Chiefs Reshuffle Coaching Staff Following Cardinals' Hire
The Kansas City Chiefs have made a swift adjustment to their coaching roster after the Arizona Cardinals recruited one of their defensive assistants. With Mike LaFleur stepping into his first season as head coach, the Cardinals have brought in former Chiefs outside linebackers coach Rod Wilson to serve as their inside linebackers coach under defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
In response, the Chiefs have tapped Matt House to fill the void. House is no stranger to Kansas City, having previously served as the team's linebackers coach from 2019 to 2021 before heading to LSU as Brian Kelly's defensive coordinator. He returned to the Chiefs as a senior defensive assistant last year, and now he's back in his familiar role.
Wilson's journey with the Chiefs has been a notable one. Over two separate stints, he dedicated seven years to the organization.
Recently, he focused on the outside linebackers for two seasons, after initially joining as a defensive assistant in 2022-23. Wilson's first role with the Chiefs started back in 2017 as an assistant special teams coach, working under the guidance of Dave Toub.
His career path later took him to college football, where he coached linebackers at the University of South Carolina and Coastal Carolina.
Interestingly, Wilson's NFL career began as a seventh-round pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2010 draft. He spent six years in the league, playing as a defensive back with teams like Tampa Bay and Jacksonville.
While most of Kansas City's coaching shifts this offseason have been on the offensive side, Steve Spagnuolo's defensive squad has seen its share of changes too. Joe Cullen, who entertained a couple of defensive coordinator interviews, is returning as the defensive line coach.
He'll be joined by Terry Bradden Jr., back from a year at Nebraska. In the secondary, the Chiefs have added veteran coach Andre Curtis to collaborate with Dave Merritt, while former Coastal Carolina DB coach C.J.
Cox joins as a quality control coach.
The Chiefs' strategic moves reflect their commitment to maintaining a strong defensive unit, ensuring they're ready to tackle the challenges of the upcoming season.