Chiefs Start Offseason Program Today

July 29, 2012; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs center Rodney Hudson (61) and defensive end Amon Gordon (99) run blocking drills during training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs football is back!

Sort of.

Today marks the start of the Chiefs’ offseason workout and conditioning program. Due to the terms of the new CBA, new head coach Andy Reid and his staff were only allowed to have limited contact with their new players. The players are essentially supposed to be “off duty” and so Reid could not talk football or pass out playbooks.

Now we’d all be fools (it is April first, after all) if we sat here and believed QB Alex Smith didn’t get a playbook from Reid before today. But you’ll never hear anyone from the Chiefs say that.

Anyway, now that the offseason program has begun, Reid is able to start prepping his players for the coming season. The first couple of weeks will just be workouts and conditioning as the team’s trainers lay out the program they want the players to follow this year. After a couple of weeks things progress as the rules eventually allow some on-field drills and eventually the team will hold voluntary OTAs (Organized Team Activities), and minicamps. Most of these practices are voluntary, save the mandatory minicamp. Then there will be a break and it is on to training camp.

Whenever you hear a player talk at the end of the season about the success his team had, he always references the early days of OTAs and minicamps as being where it all started. This time may not be particularly interesting for fans but it is immensely important for the team. The Chiefs have a new coaching staff and a ton of new players. They have a new leader in Alex Smith and the quicker everyone can get on the same page and come together, the quicker Chiefs fans will start seeing results on the field.

There is a lot for everyone to learn but we’ve seen quick turnarounds in the NFL before. Alex Smith was part of one in San Francisco. Sometimes it just takes the right head coach and the right combination of players to changes a franchise’s fortunes.

Let’s hope that is what is happening in Kansas City today.