Patrick Mahomes (No. 5) of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Davis Webb (No. 7) of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warm up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 29, 2014. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
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When Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes goes against the Denver Broncos on Monday night, he’ll face a coach who could see him as the enemy.
Davis Webb is not only the offensive coordinator of the AFC West rival Broncos, but also the former Texas Tech player who Mahomes unseated as starting quarterback.
Instead, Webb affectionately described Mahomes as his “little brother.”
“We were great teammates when he was a freshman,” Webb said. “He made me transfer out to Cal, but him and I are still really, really close and I love Pat.”
Webb was the Red Raiders starter before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in a game against TCU on Oct. 25, 2014, paving the way for Mahomes.
Mahomes also started the rest of 2015 and threw for 4,653 yards and 36 touchdowns, and Webb moved on to Cal in 2016.
The New York Giants then drafted Webb in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Kansas City traded up to draft Mahomes 10th overall in the same draft, and Mahomes would go on to win three Super Bowl MVPs and earn a contract extension worth more than $60 million a year.
Webb said he was not planning on texting Mahomes prior to Monday but would talk to him on the field before the game for about 15 minutes. That’s what they used to do when Webb was on the Buffalo Bills practice squad.
“That’s been kind of our tradition on game weeks,” Webb said. “Pat’s a great dude.”
It was not Webb’s only college battle for snaps against a future NFL starter. In 2013 he competed with Baker Mayfield, who later transferred to Oklahoma, for the Texas Tech starting position.
“(He) obviously had a really good career,” Davis said, “good contract as well.”
Mayfield just signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hot Coaching Name
Webb may not earn Mayfield money, but he is expected to be a coveted name for the 2027 head coaching cycle.
Though entering just his fourth year as an NFL coach, Webb was already a hot head coaching candidate prior to the 2026 season, interviewing with the Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders.
To help keep him with the Broncos, Sean Payton not only promoted Webb, his quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator in 2025, to offensive coordinator, but also named him the playcaller.
It will be the first time in Payton’s tenure as an NFL head coach, which dates back to 2006, that he will not be his team’s primary offensive playcaller.
“I would only do that if I felt it would help our team,” Payton said at the 2026 NFL Combine. “[Webb] is extremely talented … He’ll be really good at it.”
Webb’s Ties To Steve Spagnuolo
Although the 31-year-old Webb will not actually be facing off against Mahomes, he will be directly opposing someone with whom he also has connections.
During his first year in the NFL in 2017, Webb played for current Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo who was then the Giants’ interim head coach.
“You could tell he had ‘coach’ in him,” Spagnuolo said. “He was really, really sharp.”
Spagnuolo was impressed by the rookie who used to put together an end-of-the-week tape to test the other quarterbacks.
Webb, who savored the banana pudding Steve’s wife, Maria, used t0 make, enjoyed his time playing for the same coach who he’ll oppose on Monday night.
“I miss Spags. He’s a great dude,” Webb said. “He’s one of the best defensive coordinators in this game’s history, and it will be a tough challenge for us.”
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