Most fans would expect all of the NFL’s coaches to jump at the chance to manage the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, but not Greg Olsen as the tight end believes the pair are “uncoachable” due to the level they operate at.
Mahomes is currently regarded as the best quarterback in the league whilst Kelce will go down in history as one of the greatest ever tight ends, in the same conversation as Rob Gronkowski or Tony Gonzalez. So, they have, naturally, forged an unstoppable relationship that has seen them throw or rush their ways to three NFL Super Bowl victories, the most recent of which happened back in February 2024 when they beat the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.
But Olsen explained that their special relationship means they are very difficult, or even impossible, to coach since you can’t plan for their instinctive and improvised understanding of what the other will do.
“The reason that I appreciate it so much,” Olsen said to Fox Sports. “Is because of the style in which they play was like a style that, again I’m not saying I was Kelce and me and Cam [Newton] but like, that was Cam and I kind of style where you couldn’t really draw a line on a piece of paper.
“The route might look a little different each time, you know Kelce will run it at eight yards, nine yards, 12 yards and if you asked him, like ‘Hey why’d you run your route like that?’ He’d be like ‘That’s how I could get open. I just run where the defense is not and Pat trusts me and throws me the ball,’ “That relationship, you can’t coach. You can’t have all your tight ends run their routes like that. That comes with experience.”
Kelce-Mahomes relationship surpasses Brady-Gronk
On their way to winning their second Super Bowl in two seasons with the victory over the 49ers at the Allegiant Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs’ duo surpasses the New England Patriots’ iconic Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski for a postseason NFL record.
Over 11 seasons in Boston, Brady-Gronk combined for 15 touchdowns in 22 postseason games whilst Mahomes and Kelce shattered this in 2024 by hitting their 16th touchdown in the postseason after just seven seasons together. Furthermore, the 34-year-old Kelce now holds the record for most post-season receptions in league history with 152, highlighting how much of a specialist he actually is when the pressure is on.
