The Chiefs would have made the playoffs last season if the NFL allowed a seventh team from each conference into the postseason.

So it’s easy to conclude that owner Lamar Hunt had that in mind when he proposed the league expand the playoff field to 14 teams, seven in a conference, rather than 12.

But his proposal, which will get heard at the NFL meetings that begin today in Orlando, Fla., has deeper roots. Hunt has pushed before for an expanded playoff field, not just after seasons in which the Chiefs would have benefited.

“It has merit for everybody, not just the Kansas City Chiefs,” Hunt said. “It creates more interest in more cities. That’s the main thing. It is easier to sell tickets when you can say you were a playoff team.”

The proposal met with plenty of resistance before and probably will again. Full story

Is Kansas City in danger of losing the Chiefs and Royals?

That seems to be the subtle but clear threat the two teams are giving the region.

As voters in Jackson County, Mo., consider a proposal on sales and business taxes that would raise about half a billion dollars for extensive renovations to Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums, radio and TV ads are saying, "Keep the teams ..."

Opponents of the measures -- and there are many -- accuse Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt and Royals owner David Glass of "playing the fear card." They insist there is nowhere for owners to take the teams if the measure is defeated on April 4.

When pressed, the owners back away somewhat from saying they might move the teams if the vote does not go their way. But neither do they promise to stay. Full story

Defensive tackle Lional Dalton agreed to terms of a four-year contract with the Chiefs on Thursday, allowing them to retain their last remaining free-agent starter.

The agreement was confirmed by Dalton’s agent, Rick Smith.

The Chiefs’ only other free-agent starter, fullback Tony Richardson, signed this week with Minnesota.

The Chiefs had been shopping for defensive-line help. They visited with Seattle’s Rocky Bernard, Buffalo’s Ryan Denney and San Diego’s DeQuincy Scott in the last two weeks. It’s unclear whether the Chiefs will continue their pursuit of other defensive linemen.

Dalton made visits to Cincinnati and Miami.

The Chiefs also have Ryan Sims, John Browning and Junior Siavii at defensive tackle. End Jimmy Wilkerson, a restricted free agent, also can play tackle. Source

The hunt for some defensive help continues for the Chiefs.

Buffalo defensive end Ryan Denney and Chargers defensive lineman DeQuincy Scott both visited Kansas City this week, but both appear to be going elsewhere.

Denney is expected to re-sign with the Bills, his agent, Ethan Lock, said Wednesday. Scott, who worked out for the Chiefs this week, apparently will bypass Denver, Kansas City and the Chargers for a mystery team away from the AFC West.

“We thought it was a good visit,� Dr. D.S. Ping, Scott’s agent, said of the trip to Kansas City. “(But) we figured it was about time to move out of there.�

Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson, who has stressed that the club wants to get younger, was on the road Wednesday attending college workouts in the South. He said the Chiefs will bring in more free agents in the coming weeks and that they’re not inclined to go on a wild spending spree.

It’s obvious the April 29-30 draft will be an important one for Kansas City in its search for defensive linemen and a cornerback.

Also Wednesday, one former Kansas City defensive player � Gary Stills � found a new team. Stills, a linebacker who mainly played special teams, signed a three-year deal with the Ravens. Stills was cut earlier this month. He’ll rejoin former Chiefs special teams coach Frank Gansz Jr., who was added to Baltimore’s staff over the winter. Source

In the end, tearing himself away from the Chiefs and Kansas City was so difficult that Tony Richardson almost couldn’t make himself do it.

He spent a night agonizing over the decision presented just now by the Minnesota Vikings. Could he really leave behind the community where he’d finally made a home and the team he’d sweated for during the last 11 seasons?

On Tuesday, Richardson finally decided he could. The Vikings dangled the prospect of a bright finish to his career, something the Chiefs couldn’t necessarily promise.

That, along with a two-year, $2.5 million contract, led the two-time Pro Bowl fullback to choose a new life and career in Minnesota.

“This was very challenging for Tony,” said Richardson’s agent, Pat Dye Jr. “This was very, very, very difficult, an emotional decision for him.” Full story

Kansas City: barbecue capital, city of fountains and curiosity spot for wayward receivers.

Just as the Chiefs-Terrell Owens hubbub was beginning to die down, Keyshawn Johnson placed a call to Kansas City president/general manager Carl Peterson last week. Johnson had just been released by Dallas to make room for Owens. And as usual, he was very direct.

“I’d really like to be a Chief,” Johnson told Peterson.

Peterson said Tuesday that he appreciates the interest, but the Chiefs have told Johnson to wait a couple of weeks until the franchise addresses some needs on defense. On Tuesday, Johnson was reportedly in New York visiting with the Giants, and the Chiefs were talking to two defensive free agents.

One of them was Buffalo’s Ryan Denney, a 6-foot-7, 275-pound defensive end who had four sacks in 2005. Full story

“I am personally disappointed that we were not able to work out a new contract for Tony Richardson. Obviously, his contributions both on and off the field in his ten years here have been outstanding. We sincerely thank Tony for all his efforts and accomplishments while in Kansas City.

“We wish him the very best in his new career as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. I made it clear to Tony, as I have on numerous occasions, that when he is finished with his playing career I would like him to be a part of the Kansas City Chiefs organization. That offer and promise still holds and we look forward to seeing Tony in the future.”

- Carl Peterson, president, Kansas City Chiefs

Before Trent Green became Mr. Reliable, Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson gazed longingly at a television as Joey Harrington’s boy-next-door mug flashed on the screen. It was an hour before the 2002 draft. The realistic types in Kansas City rooted for defensive help. The dreamers begged for Joey.

Clock ticking and Mel Kiper Jr. primping, Peterson, without prompting, offered this to the reporters around him:

“He’s a heck of a prospect.”

What happened next is still causing reverberations in Detroit — the Lions made Harrington their No. 3 pick, the fans made him their eventual goat, and now, four years later, Joey is on his way out of town, and Kansas City appears smack-dab in the middle of the hunt for his services.

Peterson wouldn’t say as much Monday, shortly after new Lions coach Rod Marinelli told reporters that Detroit was moving on without Harrington, even though the Lions haven’t officially made a move to get rid of him. Just back from a scouting trip, Peterson was in no mood to chat about the Harrington buzz. Full story

Richardson's rushing and receiving production has steadily declined since he accumulated 1,165 yards from scrimmage during the 2000 season, but he has been a valuable blocker for Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson in one of the league's most productive offenses since then and is well-respected by his Chiefs teammates.

Undrafted out of Auburn, Richardson signed with Kansas City in 1995.

Last week, the Vikings wooed veteran fullback William Henderson, but he agreed to a contract that will keep him with the Green Bay Packers.

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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - Quentin Griffin is moving from one AFC West team to another.

The Kansas City Chiefs signed the reserve running back to a one-year contract on Friday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Griffin spent his first three years with the Denver Broncos. He began the 2004 season as Denver's starter and rushed for 311 yards and three touchdowns in five games. But he was then hobbled by an ankle injury and ended up missing five games.

Last season, the Broncos cut Griffin in September after he fell behind Mike Anderson, Tatum Bell and Ron Dayne on the depth chart, but re-signed him later in the month.

Griffin has appeared in 16 regular-season games and compiled 656 yards and two touchdowns on 179 carries. His best game came in the 2004 season opener when he ran for 156 yards against Kansas City.

Now the Chiefs will likely use him as a backup to Larry Johnson if Priest Holmes decides to retire.

Kansas City also re-signed long snapper/tight end Kendall Gammon to a one-year contract on Friday.

Three weeks ago, as he was ready to head into free-agency, fullback Tony Richardson wasn’t certain he would be able to finish his career with the Chiefs.

Thursday, after almost a week as a free agent, Richardson was more encouraged about ending his career where it started.

“We’re making headway,” Richardson said about his contract talks with the Chiefs. “They’ve got an offer on the table. We still have a little work left to do, but I feel better about the chances for getting something done.

Richardson joined the Chiefs in 1995 and worked his way up from special teams to starting fullback. As the lead blocker in recent seasons, first for Priest Holmes and then for Larry Johnson, Richardson was a major part of the success of the Chiefs’ running game.

Among current Chiefs, only Will Shields was around when Richardson arrived. As senior statesman, Richardson, 34, is a team leader, and many teammates head his way for advice.

“There are certain players that bring more to your team than just being a football player,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. “If you’re talking about Tony Richardson, he brings a whole lot to this team besides being a good football player. We’re going to do everything we can to bring him back.”

The Chiefs did agree Thursday on contract terms with two of their own free agents. Long snapper Kendall Gammon and defensive end Carlos Hall agreed to one-year contracts.

Former Giants cornerback Will Allen, a free agent who visited with the Chiefs this week, has moved on to meetings with the Saints and Dolphins. Allen previously interviewed with the Seahawks. Source

"I heard about the report too," Rosenhaus said. "Not true. Absolutely not true."

Despite Rosenhaus' denials however, a source close to Owens told FOXSports.com that the receiver has in fact agreed to a three-year deal with the Cowboys — a deal that likely won't be announced until the weekend in order for owner Jerry Jones to be available in Dallas to properly make the announcement.

And now the next 48 hours will tell who's telling the truth.

Owens was finally released by the Eagles on Tuesday, and his release was timed so that the Eagles could avoid paying him a $5 million roster bonus due Wednesday. In addition to Dallas, Denver, Kansas City and Miami were said to be interested.

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Police have caught the man who allegedly held up Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Alphonso Hodge at gunpoint inside a Waffle House in Atlanta last week, and his agent said Tuesday that police have returned the stolen goods.

Hodge, 23, was held up while sitting down to eat at the Waffle House at 1701 North Ave. about 4:45 a.m., March 6. He told police a man pulled out a silver .38- caliber revolver and told him to "give it up or they would shoot him," according to the police report.

The man and two companions took Hodge's silver 2004 Hummer2, $8,500 in cash, diamond earrings worth $12,000, a $6,000 Aqua Master watch, a $20,000 bracelet, and a $90 pair of Nike tennis shoes, according to the police report.

No one was injured.

Hodge's agent, Ken Harris, said Wednesday that police found Hodge's Hummer2, worth about $90,000, and the man driving it was wearing Hodge's jewelry.

"It was one of those things where the cops had to ask a bunch of people questions," Harris said. "I guess at the Waffle House or whatever. The next thing I know is that the cops found the vehicle and he was wearing the jewelry. Alphonso has his stuff back. I don't think he has to do anything except maybe he'll have to go testify against the guy. They found all of the stuff and caught the guy."

Atlanta police have not released the name of the man or men arrested.

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He came, he was put up at a posh hotel on the Plaza, and by Wednesday morning, Rocky Bernard had jetted out of Kansas City and his agent was busy hammering out a deal.

With Seattle.

And so ended half of the Chiefs’ first miniwave of free-agency, with Bernard, a coveted defensive tackle for the Seahawks, sticking with his old team after a three-year agreement was reached.

“We’re not going to make any comment on whether or not the Chiefs offered,” said Steve Caric, a spokesman for Premier Sports Management. “He’s going back to Seattle.”

The Chiefs had been content to watch other teams spend money in the first few days of free-agency, but they did have two defensive free agents in this week. Bernard is off the board, but Giants cornerback Will Allen is still a possibility. Full story

The T.O. watch got off to a slow start at Arrowhead Stadium. Not a single sighting of Terrell Owens, the controversial veteran wide receiver who became a free agent Tuesday when he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said the Chiefs had no plans to meet with Owens.

"We haven't had that conversation," Edwards said. "We haven't talked about it. We don't know what that situation is, so we'll just have to see.

"We haven't talked to his people since the Senior Bowl (in January). Nothing has transpired since that. We're open to listening to everybody. That's what you have to be able to do in free-agency. You have to be a good listener." Full story

Will Shields, who’s been through four coaches, seven starting quarterbacks and 207 straight games in the starting lineup, is staying in Kansas City.

Shields has agreed to a four-year contract extension that will allow him to retire with the Chiefs, his agent, Joe Linta, said Monday.

“They were very accommodating people,” Linta said. “Everybody’s pretty happy.”

The deal ended a month’s worth of speculation surrounding a lifelong Chief who has been the anchor of one of the NFL’s top offensive lines. Shields was due $5.1 million in salary in 2006, the last year of his contract. He also had seriously considered retirement because of arthritis in his knee and back.

As the deadline approached for teams to get under the NFL salary cap earlier this month, several media outlets reported that Shields had been cut. Full story

The Chiefs made their first moves in free agency, but it’s unclear whether the visits from Seattle defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and Giants cornerback Will Allen mean they are real shoppers or merely looking.

Neither president/general manager Carl Peterson nor coach Herm Edwards was available to answer questions. Peterson last week said the Chiefs would sit out free agency’s opening flurry and not be major players in the market.

Both players would fill a need. Starting defensive tackle Lional Dalton is a free agent. Peterson said the Chiefs would try to re-sign Dalton, but his departure would leave them short at the position.

Bernard was a part-time starter in his four seasons with the Seahawks and shared the snaps last year with three other defensive tackles. But Bernard is a strong pass rusher, something the Chiefs lacked in the middle of their line. He was second on the Seahawks last season with 8 1/2 sacks. Full story

The Chiefs had an extra $7.5 million of salary-cap room dropped in their laps when the NFL and its players agreed to a last-minute extension of the collective-bargaining agreement.

That extra cap space won’t make the Chiefs major players when the free-agency signing period begins tonight.

“It really doesn’t change our thoughts on free-agency,” president/general manager Carl Peterson said. “We didn’t plan to be much of a player this year no matter what the salary-cap figure was.

“We’re not going to bring anyone in for the first few days. It’s not a priority. We’ll observe who’s out there and let the other teams spend the big dollars.”

full story...

		Larry Johnson left numerous oppoenents in his wake after a breakout 2005 season.
		By Dino Vournas, AP

"After what he did in nine starts last season, imagine what Larry could have done if he started all 16 games?" Chiefs analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson says. "You never know. But he was running with a vengeance. I didn't realize how fast Larry is. Nobody caught him from behind. The future looks great for him."

Dickerson's record, set in 1984, suddenly looks vulnerable. While he played in all 16 games in 2005, Johnson started just nine and racked up 1,750 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. In his nine starts, Johnson gained 1,351 yards — over a full season as a starter, that projects to 2,402 yards. Johnson ripped off nine consecutive 100-yard rushing games after Priest Holmes suffered a career-threatening spine injury following a helmet-to-helmet hit in a game Oct. 30 against San Diego.

full story...

The Chiefs are asking 11-time Pro Bowl guard Will Shields, a pillar of the offensive line and the Kansas City community, to take a major cut in order to play for the Chiefs in '06. Shields is due to receive a $5.1 million base salary in the backend-loaded last year of his contract. His cap number is in excess of $6.6 million.

The Chiefs didn't have to pull the trigger on Shields after the NFL -- still hopeful of reaching a new collective bargaining agreement with the players that would increase the salary ceiling -- delayed implementation of its cap requirements for a second time.

But Shields could still become a cap casualty if he doesn't take a pay cut -- something he justifiably says he doesn't deserve.

"You always think you're worth the money you're due," Shields said. "If not, what are you negotiating for?"

