Meet the Gang, Part 2 (of Many)

They've cleaned house in Kansas City, and the rehiring process happens fast. When a team cans all but two major members of the coaching staff, there's a lot of work to be done in a small frame of time. Thanks to the aggressive attitude Clark Hunt brought to this off-season, that time-frame is being used wisely. Already now, we have too many new names and faces to familiarize ourselves with in one comfortable sitting. I'll be back here daily to introduce the fans to a small portion of this busload of new assistants at at a time. Today, we'll start with two coaches hoping to improve this woeful Chiefs offense.

Doug Pederson- While the hiring of Dave Toub was an understated improvement, the impact of this signing may be underwhelming. Andy Reid already announced that he will call the plays in 2013. In truth, Andy will act as the full time OC for this team, and that's a very good thing. Dorsey will be determining the personnel side of the team, so Pederson will have little effect on who suits up on offense. To me, it seems that Pederson was hired on to fill some sort of supportive role with Reid, where-in he would be a teacher, a calm veteran voice, and a mentor to the next franchise QB hopeful. The experience that comes from playing behind guys like McNabb, Marino and Favre should be much-appreciated.

Eric Bieniemy- Here, we have yet another hiring that reunites Andy Reid with a former employee. Bieniemy played 9 seasons with four NFL clubs, including Andy's '99 Eagles team, as a slash back, kick returner and punt returner. He began his coaching career by returning to his Alma-mater for two years as the Colorado running backs coach. Eric was hired in 2003 to the same position in UCLA, and after three years in Los Angeles, he was offered the same job in the NFL by the Vikings organization. Under Eric's coaching, Adrian Peterson exploded onto the scene and quickly became the most powerful rushing force in football. After briefly returning to Colorado to coach the Buffaloes' offense, Eric now returns to the NFL to mentor another elite running back. The Chiefs roster also includes Shaun Draughn, Nate Eachus and Cyrus Gray- three young rushers with 2 combined starts and 71 combined carries.

Although Bieniemy can claim all the impressive achievements of Adrian Peterson as proof of his own coaching success, he still arrives in KC as an unproven coach with a short resume. Just like nobody can stop AD from being a beast, fans in Chiefs Kingdom know that Jamaal is going to be Jamaal. No running backs coach in the league is going to influence what he does on the field- nor should they. So, this means the attention turns to the aforementioned youngsters and the impact Eric can have on their productivity. That's where the unproven part comes in. The year before the Vikings drafted Peterson, Chester Taylor averaged 4 yards per rush with 303 carries. Then, AD took the starting job and became the engine of the offense for the rest of Eric's tenure in Minnesota. After Peterson's arrival, no other running back recorded more than 157 carries for the Vikings in a season.

There's nothing in the stats that definitively says Eric is a bad choice. But, there's nothing to say that he'll make a big impact, either. Andy Reid seems confident in Eric's abilities, but the rest of us simply have to wait and see. Fans will be waiting with excitement and hope as they put all their faith in Andy Reid. I have a feeling it won't be the last time I say that, either. Each one of these hires is a major test of Reid's ability to scout for talent at the coaching level. Building a franchise from the ground up like this is something I've never seen before. Both as a fan and an analyst, I'm excited to witness what happens next in this high-profile experiment. You should be too, so come back tomorrow for further test-study analysis.