KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Whether he's their coach or not, Herm Edwards sees a contender taking shape in Kansas City in the very near future.
"I see them competing next year," the embattled coach of the 2-13 Chiefs said in what may be his last regular-season Tuesday news conference with the franchise.
"I think this is going to be a good football team next year. I really do. That's just my opinion. I think the players feel that way, too."
The massive rebuilding program Edwards launched this year is guaranteed to result in the worst season in club history whether the Chiefs win or lose their finale Sunday at Cincinnati.
But Edwards said the rounding up of players is just about finished.
"I'd say 85 percent of it is done now," Edwards said. "It's just the matter of another draft and free agency. Then you're going to have your team built for the most part. Then it's a matter from there of just continuing to grow on that.
"But the hard part's done," he added. "All the foundation, all the work has been laid for what's going to transpire for years to come now if we keep heading down this path. And that's the path this organization will head in through the draft, then be very selective in free agency."
With owner Clark Hunt interviewing candidates to replace Carl Peterson as general manager, Edwards also knows he may not be back next year to complete his project.
Nevertheless, he's still been arriving at the stadium before daybreak, going through his morning workout and putting in a full day's work with what appears to be undiminished zest. He laughed at reports he was suffering from burnout and might want to get away from coaching for a while.
"I don't know where people get that," Edwards said. "I've got a lot of energy. And I think what gives me energy most of the time is the young guys we have, their ability to recover after a bunch of hard losses. We've been in a bunch of football games we haven't won this year, and I think that will pay dividends for this football team next year. I just think with youth, every time they show up after a hard loss, you go through the film with them, they're optimistic and they're excited about the next week's opponent, it gives us all energy.
"I think our coaches have witnessed that through all this that we've gone through as a football team, and it's a credit to the players, it really is, how they've bounced back every week after some tough losses."
Without doubt, there are still parts to be added. A couple of pass-rushing linemen are crucial. Unless they get four sacks against the Bengals, the Chiefs will go into the record book as the weakest pass-rushing team in NFL history. Counting a nine-game losing streak that the aging 2007 team ended the season with, the Chiefs are 2-22 in their last 24.
But Edwards and his staff plan to go about their routine in the weeks following the Bengals game just as they've always done.
"I'm going to be energetic," he said. "We'll come in Monday and Tuesday and evaluate the players. Coaches will get some time off, about a week or so, then they'll come back. I'll be in the office looking at the whole season, looking at tapes, starting to plan, start talking about the Senior Bowl, prospects coming up in the draft, free agency. Those are the things you go over once the season is over. That's how we're going to handle it."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