Team president Carl Peterson said that retaining Shields is a priority for the Chiefs, but that the club would need help in meeting a cap that stood at $94.5 million. If it goes up, the club and Shields might find room to talk. If it doesn't, Peterson will have to make one of the most difficult decisions in his 17 years in Kansas City.

"If it's necessary for us to terminate the last year of his contract, it's not going to be a surprise to Will or his agent or anybody else," Peterson said. "When we did this contract six years ago, I think all of us at the time understood that very, very seldom does a guy get to play the entire contract out that he signed.

"But even if we terminate his contract, we are not terminating Will Shields' opportunity for finishing his career with the Kansas City Chiefs."

After weeks of nervous cap watching, and fears of a bloody Sunday, the Chiefs’ bloated number was poised to disappear with nary a whimper.

Pro Bowl guard Will Shields was still on the roster. So was Priest Holmes. By late in the afternoon, Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said there would be no cuts Sunday. That came hours before the NFL new year was scheduled to begin and teams had scurried to get under a salary cap that had been a moving target.

Then the target moved again. Labor negotiations in New York restarted, then stalled again, then late in the evening, the start of free-agency was postponed — again — for another 72 hours. It meant the Chiefs can wait to get below the $94.5 million cap that could rise by $10 million if a deal is worked out.

But the Chiefs are ready to get below the cap with the help of four to six players who agreed to restructure their contracts.

“I appreciate those who have been receptive to it,” Peterson said, “and obviously there have been some who have not been receptive. And then I’ve had to make a decision to say goodbye to them.” Full story

There was what I thought was kind of a funny moment Sunday in the instant after NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced the Kansas City Super Bowl date.

What happened was Tagliabue broke away from negotiations with the NFL players union for a few minutes to make a statement by phone to everyone at the Arrowhead Stadium Pavilion. He said: “I’m extremely pleased to announce that the owners have voted to give Kansas City Super Bowl 49” — he didn’t use the Roman numerals — “to be played February 2015.”

And as soon as he announced the year, most of the 200 or so people there jumped to their feet and shrieked and whooped and shouted, “Yes!”

I don’t know exactly why I found that funny. I guess it was because of the timing. Tagliabue said “2015” and immediately everyone jumped in wild celebration — it was as if they were celebrating the year itself, as if they were happy the Super Bowl is not coming in some other lousy year like, say, 2013 or 2018. It was as if each of them was saying, “Whew, I had every February on my calendar booked except 2015! This is great! What a lucky break!”

Of course, that’s not really why everyone jumped. Everyone jumped because this was a canned political event. It was a pep rally. You know the deal, right? On April 4, people in Jackson County will vote on Question 1 (a three-eighths-cent sales tax that would go to renovating Kauffman and Arrowhead stadiums) and Question 2 (a county use tax that would help pay for a rolling roof that could cover either stadium — and make Kansas City a player for big events like the Super Bowl, Final Four and national conventions).

A no vote on either question ends the Super Bowl dream. Full story

If Chiefs football from the first half of the 1990s could be reduced to its essence, what’s left would be third down and long.

Such situations were to be savored. Everyone was aware of what awaited. A race to the quarterback, Derrick Thomas from one side and Neil Smith from the other.

“We changed the way the game was going to be played,” Smith said. “The quarterback can’t sit back there and hold the ball. Somebody was going to get you.”

Smith was the one to get there first almost as often as Thomas. He finished his Chiefs career second on the club’s all-time sack list behind the late Thomas.

He was recognized for those contributions at the annual 101 banquet Saturday night at the Westin Crown Center hotel when owner Lamar Hunt introduced Smith as this year’s entrant to the Chiefs Hall of Fame. Full story

As the Chiefs went through their roster with a carving knife this week looking for places to pare their overextended payroll, they found four players — but not last year’s free-agent disappointment.

That, as any frustrated Chiefs fan would confirm, would be outside linebacker Kendrell Bell. Between missing most of the offseason work and training camp because of injuries and failing to have an impact in the regular season, Bell became a symbol for all that went wrong with the Chiefs.

But Bell’s name wasn’t on the list of Thursday cuts and won’t be on one Sunday if the Chiefs need to make more moves to comply with the NFL’s salary cap.

He will come through the whole thing without a scratch other than the contract restructure that stripped him of his scheduled $3.5 million roster bonus.

Not only that, but Chiefs coach Herm Edwards and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham are planning a bigger role for Bell next season. They want him to be a hand-on-the-ground, rush end in passing situations to pair with Jared Allen.

Even if that doesn’t work out, it’s clear the Chiefs haven’t given up on him. Full story

Siavii, 27, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing fifth-degree "assault fear" for his role in a drunken confrontation on Aug. 14 at the Graves 601 Hotel. "Assault fear," a misdemeanor, means conduct that would put a reasonable person in fear of injury.

According to police reports, Siavii charged officers during the incident but was sprayed with a chemical irritant and arrested.

Siavii, who weighs 336 pounds, was here for a preseason game with the Minnesota Vikings.

Under an order Thursday by Hennepin County District Judge Robert Blaeser, Siavii can perform his community service in Kansas City. He also must have no new charges against him in the next year and complete a substance abuse and anger management program through the National Football League.

The doorman, Islam Essa, 22, of Columbia Heights, Minn., is suing Siavii, and a trial is scheduled for July.

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National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue is scheduled to announce on Sunday the date Kansas City will host a Super Bowl should Arrowhead Stadium get a roof.

Tagliabue is expected to make the announcement at 2 p.m. Sunday. Steve Glorioso, a spokesman for Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, said Friday that Tagliabue might be at Arrowhead to make the announcement. If not, he'll reveal the date via video connection.

Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, Barnes, City Manager Wayne Cauthen and others will be at Arrowhead for the announcement, Glorioso said.

full story...

Wacky would be the word to describe Thursday in Kansas City and throughout the NFL. On a day when negotiations for an extension of the collective-bargaining agreement reached an impasse and then ended with a glimmer of hope, starting cornerback Eric Warfield was cut along with three other Chiefs defensive veterans.

And guard Will Shields was in the same spot he was 10 hours earlier.

In limbo.

“I could play here, I could play for another team, or I could not play at all. You never can tell,” said Shields, an 11-time Pro Bowler whose $5.1 million salary, coupled with the Chiefs’ dicey cap situation, led a couple of media outlets to jump the gun Thursday and report that he had been cut.

“I’m not going to worry about it. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen.”

It happened Thursday afternoon for Warfield, who got a call from Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson saying the club had terminated Warfield’s contract. Warfield had been in Kansas City for eight years that were scarred by legal issues and the ire of fans. He was considered the Chiefs’ top cornerback before the 2005 season.

Linebackers Gary Stills and Shawn Barber and cornerback Dexter McCleon also were cut in an attempt to get below the salary cap by the Thursday night deadline. Full story

A year ago the Chiefs shelled out some big bucks to land a starting cornerback, former Dolphin Patrick Surtain, for their downtrodden defense.

On Thursday they released two veterans corners -- both of whom had been starters -- in order to trim their budget to a still-to-be determined salary cap number.

Needing to meet a temporary cap of $94 million, the Chiefs released veteran corners Eric Warfield, a starter since the 2001 season, and Dexter McCleon, who started all 16 games in the team's 13-3 campaign of 2003 and an occasional starter in the two seasons since.

Kansas City also released linebacker Shawn Barber, who was expected to be a major free-agent acquisition when he moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 2003, and special teams standout Gary Stills, a Pro Bowl selection in 2003.

More tough cuts are likely to come. The Chiefs could be close to parting ways with guard Will Shields, an 11-time Pro Bowl pick and former NFL Man of the Year who is as much of a pillar in the Kansas City community as he is on the Chiefs offensive line. Full story

12. Eric Warfield, CB, Chiefs: He hasn't played well at all since coming to the Chiefs. New coach Herman Edwards hasn't been in contact with him, so Warfield knows the score.

His cap figure for next year is $4.2 million and the team can clear half that total by letting him go.

"I'd like to stay, but I really have no sense of what's going to happen," Warfield told the Kansas City Star. "All I know is that there's a lot of concern for the defense. I don't know where I fit into that. I think I held my own last year, but I know it wasn't my best year. I could have done a lot better."

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Will Shields has made his decision to play football next season, according to his agent. The Chiefs will make the decision today whether it will be for them.

The situation with Shields, an 11-time Pro Bowl guard, illustrates the depth of the Chiefs’ salary-cap problems.

The Chiefs were among the NFL teams hardest hit by this week’s breakdown in negotiations for an extension of the collective-bargaining agreement. An agreement would have provided teams an expected $10 to $15 million of extra salary-cap space — a useful tool for the Chiefs, who have one of the league’s most bloated payrolls.

Without an agreement on an extension today — Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said he was pessimistic that one could be reached — the Chiefs will proceed to the start of free-agency Friday with a salary cap somewhere between $92 and $95 million.

So the Chiefs were busy Wednesday hacking somewhere between $21 million and $24 million from their salary cap. Salary documents recently provided to The Star show the Chiefs with $116 million of commitments. Full story

How do you meet a budget when you don't know the bottom line?

That's the dilemma facing the Kansas City Chiefs and other NFL teams who must meet a salary cap limit today despite not knowing what that number was as of Wednesday.

The NFL's failure Wednesday to extend its collective bargaining agreement with its players union -- a move that could have increased the salary cap to $100 million or more -- meant the clubs could be looking at a limit of as low as $92 million.

That's bad news for the Chiefs, who reportedly had 2006 salary obligations of $120 million before they began budget-cutting negotiations.

Chiefs president Carl Peterson confirmed Wednesday that the team had approached "less than 10 players" seeking renegotiations of their 2006 contracts. Some agreed to cap-friendly restructuring or playing for less money. Others who didn't will be released today when the team faces a 3 p.m. league deadline. Full story

Thirteen-year veteran guard Will Shields, one of the most celebrated offensive linemen in recent NFL history and a fixture in the Kansas City community during his long career with the Chiefs, could be a salary cap casualty if his contract for 2006 is not readjusted.

Shields

Chiefs officials have been discussing with Shields and his representative various scenarios to reduce his cap figure for 2006, the final season of his current deal. Shields is scheduled to earn a $5.1 million base salary, and is due a $400,000 roster bonus, and he carries a 2006 cap charge of $6.67 million.

Like many teams in the league, the Chiefs may have to make some roster moves to get into compliance with a 2006 cap projected to be $95 million-$96 million. The Tuesday breakdown of negotiations that would have extended the league's collective bargaining agreement, and the resultant likelihood that 2007 will be played as a so-called "uncapped" year, only makes that task more difficult.

Shields, 34, may have to weigh the advantages of staying in Kansas City, even at less money, against the prospect of being cast into an uncertain free agent market, one in which teams are expected to proceed with great caution and in which it could be impossible to meet players' financial expectations. Shields has deep roots now in the Kansas City community and leaving the Chiefs, the only franchise for which he has ever played during his stellar career, could be difficult.

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Eric Warfield hasn’t heard from the Chiefs about his future, so he tries to find the meaning anywhere he can.

“I take everything as a sign,” the veteran cornerback said.

Those signs seem to point to the end of his Chiefs career. Warfield has a fat contract, making him an inviting target for a team with serious salary-cap problems.

He also hasn’t talked since the end of the season with new coach Herm Edwards, president/general manager Carl Peterson or defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, a silence that would appear to say plenty.

Now, he’s just waiting for word, one way or another. Full story

Priest Holmes went to California to see his spine specialist, told a family member he was ‘fine,’ then, in typical Holmes fashion, slipped into obscurity.

As of late Saturday, only one thing seemed certain regarding the ever-mysterious Chiefs running back: The mystery of his future will probably drag on for a while.

Chiefs coach Herm Edwards and president/general manager Carl Peterson said they hadn’t talked to Holmes as of Saturday afternoon but that there was plenty of time to do so.

“It’s not a big, important thing right now,” Peterson said Saturday from the NFL Combine. “It’s a much lower priority on the back burner to this point.

“We’ve got the whole offseason regarding Priest.”

Holmes’ career has been in limbo since a helmet-to-helmet collision in San Diego at midseason. After a battery of tests, Holmes was diagnosed with pressure on his spine. After a couple of months’ rest, he was to meet again with physician Robert Watkins to determine whether he was neurologically sound to play.

Those tests were done Friday.

All Holmes’ mother, Norma Morris, would say is that she had talked to her son and he seemed OK. Full story

Fullback Tony Richardson for years had the look of someone who would finish his career with the Chiefs.

He arrived in 1995, making Richardson second in terms of seniority among active Chiefs behind Will Shields. He quickly became ingrained in the community with his involvement in charity and civic endeavors. That, along with his two Pro Bowl appearances, made him one of the Chiefs’ most popular players.

But Richardson’s contract expires next week, and it’s looking as if he will finish his career playing against the Chiefs rather than for them. He certainly sounds like a man preparing for that eventuality.

“I definitely will become a free agent,” Richardson said. “This organization has been great to me. It’s allowed me to grow as a man and as a football player. I’ve got a lot going on in the community. But I’m open to playing somewhere else if I can’t work something out here.

“It could become a reality. It’s a business, and it’s about what the organization wants to do. You have to be realistic about the situation.”

Richardson heads a short list of Chiefs players who would become unrestricted free agents on Friday. The only other regular is defensive tackle Lional Dalton. Full story

New Chiefs coach Herm Edwards is still a scout at heart.

Before embarking on his coaching career in the NFL, Edwards was a college scout for the Chiefs and every week traveled to remote campuses, spent hours and hours in film rooms, attended practices in searing heat and bone-chilling cold and worked long nights writing detailed reports on the chance the club might use one of its draft picks on the hundreds of players he graded.

So when the Chiefs begin evaluating the 330 college players attending the NFL scouting combine that begins today at the RCA Dome, Edwards will see them through the eyes of a scout as well as a coach.

Sometimes, that extra dimension can make a difference in analyzing players.

“I look at them a little different,” Edwards said. “There are certain things you look for as a scout … the things you can’t measure with the stopwatch and the tape measure. Does the guy enjoy playing football? Why is he playing football? Is he playing it for the opportunity to make a lot of money, or is he playing it because he likes football?

“The first-, second-, third-round guys, their talent jumps out at you because they have measurables. They’re big, fast, athletic, strong … all those guys have those traits of being a first-day guy. But why don’t all those guys make it? There’s a reason. Talent alone gets you in the league; it doesn’t keep you in the league.

“As a scout, you realize that. A coach is busy coaching football while these scouts are out there doing all the ground work, gathering that information.” Full story

Somewhere, a linebacker’s ears stopped ringing.

One year after he took his in-your-face motivation to the sidelines, Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham says he wants to move back to his traditional perch in the press box.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m opting to go up there where I belong,” Cunningham said Wednesday. “Most of my life has been up there, and I see so much better.

“I had to get a feel for some of these young guys … I’m able to understand these players now and what makes them tick a lot better.”

There is still no word on what makes Cunningham tick. A rumor was floating around Arrowhead Stadium recently that Cunningham was in an unbelievably good mood for a prolonged period of time. Apparently, it’s true. For four months during the 2005 season, Cunningham generally avoided interviews, idle chit-chat and smiling. He said he had a job to do.

