KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II added yet another trophy to his growing collection Saturday when he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Year at the 49th annual 101 Awards at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown Hotel.
"It is an honor to get this award,” the understated Mahomes said.
What more could a 23-year-old ask for? NFL MVP, team leader, and beloved in the KC community.
"Whatever you do, just believe in yourself, put in the work, and you will have success to the biggest of your imagination," Mahomes said. "That is the biggest thing I believed in high school and now it's gotten me here."
After coming short in the AFC Championship Game during his first season as the Chiefs' starter, Mahomes has been training and spending time with family in Texas.
Video of Mahomes doing a spin move during a basketball ball game made Chiefs general manager Brett Veach among others cringe, but Mahomes joked during his acceptance speech that he'd taken up a new sport.
"I am focusing on the golf game," Mahomes said. "Hopefully, I can get better by focusing on that. (Chiefs wide receiver Gehrig) Dieter is always hitting me up about video games, so I always play with him."
While all the accolades are nice, Mahomes said he's focused mostly on one trophy — the Vince Lombardi Trophy — and won’t stop working until he gets it.
“I am excited about our team coming back and being able to compete in the Super Bowl next year,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes also was honored as the Derrick Thomas Award winner as the Chiefs' MVP, while offensive guard Andrew Wylie won the Mack Lee Hill Award as the Chiefs' Rookie of the Year.
Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy — who spent 10 seasons on Andy Reid's coaching staffs in Philadelphia and Kansas City, including two seasons as offensive coordinator with the Chiefs in 2016-17 — was named NFC Coach of the Year.
Nagy confessed that he reached out to his mentor, Reid, for advice during the season.
"It helps out," Nagy said. "Coach Reid is my greatest mentor in this profession, so I am always going to look for advice from him and he is always there for me. We stay in touch, I pick his brain as much as I can, and look for advice as much as I can."
Nagy led Chicago to a 12-4 record and the NFC North title in his first season as the Bears' coach.
Pro Football Hall of Fame member Bobby Bell represented the Chiefs' Super Bowl IV championship team in the Salute to the Super Bowl Champions.
