KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs hired former Dallas Cowboys head coach Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator on Wednesday, handing him one the reigns to one of the NFL's weakest attacks.
Gailey replaces Mike Solari, who took the Chiefs from being one of the league's top offenses to one of the worst in two seasons.
Kansas City ended the season with a 4-12 record and on a nine-game losing streak after scoring only 226 points. That's 70 fewer than any Kansas City team has scored in 30 years.
Gailey, fired after this past season as head coach at Georgia Tech, inherits a massive rebuilding project and will be working for a head coach, Herm Edwards, who has a reputation for being an offensive stick in the mud.
But unlike Solari, a respected offensive line coach who had never been a coordinator until 2006, Gailey brings a wealth of college and NFL experience.
In 14 seasons in the NFL, he has been on the staff of 11 playoff teams and coached in the Super Bowl four times, including three with Denver. He has been either a head coach or an offensive coordinator eight years.
At Georgia Tech, he was 44-33 and took the Yellow Jackets to six straight bowl games.
But he ran afoul of boosters for never beating archrival Georgia, winning an ACC title or finishing in the Top 25 and found himself out of work.
Edwards conducted a thorough search before making what most Chiefs fans believe will be his most important decision since taking over for Dick Vermeil in 2006. Under Vermeil and innovative coordinator Al Saunders, the Chiefs had one of the league's most productive offenses.
"The best compliment that I can pay Chan Gailey is that he is tough," Edwards told the team's offcial website, www.kcchiefs.com. "He's been through the battles as both a head coach and as an offensive coordinator. He's called the plays and he has performed under pressure. But just as importantly, Chan is an excellent teacher. Wherever he's coached, he has designed dynamic offenses to take full advantage of his players' skills. He understands how to orchestrate a balanced offensive plan. He's going to be a good fit for our philosophy and our football team. The Chiefs will be better because of Chan Gailey."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