The work still isn’t done, but Cunningham sat for more than an hour Wednesday and talked about press boxes, the defense and his rejuvenation under new coach Herm Edwards. Full story

As Priest Holmes’ career-hinging tests draw near, Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson wants Holmes to know one thing — that he will have a spot on the team regardless of the salary cap and the fact that Larry Johnson will start at running back.

“He’s earned that right,” Peterson said.

Holmes will undergo tests within the next week to determine whether he’s neurologically sound. He has seen noted spinal specialist Robert Watkins since a helmet-to-helmet collision in San Diego at midseason.

Last month, new coach Herm Edwards told Johnson — who ran for nine straight 100-yard games — that he would go into training camp as the No. 1 running back. But Peterson and Edwards have said they would also welcome back Holmes, the franchise’s all-time rushing leader.

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Trent Green loves Kansas City and wants to stay at least 17 more years, when his baby daughter is out of school.

Green offered Tuesday to help out one of the city’s favorite teams. He said he’s willing to restructure his contract, which counts nearly $8.3 million against the Chiefs’ salary cap.

“If that’s something that helps the team,” Green said, “and we can get it done to get more guys signed or to get more cap room or bring in more free agents, yeah, I’m willing to do that.”

Across town, Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said he was touched by the gesture. But he probably won’t be taking his quarterback up on it. While Chiefs fans sweat out these last nine days before the start of the new NFL year — wondering who will stay and who will go before teams reach a salary limit estimated between $92 million and $95 million — Peterson calmly ballparked his club to be about $14 million over the cap as of late Tuesday.

And he didn’t seem the least bit frazzled. Full story

Kansas City Chiefs

Cover-2, and cover, too

New coach Herm Edwards is bringing his conservative Cover-2 defensive philosophy to Kansas City. That means the end of Gunther Cunningham's aggressive, blitz-happy system. Right?

Not so fast. Cunningham was retained as defensive coordinator. And he was quick to tell reporters in late January that he was calling two-deep defensive plays back long before "Cover-2" became football's clich of the decade.

There's a big difference between hot buzz words and actual defensive playbooks. Cunningham's system called for two safeties in deep zones on certain occasions, and Edwards' system includes plenty of blitzes and man coverage. Edwards may keep his safeties deep more often than Cunningham, but the two coaches aren't that far apart philosophically.

An increased emphasis on deep support can only help the Chiefs. After giving up a league-high 72 passing plays of 20 or more yards in 2004, they surrendered just 46 such plays in 2005. It was a vast improvement, but the Chiefs were still tied for the eighth highest total of 20-plus yard receptions in the league. Edwards' Jets surrendered just 33 passes of 20 or more yards, including a league-low two passes of 40-plus yards.

As is often the case, schemes are less important than personnel. Edwards' defense only works when the defensive front four applies pressure with minimal blitzing. Cunningham emphasized the blitz because the Chiefs only have one pass rush threat on the defensive line (Jared Allen). If Edwards and Cunningham can get more out of their defensive line, they will be able to call whatever coverage schemes they want.

Let the Ty Law buzz begin … again.

Law is apparently out in New York, and the Chiefs and new coach Herm Edwards are expected to show interest. Less than a year ago, Kansas City was atwitter about Law before, during and after the free-agency period. He ended up signing with the New York Jets, in part, he said at the time, because of Edwards.

“We’ve mutually agreed to part ways,” Law’s agent, Carl Poston, told The Star-Ledger of Newark in Wednesday’s editions. “There’s no ill feelings. Ty had a great year. He enjoyed it there. He held up his end of the bargain. Unfortunately, the Jets had some injury problems that derailed them.”

The Jets would have to pay Law an $11 million option bonus if he’s on the roster next month. Law overcame a serious foot injury and led the Jets with 10 interceptions. In the season finale against Buffalo, he had three picks and drew glowing praise from Edwards.

“Ty Law’s a gym rat,” Edwards told reporters. “He likes playing football. When Sunday starts, he wants to be out there. He wants to play football. He had a great season for a guy coming off an injury. That’s why he’s a Hall of Famer.”

The Chiefs declined to comment on Law on Wednesday, saying they won’t talk about a player under contract. Poston hasn’t returned phone calls to The Star. Full story

If the Chiefs want to sign Terrell Owens or another high-priced free agent when the signing period begins next month, it won’t be as simple as writing a fat check.

They will also have to clear some space under the NFL’s salary cap, a task that figures to be anything but easy. Salary documents provided to The Kansas City Star show the Chiefs with cap obligations for next season of more than $116 million.

The salary limit hasn’t been set, but the Chiefs expect it to be between $92 million and $95 million when the league year begins March 3.

The last time the Chiefs faced a similar overage was in 2001, when they had to sacrifice veterans such as Elvis Grbac, James Hasty and Chester McGlockton to squeeze under the limit.

The Chiefs were able that year to re-sign Will Shields, trade for quarterback Trent Green and sign at modest prices free agents Priest Holmes and Casey Wiegmann. Still, they finished 6-10, their worst record in 17 seasons under president/general manager Carl Peterson. Full story

It's difficult to see how the Chiefs will be able to improve themselves much through free agency given their salary cap situation. The Chiefs were as much as $24 million over the cap and have few easy ways out. The Chiefs may be able to acquire a role player or two through free agency but it appears their only way for landing an impact player would come if other teams drop out of the bidding. Their best chance for immediately improving personnel will come through the draft.

PERSONNEL ANALYSIS:The Chiefs will lean more than ever on QB Trent Green and his knowledge of their offensive system to help in their transition to a new coordinator in Mike Solari. Green has been in the current system for virtually his entire NFL career. Now, since former coordinator Al Saunders departed, Green has more familiarity with the system than anyone, including Solari and the other offensive assistants. Green has been a little like an assistant since coming to the Chiefs because of his familiarity with the offense. . . .

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If today is Will Shields’ last time in a football uniform, the future Hall of Famer isn’t acting like it.

Shields isn’t doing anything all that special to commemorate his 11th trip to football’s all-star weekend in paradise. Oh, sure, he’s having a good time, enjoying the fellowship with the game’s top players. But he isn’t documenting every moment, and he’s not measuring his words when asked about the possibility of retirement.

“I’ll know in a couple of weeks, maybe by March 3. Isn’t that the first day of free-agency?” Shields said to me early Friday evening at the Pro Bowl team hotel. “It all depends on my knees and back.”

There you have it. Will Shields — the 13-year Chiefs vet — wants to play another season. Barring leaving today’s all-star classic in pronounced pain, you can expect the man who put the Will in Kansas City’s “Big Willies” offensive line to lineup once again alongside Casey Wiegmann, Brian Waters, Willie Roaf and John Welbourn.

Thursday night, at a party hosted by Tony Gonzalez and Warren Moon, one of Shields’ teammates assured me that today’s all-star game would not be the last for Shields. Full story

Mike Solari knew all about the stereotypes, unfair though he knew them to be.

Conventional wisdom in football holds that offensive line coaches are not prime candidates as offensive coordinators because they lack expertise in the passing game. Quarterback or receiver coaches consequently get most of the promotions.

Along those same shaky fault lines, defensive line coaches battle a similar rap. Their lack of background in pass coverages supposedly leaves them ill-prepared for the defensive coordinator jobs that usually go to secondary or linebacker coaches.

For 17 NFL seasons and 11 collegiate campaigns, all but one of them spent coaching offensive linemen or tight ends, Mike Solari heard the slights and suffered in silence, a quiet man coaching unsung heroes in football's trenches. Full story

In his first public words since being hired as offensive coordinator, Mike Solari sought to dispel any notion he would veer the Chiefs from a course set by predecessor Al Saunders.

“We’ll make a few changes, but when I say a few changes I truly believe you won’t notice it,” Solari said Friday. “There’s not going to be a lot of changes. This is the Kansas City Chiefs offense, and we’re going to do what we do.

“We want to move forward and improve.”

That should come as relief to the legions of Chiefs fans concerned that Solari, a career offensive-line coach, would return the Chiefs to their Neanderthal offense from the pre-Saunders days.

Maybe a few players, too. Some assumed the combination of the hiring of the defensive-minded Herm Edwards as head coach and the promotion of Solari meant otherwise.

“Our offense will be more run-oriented,” tackle Willie Roaf said recently. “The good thing about Saunders is that he opened up the game a lot more with his passing packages.” Full story

Kurt Clodius thought it was a little strange when he arrived at a hastily called school assembly last month and saw Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green.

The two acknowledged each other, as might be expected, because Clodius was Green's freshman English teacher and an assistant football coach at Vianney High in St. Louis in the late 1980s.

Clodius thought Green was there to speak to the students. He found out otherwise.

"He began to talk, spoke to the kids for about five minutes," Clodius said. "Then, he said, 'Now, let me get to my real reason for being here today."'

Turns out Clodius had been selected the NFL Teacher of the Year.

His reaction?

"Shock," Clodius said. "It was just amazing. I was just floating on air. They have a picture in the St. Louis Post with me sitting in the bleachers with my mouth open." Full story

You could call it hard-headed, the sight of Herm Edwards sitting alone in a movie theater Sunday night, watching “Annapolis” alone while the world tuned into the Super Bowl. He grabbed his cell phone and called his wife.

“Honey,” he said, “it’s like we have our own home movie theater.”

Edwards vows to never watch the Super Bowl until he’s in it.

You can call it stubborn, this streak in Edwards that tells him there are no bad players, well, at least not until he gets a chance to chat with them. Edwards sounded uninterested in Terrell Owens one minute Friday, then turned Father Flanagan when somebody asked whether the troubled receiver could poison a locker room.

“If a player makes a mistake, does that make him a bad guy?” Edwards said. “Who’s judging that? You? Just because your kids make a mistake, do you get mad at them? No. You try to teach them. Don’t make the same mistake again. Obviously, if you keep repeating the same thing, then you’ve got a problem.

“We can all form our opinions on everybody, but until you sit in a room and talk to somebody, it’s an opinion of somebody else’s. At your job, you probably don’t agree with everybody. And that’s OK.” Full story

The master bedroom is where Otis Taylor spent Super Bowl Sunday. It’s comfortable there, propped up in bed, his sister by his side. It’s easier to doze off and forget. A highlight showed Taylor from Super Bowl IV, younger, stronger, invincible.

“Look at you running down the sideline,” Florence Odell said.

Taylor just looked at his sister and raised an eyebrow. By halftime, he was ready to fall asleep.

Nobody close to Taylor knows exactly when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His buddy Ollie Gates thinks it was at least four years ago. Taylor’s sister thinks he’s had it longer, though he didn’t tell her until 2½ years ago.

“He didn’t want to burden me,” Florence said. “I was taking care of Mom with Alzheimer’s and had my hands full. I knew something was different. I didn’t know what.” Full story

The football guy in Bill Kuharich saw bigger things and explored job possibilities in Minnesota and a handful of other NFL cities. The family guy in Kuharich wanted his three young daughters to stay in Kansas City.

He can have both now. The Chiefs have promoted Kuharich to vice president of player personnel, adding to his duties as VP of pro personnel.

When he came to Kansas City in 2000, some wondered whether Kuharich was overqualified. In New Orleans, he served as president, general manager and chief operating officer.

Kuharich, who helped the Saints sign eventual 11-time Pro Bowl tackle Willie Roaf, Carolina Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme and running back Ricky Williams, will oversee the team’s college and pro scouting efforts.

“It’s a good opportunity for me,” Kuharich said Thursday. “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with a lot of good people in the NFL, excellent head coaches in Jim Mora, Mike Ditka, Gunther Cunningham, Dick Vermeil and Herman Edwards.

“It’s never the same. Every draft is different. Every day is an opportunity to improve your team in all aspects.” Full story

Gibbs, the defensive coordinator for Auburn last year, coached the defensive backs for the Denver Broncos from 2001-04. Embree, a former UCLA assistant the last three years, played at Colorado and spent 10 years there as an assistant coach.

New Chiefs coach Herm Edwards was hired last month to replace Dick Vermeil, who retired on Jan. 1 after the Chiefs finished 10-6 and missed the playoffs. The former New York Jets coach retained five of Vermeil's assistants, including defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham and offensive coordinator Mike Solari.

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In a pure football sense, the addition of Terrell Owens would be a smart one. All the Chiefs lacked offensively the past few seasons is the big-time wide receiver. Owens in theory would open things up for TE Tony Gonzalez in the middle of the field and make running room easier to find for RB Larry Johnson. But the Chiefs realize the addition of Owens would come at the cost of a harmonious locker room. Trent Green is the unquestioned offensive leader. How will he and the rest of the team react when Owens questions his decisions? For this reason, the Chiefs indicated they would move cautiously and may in the end pass on the opportunity to sign Owens.

Eddie Kennison had the TV on this week when he heard the words “Terrell Owens,” “Kansas City” and “possible meeting.” As the Chiefs’ quiet No. 1 receiver, Kennison’s name is barely the occasional blip on the ticker.

He stopped what he was doing and listened.

“If T.O. came to Kansas City to help this team win a Super Bowl, I’m all for it,” Kennison said. “But let’s not lose sight that I’m still here. I’ve been putting up numbers as a receiver with the Kansas City Chiefs amongst some of the best in the National Football League.

“It kind of frustrates me a little bit for every year people to be putting out that we need receivers in the Kansas City Chiefs organization. My numbers speak volumes on why we really don’t need to bring any receivers in.”

Kennison, who has declined to speak to reporters about himself over the last couple of years, broke his silence Friday. It was time to talk. He’s had back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, something that hadn’t been done in Kansas City since the mid 1980s. But every offseason, the talk inevitably seems to drift to upgrading the receiving corps. Full story

Yes, it's been quite the fun week around here. It often is when you think the circus is coming to town.

Actually, a media circus did hit trapeze-flying, lion-taming, 12-clowns-in-a-VW proportions earlier this week when Chiefs president Carl Peterson said he would talk to new coach Herm Edwards to gauge his interest in talking to bad-boy receiver Terrell Owens. That high-wire act got the show started.

When Edwards said a day later, in effect, "Sure, I'd talk to TO; I talk to everybody!," it was the man being shot out of the cannon.

Talk shows suddenly were dominated by discussions about the Chiefs deciding to make a serious run at a receiver who catches the ball almost as well as he talks up himself while talking down on his teammates. Full story

Carl Peterson is dining on some chili at Wendy’s, and “Magical Mystery Tour” drones loudly over the speakers. At least five people stop to say hi or shake his hand. Most of them refer to him as “Carl.”

Mr. Peterson smiles, dips his plastic spoon into the cup and takes another bite. Yes, there is a deeper, softer side to the Chiefs’ president/general manager. It’s there this week, especially today, as Derrick Thomas’ name comes up again for Hall of Fame consideration.

“I got really close to him,” Peterson said. “I won’t ever let myself get that close to a player again because of the tragedy that happened. It was like losing a son.”

This is not his mantra, Peterson said, not his fight. But really, it is. He asks whether you’ve read the packet the Chiefs put together on Thomas, the one 39 voters will thumb through today in Detroit and vote whether the late linebacker will get into Canton, Ohio.

