<sup>Kansas City Chiefs History

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional football team located in Kansas City, Missouri.  They are a member of the AFC West in the NFL.  The Chiefs were originally the Dallas Texans, and they were founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960.  Out of frustration to own his own professional football team, then 26 year old Lamar Hunt formed the American Football League.  The AFL included the cities of Dallas, New York, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and Minneapolis.  Later, Buffalo and Boston were added and Oakland took the place of Minneapolis.

  The Dallas Texans included players such as Cotton Davidson (QB), Jack Spikes (FB), Abner Haynes (RB) and eventually a young quarterback named Len Dawson (QB).  The Texans did well in their last year in Texas going 11-3 and defeating the Houston Oilers 20-17 in the AFL Championship game, which featured the first ever double overtime game in NFL history.  The Texans enjoyed great success in the AFL, posting a 92-50-5 record overall.</sup>

^{In 1963, Lamar moved the team to Kansas City.  They were having a hard time competing for fans in Texas due to the popularity of the Dallas Cowboys.   When they arrived in Kansas City, they had become the Kansas City Chiefs that we know and love today.  The name "Chiefs" came from the nickname of Mayor H. Roe Bartle as a result of his affiliation with the Boy Scouts and the Tribe of Mic-O-Say.  With a competent Len Dawson at Quarterback and the colorful genius of Hank Stram at the helm as head coach, The Chiefs would soon accomplish a feat that has yet to be repeated.}

^{Superbowl IV}

Many don't know the origin of the name "Super Bowl".  It was a name invented by Lamar Hunt after watching his children playing with the popular toy - the "Super Ball".  The Chiefs earned their way into the first Super Bowl in 1967, vs the Green Bay Packers.  The Chiefs were defeated 35-10 but gained a lot of respect around the NFL and AFL alike for their prowess.  The Chiefs would return to the world's largest stage a few years later when they played the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.  The Chiefs defeated the Vikings 23-7 and won their first and only Super Bowl.

Although many consider Hank Stram to be one of the great NFL coaches, the Chiefs actually FIRED him in 1974.  The Chiefs would struggle over the next 13 years to an 81-121-1 record.  A flash of greatness came to the Chiefs in 1981 by way of running back Joe Delaney who rushed for 1121 yards and helped the Chiefs attain a 9-7 record.  The following year looked very promising with Delaney returning, but an NFL Players Association strike prevented a return performance.  Then, to make matters worse, Joe Delaney died during the off-season while trying to rescue several children in a pond in Louisiana.

The Chiefs made the news in 1983 by skipping over Quarterback Dan Marino for a complete bust in Todd Blackledge.  The team would make a similar draft day mistake by passing over Emmitt Smith for Percy Snow.  The Chiefs remained a miserable excuse for a team for the remainder of the 80's.

  In 1988 the Chiefs hired Carl Peterson to take over the CEO duties and Peterson quickly hired Marty Schottenheimer as the new head coach.  Many Chiefs fans fondly remember the Schottenheimer days as a time when Kansas City was a running team with a solid defense, playing a very dull form of play that would become known as "MartyBall".  This boring play style involved running the ball almost exclusively, and relying on defense to bring home the win.  The main reason that this Chiefs era was revered by fans was due to the play of defensive end Neil Smith and linebacker Derrick Thomas, who terrorized opposing quarterbacks and led the Chiefs to the postseason for six years in a row.  Under Schottenheimer's rule the Chiefs posted a respectable 101-58-1 record, they had a season with veteran QB Joe Montana and also acquired an aging Marcus Allen from the Oakland Raiders.  It was during this time that the Chiefs won their last postseason game vs. the Houston Oilers in 1994.

In the subsequent years the Chiefs returned to the postseason to lose to the Indianapolis Colts, where kicker Lin Elliot made Chiefs history by missing three field goals in the 13-3 loss.  The Chiefs made another controversial return to the playoffs vs the Denver Broncos when coach Schottenheimer chose to bench a hot handed Rich Gannon in favor of Elvis Grbac, who performed poorly and the Chiefs lost the game 14-10.  After this and a few rumors that Schottenheimer had slept with a player's girlfriend and got her pregnant, Marty resigned from the Kansas City Chiefs organization.

