How this BYU grad has learned on the job in the Chiefs organization

LAS VEGAS — Seven years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes.

They also took a chance on a Utah native looking to break into the sports business world.

Both of those selections have worked out well for the Chiefs organization.

Mahomes is one of the top stars in the NFL, a two-time league MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion. 

Porter Ellett isn’t as well-known outside Chiefs circles, but inside the organization, he’s well-liked and appreciated for the positive, skillful approach he brings to helping Kansas City get the most out its players.

And like Mahomes, Ellett has a couple of Super Bowl championships to his name as well.

On Sunday, Mahomes, Ellett and the Chiefs will try to win a third Super Bowl title when Kansas City plays the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 Super Bowl (4:30 p.m. MST, CBS) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Ellett understands the rarity of having this many opportunities to win a Super Bowl in such a short time span — this is Kansas City’s fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years — but he’s also aware of the hard work the Chiefs have put in to make it happen.

“You always like hope for that kind of success, and I think we had the potential to do it. I mean, we have a great head coach. Coach (Andy) Reid’s phenomenal, and then we have great players. But you know, a lot of things have to go right. Even after we won the first one, you feel that way, a lot of things just have to go perfect for you to do that because it’s hard to do,” Ellett told the Deseret News on Thursday.

Andy Reid’s ‘left-hand man’

For several years, Ellett served as the senior assistant to the head coach under Reid, who’s in his 11th season coaching the Chiefs. The duo both have a connection to BYU — Reid was a former player and grad assistant at the school, while Ellett worked in the football equipment room.

The personable Reid calls Ellett his “left-hand man” — Ellett lost the use of his right arm in an accident at the age of 4, then had it surgically removed at 16.

The Loa, Utah, native never let that stop him — he starred in baseball and basketball in high school. He’s taken that “don’t quit” attitude into the football realm, and it’s paying off.

This past year, after spending three years as an offensive quality control coach, Ellett was elevated to assistant running backs coach.

“That’s my left-hand man. He does a great job. He started off as my administrative assistant and now he’s working with the running backs. And he’s brilliant, first of all, very, very intelligent guy, got a great feel for the game,” Reid told the Deseret News this week.

“He’s got a great way with the players. The players, they love him. He does have one arm. I have a brother that has one arm, he taught my brother how to tie his shoe with one hand. It just shows you that people can do whatever they want to do. I mean, he does a heck of a job with our guys.”

Ellett, similarly, has glowing things to say about Reid, the man who gave him the opportunity to succeed in the NFL realm.

“That’s the thing that really stands out probably is like, he loves his players, you know, and then they love him back. So he’s phenomenal with those relationships and then he’s a master at planning and creating a system where players can succeed,” Ellett said.

“He probably does more for the success of individual players than any coach in the league as far as putting them in a position where they can succeed. That’s been really good for me to see.”

When Reid first hired Ellett, he admitted to the head coach that he “didn’t really know football” — Ellett had been a star in basketball and baseball at Wayne High.

“He’s like, ‘That’s fine.’ He was like, ‘I’ll teach you football. You just come in and bring what you can to the table,’” Ellett said.

That vote of confidence was just what Ellett needed.

“I mean, being able to learn from a master like that has been incredible because he is, he’s a master at his craft. He’s done it for so many years, had so much success and he pays attention to the details and the little things. So that’s been really, really fun for me to see and then grow and learn how I would do things,” Ellett said.

Coaching at a new position

Like so many other things in his life, Ellett has embraced the opportunity to learn a new position with the Chiefs while working under Kansas City running backs coach Todd Pinkston this season.

“It’s been a lot of growth as far as a lot more coaching and then a lot more focused on one position. Before I was kind of working with, you know, multiple positions, but to be able to really be detailed with, and be more focused on one group, it’s been a lot of fun for me,” Ellett said.

In typical Ellett style, he gave a shoutout to the guys in his position room.

“There’s a great group of guys … Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon, even the guys that have been in and off the practice squad like La’Mical Perine, Deneric Prince and then we added Keaontay Ingram late in the year,” Ellett said. “Those six guys have been phenomenal to work with and then coach Pinkston, running backs coach, he’s done a great job. So it’s been fun working with him.”

Ellett and the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift relationship

Ellett even has a little “connection” to the frenzy surrounding the relationship between decorated singer/songwriter Taylor Swift and the Chiefs’ star tight end, Travis Kelce.

The friendship between Ellett and Kelce goes back years — the inquisitive young assistant would ask the outgoing tight end questions because “in my mind, (he’s) the greatest tight end in the history of the NFL,” and Ellett’s work as an offensive quality control coach afforded him plenty of time to work with the tight ends.

Ellett learned what you see with Kelce is the genuine product — he treats others with respect.

“He’s always been willing to not just be a player on the team but would be willing to help and be a friend. He cares about guys on the team,” Ellett said. “You know, like a player comes in that’s undrafted that’s a tight end, he treats them the same as anybody else, and it was the same with me as like a new coach. He treated me with respect and was good to me. 

“… That’s just the kind of guy he is. He’s just that way with everyone. And even this year with all the added media attention and stuff, he’s still the exact same person he’s been.”

So, has close confidant Ellett given Kelce any dating advice regarding Swift?

No, but Kelce did get a stamp of approval from someone important — Ellett’s wife, Carlie.

“I had heard that he tried to give her a bracelet, so I asked him about it. And my wife when she heard about the story, she was like, ‘You go tell Travis that I really approve of that relationship,’” Ellett said.

“So in the locker room I was like, ‘Trav, I want you to know my wife said she really approves of that one.’ He just kind of laughed and said, ‘Well, good to know.’

Can the Chiefs win another Super Bowl?

Since being drafted No. 10 overall in the 2017 NFL draft, the 28-year-old Mahomes has turned into one of the premier playmakers in the league, even when there were naysayers not long after that draft pick.

It’s worked out well for the Chiefs.

“It’s been fun to be a part of … being able to see Pat because he came in as a rookie that was, you know, Texas Tech. A lot of people in the NFL said, ‘Well, he came from the Air Raid offense, we don’t know what he’ll do.’ And then to see him have the success he’s had, it’s been fun,” Ellett said.

And now, Mahomes and company will have a chance for the Chiefs to win back-to-back Super Bowl championships — the New England Patriots last accomplished that feat in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

“I think we’re very fortunate to be where we’re at, but at the same time we’ve worked really hard to get there and we have the right people in place to have that kind of success,” Ellett said. “This kind of success is beyond anything I would have imagined personally in my own life being a part of.”