Chiefs front office and coaches need to be right for Super Bowl hopes

ArmchairAddict1 /

With the major free agency moves now done the Kansas City Chiefs will look to Brett Veach and the coaching staff to help get them to the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs were one of the teams making headlines during the early days of the free agent signing period. Whether it was the signing of safety Tyrann Mathieu or the trading away of pass rusher Dee Ford, there was no shortage of Chiefs-related moves in the news over the past week.

There is definitely still plenty of excitement about the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs, but as things currently stand, I think you can make a strong argument that the Chiefs roster currently has less talent on it than it did at the end of last season. That means if the Chiefs want to make a real Super Bowl run both general manager Brett Veach and the entire Chiefs coaching staff have a lot of work to do.

If you are keeping tabs of the roster additions and subtractions to this point in free agency the lists look something like this:

GONE:

Dee Ford
Justin Houston
Eric Berry
Steven Nelson
Mitch Morse
Chris Conley
Demetrius Harris
Spencer Ware (unsigned)
Anthony Sherman (unsigned)
Dustin Colquitt (unsigned)

ADDED:

Carlos Hyde
Tyrann Mathieu
Damien Wilson
Alex Okafor

More from Arrowhead Addict

As I write this on Sunday evening, that is where the lists stand. Reports over the weekend stated that free agent cornerback Darqueze Dennard was getting into town on Sunday and would visit with the team on Monday. So depending on when you are reading this, it is possible that the former Bengals’ cornerback could be on the “ADDED” list. However, even if he is added or if the Chiefs continue to add some lesser known depth signings (or re-signings) I think its clear that when the dust of free agency settles the Chiefs will have lost more pure talent than they have imported.

Does that mean that Chiefs fans should panic? No, I don’t think there is reason to panic—yet. The loses on offense shouldn’t have anyone too worried. Yes, there are some quality offensive players that won’t be back with the Chiefs, but it shouldn’t be too hard to replace their production. The Chiefs already have Carlos Hyde to replace the departing Spencer Ware. Austin Reiter filled in well for Morse when he missed several games with a concussion last season at center. Harris and Conley are guys that many fans wanted to see replaced with new blood before they signed elsewhere.

As far as the offense goes, my only concern is the “drama” surrounding star wide receiver Tyreek Hill. I don’t want this post to turn into a debate of that situation so I’ll just say a couple of things about it. I don’t believe we know enough right now to say with confidence that there isn’t anything to worry about or that there is. People reporting that he did something wrong and should be kicked off the team are jumping the gun. People that are steadfastly defending him and saying he hasn’t done anything wrong (and in some cases attacking those that are saying he may have) are jumping the gun too.

We don’t know enough at this point to panic or state with confidence that nothing will come of this. So all I’ll add for the sake of this post is that if (a big if) the Chiefs think his status is in serious doubt, then suddenly adding a starting caliber wide receiver would become a major priority. If not, the offense should be fine with some depth additions through both the draft and free agency.

The defense, however, is another story. How you feel about the defense as it stands today probably has a lot to do with how you feel about defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his staff. If you believe that the defensive coaching staff will be significantly more effective this season, then you may not be concerned about the discrepancy in talent from the end of last season to where the roster is today. If however, you believe that even an improved coaching staff needs more talent to be successful, you may still be sweating the state of the defense for the coming season.

If you agree with me that the current talent on the Chiefs roster is still clearly below that of the 2018 roster, then your hopes for a Super Bowl this season fall squarely on the shoulders of Brett Veach and the Chiefs coaching staff. It seems clear to me that the Chiefs are going to need to hit on some players in the draft that can contribute THIS SEASON if they want to prove themselves as the best team in the AFC this season. However, it doesn’t stop there. Not only does Brett Veach and the scouting department need to find good players that can help this season in the draft, but the coaching staff has to step up and get those players ready to contribute.

The defensive staff is really going to be under the microscope this season if the Chiefs want to try and win a Super Bowl. I’m not saying that it’s fair to expect a new coaching staff to turn one of the worst defenses in football around in one offseason, but this is where we’re at. The Chiefs don’t need a dominant defense, they need a competent one. If the change in scheme and better coaching and adjustments all around on the defensive side of the ball are effective, the Chiefs may be able to show the improvements needed even without as many big name players on that side of the ball. The hope right now is that guys like Damien Wilson and Alex Okafor will make up for their lack of big splashy highlight plays by adding some stability to a unit that was often sloppy and undisciplined.

It would be completely understandable if a complete overhaul of the defense from a player, coaching, and scheme standpoint took more than one season to be effective. However, if that’s the case, reasonable as it would be, it would make the Chiefs winning a Super Bowl in 2019 incredibly difficult. That’s a big weight on Brett Veach’s and the coaching staff’s shoulders given the expectations after last season and the rise of Patrick Mahomes.

If I was making a list of additions I feel are still needed before the start of the season it would be a pretty lengthy list.

At least 2 cornerbacks (1 if Dennard signs)
1 pass rusher that can contribute right away (and a 2nd one if they aren’t high on Tanoh Kpassagnon)
Linebacker depth and/or a possible replacement for Reggie Ragland at MLB
Defensive tackle depth
Safety depth and/or a possible starting safety next to Mathieu
Offensive line depth
A dependable #2 tight end
A wide receiver that can compete for the #3 spot (or more depending on Hill)
A developmental running back that could be the long term answer

That is a lot to add to this roster by training camp. Yes, they could fill a few more of those spots with more lesser known free agent signings. However, the bottom line here is that Brett Veach is going to have to fill several of them in the draft. Then the coaching staff is going to have to get those lesser-known free agents and draft picks ready to go in time for this team to compete for a Super Bowl.

I trust Andy Reid to have the offense firing on all cylinders this season. With enough of the pieces returning, including the reining MVP Patrick Mahomes, and Reid’s track record, I’m not worried about him holding up his end of the bargain. The defensive staff is another story. On paper, it looks like they put together a great staff that should be a big improvement over the previous one, but to ask them to teach this new scheme to a largely revamped unit that is also trying to learn how to play with each other is a lot to ask.

Then there’s Brett Veach. He is widely credited with the best draft pick of my lifetime, Patrick Mahomes but his first draft class as the general manager is still largely a question mark. It could end up being a solid class depending on the play of guys like Derrick Nnadi, Breeland Speaks, Darion O’Daniel, and Armani Watts this season. If those guys all hit, he’ll look like a genius. If they don’t, well, we’ll start to get a little nervous.

I’m not mad at the Chiefs for what they’ve done this offseason. I certainly understand what they are trying to do. Given their overall defensive performance last year, it’s hard to argue with them wanting to blow things up. I also understand that Brett Veach is still dealing with the salary cap situation he inherited from John Dorsey.

However, with the loss of guys that were the heart and soul of this defense for the last several years, it is now imperative that Brett Veach and the coaching staff are firing on all cylinders if winning the Super Bowl is going to be a possibility in the near future.

Next. Steve Spagnuolo is showing a vision of his defense. dark

Finding a once in a generation talent at quarterback is the hard part. So here’s to hoping that they can do what needs to be done now to allow Patrick Mahomes to lead this team to Super Bowl glory. It will certainly be interesting to see how the rest of the offseason plays out.

Home/Kansas City Chiefs News