John Elway wrote a letter in that packet. He said Derrick “was such an impact player that you always had to know where he was on the field.” The Chin, Bill Cowher, wrote one on Steelers letterhead. He compared Thomas with Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White. Full story

A former Kansas City Chiefs coach pleaded guilty Thursday to disorderly conduct.

Last October, tight ends coach Jason Verduzco was heading into the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot on game day when he was told he couldn't turn into one of the gates because of heavy traffic.

According to police, Verduzco screamed obscenities, then started pressing the bumper of his car against an officer's leg.

As part of Verduzco's guilty plea, he will serve two years of probation, 20 hours of community service and will complete an anger management program.

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For those who gasped when they found out the Chiefs were interested in talking to Terrell Owens, or wondered whether Kansas City was feigning interest to drive up the price on AFC rival Denver, the answer came Wednesday in Herm Edwards’ eyes.

Edwards talked in his office for 20 minutes about talent, second chances and championships. And he said a meeting between the Eagles’ troublesome receiver and the Chiefs may happen soon.

“He’s a talented guy,” Edwards said. “He knows how to win. That’s the great thing about the offseason. It’s like building a house. You go through the draft, through free-agency and collectively get all these guys together and say, ‘What is the best house I can build right now?’ You don’t discard anything.

“Talk is free. You never know what’s going to happen after you talk. There’s always a perception about a guy until you actually sit down and talk with him.”

T.O. was all the talk in Kansas City on Wednesday, one day after Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson told The Star the franchise was “somewhat interested” in Owens, a five-time Pro Bowler. Chiefs fans’ reaction ranged from outrage to intrigue. The talk appears to have started last week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., when Owens’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, sought out the Chiefs. Full story

He didn’t stay away from the NFL for long.

Auburn defensive coordinator David Gibbs, a former Broncos assistant, has been hired to coach Kansas City’s secondary, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said Wednesday. Edwards said he’s also added UCLA’s John Embree to complete his staff.

Embree, an assistant head coach for the Bruins, will be the Chiefs’ tight-ends coach. A former tight end at Colorado, Embree helped Marcedes Lewis emerge as one of the most dominant tight ends in the country in 2005 and coached NFL players Christian Fauria and Matt Lepsis.

Gibbs served as Auburn’s defensive coordinator for a year. Before that, he coached the secondary in Denver.

Edwards wasted little time compiling his first staff at Kansas City, a mix of NFL vets, Dick Vermeil disciples and new faces. Last month, Edwards retained Gunther Cunningham as defensive coordinator, promoted Mike Solari to offensive coordinator, and kept Terry Shea (quarterbacks), James Saxon (running backs) and Charlie Joiner (wide receivers).

He also hired Don Blackmon (linebackers), John Matsko (offensive line), Dick Curl (offensive assistant) and Tim Krumrie (defensive line).

“They will set a standard for these players that they’ve got to meet,” Edwards said, “and it’s going to be a high standard. They’ll know that right away when they walk into the room with these guys individually.

“I think all of them bring a very good teaching quality. They all have their different personalities, and that’s OK because you don’t want the same personalities on your staff.

“But I think they all have the same attitude in mind. They’re about making the player better and holding the players accountable.” Source

Wednesday morning I was riding up an escalator inside the Renaissance Center, media headquarters for Super Bowl XL, when another sportswriter asked me where I worked.

“Kansas City,” I said.

“Oh, you guys will get here someday,” the man quipped in a serious, sympathetic tone.

Yes, it’s reached that point. People feel sorry for us. They respect Kansas City’s pursuit of sports’ greatest championship and empathize with the futility of our effort.

I’m just a sportswriter paid to chronicle Lamar Hunt’s and Carl Peterson’s annual Super Bowl bid. Imagine what Peterson hears on a daily basis when he ventures out into public.

The innocent and not-so-innocent comments of fans, media and football peers could easily drive Peterson crazy, or at least drive him to the point where he would consider pursuing Terrell Owens. Full story

“I know T.O, and he’s a guy who wants to be competitive, wants to play hard, and if they brought him in, I’d have no problem with that,” Gonzalez said in Detroit after appearing at a function promoting the Pro Bowl.

“With Coach Vermeil, I would have said that would have been a tough fit. I don’t think he would have fit at all. But with coach Herm, I really don’t know coach Herm, I don’t know what he’s able to deal with …

“It would bother me if (Owens) came in and started doing the same things he was doing in Philly. The way to keep guy like Terrell Owens happy is you’ve got to throw him the ball, which I have no problem with. He’s a great player. To me, he’s probably one of the top two receivers in the league.”

In this time of uncertainty for the Chiefs’ offensive line, one thing is certain — Brian Waters will be in Kansas City for a while.

Waters, a two-time Pro Bowl guard, has agreed to a six-year contract extension. Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said Tuesday that the deal was quietly struck in November, with no agents and apparently little haggling.

Waters fired his agent roughly a year ago, and when he missed offseason workouts last summer, it was speculated that he was staying away because of contract issues. It turns out he saved a big hunk of money by negotiating on his own, though the Chiefs, per team policy, declined to give terms of the deal.

“I think it’s only smart to retain your own best players first, and then if you have the money and the cap dollars (remaining) to go after free agents,” Peterson said. “You don’t want those guys to ever get to the last year of their contract for fear that you might lose them to free agency.

“It gives us continuity for the future of the offensive line.”

Waters, who was cut by Dallas as a rookie in 1999, was picked up roughly six months later by Kansas City and blossomed into one of the NFL’s elite at left guard. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2004, and the Chiefs have had the league’s No. 1 offense the last two seasons.

Waters is the link between the line’s decorated past and its future. With 11-time Pro Bowl guard Will Shields pondering retirement, and Pro Bowl tackle Willie Roaf approaching his final years, Waters will be called upon to help bring along the younger linemen.

Shields is expected to make a decision sometime after the Pro Bowl. Source

Three months ago, when Dick Vermeil occupied the large fourth-floor office at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs said they absolutely, positively had no interest in embattled receiver Terrell Owens.

That icy stance has changed.

Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson told The Star on Tuesday that Kansas City was “somewhat interested” in Owens and that Peterson planned to have an in-depth conversation with new coach Herm Edwards about the possibility of acquiring the five-time Pro Bowler.

Two things have apparently piqued the Chiefs’ interest — the hope of a possible attitude makeover after Owens’ suspension by the Eagles, and Edwards’ success in working with difficult players.

Edwards, who stresses a team-first mentality, was able to work his magic on the likes of Warren Sapp in Tampa Bay and Ty Law in New York. He’d have his hands full with Owens, who was suspended by the Eagles in November after he repeatedly criticized his team, the front office and quarterback Donovan McNabb. Full story

Edwards on Friday said he anticipates all three returning in 2006 -- though he conceded he could be wrong about Holmes, the team's star running back whose single-season touchdown record was eclipsed this season by Seattle's Shaun Alexander.

Holmes, who bowed out with a neck injury after he was injured in an Oct. 30 loss to San Diego, was expected to undergo neurological tests before making a decision.

"I have a funny feeling he'll be back," said Edwards, who said he had spoken to Holmes. "I think he has something to prove. I don't think he wants to end his career like that (with an injury). I have a feeling he's coming back, but that's just me. I could be wrong."

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green was added to the AFC's Pro Bowl roster as an injury replacement for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Friday.

Green had a passer rating of 90.1 this season after completing 317-of-502 throws for 4,014 yards and 17 touchdowns.

It will be the second Pro Bowl for Green, who also made the AFC team after the 2003 season.

Green joins five teammates on the AFC squad. Running back Larry Johnson, tight end Tony Gonzalez, guards Will Shields and Brian Waters and tackle Willie Roaf were also named to the team.

Roaf will not play because of an injury.

The game is scheduled for February, 12th in Honolulu.

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Write this down — on an early winter morning at Arrowhead Stadium, Gunther Cunningham surfaced. And spoke. He popped his head into Herm Edwards’ office, dropped off some papers and glanced at a diagram.

For two minutes, Cunningham was no longer a ghost. He was feisty. He had heard the speculation that there was no way he’d still be around as Kansas City’s defensive coordinator once Edwards was hired. He had read at least twice that he wasn’t a Cover 2 guy.

“You didn’t think I coached that?” Cunningham said to a reporter. “My God, I’m older than your dad.”

NFL historians say the Cover 2, the trendiest scheme in the NFL, was born in Pittsburgh with the Steel Curtain in the 1970s and revived by Edwards, Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay in 1996.

Cunningham wants you to know that he was running the defense extensively in 1995. Remember Neil Smith, Dan Saleaumua and Derrick Thomas? They were the foundation of the Cover 2, the ever-important pass rush. Full story

There’s little debate at Arrowhead Stadium or anywhere in the football world about Mike Solari’s ability as an offensive-line coach.

Solari is widely considered to be one of the best at the craft. The Chiefs built a powerful offense around what is considered the NFL’s best line and one that was molded by the 51-year-old Solari.

Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said each of the five candidates he interviewed to become head coach, including Herm Edwards, indicated a desire to retain Solari.

But do his considerable skills as an offensive-line coach mean he’s ready to be the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator? Can the ability to teach sometimes-arcane blocking techniques to a 300-plus-pound lineman be the proper training to design game plans and call plays?

The Chiefs obviously think so. They promoted him to coordinator recently after nine seasons as their line coach. Full story

Owners of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals signed agreements Tuesday that would keep them in Kansas City through 2031.

The new stadium leases require that Jackson County voters in April approve a pair of tax issues that would help pay for almost $800 million in renovations at Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums.

The teams' current leases don't expire until 2015. But county officials say they've run out of money to repair the 30-year-old stadiums and worry they may default next year.

The plan calls for a 3/8 cent sales tax to raise $425 million. The teams will pay another $100 million and the state will provide $50 million in tax credits.

Canton graduate and current Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Boomer Grigsby returned to town Saturday as he was recognized on "Boomer Grigsby Night" prior to Canton's basketball game against the Peoria Manual Rams. After being introduced to the crowd, Grigsby exited to the foyer where he signed cards, pictures, jerseys footballs, and other sports memorabilia.

"It was a roller-coaster ride," said Grigsby as he summed up his first season in the NFL. "The experience never stopped. You learn so may valuable lessons. I learned that it is a marathon not a sprint to keep yourself in peak shape for 20 consecutive weeks."

Even with a year under his belt, Grigsby appears to have a handle on what he is doing.

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Herm Edwards continued to whittle away at the vacancies on his Chiefs coaching staff, hiring three more new assistants and retaining three more of those left over from Dick Vermeil’s staff.

From the outside, Edwards hired Don Blackmon to coach linebackers, John Matsko to work with the offensive line and Mike Priefer to coordinate the special teams. He also retained strength coach Jeff Hurd, assistant strength coach Billy Long and defensive assistant Darvin Wallis from Vermeil’s staff.

Edwards needs to hire coaches for tight ends and defensive backs to complete his staff.

Blackmon and Matsko are NFL veterans who have been with several teams. Blackmon has coached linebackers for the Bills for the last three seasons. He has also been linebackers coach for the Patriots, Browns, Giants and Falcons. He also was defensive coordinator for Atlanta in 2001.

Matsko coached the offensive line for the Rams for the last seven seasons. He has also been offensive-line coach for the Cardinals, Saints and Giants. While with New Orleans, Matsko worked with tackle Willie Roaf, now with the Chiefs.

Priefer was an assistant special-teams coach for Jacksonville in 2002 and the Giants the last three seasons.

Hurd, Long and Wallis are Chiefs veterans, having been with the team in the same capacities for eight, five and 17 seasons, respectively.

Edwards last week announced Mike Solari as offensive coordinator, Gunther Cunningham as defensive coordinator and five other assistant coaches: Terry Shea (quarterbacks), James Saxon (running backs), Charlie Joiner (wide receivers), Dick Curl (offensive assistant) and Tim Krumrie (defensive line). Source

The promotion of Mike Solari from line coach to offensive coordinator makes a lot of sense. The Chiefs have a lot of veterans on offense and they will respond to a familiar figure better than an unknown personality. Likewise, Solari is well-acquainted with the talents of the offensive players and should be able to get more from them than someone coming in from the outside. Look for the Chiefs to become more of a running team under Solari's direction. He's worked with the offensive line for his entire coaching career. Surrounding him with familiar coaches at the skill positions (Terry Shea with quarterbacks, Charlie Joiner at wide receiver and James Saxon at running back) should help ease his transition into the passing game.

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The vacuum tracks in the red carpet were still fresh at 8 o’clock Friday morning, and rain hit the windows in Herm Edwards’ new skybox suite. Two pictures hung near his desk — an old one of his father in military uniform, and a new shot of Herm, his wife, Lia, and baby daughter, Gabrielle. The office was empty. The new guy had just moved in.

But in the span of 24 hours, Edwards has heard that he has dismantled the NFL’s No. 1 offense, that he cares only about defense, that the days of low-falutin’ football are coming back to Kansas City.

Edwards, who’s as no-frills as the shirt he’s wearing with the initials H.E. written in marker on the back collar, says the conclusions are unfair.

“That’s a lot of speculation, and I don’t buy into a whole lot of speculation,” Edwards said. “I think some people think we’re going back to option football. We’re not going to do that. People can watch us and then they can form their own opinions.

“I’m not here to change the offense. I’m really not. I’m just here to win. And whatever way we can win, that’s what we’re going to do.” Full story

An emphatic Carl Peterson denied Friday he ever promised Al Saunders that he would become the eventual successor to Dick Vermeil as Chiefs head coach.

“I’m telling you he wasn’t,” said Peterson, the Chiefs’ president and general manager. “Dick Vermeil will verify that. Al Saunders should verify that. I couldn’t do that for a number of reasons. No. 1, I owe it to the Hunt family to find … the best prospect for being the next football coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. The second part of that is that there’s no way I could promise him that because we have a very important diversity policy in the National Football League. I adhere to that, I support it.”

Saunders, the former Chiefs offensive coordinator, has declined interview requests since taking a job with Washington this week.

Contacted at his home in Pennsylvania, Vermeil said Peterson never promised Saunders the job in his presence.

“He told him he would be a leading candidate,” Vermeil said. “He told him he would be the first to interview or the leading interview or whatever those terms were. I was sitting right there. There were no promises made. Carl never said that." Full story

The expression began back in medieval days, one suspects.

The king is dead, the commoners used to say. Long live the king.

It was their way of saying that life goes on. That when one king passes, another arises immediately to take his place. The circle remains unbroken. (An exception might be made for the great kings of modern times, Elvis and Martin Luther King. They will never be replaced. But I digress).

Such commoner thoughts come to mind these days when considering the circumstances surrounding the departure of Al Saunders as the Chiefs offensive coordinator.

Like many other people, I hoped unrealistically that Saunders could continue his reign in Kansas City under new head coach Herman Edwards. But you knew that wasn't likely to happen. Full story

A movable roof that would make the Kansas City Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium a candidate for a Super Bowl could cost Jackson County taxpayers around $200 million, architects for the project said Friday.

That would be in addition to $575 million in renovations planned for Arrowhead and nearby Kauffman Stadium, which would be paid for through a mix of team money, state tax credits and a local sales tax that officials hope next week to put on the ballot for April 4.

