You have to look hard to find die-hard Kansas City Chiefs’ fan in the area - but there is at least one.

David “Whitey” Williams, a lifelong resident of Tamaqua and a storied football coach at several regional high schools, has become an ardent Chiefs supporter - and he has a good reason to be one.

During one his coaching stops, Williams tutored an elusive tailback by the name of Brett Veach. Veach helped Williams capture a PIAA championship during his career at Mount Carmel - the all-time winningest high school football program in Pennsylvania.

That same Brettt Veach is the general manager of the Chiefs who will play the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday in the Super Bowl.

High school stud

“Brett was a tailback on our state champion team in 1996,” said Williams, whose head coaching career spanned 34 years at Shenandoah, Tamaqua, Mount Carmel and Nazareth. “He was an All-State player and if you watch videos of that year, you’ll see he had incredible breakaway speed.”

In a story that appeared in the Shamokin News Item following a PIAA Class AA quarterfinal game against defending state champion Dallas in 1994, Williams described the athletic ability of Veach who was just a sophomore that year.

“He took a shuffle pass, catching the ball as he cut through two defensive ends closing on the quarterback, and ran 34 yards - hitting a hole, shifting right, following blockers before cutting hard left and instead of attempting to turn the corner and score, running out of bounds with one second remaining in the half.”

Mount Carmel then faked a field goal try and scored a touchdown on their way to a 21-15 victory.

That ’96 Red Tornado team finished with a record of 15-0 and perhaps more remarkable than their record was that they never trailed in any one of those games.

About Veach, Williams said “his intellect and preparedness were a huge part of the mentality he inherently possessed during his athletic career.

“Then you add in his work ethic and it’s not surprising how he has risen to the height he’s at in the NFL.”

It started in Philly

Williams has kept a close relationship with Veach through the years. He followed his player’s football career at the University of Delaware where he majored in sports management.

After college, Veach secured a job with the Eagles where he became an assistant to the then Eagles’ head coach, Andy Reid.

“Brett was really just a ‘gofer’ at first,” said Williams. “Go for a cheeseburger for Andy. Go get this. Go get that.”

But even back then, Veach had his sights set extremely high.

“Brett looked at me one day and said, ‘Coach, ‘I’m going to be a general manager.’” recalled Williams.

Veach followed Reid to Kansas City in January of 2013 and was promoted to a scout for the Chiefs.

“As a scout, Brett kept pushing Andy to draft Patrick Mahomes from Texas Tech long before he was eligible for the draft in 2017,” Williams said. “He told Andy that Mahomes was the best he’s ever seen.”

Of course, the Chiefs did draft Mahomes.

It was right around that time that Veach was promoted to general manager.

Mahomes almost instantly became a star, capturing the league MVP award and leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory in 2020.

Kansas City has won five AFC West Division championships, three AFC titles and will be making their third trip to the Super Bowl since Mahomes became quarterback and Veach took over the position of general manager.

Silver Bowl to Super Bowl

Through these years, Williams has been invited to several Chiefs’ games, but he has preferred to stay as close to home as he possibly can.

“I remember John Madden didn’t like to fly. I’m not big on driving long distances,” said Williams. “I’ve traveled to New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore for games and at practices. I’ve met Mahomes, Reid and many other Chiefs’ players several times. I saw that Brett and Andy Reid have a very close relationship.”

Williams was also present in 2020 when Veach returned to Mount Carmel where his parents still live in and he brought with him the Vince Lombardi Trophy - emblematic of Kansas City’s Super Bowl win that year.

“There was a special dedication for Brett. The high school named the weight room after him and the main roadway leading to the Silver Bowl - their football field - was renamed Brett Veach Way.”

Williams was a three-time Coach of the Year in Pennsylvania with career record of 135-57-1.

A graduate of Tamaqua High School, he taught Language Arts and was an assistant football and basketball coach there for 13 years. He also coached Tamaqua’s American Legion baseball team. He became head football coach of Shenandoah before returning to Tamaqua where he also led the program from 1990-1992. He then moved on to Mount Carmel where his teams posted an 81-15 record over a seven -year span.

A ‘Super’ connection

Success breeds success.

Veach, an outstanding football player under the tutelage of Williams nearly three decades ago, has become one of the best young general managers in all of professional sports - and he hasn’t forgotten the people who helped him along the way with his high school coach being near the top of his list.

When asked if he was going to attend this year’s Super Bowl in Arizona Williams said, “No, it’s a bit of an ordeal to travel that far so I’ll be with friends and family and watch the game on TV.”

But Williams will keep up one tradition with the GM that’s been going on for the past six years.

“I text Brett before and after every game,” he said. “I just hope that on Sunday we both have reason to celebrate.”