After the Kansas City Chiefs' 30-13 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night, Tamba Hali—the 12-year NFL veteran who currently ranks second in franchise history with 89.5 career sacks, took some time to pay it forward to the next generation of elite pass rushers in the Chargers' Joey Bosa.
The two were seen on the field after the game with Hali going through some of his moves and his handwork with Bosa.
Awesome moment.@TambaHali91 giving @jbbigbear pass rushing tips after the game. #FootballIsFamily pic.twitter.com/iam0d5RfLM — NFL (@NFL) December 17, 2017
The social media reaction was what you'd expect.
As unsurprising, yet, still impressive as that was from Hali, it's not as if they weren't already familiar with one another. They were.
Both Hali and Bosa were coached in college by the same man—Larry Johnson, Sr.—the father of former Chiefs' running back Larry Johnson. He coached Hali and the defensive line at Penn State and now holds the same position at Ohio State, where he coached Bosa.
And Bosa had already looked up to Hali, so the fact that he was picking his brain after the game wasn't that surprising either.
"I like watching Tamba Hali," Bosa said back at the NFL Scouting Combine a couple of years ago. "He's one of coach Johnson's guys, so when I watch him I pretty much see the prototype, exactly what he coaches. He's fun to watch."
Bosa said back at the Combine that he had worked out with Hali in the past.
"He's come in and worked with us, and when you watch his hands and the way he pass rushes, it's exactly what coach Johnson coaches," Bosa said. "The way he uses his hands, the way he flips his hips, I just like watching him."
Much of what Hali was showing Bosa Saturday night came from another one of his mentors, Master Joseph E. Kim, who was proud of his pupil when he saw what he was doing.
When asked about the interaction after the game between Hali and Bosa, Chiefs' coach Andy Reid wasn't surprised.
"Not at all, you see (the Broncos') Von Miller have that offseason program when he gets all the pass rushers together," Reid explained. "They all pick each other's minds. We do the same things as coaches—try to pick a guys' mind on a certain thing that you've seen, and so the fact that Bosa wants to get better, I think is a real tribute to him and the game. That's what makes our game great.
"And Tamba, for being an elder statesman and being able to share it, I think that's something special, too. It's a unique bond that these players have in this league, and that's what makes it such a great thing."
Bosa, who is just 22 years old, currently ranks fifth in the NFL with 11.5 sacks, and he's Pro Football Focus' top-graded edge rusher this season, amassing 45 quarterback hurries through just 14 games.
And despite that impressive start to his career, Bosa still utilized his time—albeit however limited—around Hali to try and pick up something new.
Simply put: it was a great display of sportsmanship all the way around.
