Many players wait a whole career to play in one Super Bowl.
Two is a great accomplishment, and three is even better.
But Mike’s son, Joe, is preparing for his fourth time in the big game at the end of the NFL season, this time as a starting guard for the Kansas City Chiefs.
His first three were all with the New England Patriots, and they happened to coincide with the first three seasons of Thuney’s career.
Never before had a player started in the Super Bowl in each of his first three seasons, but that type of success was the only thing the Alter High School product and his family knew of life in the NFL after the Patriots drafted him in the third round out of N.C. State.
“To your point, yes, it seems way more satisfying to get to this point,” Mike Thuney said. “Even last year losing in the AFC championship to Cincinnati was a great season, but it just sort of leaves you feeling just like still unfinished business.
“So I think they’re ready to roll and everybody’s happy to be back in it, and Joseph in particular feels like this is this is what he’s come to expect, I mean to a certain extent.”
Thuney left the Patriots two years ago as one of the most-coveted free agent offensive linemen in the league.
He landed in Kansas City, where quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in need of some new personal protectors following a loss in Super Bowl 55 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady, Thuney’s former quarterback in New England.
Not only did Thuney sign one of the mostlucrative contracts ever for an interior offensive lineman (a reported five years for $80 million), he also continued his winning ways with the Chiefs.
“It’s just been remarkable,” Mike Thuney said. “I think Joseph went into this with his eyes wide open. He and his agent, Mike McCartney, they wanted a good team, and he wanted to get of course the appropriate contract.”
After using the franchise tag on Thuney in 2020, the Patriots made a push to bring him back again, and the Bengals were also among teams to try to sign him, but ultimately Kansas City ended up being the choice.
“There was a sort of a bidding war between between them and New England,” the elder Thuney said. “He just felt like it was a natural progression. He had really never spent any time in Kansas City, so that was just a little bit of a question mark, but he really loves it out there, and it’s been a great fit so far. He feels really comfortable. It’s weird that he’s now kind of the old man on the block as opposed to the young rookie like it was with Tom, but he seems to have adapted well to it.”
Credit: Charlie Riedel
Credit: Charlie Riedel
This Sunday, Joe figures to be part of one of the pivotal matchups in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City is third in the NFL in adjusted line yards (a measure of run blocking prowess) and fifth in sack rate allowed according to FootballOutsiders.com, but the Eagles are No. 1 in sack rate and lead the league in sacks with 70, so the battle in the trenches will be one of strength against strength.
Mike Thuney pointed out this particular matchup also offers some payback potential for his son, whose single Super Bowl loss came at the hands of Philadelphia five years ago in Minnesota.
“Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox and those interior lineman for Philadelphia are still good and still playing,” he said.
Including the postseason, Thuney has played in and started 127 of a possible 129 games in the NFL.
He was picked for the Pro Bowl this season and named second-team AP All-Pro for the second time in his career, leaving little doubt he is one of the best in the league at his position.
For all his success, though, Thuney still seems to be somewhat under the radar — even for an offensive lineman.
“I just kind of scratched my head about that, too, because I think there’s a lot of storylines,” Mike Thuney said, noting not only his son’s durability but his teaming up with a pair of MVP quarterbacks and overall team success.
“I think he just does keep his head down. He’s not one of these guys that’s going to be volunteering to be interviewed.”
As for Super Bowl weekend, Mike Thuney said he and his wife will be part of a contingent of 15 friends and family set to make the trip to Phoenix to watch their son.
“Friday they have a big to do for the family and friends, like a dinner/meet-and-greet type of thing, and then Saturday is kind of on your own and then they’ve got several things lined up before the game on Sunday,” he said. “Then Sunday there’s a pre-party in Glendale where the facility is, then afterwards win or lose, we’re going to still have something going on at the facility where the team is staying, so it should be great fun.”
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