Getty Arrowhead Stadium, where Armani Watts played for the last four seasons.
The Kansas City Chiefs have lost another member of their coaching staff.
Cornerbacks/secondary coach Sam Madison has signed with the Miami Dolphins to be their cornerbacks/passing game specialist, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on February 16.
Miami is hiring former Dolphins’ legend Sam Madison as its cornerbacks/pass game specialist, per source. Madison — a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Dolphins from 1997-‘05 — spent the past three seasons coaching the Chiefs secondary/cornerbacks.
Madison, a 12-year NFL cornerback, joined the NFL coaching ranks in 2019 with the Chiefs and has maintained the same role throughout his three years in Kansas City, per the team’s website. He now joins new head coach Mike McDaniel in Miami, where Madison played the first nine seasons of his NFL career.
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2 Chiefs Coaches Leave for Other Opportunities
Madison becomes the second Chiefs coach to leave during the 2022 offseason to pursue other opportunities in the NFL. The other was quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka, who was hired to be the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator.
Mike Kafka, Don Martindale & Thomas McGaughey officially named Giants coordinators
Details: t.co/GyskdpRxZL
Kafka was a draft pick of the Andy Reid-led Philadelphia Eagles in 2010. He played in four games as a rookie, completing 11-of-16 pass attempts for 107 yards while also throwing two interceptions, per Pro Football Reference. Before hanging his cleats up in exchange for a clipboard, Kafka spent time with the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, and Bengals from 2013-15 following his three-year stint with Reid in Philadelphia.
Starting as an offensive quality control coach in 2017, Kafka joined Kansas City’s coaching staff and worked his way into roles as a passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020.
As a coach that has held Patrick Mahomes under his wing since Mahomes was a rookie, losing Kafka will be a big loss for the Chiefs. Having a coach in Kafka’s position that has a strong relationship with the team’s starting quarterback is pivotal, which makes his departure significant.
This may be the same reason why Reid kept Kafka around despite the Eagles trying to hire him as an offensive coordinator this past offseason, according to Garafolo. Reid seemingly knows the value Kafka has played on offense, mainly in the development of his franchise quarterback.
Bienemy’s Future With Chiefs to be Determined
Another potential departure from Kansas City’s coaching staff is offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, whose contract expires with the Chiefs this offseason, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero on February 7.
#Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s contract is expiring, per sources.
So after getting passed over for head coaching opportunities again, Bieniemy could either return to Kansas City or be a hot free-agent OC target elsewhere.
On February 13, Schefter reported that Bieniemy and head coach Andy Reid would “soon meet” to discuss Bieniemy’s future.
“Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s one-year contract is set to expire, as has been the case in recent seasons, and his future in Kansas City is uncertain, sources told ESPN,” Schefter wrote. “Bieniemy and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid are expected to soon meet and discuss their futures, whether they envision them together in Kansas City or apart, according to league sources.”
Schefter also mentioned the options Bieniemy is weighing.
“There are no assurances that Bieniemy will return,” Schefter continued. “He has considered coaching in college, listening to other offers or even taking off a year after a physically and mentally draining season in which the Chiefs fell one game short of the Super Bowl and Bieniemy was bypassed in the head-coach hiring cycle.”