Kansas City Chiefs Coaches Will Start with Clean Slate

Many Chiefs’ fans were eager for change after four years of Herm Edwards’ conservative offense. And boy, did they get it. Gone are such coaches as the much-maligned “Father Time,” Dick Curl; and the barely-in-control Gunther Cunningham.

In their place are a pair of Super Bowl coordinators and a lot of position coaches that casual fans have never heard of.

Head coach Todd Haley last was seen on the Super Bowl sideline, where he came close to engineering an upset over the favored Pittsburgh Steelers.

Few coaches are more innovative in the passing game, but instead of Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald, Haley will be working with Matt Cassel to Dwayne Bowe. Keep an eye on how he adjusts his strategy to his personnel and how veterans react to his fiery personality after the laid-back Edwards.

Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey is one of the few holdovers form the Edwards’ regime. His 2008 offense looked great at times and sputtered at times, but Gailey deserves credit for getting the most out of what he had to work with. It remains to be seen how he and Haley will divide play-calling responsibilities.

Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast unexpectedly became available when Arizona fired him after its Super Bowl loss. His experience in the 3-4 alignment will be invaluable as the team transitions from a 4-3, and he and Haley obviously have a comfortable relationship.

Few of the new position coaches are familiar to Chiefs fans, with the possible exception of assistant head coach Maurice Carthon. That undoubtedly will change as the season unfolds.

Haley surprised fans by retaining defensive line coach Tim Krumrie. He must be convinced that the unit’s chronic poor performance is a result of personnel and scheme, not bad coaching.