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In this series, I will be looking at the history of coaches, quarterbacks, rushers, and receivers for all 32 franchises. For coaches and quarterbacks, I will be looking at how much their franchise’s career records (regular season only) would change if we removed the games with that person. For rushers and receivers, I will note how many times that player was the team’s leading rusher/receiver over the course of their time with that franchise (regular plus postseason).

Previous Teams:

AFC East: Dolphins, Bills, Jets, and Patriots
NFC East: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, and Redskins
AFC North: Steelers, Browns, Ravens, and Bengals
NFC North: Packers, Vikings, Bears, and Lions
AFC South: Jaguars, Colts, Texans, and Titans
NFC South: Panthers, Falcons, Saints, and Buccaneers
AFC West: Raiders
NFC West: Seahawks

The Chiefs have had 5 great head coaches in their history, and four of them were very good with Kansas City. Hank Stram, of course, was the team’s original coach and led them to three championships, including a victory in Super Bowl IV.   The other Chiefs coaches have much less notable postseason records.

  • Marty Schottenheimer ranks 4th all-time in playoff losses, with 13, and is the head coach with the worst playoff record in NFL history. He’s also been more successful with more quarterbacks than any coach in history. He was the Chiefs head coach for 10 years, and the team went 3-7 in the playoffs during that decade.
  • Andy Reid is the team’s current head coach, and he ranks second to Schottenheimer in regular season wins among head coaches who have never won a championship.  Reid is 12-14 in the postseason, and that is the most playoff wins by any coach who has never won it all.  Reid has been Kansas City’s head coach the last 6 years, and the team is 2-5 in the postseason under his watch.  At times, it’s very difficult to tell where Reid’s legacy starts and Schottenheimer’s stops.
  • Dick Vermeil, like Reid, was a consistent playoff head coach and one-time Super Bowl loser in Philadelphia before joining the Chiefs.  Vermeil won a Super Bowl in St. Louis, of course, and in 5 years as Chiefs head coach his team ranked second in the NFL in points scored.  Playoff success never reached those Chiefs, however.
  • And maybe there’s something in the water in Kansas City, because Marv Levy is the other great head coach who spent time with the Chiefs.  Levy coached the team from ’78 to ’82, before overseeing the NFL’s only team to ever lose in four straight Super Bowls.

So who was the best coach in Chiefs history, at least in the regular season?  Stram, Schottenheimer, and Reid all have strong arguments: Reid has the best winning percentage but the shortest tenure, Stram has the longest tenure and the most wins of any Chiefs head coach but the lowest winning percentage of the three, and Schottenheimer is in the middle of both. Due to longevity, my system picks Stram as the franchise’s best regular season coach ever, but it’s close.  Reid currently fares better as an Eagles head coach, too, but a couple more strong seasons in Kansas City could change Reid’s legacy on both fronts. He already has had more success with two franchises than all but a handful of head coaches.

Ovr RkCoachGWLTHC Win %FrGFrWFLFrTFr W%Win% w/o HCDiff
25Hank Stram21012476100.614900469419120.5280.5012.6%
32Marty Schottenheimer1601015810.634900469419120.5280.5052.3%
38Andy Reid96653100.677900469419120.5280.5101.8%
134Dick Vermeil80443600.550900469419120.5280.5260.2%
234Gunther Cunningham32161600.500900469419120.5280.529-0.1%
324Tom Bettis71600.143900469419120.5280.531-0.3%
366John Mackovic64303400.469900469419120.5280.532-0.5%
391Todd Haley45192600.422900469419120.5280.533-0.6%
424Romeo Crennel1941500.211900469419120.5280.535-0.7%
451Paul Wiggin35112400.314900469419120.5280.536-0.9%
462Frank Gansz3182210.274900469419120.5280.537-0.9%
465Marv Levy73314200.425900469419120.5280.537-0.9%
490Herm Edwards48153300.313900469419120.5280.540-1.2%

The question as to who is the team’s best quarterback is a lot easier to answer: it’s Len Dawson. Kansas City has had success with a number of ex-49ers quarterbacks, and Patrick Mahomes is off to a fantastic start to his young career. But it’s going to take a long time before Mahomes can dethrone Dawson for the title of best Kansas City quarterback. More immediately, Mahomes brought an end to one of my favorite stats: until he won his first start, this Todd Blackledge-led victory over the Chargers in 1987 was the last time a quarterback drafted by the Chiefs was the starting quarterback in a Kansas City victory.  Blackledge, drafted with the 7th pick in the 1st round of the ’83 Draft, went 13-11 as the team’s starter.

