What Super Bowl LVII Can Do for Legacies in Philadelphia, Kansas City

In every Super Bowl, legacies are spawned, established and/or solidified—usually for players, coaches, executives and entire teams.

And that will again be the case in Sunday's Super Bowl LVII matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

Looking at figures and groups potentially on the verge of becoming multi-time Super Bowl champs, let's assess the evolving legacies up for grabs in Super Bowl LVII.

Patrick Mahomes and the Hall of Fame

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KANSAS CITY, MO - JANUARY 29: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates on the trophy podium after the game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 29th, 2023 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Patrick Mahomes is already a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

As of Sunday, the 27-year-old will already have three Super Bowl appearances, at least one Super Bowl win, at least one Super Bowl MVP honor and likely two regular-season MVP awards on his resume.

One or two rings, two MVPs (he's heavily favored to win his second at Saturday's NFL Honors), a bonus conference championship victory and—at the moment—the highest regular-season and playoff passer ratings in NFL history? Yeah, it's not even a debate despite an obvious shortage of broad cumulative career non-rate-based statistics.

Only three quarterbacks in the world have multiple Super Bowl wins and multiple MVP awards: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Joe Montana. And even if the Chiefs lose Sunday, Mahomes—assuming he does win MVP Saturday—will be one of just five quarterbacks with at least three Super Bowl appearances and multiple MVPs (along with Brady, Manning, Montana and Kurt Warner).

If by chance he also wins Super Bowl MVP on Sunday (and only Jalen Hurts has better odds), only he, Brady and Montana will be multi-time regular-season and Super Bowl MVPs.

It's pretty unbelievable considering that Mahomes is still just six years into his NFL career. He's clearly on track to rival Brady as the most decorated and accomplished player in league history before all is said and done.

Andy Reid an All-Time Great?

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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 06: Head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks to the media during the Kansas City Chiefs media availability prior to Super Bowl LVII at the Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch on February 07, 2023 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, this is Andy Reid's fourth Super Bowl. He's coached in a ridiculous 10 conference championship games, he's won more playoff games than any coach not named Bill Belichick, and altogether he's the fifth-winningest head coach in NFL history.

You can't put him in Belichick's orbit because of Bill's six rings as a head coach, but after Sunday, only Belichick, Don Shula and Tom Landry will have coached in more Super Bowls, and a win would make him the 14th head coach with multiple Vince Lombardi Trophies on his resume.

At that point, it'd be pretty hard not to consider Reid one of the greatest coaches in league history. His 247 regular-season wins likely clinches his Hall of Fame spot because no inactive coach with more than 200 victories lacks a spot in Canton, but he also has a much stronger overall winning percentage (.641) than both Bill Walsh (.609) and Landry (.607), as well as Hall of Famers Curly Lambeau, Bill Cowher, Bud Grant and Joe Gibbs.

For a long time, Reid was considered a great coach who couldn't get it done in January and February. That changed three years ago when he captured a title with Mahomes, and a fourth conference championship win helps defeat that narrative as well.

A win on Sunday has to move him into a category with every great save for Belichick and arguably the more victorious Don Shula.

Kansas City's Potential Dynasty

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 29: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with head coach Andy Reid after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship NFL football game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 29, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)

I dug into what Mahomes, Reid and Co. have to do to become a dynasty in a column last week, concluding that the Chiefs still need at least two more Super Bowl wins in the next few years in order to compare to modern-era dynasties like the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, 1980s San Francisco 49ers, 1990s Dallas Cowboys and 2000s New England Patriots.

All of those teams won at least three Super Bowls in less than a decade. And while the Chiefs have impressively played in three Super Bowls in a four-year span and gone to five consecutive conference championship games, contending annually and even dominating frequently doesn't get it done.

If Kansas City wins Sunday, the team can likely afford to "only" win once more in the next three or so years and still be a dynasty with three Vince Lombardi Trophies and four or more Super Bowl appearances in about a seven-year span. And there might even be wiggle room to extend that period to eight or nine years, unless of course another team takes home several championships during the same stretch (after all, you can't really have simultaneous dynasties!).

Regardless, because Mahomes is 27 and the Chiefs are perennial contenders, they have a strong chance at becoming the dynasty of this particular era even if they lose as a slight underdog Sunday in Glendale.

That said, in that event, you will begin to hear talk about Mahomes failing to win the big one. With a loss, he and Reid (as a head coach) would be a combined 2-5 in the Super Bowl in their careers.

