Chad Henne Deserves a Proper Farewell

Patrick Mahomes’s longtime backup looks back on a long NFL journey as he heads into retirement.

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Chad Henne deserves a proper farewell from the NFL. And since I got the chance to catch up with him last week, after he announced his retirement, I figured this would be a good place to give the 15-year vet his due. To me, Henne is an interesting story, yes, because of what he did in the AFC divisional round this year, but also how he evolved, going from four-year starter at Michigan, to second-round pick and then Dolphins starter, to career backup and the other guy in the Chiefs quarterback room the last five years.

So here’s our quick Q&A with one of the NFL’s better dudes (and yeah, he’s O.K. for a Michigan guy, too).

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

MMQB: When did you know this would be it?

CH: Going into this year, I think in the beginning, I definitely knew that it could be my last year. Going throughout the season, obviously, the success that we had, I just felt like it was time. My goal was to hit 12 [seasons], and I pushed past that, three more years, and I just was at peace with it this year. Obviously to cap it off with the win made it a lot easier to say, All right, I’m gonna hang it up.

MMQB: Did playing in the divisional round help you make peace with it?

CH: Come to peace with it and sometimes it’s harder, because then you’re like, Man, I can still do it. But it’s one of those moments I’ll always remember, it’s a memory, it was good to get in that game and help our team win, and you never know when that opportunity is gonna arise again, especially winning a Super Bowl. I felt like that was just the nightcap—go out with a bang.

MMQB: What do you hope Andy and Pat would say about you?

CH: Just coming in, you want to be the ultimate teammate. Obviously, nobody knew what Patrick was gonna be early on, and my goal was to help prepare him as much as possible. Let him learn from me, through example. I felt like my work ethic, the way I prepared, the way I trained in the weight room and took care of my body on and off the field, I tried to show Patrick, This is how you do it. And as to being remembered, all those keys are it, just your work ethic, your preparation, and always being ready for any moment that would arise. I never wanted to let my teammates down.

MMQB: How quick, in 2018, did you know what Pat could be?

CH: Probably Day 1, just seeing his physical abilities. But I think the most intriguing part was seeing how he studied, how he prepared, his details really jumped out, especially his leadership qualities, early on. I knew he could be special. Obviously we didn’t know how special until that first game when he threw for six touchdowns, and the next game it was like five and, Christ, he goes on to win the MVP that first year.

MMQB: How do you think you made him better?

CH: I feel like just in the film room, studying on those Mondays and Tuesdays, where we were always in there just as quarterbacks, and picking out details, whether it was the defense or learning how to apply offensive plays to attack the defense. I think that’s the ultimate step, where you can apply what you do on offense to the defense before the coaching staff even puts the game plan together, because then you can go to them with information and then they trust you a lot more. So hopefully that process resonates with him and continues on throughout his career.

MMQB: Before all this, I’d imagine it was tough to realize you may never become a full-time starter …

CH: Definitely, coming into the league, it was a tough pill to swallow. Being drafted fairly high, in the second round, and not knowing—until Chad Pennington came in, I thought, This is my team. I’m gonna start my rookie year. And then we traded for Chad. So it was definitely an adjustment, but it was good for me, learning from Chad, seeing how that went. I felt like all the things I learned at Michigan, through adversity, through preparation, propelled me in the league. To your point, when you go from starter to a backup role, I think you just put your ego aside, you become humble and do whatever’s best for the team. You have to put your personal goals and aspirations aside the best way possible.

MMQB: It’s a different job completely, right?

CH: It’s about somebody else, rather than yourself. I think I handled it fairly well. Don’t get me wrong, there were many days and nights where I just sitting there like, What the hell? I’m just lucky I was in those situations, especially in Kansas City, where I was able to play, or just be a part of a team you could help win.

MMQB: Do you ever think about how things could’ve broken differently for you?

CH: It was definitely hard for me. Even now, I’ve felt like I could go start for somebody else. But you have to be in the right situation. I’m not gonna say I could go change a whole team like Patrick Mahomes, or like an Andrew Luck, guys that had extreme success early on. I felt like I needed people around me, the right people, the right coaching staff, the right system, in order for me to be a consistent quarterback in this league. Coming to Kansas City, I felt like this was one of those places. Now, if it was earlier on, maybe my career would be different. It is what it is.

MMQB: So what was Super Bowl Sunday like, given all this?

CH: Just the visual aspect, it was set in stone. I’d gone through a slow process, I just remember on the bus, thinking it was a long bus ride, and almost thinking back to Michigan days, my high school days, some of the Miami and Jacksonville days, and through different moments that just resonated and brought me to where I am today, where normally that wouldn’t happen. You think about your family, your kids, all the people that have supported you, more than another game.

MMQB: What’s next?

CH: “I’ll probably train quarterbacks. We’re gonna move back within two weeks, to get the kids back in school in Pennsylvania, and try and build my business that way. I have all this information I don’t want to go to waste. So hopefully I can inspire some youth.

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And in case you’re wondering, and as you might expect, he has to go back a little ways for his favorite football memory, all the way to his final game at Michigan—an upset win in the Capital One Bowl at the end of his senior year, over Tim Tebow and Florida. Of course, that’s not to say he hasn’t made a lot of great memories since. The last one was pretty cool, too.