The Kansas City Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid have announced some of the names that will make up the coaching staff that hopes to turn things around in KC in 2013.
Doug Pederson will move over with Reid from the Philadelphia Eagles to be the offensive coordinator while Bob Sutton will leave the New York Jets to run the defense.
Pederson, 44, may cause a collective shrug from many Chiefs fans, but the former NFL quarterback and 12-year veteran of five different teams helped direct record-setting offenses in 2010 and 2011 with Philadelphia as the team’s quarterback coach. All Chiefs fans know that the single-biggest hole the team must fill this off-season is finding a quarterback. Between Pederson and Reid, the franchise may have the best pair of coaches to do that job that its ever had.
Sutton, 61, joins the Chiefs after spending the past 13 years with the New York Jets as an assistant coach, the longest tenure for an assistant coach in franchise history. In 2012, he was the assistant head coach/linebackers coach under Rex Ryan and for two years previously, served as the club’s senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach. Sutton was the club’s defensive coordinator from 2006-08 when Eric Mangini was the head coach, and originally joined the Jets as the linebackers coach (2000-05) with Herm Edwards.
The 2008 season was one of the best for the Jets defense. The team ranked near the top of the NFL in rushing defense (94.9) and yards per rush allowed (3.7), their best statistical showing since 1993. Five defensive touchdowns were a Jets franchise record and Sutton’s squad registered 41 sacks, seventh in NFL and 30 takeaways were tied for fifth in the NFL.
Most observers believe Sutton will keep the current 3-4 defensive alignment as the team’s base defense, but as is more and more prevalent in the NFL, the Chiefs defense could employ multiple formations, going back and forth between the 3-4 and a 4-3.
The rest of the staff is made up of Eric Bieniemy (Running Backs), Tommy Brasher (Defensive Line), Travis Crittenden (Assistant Strength and Conditioning), David Culley (Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers), Mike Frazier (Statistical Analysis Coordinator), Corey Matthaei (Quality Control), Tom Melvin (Tight Ends), Matt Nagy (Quarterbacks), Britt Reid (Quality Control) and Barry Rubin (Head Strength and Conditioning).
“I’m pleased we were able to get all of these coaches on board,” Reid said in a statement from the team. “I have relationships with each of them, and I know their past experiences, work ethics and coaching styles. These are high-character coaches, and each one brings something different to the table for us.”
All of the coaches except for Sutton, Bieniemy, and Britt Reid were on Reid’s staff with the Eagles last year. Andy’s son was at Temple University as a grad assistant. This will be his first NFL job.
The following bios of the coaching staff were taken from the Chiefs web site:
Eric Bieniemy (Running Backs) – Bieniemy enters his first season with the Chiefs as the teams’ running backs coach after a two-year stint at the University of Colorado where he served as the offensive coordinator/running backs coach. Prior to returning to his alma mater in 2011, he spent five seasons (2006-10) in Minnesota coaching the Vikings running backs. He was part of a Vikings team that won consecutive NFC North Division titles in 2008-09. In those five seasons, the Vikings produced a 1,000-yard rusher each year while his stable of running backs broke the 100-yard mark 31 times in 80 regular season games. Prior to coaching in Minnesota, he coached at UCLA (2003-05), Colorado (2001-02) and Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colo. (2000).
Bieniemy was an All-American tailback for the Buffaloes (1987-90). He originally entered the NFL as the San Diego Chargers second-round pick in the 1991 NFL draft. He enjoyed a nine-year pro career with three teams: San Diego (1991-94), Cincinnati (1995-98) and Philadelphia (1999) under Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid.
Tommy Brasher (Defensive Line) – Beginning his 25th year as an NFL coach, Brasher was named Kansas City’s defensive line coach after three separate tours of duty in Philadelphia, all as the club’s defensive line coach. He rejoined the Eagles’ coaching staff as defensive line coach on Dec. 3, 2012 for his ninth year with the team. Prior to rejoining the Eagles, he spent seven years tutoring the defensive linemen in Philadelphia (1999-05). He held the same role with the Eagles during the 1985 season on then-Head Coach Marion Campbell’s staff. In his inaugural year with Philadelphia in 1985, DEs Greg Brown and rookie Reggie White each recorded 13.0 sacks apiece.
Prior to joining the Eagles in 1999, Brasher served as the defensive line coach in Seattle (1992-98), Tampa Bay (1990) and Atlanta (1986-89). His first NFL coaching experience came with New England as he coached the defensive line for three seasons (1982-84). Prior to becoming an NFL coach, Brasher coached the defensive line at Southern Methodist University (1977-81) and was defensive coordinator at Northeast Louisiana (1974, 1976) and the Shreveport Steamer of the World Football League (1975). He coached the defensive line and linebackers at Virginia Tech (1971) and served as a defensive assistant for his alma mater, Arkansas, in 1970. Brasher was an all-conference selection as a linebacker at Arkansas (1962-63), where he was a teammate of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and former Dolphins and Cowboys Head Coach Jimmy Johnson.
Travis Crittenden (Assistant Strength & Conditioning) – Crittenden enters his first season with the Chiefs after spending the 2012 season as a strength and conditioning assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to entering the NFL, he served as the director of football operations and general manager of Competitive Edge Sports in Atlanta, Ga., for eight years (2004-11) where he led professional athletes through offseason training and also prepared collegiate football players for the NFL Combine and pro days. He also was an advisor at Speedworx Sports and a director of sports performance at 360 Football Academy. A Wichita Falls, Texas, native, he played football at Fork Union Military Academy (1999-00) before finishing his collegiate career at Virginia Military Institute (2000-03).
