New Kensington native David Girardi preps for Super Bowl as Patrick Mahomes’ position coach

An increasing number of people are beginning to wonder if Patrick Mahomes just might end up as the greatest quarterback of all time.

And at present, Mahomes’ defined position coach hails from New Kensington.

David Girardi has been part of the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive staff since Mahomes took over as starting quarterback in 2018, and this season Girardi moved into the role of quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs.

Girardi, 35, is coaching in a Super Bowl for the fourth time and could earn his third championship ring if the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

“For us as a family, obviously, we are very proud of our son for what he’s accomplished and the role that he’s playing, really, with any team he’s been a part of,” said father Frank Girardi, a New Kensington native and Valley High School alumnus.

“Whether it was a smaller college or the Division I schools he’s been with or the Kansas City Chiefs, he’s worked hard at it. Believe me, he’s a grinder. He gets there at 5 o’clock in the morning, always one of the first ones there when they open. This definitely was something that he wanted to make his career.”

David Girardi grew up in New Kensington and was a three-year starter at quarterback for Geneva College, where he has been inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame.

Though Girardi went to high school in Florida — his father and brother were on the coaching staff at St. Petersburg at the time — his Western Pennsylvania roots were solidified when he returned to play at Geneva under longtime coach Geno DeMarco. It was also DeMarco who gave Girardi his first coaching job — quarterbacks coach at his alma mater — in 2013.

“If you can imagine a person who has high intelligence, an incredible work ethic, a relentlessness to succeed and the ability to prepare for that success,” DeMarco said, “those are the four things that I think David demonstrated here that he continues to demonstrate in the years that I have known him since he stepped on this campus.”

DeMarco was interviewed last February within weeks of the announcement of his induction into the National Christian College Athletic Association Hall of Fame and in having the opportunity to watch one of his star pupils earn a second Super Bowl ring.

A year — and a promotion for Girardi — later, Girardi is part of the big game for a fourth time. And in his role, he often has the ear of future Pro Football Hall of Famers such as Mahomes, Chiefs coach Andy Reid and star tight end Travis Kelce.

“David has got two (Super Bowl) rings, and it’s not like he’s just sitting there charting plays,” DeMarco said. “This guy has got a brilliant offensive mind.”

Girardi was born into a coaching family that included his father, uncle and two older brothers. Older brother Dom was the head coach at Highlands from 2017-21. In addition to a lengthy career coaching at the college and high school levels (including at Burrell and Highlands), father Frank develops and sells headsets and other communication equipment targeted for use by football coaches.

“I think that was instilled in (David), ‘Hey, we are a coaching family,’ ” Frank said during an interview last year. “I am sure it’s something that he’s always had a desire to do.”

Still, even for a football coaching lifer such as Frank Girardi, having a son compete for Super Bowls at the highest level seemingly every year never gets old.

“You see your kid on TV sometimes when you’re watching the game and you’re like, ‘Hey, there’s my boy,’ ” said Frank, who, like his wife, Barbara, is a 1972 Valley High grad. “You know how that is as parents.

“It’s really nice to watch him interact with Patrick, Travis, Coach Reid. He’s held at a high standard by those guys, and they trust the input that he has.”