Andy Reid duo in its center. Together they have led the franchise to four Super Bowl appearances and three titles to their name. While it is hard to imagine the two working separately in the current NFL scenario, there was a time when Patrick’s mother, Randi Mahomes had expressed her discontentment with the head coach’s playing calls for the QB.

Mom Randi recently shared insights about her son Patrick Mahomes’ journey of transpiring between his choice of sports. On account of Mahomes trying to leave behind Baseball and Basketball and take up professional football, the mom-of-three continued to remain unsure of his future in the league despite him being drafted by the Chiefs in 2017.

Recalling the incident, Randi admitted to being in disagreement with some of coach Andy Reid’s calls. She expressed, “Even the first couple years with the Chiefs, I would say I don’t think you’re supposed to do that like scramble around, running around….and he was like coach Reid [said] it works, do it. I’m like okay, but I don’t think you’re supposed to do it but okay.”

This revelation happened on June 21, 2024, on The Mom Game Podcast, with hosts Julie Dobbs and Emily Jones. Perhaps the lack of surety in his career was stemming from the past, as the 52-year-old went on to reveal another situation. Here, the QB had been on the brink of quitting football, wishing to pursue his other preferred sports. However, it was Randi Mahomes who convinced him otherwise.

“Football was probably the last thing that he really liked and I know it is hard to believe but he did come to me his junior summer, or the year before he was a junior, I guess his Sophomore summer, and he said he wanted to quit Football. And I remember clearly the conversation we had in my living room. And I said, ‘If you quit, you’re gonna be bored in the stands,” advised Randi.

The mother of the QB went on to address how playing sports hadn’t been a hassle for Patrick, it was rather the commitment to one single game. In the line of being exceptionally talented and gifted, the signal-caller used to play with older kids and even join pickup games with his dad’s old friends. As he continued to play baseball and basketball at this time, with football being his last choice, Randi feared for his future in football.

Yet, at last, in the final year of college, the QB decided to take matters seriously and started working toward his aim of playing professional football. Despite her earlier concerns, with Andy Reid’s specialized plan and Mahomes’ dedication, things worked out with utter ease. And Randi ended up being able to complete the dream of watching her child play in the NFL. Meanwhile, besides Randi Mahomes, others speculated about Mahomes’ future in football as well.

3x Super Bowl Champion Patrick Mahomes received less attention from college recruiters

In hindsight, it’s clear that Patrick Mahomes, now breaking NFL records, has all the qualities, especially his arm throw and leadership skills, of a legendary quarterback status. Despite this, he was overlooked as a high school recruit in 2014. Mahomes grew up in Whitehouse, Texas, known as an athletic marvel from a young age, excelling in multiple sports like baseball, basketball, golf, high jump, and even ping pong.

However, football captured his interest in middle school, when he started developing skills in the sport while playing “video games.” Despite showing exceptional talent, he received minimal attention from college recruiters. Even other major programs, like Oklahoma State, reportedly didn’t even offer him a scholarship.

As a result, he eventually chose Texas Tech, drawn by the opportunity to play Big 12 college baseball and the admiration of coach Kliff Kingsbury. “Kliff, after coaching Johnny [Manziel], wanted a mobile quarterback, and Mahomes is obviously that,”  revealed Trey Haverty, the then wide receivers coach at TCU.  However, later coming out of college, even with full dedication to the sport, the situation remained the same. The signal-caller did not appear to be in high demand among recruiters despite his unseen natural talent.

But the question remains why was he not in demand? Several theories attempt to explain this: one being his strong baseball prospects, the second might be his unconventional throwing mechanics, and the third could be his lack of specialized quarterback coaching.

Besides this, Coleman Patterson, his childhood friend and high school and college teammate, also claimed that “football was a little bit more of a foreign language to him” as he was Texas-born. Nevertheless, whatever the reason may be – despite all of the speculations, Mahomes proved his worth in the league, leaving many to wish they had recognized his potential sooner.