The Kansas City Chiefs have had a lot of continuity over the years. On the player side, the keys have been quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, of course, and coach Andy Reid has had defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and other coaches as the heart of his staff for years now.
But one of them may be leaving. Defensive line coach Joe Cullen is rumored to be joining new coach Klint Kubiak with the Las Vegas Raiders, according to Ben Levine of ProFootballRumors.com, and this would represent something of a double whammy for the Chiefs.
Start with the fact that Cullen knows the Chiefs’ system inside and out, and that applies on the offensive side, too, since he’s practiced against it for years now. No one has taken the Raiders seriously for several years now, but the Kubiak hire could be the sort of “blind squirrel finds an acorn” hire that could send Las Vegas back on an upward trajectory, and losing Cullen would hurt in that regard.
Then add in the real reason it would hurt that’s not hypothetical at all. 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 has a proven track record as the guy who can 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 teh 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 chances for both Spagnuolo and Brett Veach, and he’ll know who will work in Kansas City’s system and who won’t.
Finally, there’s the experience factor. Cullen is 58, so he’s ben around a long time, and he gives the Chiefs what’s commonly called institutional experience. You don’t just let someone like that walk out the door, but the Chiefs may need to give Cullen a big raise to get him to stay the course in Kansas City.