Don't Forget About Howie Roseman

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 29: General manager Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles walks on the field prior to the NFC Championship NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on January 29, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Because the 2022 Eagles have a different coach and quarterback and a generally different overall core compared to the 2017 team that won Super Bowl LII, it's hard to make the argument the two teams should be connected in terms of legacies or a potential dynasty quest.

For all intents and purposes historically, this is a start-from-scratch scenario.

However, that 2017 squad and this 2022 team did share an architect in general manager Howie Roseman, who was the organization's executive vice president of football operations five years ago and now serves in that role in addition to owning the title of general manager.

In both seasons, the 47-year-old Roseman was named NFL Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.

And while execs are often overlooked compared to coaches and players, if the Eagles win on Sunday and Roseman can claim he built two Super Bowl winners essentially from the ground up in a six-year span, he'll have to be considered a Hall of Famer down the line.

Despite a ton of turnover and four different head coaches including Reid, Roseman's Eagles have been quite consistently competitive through his 13-year tenure with some or full personnel authority.

This year specifically, a ridiculous 17 Eagles players earned Pro Bowl or Pro Bowl alternate honors. This is by multiple measures the most talented roster in the NFL, thanks in part to tremendous drafting and moves in free agency from Roseman. Now, just like in 2017, he might win a Super Bowl without a first-round pick at quarterback. That's pretty epic and reason to list him among the great executives already, with plenty of time still on the clock.

He should be mentioned in the same breath as legends like Bill Polian, Ozzie Newsome, Ron Wolf, Dick Haley, Bobby Beathard and Tex Schramm—especially with a victory Sunday evening in Arizona.

More Hardware for Eagles Holdovers from 2017?

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PHOENIX, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 07: Jason Kelce #62 of the Philadelphia Eagles speaks to the media during the Philadelphia Eagles media availability at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass on February 07, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Only Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Isaac Seumalo, Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Jake Elliott and Rick Lovato remain on the Eagles roster from 2017, and a win on Sunday would probably mean more to some than others on paper.

For Kelce, a win over his brother Travis' team Sunday would give the six-time Pro Bowler and five-time first-team All-Pro two rings over the course of a 12-year run in Philly. Among the five Hall of Fame centers who played their entire careers in the Super Bowl era, only one (Dermontti Dawson) was an All-Pro more times than Kelce, and Dawson never won a Super Bowl. So Kelce is likely a lock regardless now, but this title would be a cherry on top.

Johnson's been a first-team All-Pro twice, and it's likely not a coincidence those honors came in both of Philly's recent Super Bowl campaigns. Injuries have arguably prevented him from putting together a Hall of Fame resume to date, but four Pro Bowl nods, two All-Pro honors and two Super Bowl wins could get him close at the age of 32. Still, based on precedents set and recorded for offensive tackles at Pro Football Reference, he's likely a still a few strong campaigns short of Hall of Fame status.

Cox, 32, and Graham, 34, are beyond their respective primes and have just one first-team All-Pro nod between them.

But Cox has still been a pretty big factor in both Super Bowl seasons, has six career Pro Bowl nods and was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 2010s. Two rings would cement his legacy as an all-time Eagles great, even if he's unlikely to sniff Canton thanks to the fact that Aaron Donald has cast a shadow over his career and stolen most of the accolades he might have earned in another era.

Interestingly, Graham's two best seasons in terms of sacks also came in 2017 and 2022, and if he plays a role in another championship Sunday, he'll be celebrated for life in the City of Brotherly Love. But that's likely the ceiling for a guy who has never been a superstar.

Seumalo has had a solid career and started a couple of games in 2017. But he's never been a Pro Bowler or All-Pro, so a second Super Bowl won't do a lot for his personal legacy. History might view him and Barnett as Super Bowl passengers to an extent, as the latter wasn't a huge factor as a rookie in '17 and has spent almost all of this season on injured reserve with a torn ACL.

Finally, there are the special teamers Elliott and Lovato. Unfortunately for Lovato, there isn't much legacy to talk about with a long snapper. However, the 28-year-old Elliott has been a Pro Bowl kicker once, was 3-of-3 as a rookie in Philadelphia's last Super Bowl win and has never missed a field goal in 13 career postseason attempts. A big kick or two in victorious fashion Sunday would make him at least a Graham-level legend in the Philly sports realm, but that's about it for now.