Kansas City hasn’t looked like its ruthless, late-season self lately. The offense has stalled in weird pockets, the play-calling has been questioned on every radio hit, and the Chiefs’ margin for error has thinned after a bumpy Week 11 showing.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis has quietly built a defensive identity under Lou Anarumo that is sharp, shape-shifting, and annoyingly precise. Against that backdrop, Patrick Mahomes offered a line that instantly raised eyebrows.
“What makes him such a great DC is that he tailors his scheme to the team. He wants to go with their strengths,” said Patrick Mahomes.
WOW: Patrick Mahomes takes a SHOT at the #Chiefs coaching staff 😳
On the #Colts Lou Anarumo: “What makes him such a great DC is he tailors his scheme to the team. He wants to go with their strengths.”
“He’s not stuck in his ways of how he calls a game.”pic.twitter.com/lisGBTgHUs
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) November 23, 2025
Patrick Mahomes Fires Subtle Shot While Praising Colts DC Lou Anarumo
Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, NFL
Nov 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The 30-year-old quarterback framed Lou Anarumo’s strength as flexibility. That compliment doubles as a contrast. Mahomes said Anarumo builds packages around players. He praised adaptability over rigidity. In practice, that’s an apparent dig at staff who insist on one scheme regardless of talent. Mahomes has every right to respect a coordinator who forces the offense to adjust. But context matters: Kansas City has been criticized for play-calling that hasn’t always matched personnel during this slump.
Anarumo’s defenses disguise looks, rotate coverage, and bend to personnel. Mahomes noted Colts defenders have been shifted and re-tooled via trades and scheming. That’s not abstract praise, it’s an operational contrast. The Chiefs’ issues this season (in-game play-calling inconsistencies, mismatches on third down) become starker when a top QB applauds an opponent’s in-game tailoring.
When a franchise quarterback publicly highlights another coach’s adaptability, it invites interpretation. Is Mahomes calling out Kansas City’s coaching staff? Subtly, yes. He’s not naming names, but he’s praising the one trait that can make a coordinator a nightmare for offenses: continuous adjustment. That forces answers from Kansas City’s staff this week. Expect the Chiefs to tighten in-game adjustments either way or let those comments simmer into media pressure, and that’s the real story behind the quote.
Mahomes’ line is both praise and pressure. Patrick Mahomes sends a subtle shot at the Chiefs’ staff while praising Colts DC Lou Anarumo, as a compliment about adaptability is, in context, a challenge to inflexibility.