But supporters of the roof, to be partly paid for with a sales tax of its own, said the first-of-its-kind structure could do more for the region than attract football's biggest event.

"This has never been done in the world," Dennis Wellner, a principal with the HOK Sport and Venue and Event design firm that designed the roof, told county legislators Friday. "It is the symbol for taking the complex into the future."

Jack Steadman, the Chiefs' vice chairman and lead negotiator, said the timing is right.

"Why would you not do a renovation of the sports complex in such a way that will excite the entire community?" Steadman said after the hearing. "This really puts the cap on what is really one of the beautiful complexes." Full story

It was the kind of unexpected misdirection play upon which offensive coordinators build their reputations.

Something Chiefs offensive line coach Mike Solari will now have a chance to do in replacing Al Saunders as Kansas City's offensive coordinator.

After emerging in media reports as the leading candidate for the vacant head coaching position in Oakland, Saunders reversed direction Wednesday and headed for an entirely different part of the country to become the offensive coordinator for Joe Gibbs in Washington.

Saunders, coordinator of Kansas City's high-flying offense the past five seasons, met twice with new Chiefs coach Herman Edwards before accepting a contract with Washington that reportedly will pay at least $2 million annually.

Edwards hedged when asked if Saunders was given the opportunity to remain in Kansas City.

"Al is a guy who every year will be in the running to be a head coach," Edwards said. "When you get in that kind of situation with a guy who's a very good coach, you always want to make sure you have some kind of consistency. With me coming in here new, I felt like this was the best avenue for us to travel. Al was looking and we were looking, too. It worked out great for Al and it will work out great for Mike Solari."  Full story

Well, it’s official now. The Chiefs have made their choice. They chose old-fashioned, old-school, old-time, old-yeller, helmet-crashing, mouth-smashing, shoulder-bashing, teeth-gnashing, low-scoring, punt-adoring, awfully boring, field-goal-soaring, old-man-is-snoring football.

They chose Herm Edwards. In the process, they lost Al Saunders.

This was inevitable, I suppose. I wanted to believe — as many fans did — that the Chiefs would make a big-money, big-hearted offer to keep Saunders as some sort of associate head coach in charge of offense. As far as I know, they did not. But that might not have worked anyway. It’s clear now that the Chiefs made promises to Saunders the last couple of years — spoken or unspoken or both — and when they hired Edwards to be head coach, Saunders had to feel betrayed. He certainly felt like it was time to go. He took the top offensive assistant job in Washington. More on that in a minute.

A few hours after Saunders left, Edwards announced the hiring of offensive-line coach Mike Solari to be offensive coordinator. The coup is now complete. The Chiefs are now a run-the-ball, play-defense football team. Simple as that. Are you ready for some 17-14 football? You better be. Get ready for a whole lot of runs on third and 5. Get ready for field-position battles. Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt might want to start getting his leg warmed up now. The circus is over, folks. Full story

After at least one well-publicized clash with the old regime, running back Larry Johnson appears to have found instant harmony with the Chiefs’ new coach.

Herm Edwards has told Johnson he’ll go into training camp as the starter over Priest Holmes. And here’s the kicker: Edwards wants young L.J. to be a team leader.

“He’d better be,” Edwards said Thursday. “Because that’s part of the deal. He has to learn how to do that. Hopefully, I can help him do that. He has the potential in him. I really don’t know if anyone’s ever asked him to do that. But he’s got to do it a lot of ways, not only on the field but off the field.”

Johnson, 26, had been dubbed the Chiefs’ angry young running back, and after sitting for two years he unleashed a record-breaking 2005. He ran for 100 yards in each of the nine games after Holmes suffered a season-ending neck injury. Johnson finished with 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns, receiving his first Pro Bowl berth.

Just four months ago, Johnson publicly yearned for more playing time and was still smarting over the “take the diaper off” comment from coach Dick Vermeil in 2004. Full story

Al Saunders’ five-year run as director of the Chiefs’ offense came to an end Thursday when he informed them he would become the top offensive assistant for Washington’s NFL team.

The burning issue for the Chiefs is whether their run as one of the NFL’s most explosive and high-scoring offenses has ended, too. To maintain some continuity, new Chiefs coach Herm Edwards promoted line coach Mike Solari to Saunders’ position as offensive coordinator.

Edwards also retained three other members of the offensive staff: Terry Shea (quarterbacks), Charlie Joiner (wide receivers) and James Saxon (running backs).

The Chiefs apparently made no strong effort to retain Saunders. Edwards and Saunders spoke last week and agreed to talk further if Saunders didn’t receive a head coaching position.

Washington belatedly jumped in this week with its offer to have Saunders lead its offense and he quickly accepted. Saunders was unavailable for comment, but he may not have been interested in staying with the Chiefs. He was passed over for the head coaching position this year despite promises from president/general manager Carl Peterson that he would be the eventual successor to Dick Vermeil. Full story

The idea of a movable roof at the Truman Sports Complex refuses to roll away.

In developing a proposed new lease that would make some $575 million in stadium improvements and keep the Chiefs and Royals in Kansas City through 2031, negotiators included an option for financing either a rolling roof that could cover either Kauffman or Arrowhead stadiums, or a retractable roof for Arrowhead only.

The NFL has said it would host a Super Bowl in Kansas City if an all-weather stadium is developed.

To finance the roof, projected to cost between $100 million and $200 million, voters in Jackson County, Mo., would have to approve a use tax on out-of-state companies doing business in the county.

The roof financing question would be separate from another funding issue Jackson County voters could see on an April 4 ballot. Full story

Edwards also confirmed that he has told Larry Johnson he will come into camp next summer as the No. 1 running back, regardless of whether Priest Holmes returns to the team.

Although he started only the last nine games, Johnson still rushed for 1,750 yards and erased Holmes' team rushing record. Holmes went on injured reserve midway through the season with head and neck trauma.

Johnson had brooded about not getting enough playing time before Holmes was hurt. But he said he was reassured in a meeting with his new head coach that he was No. 1.

"He told me I would be the guy going into training camp and that I should start the season prepared to start," Johnson said in an interview with ESPN.

"He said, `I want to tell you this now that when we get going, you'll have to be the guy on this team who is the leader and gets things done.'"

Asked if he'd told Johnson he would be No. 1 running back, Edwards was coy.

"Did Larry say that?" he asked.

full story...

Redskins coach Joe Gibbs upgraded his offense Thursday by adding one of the brightest offensive minds to his sidelines.

Gibbs hired Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, convincing him to sign a three-year contract worth more than $2 million a year. Saunders was considered the leading candidate for the Raiders head coaching job after their first set of three interviews but he had not been offered the job.

With only two head coaching opportunities left -- Oakland and Buffalo -- Saunders was fielding a lot of phone calls by teams and coaches who wanted him as their offensive coordinator. The biggest surprise was the arrival of Gibbs in Kansas City on Wednesday.

full story...

Tuesday was Good News Day for Chiefs running back Larry Johnson.

It began with Johnson's first meeting with new Chiefs coach Herman Edwards, who informed his Pro Bowl running back that he would be the featured back next year regardless of the availability of Priest Holmes.

"He told me I would be the guy going into training camp and that I should start the season prepared to start," said Johnson, who rushed for 1,750 despite starting only nine games after Holmes went out with head and spinal injuries.

"He said, I want to tell you this now that when we get going, you'll have to be the guy on this team who is the leader and gets things done," Johnson added during his Wednesday appearance on ESPN's "Cold Pizza" show.

The Chiefs are still awaiting word from Holmes, the cornerstone of the their offense for 4 1/2 of his five years with the club, about whether he intends to play next year. Holmes is awaiting the results from his latest round of neurological tests before deciding whether he will play next year -- as a backup to Johnson -- at the age of 33. Full story

No victim. No case.

That was the decision this week of a Kansas City Municipal Court judge who dropped an assault charge against Chiefs running back Larry Johnson after the alleged victim refused to appear for the third time.

“It was made clear she wasn’t going to appear,” Kathy Emke, the city’s domestic violence prosecutor, said Wednesday. “We didn’t have any other witnesses.”

Johnson’s attorney, however, said he had five independent witnesses willing to testify that Johnson did not shove a 25-year-old Overland Park woman to the floor of a Country Club Plaza tavern on Sept. 10.

“I don’t believe as the facts developed that they had a case,” Kevin Regan said Wednesday. “It was a misunderstanding in a public place involving a complaining witness who immediately recanted her statement.”

Though just a city ordinance violation, the allegation carried high stakes. Full story

Herm Edwards may be turning to Father Time to help the Chiefs.

Edwards brought Dick Curl, one of his New York Jets assistants, to Arrowhead Stadium for an interview Wednesday. Curl was known in New York as Father Time because his job in part was to help Edwards with time management on game days.

Curl didn’t help Edwards much, at least with clock management. The Jets were still among the worst at the art in Curl’s two seasons with Edwards, and both were widely criticized in New York.

“As soon as I make a (clock management) mistake, they’ll say, ‘Here he goes again,’ ” Edwards said at his introductory news conference last week. “Every coach in this league has made some errors. Have I made some errors? Yeah.

“There’s always going to be a situation where you decide to do something and people say, ‘Why did you throw it instead of run it?’ or ‘Why did you run instead of throw?’ or ‘Why did you let the clock go down?’ That’s OK. That’s part of the deal.”

It was unclear exactly what Edwards might have in mind for Curl. Edwards was unavailable to explain. Curl, a former scout with the Chiefs, coached tight ends and running backs during his time with the Jets.

Chiefs running backs coach James Saxon was in his office and working Wednesday, a sign Edwards would welcome him back. The Chiefs are without a tight ends coach after letting go of Jason Verduzco.

Former Chiefs secondary coach Peter Giunta was chosen Wednesday as defensive backs coach for the Giants. Source

The case was thrown out Tuesday, municipal court administrator Bernard Schneider said Wednesday. He was unable to provide further information, and a message left with Johnson`s attorney was not immediately returned.

A woman from Overland Park, Kan., had contended that Johnson shoved her at a Kansas City bar. The woman said she had been involved with the player for more than two years.

The case was being watched by prosecutors in Johnson County, Kan., who could reinstate a 2003 charge accusing Johnson of slapping a woman in his Leawood home and threatening her with a gun.

Johnson agreed to enter a domestic-violence diversion program to avoid prosecution. As part of the deal, he was ordered to stay out of legal trouble for two years.

Source...

The whispers say something different every day. On Jan. 4, Al Saunders was hotter than Brad and Angelina. Houston, Minnesota and Detroit were calling, and Saunders had just finished a long interview with the Chiefs. It wasn’t a matter of if he would find a head-coaching job. It was when.

Two weeks later, the phone rings in Saunders’ office at Arrowhead, and the voice mail picks up. Saunders, apparently, still has a gig with the Chiefs, if only in name as the incumbent offensive coordinator, the architect of a Kansas City offense that has finished No. 1 in the NFL the last two seasons.

He still hasn’t bagged his ultimate goal, a head-coaching job in a frenetic 2 1/2 weeks that has produced 10 coaching vacancies, five hires and several head-scratchers.

“I am surprised,” CBS analyst Phil Simms said Tuesday. “Here’s why it hasn’t worked: His name hasn’t been in the forefront when his team has gone on to the playoffs and had big success. That’s usually what drives coordinators over the top.

“He didn’t have the right people throwing his name out there on TV enough to get him hot, and then he didn’t have success enough in the playoffs to drive his name over the top. Is he qualified? He’s overqualified.” Full story

OK, the Chiefs need to go all out and bring Al Saunders back to run the offense. Enough is enough, already. Every day we have to watch this brilliant football coach and terrific person twist in the wind, while Sith lords like Al Davis and Matt Millen ponder whether Saunders is qualified enough to run the wreckage they call football teams.

Look, I know that Al Saunders wants to be a head football coach again. He was a head coach once, 20 years ago in San Diego, and it left a bad taste. He was given 2½ seasons and an aging football team, and then he was cast aside like an old phone book. He will be 59 years old in a couple of weeks. I know he’d like another chance, and he might yet get the big offer.

And we all know that it had to hurt being passed over by Chiefs president/CEO/general manager/dream weaver Carl Peterson yet again. That makes two times that Peterson interviewed Saunders but hired someone else to be head coach. No matter what Peterson may say (he is on record lately saying that Saunders “should definitely be a head coach in this league”), those actions speak harshly. It would be hard on anyone’s pride to come back to a team that has rejected you twice.

But all of those things should be secondary. Saunders coming back makes too much sense for everybody. It should happen.

Bringing back Saunders obviously makes all sorts of sense for the Chiefs. I’m not sure that even now everyone in and out of the Chiefs organization understands how good an offensive coordinator Saunders has been the last five years. He took an offense with a beat-up quarterback, backup running back, castoff receivers and made it the highest scoring in the NFL. Twice. They led the league in yardage twice more. Full story

There was talk of that a couple of years ago, but nothing happened.

You'd have to be naive to think there hadn't been some serious hints Edwards wanted the Kansas City job, despite his repeated denials, before the Chiefs and Jets agreed on a fourth-round draft choice, a ridiculously low price, as compensation.

Edwards' move, with his two years left on a contract and the sole issue in New York apparently his salary, sends a message to any coach with a contract that if he wants more money, he can make like an unhappy player and demand a trade.

full story...

Surveying the local sports scene while wondering if even an improbable victory over Kansas today in Allen Fieldhouse would save Jim Wooldridge's job at Kansas State after the Nebraska debacle. ...

As much as we'd love to see Al Saunders return as the Chiefs offensive coordinator should he not get the head coaching job he deserves, it's starting to look like that won't happen.

The hunch is Saunders, who has a background in the Bay Area, will be coaching against the Chiefs next year as the head man for the Oakland Raiders after interviewing with Al Davis for the second time in three years.

You think Marty Schottenheimer was motivated when he led the Chiefs against the Raiders? Imagine how motivated Saunders would be when preparing for a team that twice passed him by for head coaching positions -- most recently after coordinating the league's top-ranked offense of the past two seasons. Full story

Could two of the NFL’s most bitter rivals swap offensive gurus?

About the same time Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders was leaving a job interview in Oakland, newly hired Kansas City coach Herm Edwards floated the possibility Thursday that he may contact former Raiders head coach Norv Turner.

Turner, who was fired earlier this month after back-to-back losing seasons in Oakland, would be a candidate for the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator job.

“I haven’t gotten ahold of Norv yet,” Edwards said. “But obviously he has been a candidate. He’s going to be a candidate on a lot of guys’ lists. He’s a fine football coach.”

Edwards had yet to talk to Saunders as of midweek, and the man who was the architect of a Chiefs offense that finished No. 1 in the NFL the last two years is still on the move. Saunders will be in Detroit this morning to interview for the Lions’ coaching vacancy. He’s also made stops in Houston and Minnesota. Full story

New Chiefs coach Herman Edwards confirmed Thursday that former Oakland Raiders head coach Norv Turner is someone he would like to talk to about his offensive coordinator's position.

"I haven't gotten hold of Norv yet, but obviously, he's a candidate," Edwards said. "But, he'll be a candidate for a lot of teams. He's a fine coach."

