The Kansas City Chiefs have won three Super Bowls in the last six years. Chiefs Scout and John Carroll alum Jalen Myrick has been to five Super Bowls with the Chiefs and has won three championships. Myrick is tied for the second most Super Bowl rings as a JCU alum.
Myrick remembers coming to John Carroll without a complete idea of what he wanted to do. He appreciates former JCU Sports Information Director Chris Wenzler for guiding him in the right direction.
Myrick told The Carroll News, “[Wenzler] had us doing everything, I’m really appreciative of him. He had us on the mic calling games, or in our office hours taking notes for the program. Doing a little bit of everything. It was good because I got to see every facet of the operation…For me it was realizing, ‘hey, it’s actually kind of fun getting to know guys and work with other people who have a passion for sports.’”
His time with Sports Information also allowed him to develop a holistic perspective of sports and that is something he carried with him to the NFL. Myrick said, “Out of all the classes I took, the biggest skill I credit my time there to is learning how to care about people.”
He continued, “Especially working with coach Reid and being with the Chiefs for so long, it’s always been so much bigger than a game. The results on Sunday are just like a direct correlation to how much we care about each other. I think what really makes us special and John Carroll too is that we want to see other people succeed.”
Likewise, his holistic approach isn’t the only thing that is tied to the success that he has found in his career. He attributes his ability to never get complacent as a huge part of his success as well. The idea of never being satisfied has pushed him to constantly search for ways to improve year after year.
“I don’t ever get too high or too low, it’s always just another day…My brain is wired to always think what else can we get better at, what else can we correct. I think that’s what led to this success… I don’t want to be the one to mess up this historic run, everybody kind of feels like that,” said Myrick.
One thing that Myrick advises for people who want to work in sports is to never look down on an opportunity, because it could be the next step to achieving your biggest goal.
“Be open to anything, I think that’s what gave me the opportunities that I had. I thought of it more as a ten year vision where it was like ‘okay, yeah, I really don’t want to work in stadium operations for a minor league baseball team, but that’s going to get me a foot or two feet closer to reach that ultimate goal,’” remarked Myrick.
