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Chiefs Fire Edwards After 2-Year Funk

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 24, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Herm Edwards, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs during the worst two-year span in team history, was fired Friday.

Edwards, who was a Bucs assistant from 1996-2000, goes out with a three-year regular-season record of 15-33 and with one year remaining on a four-year, $12 million contract. As head coach of the New York Jets in 2001-05, he had a regular-season mark of 39-41 and was 2-3 in the playoffs.

Edwards had been waiting to learn his fate since President and General Manager Carl Peterson abruptly resigned Dec. 15. When Scott Pioli was introduced as Peterson's successor Jan. 13, he was noncommittal and said only that he intended to speak with Edwards.

"This was not an easy decision. Herm is an outstanding football coach and a man of integrity. We appreciate his leadership over the past three seasons, and we wish him all the best in the future," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in a written statement.

Pioli said he has had several conversations with Edwards during the last week.

"After careful consideration, Clark and I felt that it was best to make a change," Pioli said.

Bob Moore, a spokesman for the team, said the Chiefs didn't have a timeline for replacing Edwards. He said all the assistant coaches still with Kansas City are under contract.
ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen reports the Chiefs have targeted former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan to replace Edwards, according to league sources.

One source claims there have been negotiations with Shanahan and that a deal was near but another said Hunt has targeted Shanahan without a clear-cut result.

Edwards expressed his gratitude to the Hunt family and said he respected "the tough decision that was made to move in a new direction."

"There is not a more gracious family in all of professional sports than the Hunts," Edwards said in a statement released by the team. "To the players and coaches who worked so hard for our team, I appreciate their efforts."

After Edwards and Peterson launched a full-fledged rebuilding project in 2008, youth and injury led to a 2-14 record and a distressful two-year tally of 6-26 that cost both men their jobs. Particularly embarrassing to Edwards was a defense that managed only 10 sacks this season, gave up a team-record 332 yards rushing in one game and a team-record 54 points in another. Edwards had promised on his first day as head coach to repair the weak defense that characterized the five-year Dick Vermeil regime.

BRONCOS: New coach Josh McDaniels hired Chargers tight ends coach Clancy Barone, 45, for the same job.

49ERS: Longtime Broncos coach Dan Reeves interviewed for the San Francisco offensive coordinator position Friday.

Reeves met with Coach Mike Singletary and General Manager Scot McCloughan at the team's facility as the team tries to fill the gap created in their coaching staff by Mike Martz's firing Dec. 30.

Reeves was a head coach for 23 seasons in the NFL with Denver, the New York Giants and Atlanta.

GIANTS: Coach Tom Coughlin picked Jack Bicknell Jr., one of his former Boston College players, as the NFL team's new assistant offensive line coach.

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