Ovr RkQBGWLTQB Win %FrGFrWFLFrTFr W%Win% w/o QBDiff
29Len Dawson157935680.618902471419120.5290.5101.9%
52Alex Smith76502600.658902471419120.5290.5171.2%
102Steve Bono31211000.677902471419120.5290.5240.5%
111Steve DeBerg52312010.606902471419120.5290.5240.5%
112Patrick Mahomes1713400.765902471419120.5290.5240.5%
115Joe Montana2517800.680902471419120.5290.5250.4%
180Dave Krieg2113800.619902471419120.5290.5270.2%
205Trent Green88484000.545902471419120.5290.5270.2%
235Elvis Grbac47262100.553902471419120.5290.5270.1%
250Rich Gannon1911800.579902471419120.5290.5280.1%
255Hunter Enis22001.000902471419120.5290.5280.1%
256Donald Washington22001.000902471419120.5290.5280.1%
331Nick Foles11001.000902471419120.5290.5280.1%
357Kyle Orton32100.667902471419120.5290.5280%
372Todd Blackledge24131100.542902471419120.5290.5280%
437Eddie Wilson10010.500902471419120.5290.5290%
443Randy Duncan21100.500902471419120.5290.5290%
444Pete Beathard21100.500902471419120.5290.5290%
445Jacky Lee21100.500902471419120.5290.5290%
446Chase Daniel21100.500902471419120.5290.5290%
451Steve Pelluer31110.500902471419120.5290.5290%
637Doug Hudson10100.000902471419120.5290.529-0.1%
638Mark Vlasic10100.000902471419120.5290.529-0.1%
639Warren Moon10100.000902471419120.5290.529-0.1%
662Ron Jaworski31200.333902471419120.5290.529-0.1%
786Frank Seurer20200.000902471419120.5290.530-0.1%
787Matt Stevens20200.000902471419120.5290.530-0.1%
796Tyler Palko41300.250902471419120.5290.530-0.1%
804Damon Huard21101100.476902471419120.5290.530-0.1%
922Cotton Davidson24111300.458902471419120.5290.531-0.2%
1037Tony Adams71600.143902471419120.5290.532-0.3%
1073Brady Quinn81700.125902471419120.5290.532-0.4%
1084Steve Fuller31131800.419902471419120.5290.533-0.4%
1132Tyler Thigpen1111000.091902471419120.5290.534-0.5%
1144Brodie Croyle1001000.000902471419120.5290.535-0.6%
1160Matt Cassel47192800.404902471419120.5290.536-0.7%
1183Bill Kenney77344300.442902471419120.5290.537-0.8%
1198Mike Livingston75314310.420902471419120.5290.539-1%

The Chiefs have been blessed with a number of Hall of Fame caliber running backs. Jamaal Charles was a YPC machine, Larry Johnson had a dominant run from ’05 to ’07 where he led the NFL in rushing yards per game, and Priest Holmes averaged 137 yards from scrimmage with 1.4 TDs per game in 62 games from ’01 to ’05. Christian Okoye led the NFL in rushing yards as a Chief, and Marcus Allen led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in Kansas City.

So who was the best RB in Kansas City history? Well, Charles led the team in rushing yards most often, at 71 games, and given his overall success with the team, he’s a pretty good answer.

RusherFirst YrLast YrLeading RusherTotal Games%
Jamaal Charles200820167110568%
Larry Johnson20032009617680%
Priest Holmes20012007596689%
Christian Okoye19871992498160%
Marcus Allen19931997498359%
Ed Podolak196919774310840%
Abner Haynes19601964377152%
Mike Garrett19661970306447%
Herman Heard19841989298833%
Kareem Hunt20172018252889%
Barry Word19901992244850%
Ted McKnight19771981216532%
Tony Reed19771980205636%
Greg Hill19941997206531%
Curtis McClinton196219691911317%
Wendell Hayes19681974199819%
Spencer Ware20152018164238%
Donnell Bennett19942000168718%
Joe Delaney19811982152365%
Woody Green19741976152854%
Tony Richardson19952005141668%
Kimble Anders199120001313210%
Charcandrick West20142018135822%
Mack Lee Hill19641965122744%
Billy Jackson19811984125721%
Theotis Brown19831984122646%
Robert Holmes19681971115221%
Jack Spikes19601964115221%
Bam Morris19981999102245%

At wide receiver, the team’s history is much less impressive. There’s Otis Taylor and not much else, although Tony Gonzalez counts under the broader definition used here. Dwayne Bowe ranks third in franchise history in number of games as the team’s leading receiver, which should tell you all you need to know.

ReceiverFirst YrLast YrLeading ReceiverTotal Games%
Otis Taylor196519757013751%
Tony Gonzalez199720086019331%
Dwayne Bowe200720145612047%
Carlos Carson198019894412136%
Travis Kelce20132018388644%
Stephone Paige198319913812730%
Henry Marshall197619873816623%
Chris Burford196019673610534%
Eddie Kennison20012007229324%
Derrick Alexander19982001216035%
Willie Davis19911995206929%
J.J. Birden19901994197924%
Tyreek Hill20162018175133%
Abner Haynes19601964167123%
J.T. Smith19781984168319%
Ed Podolak196919771610815%
Andre Rison19971999154633%
Walter White19751979156324%
Tony Reed19771980145625%
Frank Jackson19611965147120%
Larry Brunson19741977125323%
Jeremy Maclin20152016113037%
Kimble Anders19912000111328%
Johnnie Morton20022004104423%
Priest Holmes20012007106615%
Emile Harry19861992108312%

That’s it for the Chiefs version of this series. Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

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