Turner, fired recently after only two seasons as the Raiders head coach, has coached the Don Coryell offense the Chiefs used in becoming the NFL's top-ranked offense of the past two seasons. A former head coach at Washington, Turner employed a variation of the Coryell offense while coordinating the Super Bowl offense of the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and '93.

Though he would not identify any of the Dick Vermeil assistants he would like to retain on his own staff in Kansas City, Edwards admitted that some of them were being courted by other teams. No current assistant on Vermeil's staff is under contract for the 2006 season.

"They're about to become free agents, and a lot of things happen when coaches go out on the market," Edwards said. "Money can become a factor, and it often becomes a bidding war when you're a good coach. And they've got good coaches on this staff." Full story

The purge of the Chiefs coaching staff will not include coordinator Gunther Cunningham.

New coach Herman Edwards confirmed Wednesday that Cunningham, Kansas City's defensive coordinator of the past two seasons, will return in that capacity in 2006. Edwards once interviewed Cunningham for a position in 2004, the year Cunningham returned to the Chiefs after a three-year stint with Tennessee.

Several other Chiefs assistants will be looking for new work, however.

Irv Eatman, the assistant coach of the offensive line that included three Pro Bowl players, and Vernon Dean, an assistant secondary coach, both confirmed that they would not be retained on Edwards' staff.

"Change is inevitable with a new coach and a new system," Dean said. "That's just the way it is in this business."

Edwards, who has said he will maintain a smaller staff than the league-high 20 assistants Dick Vermeil employed, declined to identify other coaches who will not be retained. Full story

Herm Edwards vows to have shaken the hand of everyone at Arrowhead Stadium by the end of the month, from the security guards to the person who cleans the carpets.

One getting-to-know-you session with an old colleague helped Edwards come to a major decision — he’ll keep Gunther Cunningham as the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator.

“We have the same mind-set in a lot of things we want to do,” Edwards said Wednesday. “I interviewed Gunther (with the Jets in 2004), and I know Gunther. I’ve got a good relationship with Gunther.”

Cunningham’s contract was up at the end of the month, and it was speculated that he wouldn’t return because Edwards, who was hired as the Chiefs’ head coach on Monday, was pursuing Tampa Bay’s Rod Marinelli.

Edwards hinted Wednesday that he may be interested in Marinelli, a Tampa Bay assistant who is interviewing for the Detroit Lions’ head-coaching job. But it won’t affect the status of Cunningham, who was hired by Dick Vermeil in 2004 to turn around a defense that ranked near the bottom of the league. Full story

The late Derrick Thomas, the cornerstone of a Chiefs defense that was instrumental in reaching the playoffs seven times during his 11-year career, is among the 15 finalists for the second year he's been eligible for consideration to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Thomas, who died from complications of the paralysis he sustained in a 2000 automobile accident, made the cut to the final 10 last year in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. He did not receive enough votes to advance to the final six-man class.

Warren Moon, who spent the last two years of his NFL career in Kansas City, also made the cut to the final 15 in his first year of eligibility. Moon, who built his Pro Bowl credentials primarily at Houston from 1984-93, joined Troy Aikman, the late Reggie White and Thurman Thomas as finalists selected in their first year of eligibility.

Other finalists for the Hall of Fame are Giants linebacker Harry Carson, Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood, Redskins guard Russ Grimm, Falcons and Eagles defensive end Claude Humphrey, Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin, Dolphins guard Bob Kuechenberg, Raiders coach John Madden, Redskins receiver Art Monk, Cowboys tackle Rayfield Wright and Vikings tackle Gary Zimmerman. Source

Don’t expect newly signed Chiefs quarterback Casey Printers to challenge Trent Green for the starting spot next season.

But Printers, 24, could give the Chiefs — at long last — a competent developmental quarterback. Printers, who signed a three-year contract Wednesday, was the most outstanding player in the Canadian Football League in 2004 with British Columbia.

After his big 2004 season, Printers’ play slipped last season. But that didn’t concern the Chiefs, who outbid the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts to sign him.

“They convinced me I could have a great future there,” Printers said. “They told me they would be patient with me and that they would try to bring me along.”

Printers’ timing in joining the Chiefs couldn’t be better. Green will be 36 when next season begins. Backup quarterbacks Todd Collins and Damon Huard are both over 30, and each was in the last year of his contract. Full story

Quarterback Casey Printers has left the B.C. Lions to sign a deal with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, the CFL team said Wednesday.

Printers, who was in his option year of his CFL contract, reportedly reached a three-year deal with the Chiefs.

"Our organization takes a great deal of pride in knowing that Casey has fulfilled his dream of playing in the NFL," Wally Buono, the Lions coach and general manager, said in a statement. "He has been an outstanding member of our club and we wish him the very best in this new phase of his career."

Financial details weren't available but Printers can certainly expect to make more than the $60,000 base salary that he earned last year with the Lions.

full story...

The settling-in period for Herman Edwards lasted all of 12 hours.

Day one of the Edwards era started with the Chiefs’ new coach locked away in a makeshift office early Tuesday for closed-door meetings that dragged into the night. He shuffled in players, who waited their turn for appointments. He had individual meetings with the assistants from Dick Vermeil’s staff.

By late in the day, at least one coach found out he wouldn’t be back. Assistant offensive line coach Irv Eatman said Tuesday night that he was let go in a late-afternoon meeting with Edwards. Eatman said Edwards is going with a smaller staff, and that required the elimination of some positions.

The Chiefs had two coaches for both the offensive and defensive lines in 2005.

full story...

Bully for Herm, assuming he can look himself in the mirror as the Chiefs' new and tainted head coach.

Congratulations to his agent, his accountant and his new boss in Chiefs land, Carl Peterson, for coolly extricating Edwards from his remaining two years with the Jets and hammering out a four-year deal worth a reported $12 million.

But there's an impact -- and a price to pay -- beyond the extra dollars in his pocket and that little fourth-round draft pick that went to the Jets. I hope Herm realizes that the ripples go on and on.

``I know what the National Football League is about,'' Edwards said at his introductory news conference in Kansas City on Monday. ``It's about commitment.''

Oh, sure. Got it, Herm.

full story...

More than a week after dismissing Norv Turner, the Raiders have yet to formally interview a single candidate. That might change later this week when Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders -- a longtime favorite of owner Al Davis -- is expected to pay a visit to Alameda.

Saunders, 58, whom Davis considered to replace Jon Gruden before settling on Bill Callahan as his head coach in 2003, is highly regarded as the architect for a Chiefs offense that has led the NFL in touchdowns and total yards the past five seasons.

He has Bay Area ties, having gotten his B.A. from San Jose State in 1969 and his M.A. from Stanford in 1970. He was an assistant coach at Cal for six seasons (1976-81). Saunders succeeded Don Coryell as the Chargers' head coach in October 1986 but was fired in December 1988 after going 17-22.

Saunders' candidacy has become hotter in NFL circles after Kansas City struck a deal with the New York Jets to land Herman Edwards, who was signed to a $12 million contract. But Chiefs quarterback Trent Green is pressuring general manager Carl Peterson to retain Saunders.

full story...

The path of his professional coaching career now has come full circle with his return to Kansas City. But Herman Edwards, a man who fashioned an NFL career as a defender, has no desire to re-invent the offensive wheel that carried the Chiefs to a 10-6 record this past season.

Asked Monday during his formal introduction as the Chiefs' 10th head coach what the Kansas City offense -- the unit that led the NFL in total yards during the five years of Dick Vermeil's stewardship -- might look like under a former standout cornerback, Edwards opted for the status quo.

"The one that's here looks pretty good. The last time I was here, they beat us up pretty good," said Edwards, whose New York Jets were pounded 27-7 on opening day last September at Arrowhead.

"Look here, I'm not dumb," Edwards added with his trademark self-deprecation. "This offense has been prolific, and you don't change things just to make change. I think sometimes people expect a lot of change when a new coach comes in. But if we can keep scoring 30 points, I like that. I haven't been involved with that a lot in my career."

Edwards, 51, who took the Jets to the AFC playoffs in three of his first four seasons as a first-time head coach, said his mission in following Vermeil would be to enhance the elements that were working -- i.e., the Chiefs offense -- and fix those that need repairing. That is, the Kansas City defense. Full story

In the place where it all started, Herman Edwards and Carl Peterson wandered around Philadelphia, the cameras 100 miles behind them, the future straight ahead. They exercised together Saturday morning. Edwards ran, Peterson tried to keep up. They ate dinner at Bookbinders on Walnut Street, their favorite old haunt.

In the City of Brotherly Love, there were no agents, no haggling, just two old friends and a few firm handshakes.

“Every single guy in Philly,” Peterson said, “I don’t care if it was a cop, a bum on the corner … would say, ‘Herman, where are you going?’ ”

The doors to the Arrowhead Club flung open at 3 o’clock Monday afternoon, and Edwards knew exactly where he was going. The flashbulbs popped, his face lit up, and the Chiefs’ new leader confidently walked into the room with his wife, Lia, and 5-month-old daughter, Gabrielle. He spotted a familiar face, smiled and said, “What’s goin’ on, old buddy?”

Edwards was going home. Full story

The remnants of Dick Vermeil’s coaching staff have not yet scattered to the winds. Even with Herman Edwards now coaching the Chiefs, Vermeil’s assistants are under contract through the end of the month.

Some of them might get extensions. Edwards said Monday that he would interview all of Vermeil’s assistants and could retain one or more on his staff.

“It’s a good staff,” Edwards said. “They’ve won a lot of football games.”

The Chiefs may have to move on without the architect of their offense, coordinator Al Saunders. Hoping to become a head coach, Saunders will interview this week for the vacancy in Detroit and was scheduled for a second meeting in Houston. He also met with the Texans last week.

Saunders may eventually interview with the Raiders.

Edwards’ most difficult hire might be finding a coordinator to replace Saunders, if that becomes necessary. Full story

Trent Green heard what he came to hear. So did Eddie Kennison.

Tracy Simien heard a familiar message, one he first experienced as a Chiefs player, then most recently as a coaching intern for the New York Jets.

The only folks who didn't hear all they wanted to learn from Herman Edwards' introductory session Monday were the New York folks asking about possible tampering and how the Jets let their head coach leave for only a fourth-round draft choice.

Edwards, 51, made it clear Monday that he wasn't going to talk about the events leading up to his messy divorce from the Jets. "That stuff stays in the house," he said, "and I've still got the keys to the house."

That was fine for the Chiefs players, coaches and support staff who journeyed to the posh Arrowhead Club to welcome Edwards back to Kansas City, where his coaching career began.

It was enough that Green heard Edwards say he wouldn't try to fix a Kansas City offense that wasn't broken. Hearing that current assistant coaches from a 10-6 team would be considered for Edwards' new staff also was welcomed news. Full story

You could see the pride glowing in Carl Peterson’s face while new Chiefs coach Herman Edwards talked. This was a different look for Peterson. Through the years, we’ve seen him angry and defiant and smug and happy and, one time, giddy.

The giddy thing happened five years ago, when Peterson hired his mentor and hero Dick Vermeil to be coach of the Chiefs. That was some night. Peterson invited reporters to the lobby of his Plaza high-rise home at night, and he walked easily from camera to camera, the ice in his drink rattling with every step. He could almost feel that Super Bowl ring wrapped around his finger. That was one contented man. He was a bathrobe away from being Hugh Hefner.

Monday, though, we caught a new Peterson look. Herm Edwards stood at the microphone and talked about everything except how exactly he ended up here. That one was off limits. But he talked loudly and proudly about faith and family and his philosophy of football.

“We’re going to play defense,” he said forcefully enough that you could tell he meant it. “We’ll do that.”

In the background, Carl Peterson beamed. He had the look you see when cameras focus on fathers in the crowd. He had the “That’s him! That’s my son!” look. Full story

Monday afternoon at his introductory news conference as head coach of the Chiefs, Herm Edwards hid behind the constitutional rights granted to sports figures by Mark McGwire.

It’s called the 70-home-run amendment, and it states that high-profile sports figures don’t have to talk about their past if it makes them uncomfortable.

“I believe in family, and what happened in New York, it stays in New York,” Edwards said. “If you have any questions about what happened, I am going to tell you right now it stays in the family. I learned a lesson a long time ago what’s in your house stays in your house.

“When you ask questions, please ask about the Kansas City Chiefs, because I am the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, and that is all that matters.”

I’m one of the few sportswriters who support taking the 70th. It’s better to plead the 70th than entertain questions crafted to elicit an answer the inquirer knows you can’t give. Plus, Edwards’ refusal to talk about New York made it easier to focus on Kansas City and avoid getting caught up in a pointless, Big Apple soap opera. Full story

New Chiefs coach Herman Edwards sounded much like Dick Vermeil or Al Saunders in the early moments of his introductory news conference Monday.

Not a guy thinking all offense, all the time, but certainly one comfortable with the notion of a fast-paced, high-scoring, thrill-a-minute team.

“This offense has been prolific in the last three or four seasons,” Edwards said. “They can score points. I’m not dumb. You don’t change things just to change things. Sometimes people expect when a new coach comes in that he’s going to change this and change that. I’m going to evaluate everything.

“Keep scoring 30 points. I like that. That’s a good thing.”

But as the event moved along, Edwards appeared to morph more and more into — deep breath now, Chiefs fans — Marty Schottenheimer.

“You score points early, you take the ball and you run the ball with your offense, and when your defense goes on the field, hopefully you have a lead and you go and knock the quarterback down,” Edwards said. Full story

Saying he’s come home, Herman Edwards officially became the 10th coach in Chiefs franchise history on Monday.

Edwards, who got his professional coaching start in Kansas City, signed a contract about 2 p.m. Monday to replace Dick Vermeil, the man who coached him as a rookie in Philadelphia nearly 30 years ago.

Vermeil sat in the back of a packed conference room as Edwards was introduced by president/general manager Carl Peterson. Edwards, 51, left New York last weekend, where he led the Jets to three playoff appearances in five years.

Edwards said he wouldn’t talk about his time in New York because it was time to start over. In a fiery speech that lasted roughly 30 minutes, he said he would bring a defensive mentality and expected to his players to leave the field with dirty uniforms.

“The one thing I do know,” Edwards said, “and I will promise you this — the players that play for this football team, they will play for the name on the side of the helmet, not the name on the back of the jersey.” Full story

Derrick Blaylock couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated when he heard the news that Herman Edwards was going to be coaching his old team.

Blaylock, a former Chiefs running back, signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets last offseason, and for the last year, he saw up close the relationships that Herman Edwards had with Curtis Martin, Chad Pennington, Kevin Mawae and the rest of the Jets veterans. He hoped he’d have the same kind of relationship with Edwards.

“I just got to New York, and then, when I get here, he’s leaving,” Blaylock said. “I never did get a chance to get close to him like I wanted to.

“To see him leave, it hurts, man. It’s like losing one of your best friends, really.”

