Mizzou Ties Run Deep for Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII

COLUMBIA, Mo. – From Head Coach Andy Reid to leading tackler Nick Bolton, the Kansas City Chiefs’ ties to the University of Missouri run deep as Super Bowl LVII approaches.

Bolton will be the 21st Tiger to play in a Super Bowl game, and the 11th as a starter. Should the Chiefs win over the Philadelphia Eagles, it would mark the third straight year that a former Tiger was on the winning Super Bowl team joining QB Blaine Gabbert (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Super Bowl LV) and TE Kendall Blanton (Los Angeles Rams, Super Bowl LVI).

Reid was MU’s offensive line coach from 1989-91, before beginning his NFL career that has taken him to Green Bay, Philadelphia and Kansas City. This will be Reid’s fifth Super Bowl and fourth as a head coach.

Three members of Reid’s coaching staff also have Missouri connections. Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub was Mizzou’s strength and conditioning coach from 1989-97, and the Tigers’ defensive line coach from 1998-2000. Assistant special teams coordinator Andy Hill was an assistant coach at Missouri from 1996-2019 spending various periods coaching wide receivers, quarterbacks and special teams. He also played wide receiver at MU from 1980-84, and most notably caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in Mizzou’s 10-0 upset of 11th-ranked Oklahoma in 1983. The Chief’s outside linebackers coach, Ken Flajole, coached the Tigers’ defensive backs and linebackers from 1989-93.

A native of Frisco, Texas, Bolton started every game for the Chiefs this season and led the club with 180 tackles. He also had two sacks, two pass interceptions and one forced fumble. In the playoffs, he made 14 tackles vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars and 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Bolton was first-team all-SEC for Missouri in 2019 and 2020 before he was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Chiefs.

He’ll be the fifth former Tiger to start at linebacker in a Super Bowl, joining Gus Otto (Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl II), Andy Russell (Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowls IX and X), Mike Jones (St. Louis Rams, Super Bowl XXXIV) and Aldon Smith (San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowl XLVII).

Mizzou’s participation in the Super Bowl dates all the way back to the first two games, when linebackers Bud Abell and Gus Otto played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, respectively, in losses to the Green Bay Packers. Former Tigers head coach Warren Powers also started at safety on that Raiders team.

The most decorated Tiger Super Bowl performers were defensive back Eric Wright and linebacker Mike Jones. Wright starred on four Super Bowl winning teams for the 49ers in the 1980s, and intercepted passes in their first two Super Bowl victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowls XVI and XIX. Jones made perhaps the greatest tackle in Super Bowl history when he dragged down Kevin Dyson at the one-yard line on the last play of the game to cinch the St. Louis Rams’ 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. Hence his nickname, “The Tackle.”

The greatest statistical performance turned in by a Tiger came from defensive end Kony Ealy. During Super Bowl 50 against the Broncos, Ealy tied the Super Bowl record with three quarterback sacks, and recorded an interception and forced a fumble. The Panthers lost the game 24-10, but Ealy became the first player in Super Bowl history to have an interception and multiple sacks. He was the first player since 1993 to record multiple sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in a postseason game. His sack total tied the Super Bowl record previously shared by Reggie White and Darnell Dockett.

Tigers Who Started in the Super Bowl (10) *

• OLB Gus Otto, Super Bowl II (1967), Oakland Raiders – Loss
• OLB Andy Russell, Super Bowls IX and X (1974, 1975), Pittsburgh Steelers – 2 Wins
• DE John Matuszak, Super Bowls XI and XV (1976, 1980), Oakland Raiders – 2 Wins
• CB Eric Wright, Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII and XXIV (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989), San Francisco 49ers – 4 Wins
• CB Otis Smith, Super Bowls XXXI and XXXVI (1996, 2001), New England Patriots – 1 Loss, 1 Win
• OLB Mike Jones, Super Bowl XXXIV (1999), St. Louis Rams – Win
• OLB Aldon Smith, Super Bowl XLVII (2012), San Francisco 49ers – Loss
• DL Justin Smith, Super Bowl XLVII (2012), San Francisco 49ers – Loss
• OT Justin Britt, Super Bowl XLIX (2014), Seattle Seahawks – Loss
• TE Kendall Blanton, Super Bowl LVI (2021), Los Angeles Rams – Win

Tigers Who Played in the Super Bowl (20) *

Otto, Russell, Matuszak, Wright, O. Smith, Jones, A. Smith, J. Smith, Britt, Blanton, and:

• LB Bud Abell, Super Bowl I (1966), Kansas City Chiefs – Loss
• CB Henry Stuckey, Super Bowl VIII (1973), Miami Dolphins – Win
• C Scott Anderson, Super Bowl IX (1974), Minnesota Vikings – Loss
• RB Tony Galbreath, Super Bowl XXI (1986), New York Giants – Win
• DL Jerome Sally, Super Bowl XXI (1986), New York Giants – Win
• TE Byron Chamberlain, Super Bowl XXXIII (1998), Denver Broncos – Win
• DL Ziggy Hood, Super Bowl XLV (2010), Pittsburgh Steelers – Loss
• OLB Shane Ray, Super Bowl 50 (2015), Denver Broncos – Win
• DE Kony Ealy, Super Bowl 50 (2015), Carolina Panthers – Loss
• OT Yasir Durant, Super Bowl LV (2020), Kansas City Chiefs – Loss

Tigers Who Played for a Super Bowl team, but not in Super Bowl (7) *

• G Phil Pettey, Washington (1987)
• DE Rick Lyle, New England Patriots (2003)
• CB Michael Harden, Seattle Seahawks (2005)
• WR Justin Gage, Chicago Bears (2006)
• QB Chase Daniel, New Orleans Saints (2009)
• LB Sean Weatherspoon, Atlanta Falcons (2016)
• QB Blaine Gabbert, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020)

(* – year in parentheses indicates the season, Super Bowl was played in the following calendar year)