As the Kansas City Chiefs continue their offseason, general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid are hard at work. While Reid’s staff gets shaken up, several different faces will enter the fold.
One reported and expected hire, wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea, is being met with praise. Part of that, of course, stems from excitement for the present. It’s O’Shea’s past, however, that adds even more intrigue to the picture.
Key pillars from O’Shea’s time with the New England Patriots seem quite high on him.
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A 2018 story from the Providence Journal seems pertinent. In the article, Mark Daniels documents current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ praise of O’Shea’s versatility and effectiveness.
“Chad’s unbelievable,” McDaniels said. “He’s one of the best assistant coaches I’ve ever had the chance to work with. His players are always incredibly well prepared. He’s very detailed. They love playing for him. He’s got a great personality, he’s a good communicator. He’s incredibly responsible for any and all of our success in the red zone. He does a lot of that work and prepares us well for that situation in the game.
“He’s a great friend of mine. It’s hard for me to say, look, he can do a lot of things, there’s no doubt about it. He’s handled a lot of responsibilities before in his career, and he does that to this day. We’re very fortunate that he’s a part of our staff.”
O’Shea got his NFL start, ironically, as an assistant with the Chiefs. Over the years, he’s also spent time with the Minnesota Vikings (2006-2008), Patriots (2009-2018), Miami Dolphins (2019) and Cleveland Browns (2020-2025). His roles have ranged from volunteer to wide receivers coach, passing game coordinator and even offensive coordinator.
New England saw massive red zone success in the years leading up to McDaniels’ praise of O’Shea. They were ninth in efficiency in 2014, fourth in 2015, eighth in 2016 and fifth in 2017.
As it turns out, McDaniels isn’t the only Patriots-related cornerstone who’s a fan of O’Shea.
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Career Pats wideout Julian Edelman also raved about O’Shea. In a recent episode of his “Games with Names” podcast, he hooted about the veteran coach’s preparation.
“He’d have individual, like, 30-play cut-ups of each corner that you’re going to defend,” Edelman said. “With highlighted examples of what their strengths were, highlighted examples of what their weaknesses were or what they struggled with.”
That attention to detail was something Edelman relied on throughout his career. Nearly all of his NFL seasons overlapped with O’Shea’s time in New England.
“For me individually, I leaned on a lot of coach O’Shea,” Edelman said. “He’d always have great cut-ups for us. That’s how you determined if you had a good coach. That’s what you always saw from a good coach — they’d always give you great cut-ups of things that helped you with your game.”
Given rumors being floated that Chiefs receivers grew “frustrated” with now-former coach Connor Embree, perhaps shifting to O’Shea can help. His blend of experience, track record and new insight could be just what the room needs.
This past season’s group was led by Marquise “Hollywood” Brown with 587 yards and 5 touchdowns. Third-year man Rashee Rice pitched in 571 yards and another 5 scores in just eight games. Former first-round pick Xavier Worthy failed to make a second-year leap, posting all of 532 yards and a lone touchdown in 14 contests.
O’Shea has his work cut out for him, sure. If his previous Patriots coworkers are right, maybe he can work wonders in Kansas City.
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