Tyrann Mathieu is preparing to play in his second Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, but this time, he'll face his former head coach in Bruce Arians.

Ahead of his matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mathieu elaborated on why Arians is someone special to him.

“Me and coach BA, we’ve had a great relationship,” the Chiefs safety said on Monday, via Pro Football Talk. “Ever since my time in Arizona, and even beyond that, he’s always been somebody [whose] opinions and what he says meant a lot to me. You’ve got to remember, he was one of the first people in the National Football League that really believed in me and my abilities, and really allowed me to really flourish at a young age in this league. And he’s still been a guy that I keep in touch with to this day.”

When Tyrann Mathieu was a young safety coming out of LSU, making his way into the NFL, he had some character concerns heading into the draft. Despite his versatility on defense, Mathieu fell to the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, where the Arizona Cardinals took a chance on him.

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More specifically, it was Bruce Arians—who was the head coach of the Cardinals at the time—that believed Mathieu could succeed in the NFL. The LSU product went on to become an All-Pro talent in his five seasons in Arizona before leaving for the Houston Texans.

Prior to joining the Texans in 2018, Arians lobbied for Mathieu to join Houston, informing Bill O'Brien of the type of player he'd be getting in him. Fast forward to now and Mathieu is a pivotal piece in the Chiefs' underrated defense.

There's no doubt that the Chiefs star has exceeded expectations, which he's credited Arians in helping him achieve. While Mathieu and Arians have a long history, both of them will look to emerge victorious on Sunday.