Shortly after this Rich Gannon and star wide receiver Andre Rison went to the Oakland Raiders, Neil Smith went to the Denver Broncos, and Derrick Thomas died from complications from a car accident.

The light came on once again in 2001 when Super Coach Dick Vermeil agreed to come to Kansas City and try to help out.  Vermeil, known for his excellent relationship with his players was just what the Chiefs needed to get back on the right track.  Vermeil was instantly a pillar of the Kansas City community, speaking at charity events, inviting players and their families over to his house for dinner, and most importantly, winning games.  Vermeil signed quarterback Trent Green, who was with Vermeil when he won Super Bowl XXXIV, and also signed running back Priest Holmes.  The Vermeil era was a great era during the regular season, but stuttered notoriously during the postseason, and the Chiefs continued their streak - failing to win a single postseason game.  Vermeil and Priest Holmes both quietly exited the Chiefs camp, leaving the team with a skeleton crew at quarterback that included Brodie Croyle and a flash in the pan running back in Larry Johnson.  Larry Johnson was somewhat successful rushing the ball, but it was later considered by Chiefs fans to be to the credit of the offensive line, which at the time was the best in the NFL.  The offensive line was aging quickly and many retired, revealing the lack of rushing ability in Larry Johnson.  The Chiefs fans started a petition online to demand the trade of Larry Johnson.  The petition received over 15,000 signatures within 72 hours and Johnson was immediately traded.

The Chiefs then sought the defense oriented services of "Buggy Bear" head coach Herm Edwards, called "Buggy Bear" because of his incoherent ramblings during post game interviews.  The Herm Edwards era was a dark one indeed.

At Lamar Hunt's request, the Kansas City Chiefs were awarded a Thanksgiving game vs the Denver Broncos.  The Chiefs defeated the Broncos 19-10 as Lamar Hunt lost his battle with prostate cancer shortly after.  Later in the year the Chiefs fell into the playoffs with a mathematical misnomer and immediately lost to the Colts, again, in round one.  On the bright side, Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez broke Shannon Sharpe's NFL record for touchdowns, and the Chiefs acquired a great defensive talent in Jared Allen, which they quickly traded away much like the Kansas City Royals do whenever they get a great player.  Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard both sustained season-ending injuries during the same game, leaving unproven rookie Tyler Thigpen at the QB position.  The Chiefs went on to a completely forgettable season in 2008, posting up a 2-14 record.

Cleaning House

2009 Chiefs Season
The Chiefs decided to clean house before the 2009 season, following the resignation of Carl Peterson the Chiefs signed former New England Patriots vice president Scott Pioli and also head coach Todd Haley.  The Chiefs made a huge deal to acquire quarterback Matt Cassel after the Denver Broncos faked an interest in him, the Chiefs signed an almost unknown quarterback for an astounding $63 million dollars.  Cap room was made for this deal by releasing the star tight end Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons.  The Chiefs also drafted 13 rookies including star safety Eric Berry.

2010 Chiefs Season
In the 2010 season the Kansas City Chiefs surpassed all expectations by going 10-6 and winning the AFC West Division Title.  The 2010 Chiefs season was almost too successful as it got all of the sports media drooling and frothing at the mouth with high expectations of the 2011 Chiefs squad.

2011 Chiefs Season a BUST!
The NFL media blew the Chiefs so far out of proportion leading up to the 2011 season that they actually voted Jamaal Charles the 4th overall pick for fantasy leagues!  Here in Kansas City we knew this was a joke, the Chiefs schedule for 2011 was set up for ultimate Chiefs failure, and to put the icing on the cake, Tony Moeaki, Jamaal Charles AND Eric Barry ALL went out for the season with ACL injuries within the first two games of the season.  Matt Cassel was also exposed as one of the leagues most unreliable average quarterbacks in the NFL and his new nickname is "the highest paid back up quarterback in the NFL".  Matt Cassel was injured in the middle of the season and quarterback Tyler Palko took over with terrible results.  The Chiefs fired head coach Todd Haley mid-season and eventually lucked into a 7 and 9 finish.  The only highlite of the 2011 Chiefs season was when they defeated the former Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers in week 15, ruining their up until then perfect season record.  The Chiefs were the only team to beat the Packers in regular season.

