The new regime has an old-fashioned approach, including a 53-year-old, first-time head coach and a straight-ahead plan of attack

K.C. fans wonder if Thomas, at 32 and coming off a poor season, can still be an effective pass rusher.   Mike DeHoog/Tdp

During a spirited nine-on-seven drill in training camp, starting guard Dave Szott and backup linebacker Greg Favors came to blows. Their hearts weren't in it though, and the fisticuffs between the Chiefs teammates soon degenerated into an awkward, sweaty rumba. That, more than the scrap itself, annoyed coach Gunther Cunningham. "If you're gonna fight, fight," he bellowed. "Don't stand there bulls------- with each other."

No dancing allowed at Camp Cunningham. This dude is old school. After 31 dues-paying years as a college and NFL assistant, Cunningham was promoted from his defensive coordinator's position in January to replace Marty Schottenheimer, who resigned as coach after Kansas City had its first losing season (7-9) in 10 years. A student of military history who's known by his players as Gun, Cunningham, 53, has chosen to lead his club into the new millennium by drawing on tactics that were popular in the NFL's Mesozoic era: The '99 Chiefs will run and they will stop the run. They will pound the opposition with big back Bam Morris churning behind a very good line and dare foes to mount a rushing attack against an improved, meatier defensive front seven.

"We lost our way last year," says 12-year veteran cornerback James Hasty. "We lacked discipline off the field and on it, and people just ran all over us." Indeed, during the six-game losing streak that gutted their season, Kansas City surrendered 849 rushing yards. "We stopped respecting the game and one another," says Hasty. "It got ugly."

The ugliness peaked on a Monday night in November against the Broncos. In a span of nine plays Pro Bowl outside linebacker Derrick Thomas was flagged for three 15-yard penalties -- two face masks and one unnecessary roughness -- yet Schottenheimer didn't pull Thomas out of the game until after Denver scored. The coach later suspended Thomas for one game and admitted he should have benched him immediately. "If that situation were to happen this season," says Hasty, "Gunther would pull that person out of the game, and he wouldn't be going back in."

Many Chiefs fans turned on Thomas following that disgraceful exhibition. Sure, he had racked up six sacks in the season opener against the Raiders, but over the rest of the season Thomas eked out just six more, virtually disappearing from some games. While insisting that his age is not catching up with him -- "There's nothing I used to do that I can't do now," says the 32-year-old Thomas -- he worked out with a personal trainer in the off-season for the first time. Also, the 6'3", 255-pound Thomas will revert to his natural outside linebacker spot, after playing defensive end for the past two seasons. "He's a bit undersized at end," says linebackers coach Dave Adolph. "With big tight ends blocking him all day, he loses effectiveness as a rusher."

The return of Chester McGlockton will also add starch to Kansas City's run defense. A bad back and torn triceps limited the enormous (6'4", 328 pounds) defensive tackle to 10 games and one sack last season. When Big Chet was a fat rookie with the Raiders in 1992, his first position coach was Cunningham, who to this day brooks no guff from him. McGlockton will line up alongside Dan Williams, who had 101-2 sacks in '97, sat out last season in a contract dispute and was inspired to return by Cunningham's promotion -- not to mention a six-year, $28 million contract.

Cunningham not only comes into his new job with no head-coaching experience, but he must also go head-to-head twice a season with the Broncos' Mike Shanahan and the Seahawks' Mike Holmgren, who between them have won the last three Super Bowls. Cunningham is amused by the suggestion that he should be intimidated by the prospect of coaching against such reputed geniuses. He respects them and cannot wait to match wits with them. Early in camp Cunningham talked about how Gen. George S. Patton had stood on a hill in North Africa before a battle with Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and said, "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I've read your book."

Cunningham has not read his opponents' playbooks; the time he puts in studying film just makes it seem that way. He respects his peers but doesn't fear them. True, Kansas City's offense could be one of the league's poorest in '99 (the number of games quarterback Elvis Grbac will start before being replaced by Warren Moon is a hot wager in Kansas City), but with the renewed emphasis on fundamentals, the Chiefs could return to their winning ways.

-- Austin Murphy

Fast Facts

1998 RECORD: 7-9 (4th in AFC West)
     NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 23/16/19; defense 18/7/9

1999 SCHEDULE STRENGTH (rank): 16
     Opponents' 1998 winning percentage: .496 ; Games against playoff teams: 4

Player to Watch

It's a testament to the talent of Tony Gonzalez that in his second NFL season he set a Chiefs record for catches by a tight end (59) and was widely thought to have had a subpar season. "Was too much expected of Tony?" asks offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye. "Yes. He's so physically gifted, we forget he's still a baby." Having also played basketball at Cal, Gonzalez was spared spring football practice and as a result came into the league less polished than most rookies. Still, he got noticed when he had 33 catches as a reserve that first year. This season Gonzalez will be critical in helping take pressure off quarterback Elvis Grbac, who needs to get off to a good start and keep his confidence up.

Other Info

1999 Team Schedule
Team Depth Chart