The calls could be heard across the entirety of Chiefs Kingdom once the dust settled on a depressing 6-11 season in 2025. A front office so used to leaning on familiar faces—both on the coaching staff and active roster—was raked over the coals for a lack of changes, as just one slice of a frustrating pie as fans looked for reasons why a Super Bowl favorite fell apart in a single year.
So far, this offseason, no one can accuse the Kansas City Chiefs of such stubbornness in their personnel decisions going into 2026. In fact, from top to bottom, the organization has displayed a willingness to change on every level. While the results have yet to be seen, the Chiefs’ decision-makers deserve at least some credit so far.
It began with some early decisions to overhaul long-time problems on the roster. Perhaps the two most destitute positions in terms of talent over the last few seasons have been running back and defensive tackle. Year after year, the Chiefs have leaned on the same familiar faces, who were never all that impactful to begin with. This year, they’ve overturned both the backfield and defensive interior completely.
At running back, the Chiefs jettisoned Isiah Pacheco, Elijah Mitchell, and Kareem Hunt in free agency and spent big to win the Kenneth Walker sweepstakes. From there, they added a fifth-round choice in Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson and signed Emari Demercado away from the Arizona Cardinals. Just like that, the depth chart looks reborn in the face of staunch criticism.
The defensive tackle remake has been even more impressive. For years, it’s been Chris Jones & Co. as the Chiefs brought back aging players like Derrick Nnadi and Mike Pennel annually despite an already limited ceiling for each. This year, however, the Chiefs invested in free agency (Khyiris Tonga) and the draft (Peter Woods) to make sure the talent upgrade around Jones is significant.
Even some positional obstinance has given way to openness, at least if you trust that the coaches and front office are in sync. The Chiefs spent a top-40 draft pick on Oklahoma pass rusher R Mason Thomas, who looks exactly like the sort of speed rush option at defensive end that Steve Spagnuolo has confusingly ignored in years past (e.g. Joshua Uche). That K.C. went for someone so far from the Spags prototype is another sign of openness on staff.
Speaking of the staff, Matt Nagy was allowed to leave after his contract was up, which brought some changes at the coordinator level. Yes, Eric Bieniemy was brought back as a familiar face, but his aggressive, accountable style feels right in line with what the Chiefs’ offense needed. Under him, the Chiefs fired their running backs coach and wide receivers coach and replaced them with veteran outsiders who bring new perspective to the staff.
While the moves are only on paper, it’s clear the Chiefs used the extra-long offseason to take a comprehensive look at what went wrong in 2025. The team addressed its leadership style, added fresh voices to a veteran staff, and remade the positions with the lowest floor. For fans clamoring for an admission that things were broken, they got it. No matter how things turn out, the Chiefs deserve credit for letting go of what they could not before.
