The Kansas City Chiefs need some fire!

ArmchairAddict1 /

Andy Reid is a mild mannered head coach. Bob Sutton is a mild mannered defensive coordinator. Somebody has to light a fire under this team!

The Kansas City Chiefs are a good football team. They are. Since head coach Andy Reid arrived in Kansas City they have been consistent winners. They contend for the AFC West and the playoffs every season. They just aren’t a great team. They aren’t a team competing for Super Bowls. They’ve won just one playoff game during that time despite home field advantages and huge second half leads.

I appreciate the Chiefs being consistent winners, but I am desperate for them to take that next step, to become great. I think what I find most frustrating is that it often appears to us fans that the Chiefs are content to be where they are. We fans often feel we are more fired up about what is going on than the team itself. Where is the fire? Are we just not seeing it or do the Chiefs have a “fire problem”?

Identifying the problem

Let me be very clear. This is not about “wanting it”. I believe that everyone from Clark Hunt to Andy Reid to Bob Sutton to the players themselves want to win. It’s not about work ethic. I believe that Andy Reid and his entire staff put in more time and effort than any of us can ever imagine. The players, too, work their butts off. They’re in shape. They study film. They sacrifice their physical well being for crying out loud! That’s not the issue either.

It’s also not about talent. I think Andy Reid is as talented a coach as there is in the NFL. The roster also has a ton of talented players. Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Justin Houston, Marcus Peters, Eric Berry—even Patrick Mahomes looks like a phenomenal talent. Yes, the roster can always use upgrades here and there, but this isn’t a team that is devoid of talent.

What I believe (and I don’t think I’m alone) is that what the Chiefs really need is someone to light a fire under this hard working and talented group. Andy Reid, for all his strengths, is not an in-your-face kind of guy. I’m not saying he should try to be either. That’s not him. He’s a level-headed, easygoing kind of guy. It’s probably part of the reason he connects with his players so well. That’s great, but then he needs someone else on staff to be “that guy”. The most logical choice would be the defensive coordinator. Reid is the head guy and oversees the offense. Since he’s mild-mannered, then the defensive coordinator should be more of a “breathes fire” kind of guy, right? Well, that’s not Bob Sutton.

Sutton’s conservative approach

More from Arrowhead Addict

It was announced this week that Bob Sutton would be back next season as the team’s defensive coordinator. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only Chiefs fan that was disappointed. However, its not because I think Sutton is bad at his job. The Chiefs defense has actually carried the team for a lot of Andy Reid’s tenure. Sutton is a solid choice as a defensive coordinator, just not for this team.

Sutton’s style is to play it safe. His approach is more of a “prevent big plays” scheme as opposed to one creating big plays of their own. In other words, they’re more likely to drop extra guys back into coverage to protect against a big play than they are to blitz the quarterback in hopes of getting to him or forcing a bad throw. It’s a scheme that would work for the right team in the right circumstances, but for a team with a mild-mannered head coach its a little TOO safe.

If you don’t believe me, let’s look at Andy Reid’s career playoff record. Reid is 11-14 overall in the playoffs. That’s not exactly a great percentage, but it does again show his ability to consistently win games and 11 playoff wins is nothing to sneeze at. However, since we were talking about Bob Sutton’s conservative defense, let’s see how that relates to Reid’s playoff success.

For years in Philadelphia Andy Reid had one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL in Jim Johnson. Johnson was known for his aggressive, blitzing style on defense. Unfortunately, Johnson died prematurely after a short, severe battle with cancer. During the Reid/Johnson years the Eagles were 10-7 in the playoffs. Since Johnson’s unfortunate passing, Reid is just 1-7 in the playoffs. One and seven. So Reid’s playoff winning percentage with Johnson is 59% and without him its been 13%.

Obviously, there have been other factors involved too, different personnel, different quarterbacks, even a different team. However, I don’t think its a coincidence that Reid had a winning record in the playoffs with an aggressive defense and has had a losing record with a conservative one.

Wanted: Aggression

If the Chiefs want to go further in 2018 than they have under Reid thus far they HAVE to be more aggressive. They have to have some more fire. If Sutton is back, then there is no hope, right? Well, not so fast. While I was bummed by his being retained, there are a couple of positive signs for next season.

First, the (hopefully) looming switch to Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. I love Alex Smith. I appreciate Alex Smith. I can recognize that Smith was great overall in 2017. However, he isn’t usually an aggressive player and rarely does he get after his teammates. He’s a lot like Reid in some ways. Smart, hard-working, respected, but not exactly a guy known for rallying the troops when things aren’t going well. None of us know what kind of leader Mahomes will be in the huddle but there is no doubt that he is going to be a more aggressive player. He has that gunslinger mentality. It may end up getting him in trouble at times, but it should also add some energy to the team that’s desperately needed it at times during the Reid/Smith era.

Second, the promotion of Eric Bieniemy to offensive coordinator has the potential to help add some fire as well. I really liked Matt Nagy and, if I’m being honest, I was sorry to see him go. However, the promotion of Eric Bieniemy could end up being a good thing. If you had asked me at the end of last season what coach on the Chiefs staff had the kind of attitude I was looking for I would have said Bieniemy. He’s vocal, he’s passionate, he holds his guys accountable. He’s exactly what the Chiefs coaching staff needs more of. Will he have enough of a voice with Reid back calling plays? Let’s hope so.

If nothing else, if Bieniemy’s promotion allows him to get after the entire offense when, I don’t know, the other team is mounting a double-digit comeback in the second half of a playoff game, it will be a good thing. Yes, the defense needs to take a stand at that point but I’ll settle for the offense getting fired up and not letting off the gas so that lead doesn’t shrink even if the defense does give up some points.

Speaking of the defense…

There is one reason to hope next year could be better: the return of Eric Berry. Sadly, to this point, Eric Berry is the only player on the roster you regularly see trying to motivate his teammates. Maybe Bob Sutton won’t start barking at guys when the defense is slipping, but Berry will. I don’t know if he will be the same player he was before the injury from a physical perspective, but there is no questioning his leadership abilities. He’s a born leader that other players respect and listen to. Having him back on the field can only help that side of the ball and, frankly, having him out there should boost the entire team’s morale.

The rest of the improvements to the defense will have to come either in the form of roster additions or Sutton deciding to be more aggressive (I’m not holding my breath). As far as roster additions go I think the best thing the Chiefs could do is add more players with natural pass rush abilities. If Bob Sutton isn’t going to send extra blitzers as much as I’d like then they need to do a better job of applying pressure with their base personnel. Hopefully any pass rushers they bring in also have a little bit of an edge to their personality because that defense needs all the fire it can get.

The entire team needs all the fire it can get.

Next: Expect a quiet offseason for the Chiefs

So what do you think Chiefs fans? Do you agree that what this team needs more than anything is a little more fire and to be more aggressive? Do you agree that the biggest issue with retaining Bob Sutton is that he and Reid are a little too similar in their calm/conservative demeanor (and play calling)? Are you hopeful that next year may be better or are you concerned that not enough will have changed to make a difference? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!

Home/Kansas City Chiefs News