As an executive, I found that the best overriding way to go about addressing these factors was to stay true to the team-building process. In New England, the pressure to win was internally driven — and it carried the same intensity whether we were trying to hoist our first Lombardi Trophy or our fourth. Winning — period — was the standard.

That meant making sure our success did not derail the processes and systems that were put in place to ultimately allow us to succeed. In fact, the mission statement at the bottom of each page in our scouting manual — which Ernie Adams and I spent writing in June of 2000 — read: We are building a big, strong, fast, tough, smart, disciplined football team that consistently competes for championships. Having an approach dedicated to the process rather than the result allowed us to sustain our success. It also helped our Patriots teams avoid the potential pitfalls that inevitably surface each season.

A simple but very real trap: Teams believing that being as good as the previous season is good enough. It’s rarely — if ever — enough, as evidenced by the fact that the NFL has had a repeat Super Bowl champion just eight times in history. Another very real trap: While the offseason is shorter for a championship team, the demands from the organization and outside entities become greater.

All that said, the 2023 Chiefs are Uniquely Suited to avoid these traps, and there are four main reasons why.

1) Humility. This boils down to the three most important people in leadership roles — owner Clark Hunt, head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who continue to drive the organization. Hunt is one of the humblest people — not just owner — I have ever been around. The same goes for Reid, the fifth-winningest coach in NFL history. And sure, it helps that Mahomes is the best player in football right now, but the fact that he is obsessed with winning — yet not in a way that’s detrimental to the team — despite having already won multiple MVP awards and Super Bowl titles, undoubtedly motivates the rest of the roster.

2) Constantly recreating themselves. The Chiefs have done this both from a strategic perspective and with their personnel. Reid is constantly tweaking and evolving the offense, challenging the uber-talented Mahomes to improve and expand his game, to stay one step ahead of Kansas City’s opponents. Kansas City’s personnel department has taken the steps toward building a championship roster for a decade, from John Dorsey to Brett Veach. The Chiefs have a strong talent-acquisition model, routinely bringing in the right players in free agency and the draft to learn from great coaches and teachers like Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. This has allowed them to continually overcome the unavoidable attrition in a salary-cap league.

Speaking of personnel moves, Mahomes has had a bevy of pass catchers come and go during his five seasons as a starter — such as Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, Le’Veon Bell, Mecole Hardman and Josh Gordon, to name a few. Travis Kelce, who’s been phenomenal for the better part of a decade, has been the one constant for Mahomes. The two-time MVP’s ability to develop pass catchers compares to any of the great quarterbacks of the last two decades. Tom Brady did it in New England, Drew Brees in New Orleans and Peyton Manning in both Indianapolis and Denver. A quarterback who can truly elevate those around him transforms an offense from good to exceptional.