Blaylock experienced that kind of bond in Kansas City with Dick Vermeil. He went to dinner at Vermeil’s house and sipped wine and got to know Vermeil’s wife, Carol. At the time, it meant everything to him.Blaylock wanted to form that kind of bond with Edwards, who like Blaylock was once an NFL rookie playing for Vermeil, in 1977 with the Philadelphia Eagles. There just wasn’t enough time. Full story

As a player, Herman Edwards’ 10-year NFL career was defined by one signature play. It’s a staple on NFL Films and the subject of conversation whenever Edwards is spotted in Philadelphia or anywhere near Giants Stadium.

Edwards, a cornerback with the Philadelphia Eagles, recovered a fumble by Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik with 31 seconds remaining and gave the Eagles a 19-17 victory over the Giants on Nov. 19, 1978.

The 70,318 fans at Giants Stadium were expecting Pisarcik to end the game by taking a knee, but he was surprised by an early snap and stumbled while trying to hand off to Larry Csonka. Edwards swooped in, pounced on the ball, and his touchdown was forever dubbed “The Miracle of the Meadowlands.”

The play personified the effort Edwards put into his job as a player and as a coach.

“It was an opportunity,” Edwards said. “I was in the right place at the right time." Full story

This had to be a somewhat awkward position for Dick Vermeil.

Vermeil is good friends with Carl Peterson. Vermeil is also good friends with Al Saunders, and has been nothing short of Al’s personal campaign manager in the hopes that Al will get a head coaching job (the first campaign stop was here).

Vermeil also is very close to Herm Edwards, who got the Chiefs job instead of Saunders.

So, just how did the dynamics of that situation work, of Vermeil trying to convince Peterson to hire Saunders?

“There really wasn’t any dynamics to it,” Vermeil said Monday. “It wasn’t my decision and no one really has to listen to what I have to say. I do think Al would have gotten hired here if Carl hadn’t gotten Herm Edwards.”

If Vermeil was disappointed that Saunders didn’t get the Chiefs job, Vermeil didn’t show it Monday. He couldn’t, not with Edwards standing in front of a large audience and telling everyone what a mentor Vermeil was to him. Full story

There was a time when the NFL couldn’t get enough bright, offensive-minded coaches, a trend that probably started shortly after Bill Walsh started winning with San Francisco.

Then there was Mike Holmgren and his staff that spawned coaches such as Jon Gruden and Steve Mariucci and Andy Reid and Mike Sherman. Other teams, such as the Rams with Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz, eventually tried to pour on the offense to keep pace.

But all that began to change in the last few years with the success of defensive wizard Bill Belichick and his Patriots. Now the league is thinking defense, defense, defense. And so are the Chiefs, which is why they brought in Herm Edwards.

“It really is a cyclical thing,” said NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt, a former player-personnel president for the Cowboys for 30 years.

“Right now, the hot thing is to go with the defensive guy. You could see it coming.” Full story

Since their inception, the Chiefs have been on the forefront of minority hiring.

They were among the first teams to scout and sign players such as Buck Buchanan, Otis Taylor and Willie Lanier from historically black colleges in the early 1960s. They’ve also been heavily involved in the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship program since its inception in 1987.

So it was no accident on Monday when they introduced Herman Edwards as the 10th head coach in franchise history and their first black head coach.

Edwards, one of six black head coaches in the NFL, became the first of the 1,100 men to go through the NFL’s Minority Coaching Fellowship program and be hired as head coach by the team with which he was an intern.

“We’re getting to the point where you don’t say I’m an African-American coach, I’m just Coach,” said Edwards, an intern with the Chiefs in 1989 and either a scout or defensive backfield coach in Kansas City during 1990-95. “You see it in the league all the time. People are giving coaches an opportunity, and they’re hiring the right coach for their football team." Full story

Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Monday that he has appointed Herm Edwards as the 10th head coach in Chiefs history. Edwards agreed to a four-year contract with the club. Per Chiefs policy, no other terms of the agreement were made available. As compensation for Edwards, the Chiefs have traded a fourth-round draft choice in 2006 to the N.Y. Jets.

“We selected Herm Edwards because he is without question one of the most qualified head football coaches in the NFL today,” Peterson commented. “He has the experience of five years as a Head Coach, five years as an Assistant Head Coach and almost 10 years as a position coach in the NFL. Herm has coached players and teams in playoff games and he has won playoff games.

“Herm knows what the National Football League is all about. He is a man of integrity, family and great passion for the game. He coaches all aspects of the game, and he coaches them well. Herm has tremendous relationships with players and coaches throughout the League. Exclusive of my personal relationship with Herm Edwards, this organization has hired Herm Edwards for his outstanding personal and positive characteristics. His teams have always been at the top of the league in fewest penalties, giveaway/takeaway ratio and sound fundamentals. Herm’s teams are always well disciplined and well coached.”

full story...

video press conference...

Lamar Hunt is bogged down with meetings today but plans to be in Kansas City. Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson, no doubt jetlagged from a week’s worth of traveling, will be around, too.

The Chiefs’ one-week search is expected to end today with the announcement of Herman Edwards as the franchise’s 10th head coach. Details on Edwards’ deal were still being made final Sunday, and his agent, Gary O’Hagan, said Edwards had yet to sign a contract.

Various reports over the weekend had Edwards’ deal ranging from a five-year package worth $20 million to ESPN’s report Sunday of a four-year agreement worth $12 million. A source close to the situation said Sunday that the $20 million figure was “too high.”

Hunt, the Chiefs’ owner, was home in Dallas on Sunday but planned to make the trek for Edwards’ news conference, which hadn’t been set as of Sunday night. In New York, an afternoon news conference is scheduled for today to discuss Edwards’ departure and the team’s plans for a replacement.

Today marks a homecoming for Edwards, who joined the Chiefs in 1989 as a recipient of an NFL minority coaching fellowship, worked as a scout and then became the defensive-backs coach in 1992. Full story

Some people say Herman Edwards' smile has faded after five seasons around the New York media.

Not hard to understand how that happened, especially after the Jets' 4-12 season in 2005.

But to understand the real nature of Edwards, the next coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, one should go back to 2001, his first year with the Jets, and consider a ruse Edwards pulled on his players.

Heading into a home game against the Chiefs at the midpoint of what became a 10-6 playoff campaign, the 5-3 Jets were a 4-0 team on the road, but only 1-3 at the New Jersey Meadowlands.

Edwards, consequently, distributed a travel itinerary after his team's final practice that week. It called for the Jets to fly from MacArthur Airport in Islip, the closest departure point from the team's Hempstead, Long Island training facility, to nearby Newark International.

"They thought it was (serious) for about five minutes," Edwards reported with what was then his trademark cackle. Full story

According to a report on ESPN.com, Edwards and the Chiefs have agreed on a four-year, $12 million contract to become coach.

The 51-year-old Edwards will receive a raise over the $2 million per year that he was making with the Jets.

The NFL on Friday approved a compensation agreement reached between Kansas City and the New York Jets, giving the Chiefs the right to hire Edwards as their coach.

The Jets received a fourth-round pick from the Chiefs in the 2006 draft. They were entitled to compensation because Edwards had two years and $4 million left on his contract.

Edwards served as coach of the Jets for the last five seasons, guiding them to the playoffs three times.

Edwards worked in several different capacities with Kansas City from 1990-95 and maintained a close friendship with general manager Carl Peterson.

full story...

Herman Edwards is expected to be introduced as the Chiefs’ new head coach at a news conference Monday. Then, with a defensive-minded boss to go along with their high-powered offense, will all finally be right with the Chiefs’ world?

Maybe, and maybe not.

“I’m not positive about how that whole cocktail is going to mix,” CBS television analyst Randy Cross said. “Just because (Edwards) was recruited by Carl Peterson and played for Dick Vermeil doesn’t mean he is Dick Vermeil.”

In sending the Chiefs’ fourth-round draft pick to the Jets for Edwards, Peterson is trying for the best of both worlds. He is hoping at long last the Chiefs will respond defensively, something they never did for Vermeil or coordinator Gunther Cunningham, while retaining at least most of their offensive might.

That’s a tricky balance for any coach. In the Peterson era, the Chiefs have never been able to master it. They were competitive for most of their seasons under Marty Schottenheimer and Cunningham and their defensive philosophy, but never reached the Super Bowl.

They were then brilliant offensively in the five Vermeil years, but were undermined by a consistently lousy defense. Last week, Peterson indicated finding that balance would be a consideration as he searched for a new head coach. Full story

Herman Edwards is lying low. The shades in his house are half-drawn, the double doors are closed.

Nothing is getting into this sleepy cul-de-sac at 9:30 on Saturday morning: not the morning papers bashing Herm in 90-point headline type, not the crawls at the bottom of the sports channels that scroll his name every 4½ minutes.

And nothing is getting out. The doorbell jangles, and a woman answers on an intercom, pauses and says Herm can’t come to the door. Reports say he’s in Philly with Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson hammering out a deal. The woman won’t say anything except “Leave your number.”

So the reporters roll out of the circle driveway, past the perfectly manicured hedges that his father, the military man, would’ve loved, past the yellow-and-brick house at the end of the street that is as subtle and unpretentious as his mother, Martha, who was watching ESPN the other day when her Bubi — a German term of endearment for a little boy —–flashed on the screen.

“He’s on TV right now!” she shrieked in a thick German accent. “They’re talking about him!” Full story

The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, said the team was hopeful of finishing the deal Sunday and formally introducing Edwards on Monday.

"There is reason to hope that something will be done by the first of the week," the person said. "But reports that an agreement has been reached are simply not correct."

The two sides are reportedly talking about an agreement that would give the 51-year-old Edwards between $4 and $5 million a year, a hefty raise over the $2 million per year that he was making as Jets coach. The Chiefs received permission Friday morning to talk with Edwards after the NFL office gave the OK for the Chiefs to compensate the Jets with a fourth-round choice in the 2006 draft.

Edwards will replace Dick Vermeil, who resigned after five years and led the Chiefs to a 10-6 record. They were the only 10-win team not to make the playoffs.

Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson and Edwards have been close friends for more than 30 years, since Peterson tried to recruit him to UCLA. Edwards' background as a defensive player and coach was also big factor in his favor.

The Kansas City Chiefs have cleared their last obstacle to hiring Herman Edwards as their next head coach.

President/general manager Carl Peterson agreed to send a fourth-round pick in this year’s NFL draft to the New York Jets for the 51-year-old Edwards, who had coached the Jets for five years and was still under contract. The terms were blessed by the league office on Friday, in effect sealing the deal.

All that’s left is the matter of a contract with Edwards, which the Chiefs consider to be a formality, and a news conference to introduce him. That was tentatively scheduled for Monday morning. The new deal is reported to be for five years and as much as $20 million.

In Edwards, the Chiefs will be getting a coach with many of the same qualities as newly retired Dick Vermeil. Edwards’ strengths are his skills as a communicator and motivator, and his ability to build strong relationships with players.

Edwards led the Jets to three playoff appearances in five seasons, although his career record of 39-41 was hurt by the Jets winning only four games this season. Edwards also acknowledged having problems managing a game, and he hired an assistant coach expressly to help with game-day functions such as strategic decisions and time management. Full story

The final roadblock has been cleared. Herman Edwards is on his way back to Kansas City as the 10th head coach of the Chiefs.

The New York Jets on Friday agreed to accept Kansas City's fourth-round pick in the 2006 draft as compensation for allowing the Chiefs to talk to Edwards, who has two years remaining on his Jets contract.

The compensation, the lowest of any recent deals involving the loss of a head coach, was approved by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Chiefs president Carl Peterson immediately flew to New York on Friday to open contract negotiations with Edwards, a former defensive back Peterson signed as a undrafted player when he was personnel director of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977. It was anticipated that Edwards would get a four-year contract offer that coincides with the final four years of Peterson's contract with the Chiefs.

Team officials said terms of Edwards' new contract were still being worked on Friday night. A broadcast report in Kansas City late Friday said the contract terms had been agreed upon, but the Chiefs would not confirm the report. Full story

The question is: Why was this so hard? We’ve finally reached the predictable end of Herm Warfare Week. The Chiefs got Herman Edwards. The Jets got a draft pick. It really could not have ended any other way. But it was so much harder than necessary.

This was one ugly trip. There are battered carcasses and bloody New York tabloid back pages scattered along the road. Everybody took a beating this week, Jets, Chiefs, media types, Herm himself. Especially Herm. I thought at some point unnamed Jets sources were going to blame him for the Bird Flu.

What a week. It was like a John le Carre novel (I’m bluffing here; I’ve never read a John le Carre novel. He writes about espionage, right?). There were broken promises, spilled secrets, fantastic threats, car chases and unnamed sources galore. Herman Edwards probably had no idea that he has so many sources “close to him.” He should take half of his new salary and buy them all a drink.

Look, three things seemed pretty obvious at the start of this crazy week:

A. Herman Edwards wanted out of New York.

B. The New York Jets and their fans weren’t too crazy about him either.

C. Chiefs President/CEO/general manager/makeup artist Carl Peterson wanted very much to hire Edwards, an old friend and protégé. Full story

There’s virtually no mystery to what is driving Carl Peterson’s desire to hire Herm Edwards as the replacement for Dick Vermeil.

Peterson is an uncomplicated general manager working in a copycat league.

Bill Polian, the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, is the best GM in professional football. He’s been chosen NFL executive of the year five times. He built the Super Bowl Buffalo Bills. He jumped to the expansion Carolina Panthers and quickly turned them into a Super Bowl threat. And now, this season, Polian has constructed the most complete football team of the salary-cap era.

Bill Polian is the football man Carl Peterson wishes he was.

Well, in 2002, shortly after firing Jim Mora primarily because the Colts had one of the league’s leakiest defenses and one of its most explosive offenses, Polian hired Tony Dungy to lead the Colts one week after Dungy had been fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Full story

By the time the process ended Friday morning, Herman Edwards' departure from the New York Jets was messy, hurtful and occasionally acrimonious.

Divorces often are.

That's exactly what this was. Edwards' five-year professional marriage to the Jets, a match seemingly made in heaven as they marched to the playoffs for a third time in four years last year at this time, was clearly on the rocks.

Edwards wanted a longer commitment, and more money. The Jets, after a 4-12 season this past year, weren't willing to ante up.

Enter The Other Woman to facilitate the breakup.

You’ll never get rich selling fans of anything on the idea that you can’t have it both ways. You can’t get angry at a guy for wanting to leave the job you don’t think he’s capable of handling. Not that the local fans and columnists and talk-show hosts will accept that. The past couple of days, they’ve been beating on Edwards like a piñata, and in their minds, he deserves it.

Only the unlikely scenario under which the two sides could not strike a contract agreement will keep New York Jets coach Herman Edwards from moving on to the Kansas City Chiefs in the same capacity, ESPN.com has learned.

The two teams late Thursday reached agreement on compensation that will free Edwards from the two years remaining on his Jets contract. The compensation deal is expected to be sent to the league Friday for approval by commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Under the agreement, the Jets will receive a middle-round pick, believed to be a fourth-rounder, in the 2006 draft. The two franchises had been haggling for days over possible compensation for the coach. It is believed the Chiefs have already commenced contract negotiations with Edwards' agent.

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Peterson comes foward...

Team president Carl Peterson said Friday morning that the Chiefs gained permission from the Jets to speak to Edwards, who has two years left on his contract, and he indicated the two would begin negotiations shortly.

