Patrick Mahomes pushes back on Donald Trump claim echoed by US Senator days before Super Bowl appearance
The spotlight was shone on the relationship between Patrick Mahomes and Tommy Tuberville – or lack thereof – this week.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump first linked the two when he erroneously claimed that the Republican Senator had coached the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback during his time at Texas Tech – despite the pair never crossing paths at the college.
The confusion escalated Thursday when Tuberville, the Senator from Alabama, appeared to back up Trump’s claim.
While he confessed that he had never coached the three-time Super Bowl winner, Tuberville did claim credit for recruiting to the program.
‘What happened is I recruited him, and then I left and went to another school, but I got to be very good friends with him,’ Tuberville said during an appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show.
‘He’s not just a good athlete, he’s a very good example for a lot of our young youth across this country.’
Patrick Mahomes (left) shut down US Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (right) Texas Tech claim
The Republican Senator did coach football at Texas Tech from 2010 until 2012
He left before Mahomes’ first season with the quarterback arriving at the program in 2014
However, the 70-year-old’s recollection doesn’t quite line up with Mahomes’ memory of his college recruitment.
In an embarrassing moment for the senator and Trump, not only did the Chiefs’ signal caller insist that Tuberville didn’t recruit him, he also couldn’t recall ever meeting the former college football head coach.
‘He did not recruit me at the time,’ Mahomes told The Philadelphia Inquirer. ‘I don’t remember if I ever got to meet him or not.’
While Tuberville, did in fact coach the Red Raiders, his tenure only lasted two years, from 2010 to 2012.
Mahomes’s first season at the program didn’t come until 2014, during which he played under Tuberville’s replacement, Kliff Kingsbury.
The signal caller played in Lubbock, Texas for three years before declaring for the NFL Draft in 2017. He was selected by the Chiefs with the No. 10 overall pick.
Meanwhile, Tuberville had gone on to accept the head coaching position at the University of Cincinnati in 2012.
Tuberville, who played safety at Southern State during his own playing days, coached the Bearcats until 2016 before entering the world of politics in 2020.
Donald Trump first made the claims about Tuberville and Mahomes earlier this week
Tuberville, who authored a Senate bill to codify Trump’s executive order titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’ into law, assumed office as the Senator from Alabama in January 2021.
Trump will make an historic appearance at the Super Bowl this weekend as the first sitting President to attend the game.
He has been very complimentary of Trump in the build-up. When asked in the Oval Office who he wants to win, Trump said: ‘I don’t want to say, but there’s a certain quarterback that seems to be a pretty good winner.’
He posted about the game on Truth Social on Friday, extending his praise to Travis Kelce, too: ‘Two great Quarterbacks in this game. Also, an unbelievable running back, and the absolute best tight end in football (Ever!). Incredible coaching!
‘If they would only get rid of that really weird looking new Kickoff “deal,” which actually makes football more dangerous, they would be doing everybody, especially the fans, a big favor.
‘ANYWAY, IT WILL BE A GREAT GAME!!! I’ll be doing the interview, before the game, at 3:00 P.M. There hasn’t been one in four years (Gee, I wonder why?).’
