The Kansas City Chiefs announced a number of coaching moves on Monday, including the official news that Brad Childress was retiring after all.
For the last five seasons, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had a trusted confidante with whom he could seek advice, exchange looks and, in general, count on when the going got tough. Unfortunately for Reid, he’s going to feel a significant loss next to him in 2018. That’s because Brad Childress, a man who has stood beside Reid for several years over different stints, has officially retired from the National Football League.
Childress has served as another offensive coach and seasoned voice for the Chiefs for the last five seasons, including as assistant head coach this last year. Beyond their time together with the Chiefs, however, Reid and Childress go back to Reid’s first several years as a professional head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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The Eagles were a hot commodity a decade ago, which is why so many teams began to pluck their coaches for their own openings—a trend that included Childress’s only head coaching stint with the Minnesota Vikings. Despite being fired midway through his fifth season on the sidelines, Childress still had a winning record overall at 39-35. He took a team that went 6-10 during his first season to a 12-4 record his fourth year, increasing his win total every season, but that didn’t stop the Vikings from firing him after going 3-7 in his fifth year.
Childress’s retirement was rumored earlier this offseason but was only recently made official along with a number of other coaching changes. The changes include:
- Linebackers coach Gary Gibbs was let go from his position.
- Tommy Brasher retired alongside Childress this offseason.
- Linebackers coaching will now be split into two roles. Mark DeLeone will coach inside linebackers, while Mike Smith (former DL coach) takes over with outside linebackers.
- Corey Matthaei moved from assistant quarterbacks coach to offensive line.
- Joe Bleymaier was promoted pass game analyst for the Chiefs, while Terry Bradden becomes defensive quality control.
- Jay Valai and David Girardi join the Chiefs staff for their first year as defensive and offensive quality control coaches, respectively.