KANSAS CITY, Mo — As the National Football League continues to assess how to continue with teams returning to facilities, there's a virtual world of off-season work well underway.
That work includes the efforts of a team of Kansas City Chiefs assistant coaches.
"It's such a great opportunity to work with Andy Reid, Dave Toub and Eric Bieniemy and Steve [Spagnuolo], those guys are just special people and special coaches and we've got number 15," first-year special teams assistant coach Andy Hill said Thursday during a video conference with reporters.
Hill joined the team after coaching 24 seasons at the University of Missouri.
Hill also mentioned the battle between Tommy Townsend and Tyler Newsome to replace longtime Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt. Hill says that battle will play out later in the fall.
Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House also addressed reporters to discuss the team's 2nd round draft pick, Willie Gay Jr., from Mississippi State, and how coaches are helping rookies learn virtually.
"We really love his athleticism, he has a good frame," House said. "He's big and he can run....As coaches, our jobs are to adapt and adjust, and the times we've been in that's kinda what were doing, so really it's been great because I don't know that you get this much individual meeting time normally because you are racing to get out on the field so hopefully it clears up in questions he has in his mind so when we do get out on the grass we can hit the ground running."
House believes his linebackers have actually grown during this time. Although it's be challenging figuring out things virtually, he says "coaching is still just teaching".
The 2020 season will be year two with the Chiefs for House. He says this season, the defensive coaches will be able to explain the "why" to their players, instead of last season when they focused on base level assignments. This year will be about teaching the details of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's defense.
Chiefs defensive line coach and run game coordinator Brendan Daly took a turn during the video conference to talk about defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Daly said he's had great communication with the Super Bowl Champ, but he leaves all the sticky business about contract negotiations our of their conversations.
"I'm not going to get into the details of that...I trust that Brett Veach and his staff are handling that side of things and I just kinda leave it there," Daly said.
As for the Chiefs 5th round pick, Mike Danna, a defensive end from the University of Michigan, Daly said he's been impressed.
"It's been really good to get to know him, I've been impressed with his work ethic, I've been impressed with the way he has studied, the time he has spent on his own, the questions he has asked," Daly said.
Daly also addressed the addition of Taco Charlton, a former defensive end for the Miami Dolphins.
"We've had him for a couple of weeks....he's done a great job in our meeting settings, I've been impressed with his work ethic in terms of trying to learn the system and get up to speed with our vocabulary, terminology...I look forward to getting him out there and seeing what that looks like honestly."
With the addition of Danna and Charlton, there are now three former Michigan defensive lineman on the Chiefs roster along with Frank Clark.
On the offensive side of the ball, running backs coach Deland McCullough highlighted his work so far with the Chiefs first round draft pick, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire from LSU.
"I like his disposition, his demeanor, his football mind, very smart, it's been evident during what we've seen in the combine process and everything that has led up to the draft," McCullough said.
With the addition of Edwards-Helaire, there is now quite a lot of competition in the running backs room. The rookie joins Super Bowl stand out Damien Williams and Darwin Thompson. But the competition is something McCullough encourages, as the Chiefs want their running backs to be versatile.
"We have a room full of great competitors, a bunch of great players, guys that can do a bunch of things, and the beauty of this is once we get back on the field, we can start sorting out where guys fall, but in the meantime every man in that room is preparing to do everything."
Second-year Chiefs coach Sam Madison oversees the defensive secondary, and is one of the coaches looking to further players knowledge of the team's defensive scheme.
"Now they understand the 'why'....clearing up the techniques....little small techniques were the things that really hurt a lot of us in the plays that we gave up (last season)," Madison said.
Madison said he is excited about the addition of former New York Giants Cornerback Antonio Hamilton, the Chiefs 4th round draft pick L'Jarius Sneed out of Louisiana Tech, and the Chiefs 7th round draft pick, Thakarius Keyes, from Tulane.
"We are going to put these guys, just as we did last year in a lot of different places and see what comes up...we can coach these guys up and get them to understand how to play together," Madison said. "The sky is the limit on going out there and making plays."
