Stellar Coaching Staff To Lead Chiefs in 2010

24 Super Bowl rings.

24 bright and shiny (if somewhat gaudy) pieces of bling, enough to wear one on each finger and toe, with a pair left to hang on a chain off your ears and two more to give away for Christmas.

That's the type of experience Kansas City has been bringing to run things at 1 Arrowhead Drive. Between nine of the eighteen coaches and general manager Scott Pioli, 24 Super Bowl rings from six different teams adorn their fingers.

The Chiefs have been bold and aggressive in upgrading their coaching staff, with nearly each week adding a new name to what could be arguably the most accomplished ensembles ever seen in Kansas City that didn't involve three pieces of brass and a bass guitar.

Great things are in store for Kansas City, make no mistake.

A number of Chiefs fans have accused owner Clark Hunt of looking more for the almighty dollar rather than the Lombardi Trophy this past year. The Chiefs did not impress anyone with their low-key, free agent signings such as guard Mike Goff or the revolving door of veteran receivers who barely saw any regular season action.

Kansas City's selections in the draft didn't do much to comfort Chiefs fans, either.  Many considered defensive end Tyson Jackson a reach at best in the No. 3 overall pick.

Now, however, there should be little doubt about what direction this team is headed.

Secondary coach Emmitt Thomas is the latest of the marquis coaching talent brought in to develop one of the youngest teams in the league. A Hall of Fame Chiefs cornerback, Thomas earned one Super Bowl ring with Kansas City as a player and two more as a coach with the Redskins. He has coached Hall of Famers, coordinated defenses and been an interim head coach for the Atlanta Falcons.

Whether or not the availability of Thomas further ushered out former defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast is simply speculation.  However, the opportunity to add a coach of Thomas's immense credentials and love of Kansas City was certainly one the Chiefs could not afford to pass up on.

And the list of pedigreed coaches only starts there. Offensive line coach Bill Muir was the Buccaneers' offensive coordinator when they won the Super Bowl in 2002. Special teams coach Steve Hoffman handled quality control for the Cowboys during their dynasty years of the 90's. Even rookie defensive line coach Anthony Pleasant earned his Super Bowl stripes as a player with the Patriots in the 2001 and 2003 NFL seasons.

Then, of course, coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel have raised plenty of Lombardi Trophies—first with the Giants and later with Pioli in New England.

It will still take a lot to turn around a team who has only won ten games in the last three years, and hasn't won a playoff game since January 1994. The work in Kansas City is far from over, but fans can be confident in the moves made this offseason to bring the best and the brightest of coaches in to lead this team in 2010.

Free agency may be another month away, and the this year's draft could be a "make or break" for Pioli and his staff. With the brain trust assembled at 1 Arrowhead Drive, though, the Chiefs should have great things in store for them.

It's a great time to be a Chiefs fan.  Hopefully the wait for a contender will soon be over.