NFL: Kansas City Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Bob Sutton has been around football long enough to realize that every year brings turnover, even when a team is coming off back-to-back division championships for the first time in its history.
It didnt stop him from marveling at how different the Kansas City Chiefs look this year.
The Chiefs defensive coordinator focused only on his side of the ball, and counted nearly two dozen new names among guys who could be fighting for a legitimate job.
That includes five of their six selections in the draft and Kendall Fuller, the cornerback they got in the trade of Alex Smith to Washington.
We have a lot of new dudes, Sutton said. Theyre all different. Theyre from young rookies to guys that came here as free agents. It really is a good group of guys. And it really is early in the process, but they seemed to have meshed really good.
Its not just new faces under helmets, either.
The Chiefs shook up coach Andy Reids staff after their debacle of a playoff loss to Tennessee and following the departure of offensive coordinator Matt Nagy to Chicago.
Eric Bieniemy was promoted to that job from running backs coach with Mike Kafka taking over the quarterback coaching, while on defense, the Chiefs replaced linebackers coach Gary Gibbs with Mark DeLeone and Mike Smith.
All those changes came on the heels of a couple of offseasons with very little turnover, both on the roster and among the coaching staff.
And that makes their three-day mandatory minicamp that began Tuesday one of the most important for Reid and Co. since he took over prior to the 2013 season.
Whoever is in the building, you teach. Thats how I look at it, Chiefs secondary coach Al Harris said. At the end of the day, their performance falls on me. I take that approach.
Well, theres already been plenty of coaching after several weeks of voluntary workouts, and there is plenty more getting packed into the next couple of days at the Chiefs practice facility.
The goal is to set up the team for a productive training camp beginning in late July in St. Joseph, Missouri, where all those jobs that are up for grabs will get settled.
On defense, the Chiefs are trying to decide how best to fill the outside linebacker job now that Tamba Hali has been released. Justin Houston has one spot locked down, even though hes been injury prone, while Dee Ford is expected to handle the other side despite a rough start to his career.
Then theres Breeland Speaks, their top draft pick out of Ole Miss. He also fits in the mix.
