If you find yourself wondering why Patrick Mahomes and others sometime talk in circles...
Given his well-known fandom of the Kansas City Chiefs, it's no surprise to see the occasional player appearance on Rob Riggle's podcast from time to time. One recent episode that turned out to be quite entertaining featured Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Riggle, an actor and comedian who is familiar to everyone in Chiefs Kingdom, has a podcast called Riggle's Picks in which he teams with co-host Darren Leader for interviews with a random assortment of guests (a member of the late-'90s rock band Creed was up before Mahomes).
As for this particular episode, the callout worth making here had to do with Mahomes' honest explanation around media sessions. Specifically, he admits that the circular talk at times is purposeful.
We've all heard it before. Andy Reid had this market cornered for quite some time. While some coaches will be standoff-ish with the media and say little to nothing (Bill Belichick), Reid will say the same amount while also talking at length. It's coach-speak and it's filled with meaningless maxims and jargon.
Well, apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree because Mahomes has modeled the same behavior over time. When asked about having to speak to reporters following a loss, the 2-time MVP had this to say:
"It’s part of it. It’s part of the profession. It’s part of being a quarterback and having to stand on that podium and talk—win or loss. I think what I’ve done and I’ve mastered is being able to say a lot of words without saying anything at all. So that’s my go-to. Any time I get a question I might not necessarily like, I’ll just say a lot of different words that really mean nothing."
What's even better is to listen to Mahomes' impression of what he might say in such a moment. It's a paragraph or two worth of text in which statements like "back to the drawing board" are thrown in for good measure. Maybe "something something just need to execute" should be added.
If anything it proves that Mahomes can do anything well—even if that means jumping through the media hoops forced upon him by the NFL while also giving nothing meaningful away.