2012 Chiefs Season among the Worst in Team History
The 2012 Kansas City Chiefs set records in team history by being one of the worst teams the city has ever seen. Fans protested wildly, wearing black T-Shirts to games to "black out" the stadium and make a statement publically to express their utter disappointment and complete lack of trust toward the owners and management. About the only good news the team received was when Tony Gonzalez announced that he would retire after the 2012 season and that he would retire as a Kansas City Chief and not an Atlanta Falcon.

2013 Chiefs Season 11-6 Hot then COLD
The 2013 Chiefs saw the addition of Andy Reid as the head coach. Reid came out of the gate hot, but quickly turned cold. After lighting up the field for the first half of the 2013 season, the Chiefs fell off the tracks at the end of the season and lost a heartbreaking epic battle with the Indianapolis Colts 45-44. The Chiefs defense led the team to 11 regular season victories, all but two coming in the first half of the season. The Chiefs limped into the Playoffs due to the horrific play of the Chargers and the Raiders, coming in second in the AFC West  behind the unstoppable Denver Broncos. They entered the 2013 NFL Playoffs with several major injuries including key defensive linebacker Tamba Hali. The result was the 2nd biggest lead loss in NFL Playoff history, the Chiefs let the Indianapolis Colts come back from a 38-10 lead in the third quarter for a pathetic final score of 45-44. But, hey, as they say in Kansas City - "if we're still paying attention to the Chiefs in December then it's a good season." 

2014 Chiefs Season 9-7 Lackluster and Injury Riddled
The 2014 Chiefs greatest accomplishment was setting the highest decible level in a football stadium on September 29th, 2014 at Arrowhead Stadium with a decible level of 142.2. This record was quickly broken by the Seattle Seahawks. The 2014 Chiefs went a dismal 9 and 7 with back to back losses to the Denver Broncos, who, for some reason the Chiefs had to play two times in under 14 days. The Chiefs had many injury problems as well including the loss of Eric Barry and later in the season the loss of Jamaal Charles and several linemen on both sides of the ball. The Chiefs once again did nothing to fool opposing defenses by only throwing the ball over 20 yards a pathetic 18 times for the ENTIRE season. The opposing defenses simply keyed on the Chiefs running game and shut them down with ease.

2015 Chiefs Season 11-5 Big Improvement!
The Chiefs put up great numbers in 2015 despite the loss of Jamaal Charles in week 5 with a torn ACL.

2016 Chiefs Season 12-4 Winner of the AFC West
Once again coach Andy Reid takes the Chiefs into the NFL Playoffs in 2016 as they win the division over a promising Raiders team who lost both their starting and their 2nd string Quarterback just weeks before the Playoffs. The Chiefs earned a first round bye in the 2016 season but lost in terrible form to their first opponent The Pittsburg Steelers who proved that they were an experienced NFL Playoff team once again.

2017 Chiefs Season Predictions...
The Chiefs made a surprising 10 move jump in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft to choose quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of Texas Tech. The Chiefs also released veteran wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, leaving a questionable receiving core heading into the season. The Chiefs also traded Jamaal Charles to the Denver Broncos.

Chiefs Players and Staff
Abner Haynes, Andre Rison, Andy Studebaker, Ryan Lilja, Anthony Toribio, Atiyyah Ellison, Barry Richardson, Branden Albert, Brandon Carr, Brandon Flowers, Brian Waters, Brodie Croyle, Carl Peterson, Casey Wiegmann, Chris Chambers, Corey Mays, Cotton Davidson, Dallas Texans, Demorrio Williams, The Denver Broncos, Derrick Johnson, Derrick Thomas, Dexter McCluster, Dick Vermeil, Dustin Colquitt, Dwayne Bowe, Tony Gonzalez, Elvis Grbac, Allen Bailey, Brandon Bair, Anthony Becht, Amon Gordon, Cory Greenwood, Kelly Gregg, Jeremy Horne, Justin Houston, Reshard Langford, Kendrick Lewis, Steve Maneri, Le'Ron McClain, Tyler Palko, Sabby Piscitelli, Jerrell Powe, Cameron Sheffield, Donald Washington, Eric Berry, Glenn Dorsey, Hank Stram, Herm Edwards, Jackie Battle, Jack Spikes, Romeo Crennel, Andy Reid, Tamba Hali, Alex Smith, Patrick Mahomes