The Kansas City Chiefs have had some significant coaching turnover on the offensive side of the ball, but some key parts of the defensive coaching staff will remain in place, as the Chiefs announced the return of Terry Bradden as an assistant defensive line coach. The announcement was reported by Sam Robinson of ProFootballRumors .com.
Bradden spent last season as the defensive lineman for Nebraska, but he knows his way around the Chiefs’ facilities. Before that, worked for Kansas City for eight seasons, and he was a part of the Chiefs three Super Bowl teams. He’ll get an upgraded title this time around as he works exclusively with Joe Cullen and the defensive line.
Cullen’s return was also in doubt until a couple of days ago. He was rumored to be a candidate to become defensive coordinator with the Las Vegas Raiders, but the Raiders have made their DC hire, so Cullen will be returning.
Both Cullen and Bradden knows the Chiefs’ system inside and out, and Cullen knows the offensive side, too, since he’s practiced against it for years now. Losing Cullen would have hurt, but now he’ll be back together with an assistant who knows the program and what the expectations are from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
The two coaches definitely have some problems to fix. The Chiefs’ pass rush was inconsistent last season, and with quarterback Patrick Mahomes coming back from a knee injury, this is something that has to be fixed. There’s a good chance the Chiefs are going to have to go back to playing defense-first football, and Cullen and Braden both have the proven track record to help get them there.
There are other sources of controversy that come with this issue. Chris Jones’ performance dropped off quite a bit last season, partly because he was facing double teams, but also because Jones “took the year off,” as he facetiously put it in a recent X post. But Jones’ work ethic is now being questioned given that he’s gotten paid, and Cullen also has the track record to get Jones back to performing at a high level.
There’s also the draft and free agency to think about. The Chiefs have to do something major to counter those double-teams on Jones, and both have been mentioned as ways to do it. Jones has the ability to evaluate potential personnel changes for both Spagnuolo and Brett Veach, and he’ll know who will work in Kansas City’s system and who won’t.