Chiefs’ Reid Shares 1 Unknown on Each New Assistant

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Change can be good.

It’s a four-word phrase Andy Reid shared with his old special teams coordinator, John Harbaugh, after the Baltimore Ravens fired him in January. And it’s a mantra the Chiefs’ head coach has applied to his own coaching staff, liberally.

worth — Oct 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil (0) tackles Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) during the first quarter of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Reid saw the most year-to-year turnover on his Kansas City coaching staff over the last two months. The Chiefs made several moves, including firing their running backs coach and wide receivers coach, and swapping Matt Nagy with Eric Bieniemy at offensive coordinator.

Three moves that could pay the most dividends, and help the Chiefs avoid picking again in the top-10 of the draft, were Reid’s appointments of Chad O’Shea to tutor the wide receivers, DeMarco Murray to coach the running backs, and Andre Curtis to guide the safeties.

jaden hick — Dec 21, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Kansas City Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks (21) tackles Tennessee Titans wide receiver Chimere Dike (17) during the first half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Making the offense whole

O’Shea has a reference rolodex of former wide receivers as long as the Missouri River. Randy Moss, Percy Harvin, Amari Cooper, Wes Welker, Jerry Jeudy and Julian Edelman are just some of his former pupils.

But Reid said 2019, his lone year as Brian Flores’ offensive coordinator in Miami, was one of O’Shea’s most attractive qualities.

julian edelma — Feb 3, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after beating the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

“I really like what he brings to the table,” Reid said Friday, speaking for the first time since hiring O’Shea. “He's been in a coordinator position, where he got a good feel for the whole, the way things are put together from a whole standpoint.”

Dick Vermeil actually gave O’Shea his first NFL coaching job, as a volunteer assistant for the Chiefs in 2003 – when the team’s offices were inside Arrowhead Stadium. O’Shea spent the following two seasons (2004-05) as Kansas City’s assistant special teams coach.

“Chad's got a ton of experience,” Reid added. “He's been around. He's worked at a championship-caliber level with New England, and he's had a lot of good, good receivers and done well with them.”

o'shead — Sep 21, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots receivers coach Chad O'Shea during the game against the Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Bieniemy was difference in landing Murray

Reid said the Chiefs spoke to a significant number of candidates before hiring Murray, and also confirmed reports that Murray turned down multiple NFL jobs over the last few years to stay at his alma mater, Oklahoma.

But both Murray and Bieniemy are card-carrying members of the NFL’s running backs community, and what Bieniemy did with Chicago’s running backs in 2025 was eye-opening to a lot of people in that fraternity.

Reid said Murray is such a legend at Oklahoma, he could’ve stayed as long as he wanted. But instead, Murray wanted to grow – and growing under Bieniemy was too good to pass up.

“Because if Eric's coaching the running backs,” Reid said, “he's the best running back coach in the National Football League. So, he had an opportunity to go back and do that again last year, and so we hire him here as the offensive coordinator. Well, if I'm a running back coach, what a great opportunity to learn. Nobody better to learn from than Eric for that particular spot.”

Bieniemy and Murray have known each other for 20 years, since Bieniemy recruited the explosive running back as that position’s coach at UCLA. Murray, out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nev., eventually chose the Sooners. But Reid noticed their connection immediately, and saw a greater positive.

“I always look to see who works well together,” Reid explained, “and who I anticipate will work well together. I wanted to bring a young guy in that was a guy that was ambitious to learn, and thought DeMarco did a heck of a job. We talked to a lot of running back coaches. I just thought that this was a pretty good fit.”

Reid finally got Curtis

“Andre Curtis, I've tried to hire Andre before,” Reid said. “When Steve came in, Spagnuolo came in, they've been together at three different places.

“That was an easy one to plug in and go.”

eli manning — Feb 3, 2008; Glendale, AZ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (left) holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as he stands next to head coach Tom Coughlin after defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

Current Kansas City defensive backs coach Dave Merritt introduced Curtis to Steve Spagnuolo before all three earned championship rings when the Giants upset Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl 42. Spagnuolo then took Curtis with him to St. Louis and then to New Orleans.

Reid revealed Friday that Curtis also has worked with both linebackers coaches Brendan Daly and Matt House. He also confirmed that Rod Wilson, who coached outside linebackers last season, left to take a role with the Arizona Cardinals.”

andre curti — Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Chicago Bears safeties coach Andre Curtis gestures against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second half during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“It's great for Rod to have an opportunity to move on and do his own thing there in Arizona, so that's a plus for him.”

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