"We have received permission to interview and possibly sign Herman Edwards as the next head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs," Peterson said. "If it is concluded, then we will give the Jets our 2006 fourth-round draft choice."

Peterson indicated the league office has approved the deal "if or when we come to an agreement with Herman."

Herman Edwards' five-year tenure as the New York Jets head coach appears to be over.

When his time as the next Chiefs coach begins was being worked out between the two teams Thursday night.

The NFL Network reported Thursday that Edwards told his coaches he wouldn't be back with the Jets in 2006, even though he has two years remaining on his contract. Whether he was fired could be a key question as the Jets and Chiefs discuss the level of compensation, if any, Kansas City owes New York for a head coach.

A report in today's Newsday said Edwards hadn't told his staff that he was leaving, but the Long Island newspaper quoted defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson as saying that Edwards, "was really confused, he's hurting. He doesn't know what's going on."

ESPN.com reported Thursday that compensation talks between the clubs had broken off in the afternoon, but they resumed later in the evening. Full story

Long before Dick Vermeil made his retirement announcement, speculation centered on Herman Edwards as his replacement as the Chiefs head coach.

So it should be no surprise that the negotiations that would bring Edwards to the Chiefs appeared to intensify Wednesday. The Chiefs need to pry Edwards away from New York, where he has two seasons remaining on his contract with the Jets.

The Chiefs would need to compensate the Jets with at least one draft pick.

There was no official comment from either the Chiefs or the Jets on Wednesday. Edwards’ agent, Gary O’Hagan, indicated he was waiting for both sides to come to an agreement so he could begin negotiations with the Chiefs on a new contract for Edwards.

“Anything that’s going on right now doesn’t involve me,” O’Hagan said.

The NFL must approve the terms of the trade before any Chiefs negotiations with Edwards can begin. Full story

Long before Dick Vermeil made his retirement announcement, speculation centered on Herman Edwards as his replacement as the Chiefs head coach.

So it should be no surprise that the negotiations that would bring Edwards to the Chiefs appeared to intensify Wednesday. The Chiefs need to pry Edwards away from New York, where he has two seasons remaining on his contract with the Jets.

The Chiefs would need to compensate the Jets with at least one draft pick.

There was no official comment from either the Chiefs or the Jets on Wednesday. Edwards’ agent, Gary O’Hagan, indicated he was waiting for both sides to come to an agreement so he could begin negotiations with the Chiefs on a new contract for Edwards.

“Anything that’s going on right now doesn’t involve me,” O’Hagan said.

The NFL must approve the terms of the trade before any Chiefs negotiations with Edwards can begin.

Reports of negotiations between the Chiefs and Jets surfaced Wednesday on a New York radio station, which initially indicated a deal was imminent before backing off. The Associated Press in New York later reported the sides were close to an agreement. Full story

From the start, I’ve thought that Chiefs president/CEO/general manager/cruise director Carl Peterson would try to hire Herman Edwards to be coach. It just makes too much sense. Peterson loves Edwards. They go back more than 25 years. Peterson tried to recruit Edwards to UCLA. He signed Edwards as a pro player. He hired Edwards to work as a scout. He persuaded Edwards to go into coaching. He helped Edwards get the head-coaching job in New York.

When Peterson hired Dick Vermeil, he hired someone who had been like a father to him. Hiring Herm Edwards would be like hiring something close to a son.

But there’s something else at work here, too, something you can’t help but notice if you listen to Peterson talk. He has grown tired of the roller coaster. He has grown tired of 38-37 games. He has grown tired of winning seasons followed by losing seasons followed by winning seasons. You couldn’t miss it on Tuesday, when Peterson was challenged by a pointed question: With the way the Chiefs’ offense has played the last five years, how could you hire anyone but offensive coordinator Al Saunders?

Peterson was not too crazy about the tone of the question. He bounced around a little bit, talked about the NFL minority-hiring policy, talked about how he knows Al Saunders’ strengths and weaknesses. And then he said this: “There are other considerations more than just the offensive side of the football.”

Here’s what I thought: Carl Peterson really misses Marty. Full story

The Chiefs and New York Jets are discussing a compensation package that could result in coach Herman Edwards coming to Kansas City, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

New York radio station WFAN reported Wednesday that the two teams were close to an agreement. The station initially reported that a deal might be reached as early as Wednesday night, but later deleted that conjecture from its reports.

Chiefs spokesman Bob Moore called the WFAN report erroneous. He confirmed only that team president Carl Peterson was on the east coast Wednesday, but said he was interviewing another coaching candidate.

Peterson had received permission from Baltimore to interview Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, a former head coach who took the New York Giants to the Super Bowl.

Edwards, who played for Peterson and coach Dick Vermeil at Philadelphia before serving as a scout and later a defensive backs coach under former Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer, has two years remaining on his Jets contract. Full story

Let me make this quick: Kansas City president Carl Peterson is not in New York. He's not negotiating to make a deal for Jets' coach Herman Edwards. And he hasn't asked for permission to speak to Edwards.

Herman Edwards has two years left on his Jets contract. (Getty Images)

He might if he was out of his contract, and that's what this whole Herman Edwards-to-Kansas City uproar is about. Herman Edwards' contract. full story...

Dick Vermeil on Tuesday wrote the epitaph to his five-year career in Kansas City.

"Did we do all the things we wanted to do, or were paid to get done? Not quite," Vermeil said. "But, did we fail? No way."

What was supposed to be a routine end-of-year press briefing Tuesday instead became Vermeil's farewell address to the troops. Breaking into tears frequently as he addressed his coaches, some players and support staff in the banquet room at the Arrowhead Club, Vermeil closed out a remarkable 32-year coaching career -- 15 as an NFL head coach -- by lamenting that he wasn't able to achieve his dream of taking the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.

"We didn't meet our goals," Vermeil admitted. "The main thing (the Super Bowl) didn't become the main thing.

"But it's been a great career, and I'm not going to leave here hanging my head. We just didn't quite get it done."

Acknowledging that the Chiefs should have advanced to postseason play more than their one appearance after a 13-3 season in 2003, Vermeil called his 44-36 record with only two winning seasons in Kansas City "not good enough." Full story

Carl Peterson is getting a good chuckle these days from the reports he's hearing on his search for a new Chiefs head coach.

A search, Peterson said Tuesday, that would probably be his last as president of the Kansas City Chiefs.

"There must have been people here at the game (against Cincinnati) that I missed," Peterson said in belittling a local television report that said he entertained Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops at Arrowhead last weekend.

"I didn't see him in my booth," Peterson added, "but I'll send him a note saying I wish he'd come up to say hello.

"I'm not going to comment about who I'm talking to, who I'm going to talk to or who I may not talk to. I'm going to keep that confidential, which I know will help you all. I enjoy listening to your speculation." Full story

One of the candidates to be the Chiefs’ next head coach came off the job market Tuesday. A second was interviewing elsewhere, while a third was apparently on hold.

Still, the process to replace Dick Vermeil appeared to be advancing. Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome said he had granted Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson permission to speak with Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, and Newsome thought the two were meeting Tuesday night.

Fassel is the former head coach of the New York Giants. He coached the Giants to the Super Bowl after the 2000 season. He spent the last two seasons with the Ravens.

Meanwhile, Washington defensive coordinator Gregg Williams agreed to a contract extension, effectively removing himself as a candidate for the Chiefs and other teams. The Chiefs had tried Monday to set up an interview with Williams for next week.

Peterson also indicated for the first time that his most recent contract extension would be his last and that he hoped he wouldn’t have to hire yet another coach after this one. Full story

The real party is this weekend, and Dick Vermeil flew in a tailor from New York and bought custom-made suits for all of his assistants. He said the suits were Christmas gifts. He wanted them to look sharp.

“We’re all going to have a showoff,” Vermeil’s secretary, Suzette Cox, said.

Tuesday, Vermeil could do without. He didn’t see the need of a final news conference, two days after he had announced his retirement, hours after the Chiefs’ coaching search became the bigger news. The only thing that would come of it, probably, was some tears.

“I come out in pregame warmups in visiting stadiums,” Vermeil said, “and some guy will yell, ‘Hell, Vermeil, why don’t you cry for us?’ Sooner or later, I get tired of that. I do. But hey, that’s me.”

Call it therapeutic, Tuesday’s one-hour adios at the swank Arrowhead Club. As much as he said he didn’t want it, Vermeil needed it. He tried not to cry but ended up losing it at least 10 times. He said he wouldn’t mention many names and then proceeded to salute nearly everyone except the ball boy. Full story

Now that his career is over, Dick Vermeil's career will not be measured in the Super Bowls he has won, but rather the hugs he has exchanged. There were more than Larry Johnson yards. No coach hugged more, loved more or cried more than Vermeil, the man who displayed even more emotions than the fans who cheered him.

Vermeil loved the game, the men in it, and they all loved him right back. There was so much love, it spilled out of the locker room and into the community, where Vermeil became an iconic figure wherever he coached.

In Philadephia, even to this day, there still are billboards of Vermeil -- and he left there well over 20 years ago. This is the mark he made, in cities and on people.full story...

I know Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson's first choice is current Jets head coach Herman Edwards, but we don't happen to share the opinion that Edwards is the only answer to what ails Kansas City. Look around the NFL, Carl. The sagest head coaching hires of late have been the guys with defensive coordinator experience (of which Edwards has none).

There's Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati, Lovie Smith in Chicago, Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville (playoff coaches all in 2005), John Fox in Carolina, Jim Mora in Atlanta, Mike Nolan in San Francisco, Romeo Crennel in Cleveland and Nick Saban in Miami. When you throw in former defensive coordinators like Tony Dungy, Bill Belichick, Bill Cowher, Jeff Fisher, Bill Parcells and Marty Schottenheimer, much of the league is led by that particular coaching sub-set.

And not coincidentally, defense is what kept the Chiefs from achieving elite status during Dick Vermeil's five-year coaching tenure. That's why we thought Kansas City would be wise to make sure it was in the lead in the chase for Washington's Gregg Williams, a Missouri native who has done good work heading up the Redskins defense the past two seasons under Joe Gibbs. But Washington retained Williams for at least another year on Tuesday, taking the league's hottest assistant coaching candidate off the market.

The Chiefs could opt for youth with candidates such as Tim Lewis and Donnie Henderson, or experience with the likes of Philadelphia's Jim Johnson or Tampa Bay's Monte Kiffin. But whatever K.C. does, it should think defense first.source...

Carl Peterson began the Chiefs’ search for a new head coach Monday by interviewing offensive coordinator Al Saunders for several hours at Arrowhead Stadium.

Saunders was not the only name on Peterson’s list of candidates. The Chiefs probably will request permission from the Jets to speak with head coach Herman Edwards.

Various local media reports said Peterson met with former Cleveland Browns coach Butch Davis on Monday in Kansas City, but Peterson was meeting with Saunders when the supposed interview with Davis was taking place.

Also, a source close to the situation said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, a possible candidate, was not in Peterson’s box at Sunday’s game against Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium, as was reported on a Kansas City radio station.

The Chiefs were trying to schedule an interview with Washington defensive coordinator Gregg Williams for next week and appear to have an interest in Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. Full story

It was a warm, heartfelt, mushy, gushy and touching sentiment, the kind you hear often at retirement dinners, going-away parties and group therapy sessions.

"The trouble today is, everything is evaluated on whether you win the Super Bowl. Believe me, that's not the No. 1 criteria," a teary-eyed Dick Vermeil said Sunday as he discussed his retirement after five seasons as the Chiefs head coach.

"The greatest thing I take away from here," he added, "is the value of the relationships, because they don't fade away. They're not influenced by the scoreboard. I'll carry them the rest of my life."

Had we been sitting around a campfire singing "Kumbaya," I might have cried myself.

But we weren't. We were in the often violent, occasionally crippling world of the NFL. Hardly a place for Girl Scouts.

Not that Vermeil -- who in the last month alone had more blue words bleeped from interviews than the finger-flipping Gunther Cunningham did in two years as a head coach -- is selling Thin Mints door to door. The man might have been everybody's favorite grandfather, but kids, don't repeat everything Poppy says. Full story

Black trash bags were passed around Monday on a cold, gray day at Arrowhead Stadium. Everything had to go — the dirty sweat socks, the CDs, the snacks stuffed in a corner shelf.

Lional Dalton stared at his locker, pondering what to take. He went the sentimental route, grabbing the No. 75 nameplate with the Chiefs logo.

“It’s kind of sad,” Dalton said. “I don’t know where I’m going to be.”

It was cleaning-up day for the Chiefs, only this season-ending ritual was different. Nobody, really, knows where the Chiefs will be. They finished up a 10-6 season just 24 hours earlier, failed to make the playoffs and said goodbye to their coach.

They stuffed their belongings into garbage bags, made vacation plans and wondered whether their position coaches would be around when they returned. Dalton, a 315-pound defensive lineman, had a momentary Lifetime network moment. He’s an unrestricted free agent who may not be back. He said goodbye to defensive-line coach Bob Karmelowicz.

“Everything will be OK,” Karmelowicz said. Full story

I can see now that I’m going to be forced into turning this into a crusade: Will Shields, Willie Roaf, Brian Waters and Casey Wiegmann deserve a Chiefs MVP trophy.

The Chiefs have been selecting a team MVP since 1979. In that time, one Kansas City offensive lineman has won the award: utility lineman Glenn Parker during the embarrassing 1998 season. Not to disrespect Parker, he was a fine player, but he doesn’t come close to comparing to Will, Willie, Waters and Wiegmann.

Those four, as a group, have been the driving force behind Dick Vermeil and Al Saunders’ record-setting offensive run the last four years.

I stumped for Waters as team MVP last year. The Chiefs gave the award to Trent Green. This year Larry Johnson won the award. He had a terrific year. But Waters deserved the award again.

He defended his crown as class valedictorian of my annual season-ending grades, edging Johnson by a point (96 to 95). This year I went old school and handed out number grades. Just five players scored 90 percent or better.

All five of KC’s regular starters along the offensive line, including John Welbourn, scored an 80 percent or better. When Roaf was healthy, Will, Willie, Waters, Wiegmann and Welbourn might have formed the greatest run-blocking front in the history of the NFL.

They deserved to be recognized by their team.

Speaking of recognition, linebacker Kendrell Bell scored the lowest grade of the semester, recording a 49 percent.

 Source

 Grades

The Monday following the season finale -- Clearout Day, as it's sometimes known -- is always a time of uncertainty in the NFL.

It's a day of finality for some. After a final round of meetings, players waiting for checkout physicals exchange good-byes with their teammates, position coaches or coordinators -- perhaps for the final time.

But perennial Pro Bowl guard Will Shields was in no mood to talk about the future Monday.

Tired of fielding questions about whether he will return for a 14th season next year, Shields tried to get out of the Chiefs locker room before reporters were admitted Monday. He nearly made it.

Startled to see media people emerging from one of two stadium elevators, Shields got a break when the second lift arrived almost simultaneously. He got to the open door almost as fast as he gets to the point of attack when leading a power sweep. Full story

Even worse for the 10-6 Kansas City Chiefs was the uncertainty. Who'll be their next coach? Is Will Shields coming back? Or Willie Roaf? Are any of the assistant coaches returning?