David Culley (Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers) – Entering his 20th season coaching in the NFL, Culley embarks on his first season as the Chiefs assistant head coach/wide receivers coach after coaching 14 campaigns in Philadelphia as wide receivers coach (1999-10) and senior offensive assistant/wide receivers coach (2011-12) for Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid. Culley originally joined the Eagles after a three-year stint as the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach (1996-98). His initial NFL coaching experience came with a two-year stay as the wide receivers coach for Tampa Bay (1994-95). A native of Sparta, Tenn., Culley was recruited by Bill Parcells as a quarterback at Vanderbilt University. He then broke into the coaching ranks overseeing the running backs at Austin Peay University (1978). Culley then returned to Vanderbilt to coach the wide receivers (1979-81). He had a series of one-year stops at Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee-Chattanooga, and Western Kentucky before spending four years as quarterbacks coach at Southwestern Louisiana. Culley jumped to the University of Texas-El Paso for a two-year stint as the offensive coordinator/running backs/wide receivers coach (1989-90) before joining the staff at Texas A&M to coach the wide receivers (1991-93). He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in health and physical education.
Mike Frazier (Statistical Analysis Coordinator) – Frazier enters his first season with the Chiefs as the statistical analysis coordinator after a nine-year stint in the same capacity for the Philadelphia Eagles. Frazier attended Wooster College (1999-03) and was hired by the Eagles upon graduation after completing internships with Smith Barney and Wachovia Securities as an undergrad.
Corey Matthaei (Quality Control) – Matthaei joins the Chiefs as one of the club’s quality control coaches. He most recently served three seasons under Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles as the assistant to the head coach from 2010-12. From 2008-09, Matthaei was a coaching assistant for the Eagles and spent 2006-07 as the club’s football operations assistant for training camp. Prior to joining Philadelphia, Matthaei played on the offensive line at Willamette University in Salem, Ore. (2003-06). After graduation, he served as Willamette’s offensive assistant in 2007.
Tom Melvin (Tight Ends) – Melvin becomes the Chiefs tight ends coach after coaching 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. In his final 11 seasons with Philadelphia, Melvin coached the team’s tight ends (2002-12) after serving as the team’s offensive assistant/quality control coach for his first three years. Under Melvin’s tutelage, Eagles TE Brent Celek emerged as one of the top tight ends in the NFL, catching 280 passes for 3,473 yards and 20 TDs in six years playing for Melvin and the Eagles. Melvin played on the offensive line at San Francisco State (1982-83) for Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid for one season (1983) while Reid served as offensive line coach for San Francisco State. Prior to joining the Eagles in 1999, Melvin was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Occidental College (1991-98) and served as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at the University of California – Santa Barbara (1988-90). He oversaw the running backs, offensive line and tight ends at Northern Arizona (1986-87) after he began his coaching career at his alma mater, San Francisco State (1984-85), as a graduate assistant.
Matt Nagy (Quarterbacks) – Entering his third season in the NFL, Nagy was hired as Kansas City’s quarterbacks coach after serving the previous two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive quality control coach. Before being promoted to Philadelphia’s offensive quality control coach in 2011, Nagy served as a coaching assistant during the 2010 season after spending the 2008 and 2009 training camps as a coaching intern for the Eagles. A former quarterback for the Arena Football League, Nagy played six seasons for the New York Dragons (2002), Carolina Cobras (2004), Georgia Force (2005-06) and Columbus Destroyers (2007-08). During his AFL career, Nagy completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 18,866 yards, 374 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 115.1. He played collegiately at Delaware, setting more than 20 career passing records at the time, still holding career marks for passing yards (8,214) and touchdowns (58). He ranks second for most career attempts (895) and most career completions (502) behind former Delaware and current Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco. Nagy earned All-America honors as a senior for the Blue Hens.
Britt Reid (Quality Control) – Reid enters his first season in the NFL after spending three seasons with the Temple University Owls. At Temple, Reid served as a graduate assistant, working with the offensive side of the ball after a two-year stint as an offensive assistant while he completed his degree. In addition to his three years at Temple, Reid has worked the Steve Addazio football camp for the past two years and in 2008, he served as an assistant offensive line coach at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia. He got his first taste of NFL experience as a training camp coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009. Reid is the son of Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid.
Barry Rubin (Head Strength & Conditioning) – Rubin enters his first season with the Chiefs after serving the previous three seasons in the same capacity in Philadelphia (2010-12). Prior to being promoted to the Eagles head strength and conditioning coach position in 2010, he was an assistant for two years (2008-09). Before his move to Philadelphia, he spent seven years as the head strength and conditioning coach (1999-2005) and four years as an assistant (1995-98) for the Green Bay Packers. During his tenure in Green Bay, the Packers earned six division titles, two NFC championship titles and one Super Bowl victory under Head Coach Mike Holmgren. He also served as the strength coach at Northeast Louisiana (1982-83, 1987-90 and 1994) and LSU (1984-85). Rubin was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in 2003. He was a tight end and punter at Northwestern (La.) State from 1978-80 after playing running back and punter at LSU from 1976-77.
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Finally, on a much more serious note, here are two links for anyone that needs help with domestic violence and/or sexual assault. The first link is the Kansas Coalition against sexual & domestic violence and the second link is the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. Or, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline, 1-800-656-4673.
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