Quite frankly, Marty pulled the Chiefs out of doormat status and built them into a ten year contender. Got to the AFC Championship with Joe Montana in 1993. Lifetime record as Chiefs coach: 101-58-1 in nine years; down side was a 3-7 record in playoff games. As a whole, Marty was too conservative on offense and too hard headed, surrounding himself with family members and cronies as coaches. In 2004 Marty won the AFC West with his San Diego Chargers, but in typical Marty style, puked it up in the first round of the playoffs. In 2005, the Chargers slipped back to the pack and missed the playoffs, despite having (arguably) the best running back and tight end in football. In 2006, they won the AFC West. Cleveland fans agree, and San Diego fans will learn, he'll get you close, but break your heart every time.

"Grandpa" Dick Vermeil

Dick Vermeil coached the Chiefs from 2000-2005, but built his NFL reputation by taking the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl in 1980 (losing 27-10 to the Raiders) and winning the Super Bowl vs. Tennessee with St. Louis in 1999. Vermeil's Chiefs teams were high scoring and exciting to watch, setting numerous team records for offense and scoring. Vermeil also cleared out the bad apples and malcontents who King Carl has stuck with previous Head Coach Gunther Cunningham, so team chemistry was generally very good under Vermeil. Vermeil's overall record in KC was 44-36. But his five year stay in KC only brought one playoff game in 2003, which the Chiefs lost in an offensive shootout to the Indianapolis Colts. Vermeil was known as a player friendly coach, showing extreme loyalty and love to all his players and coaches. Vermeil also had the largest coaching staff in the NFL, choosing to delegate a great deal of authority. The Chiefs could never get over the hump with Vermeil, and although his teams were never horrific, he only had a winning record in two of his five years in KC. Vermeil was famous for showing a variety of public emotions, and crying during numerous press conferences. In 2005, Vermeil decided to tearfully call it quits after missing the playoffs by one game, posting a 10-6 season record. The Chiefs sent Vermeil out a winner, in his final game, 37-3 against playoff-bound Cincinnati.

Bill Cowher was a Marty Shottenheimer disciple. Like Marty, he was a former NFL linebacker with a great football mind. As Chiefs Defensive Coordinator, he was brilliant. Now as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he's been much more successful than Marty as he's taken a Steeler team to the Super Bowl twice, winning a Lombardi Trophy once, and making numerous playoff appearances. Cowher decided to retire following the 2006 season to spend more time with his wife and family. We'll see if he goes stir crazy after one year and pulls a Dick Vermeil.

It's been brought to my attention, and rightfully so, that Herm Edwards has not been a great Chiefs Head Coach. That is true. The reason I list him here is that he as been a good assistant coach and scout, and a good Head Coach elsewhere at times. Herm broke into Chiefs coaching ranks with Marty Shottenheimer as a defensive backs coach 1992-94. A former All-Pro defensive back with the Philadelphia Eagles, Edwards also coached with Tony Dungy at Tampa Bay from 1996 to 2000. In 2001 Edwards became head coach of the New York Jets, and led his team into the AFC Playoffs as Eastern Division Champs in 2002. After a disastrous 2005 campaign with multiple team injuries, including injuries to his number one and two quarterbacks, the Jets finished the year 4-12. Following the 2005 season, King Carl approached the Jets about bringing Edwards to KC to replace the retiring Dick Vermeil. King Carl traded a 4th round 2006 draft pick to acquire his rights. On January 9, 2006, Edwards became the tenth head coach in Chiefs history, being awarded a $12 Million, four year contract. Herm managed to squeak the Chiefs into the 2006 playoffs as the sixth and final AFC team into the tournament, as KC managed to beat Jacksonville at home, while Cincinnati, Tennessee and Denver all managed to lose home games.The next week the Chiefs traveled to Indianapolis, with a tremendous opportunity to avenge ugly playoff losses to the Colts during the 1995 and 2003 seasons, only to wet themselves once again in an embarrassing performance, losing 23-8. Obviously he has the unique opportunity to jump from the good list to the "Coaches Who Really Suck" list based on his miserable performance as head man for the 2008 Chiefs . We won't judge him too harshly. Hard to succeed when your boss is a giant tool.