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The Kansas City Chiefs fired head coach Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, the team announced Friday.
According to a report on ESPN, Kansas City has been in negotiations with Mike Shanahan and is close to signing him.
"This was not an easy decision," Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said of Edwards' firing. "Herm is an outstanding football coach and a man of integrity. We appreciate his leadership over the past three seasons, and we wish him all the best in the future."
General manager Scott Pioli reiterated Hunt’s sentiments.
"Since my arrival last week, Herm and I have had several conversations as part of my overall evaluation of the football operation. After careful consideration, Clark and I felt that it was best to make a change."
According to a "well-placed source," Shanahan, who was let go from his longtime tenure with the Denver Broncos early this month, is the leading candidate to replace Edwards. Shanahan led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl victories, but Denver finished the 2008 with an 8-8 record and lost its final three games to miss the playoffs.
Edwards was named the 10th head coach in Chiefs history on January 9, 2006. He finished his tenure in Kansas City with a 15-32 regular season record and was 0-1 in the postseason. Edwards guided Kansas City to a 9-7 record to qualify for the playoffs in his first season with the club in 2006.
Edwards arrived in Kansas City after a five-year stint as the head coach of the N.Y. Jets (2001-05). He compiled a 39-41 regular season record in five seasons as the head coach of the Jets and was 2-3 in the playoffs. Including a 2-4 postseason mark, he owns an overall 56-77 (.421) record as an NFL head coach.
Prior to joining the Jets, Edwards spent five seasons serving as assistant head coach/defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, working under head coach Tony Dungy. Edwards served as a scout for Kansas City from ’90-91 before joining Marty Schottenheimer’s staff as defensive backs coach (’92-94), filling the vacancy left by Dungy, who departed to become defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings. He later served as a pro personnel scout with the Chiefs in ’95 before joining Dungy’s staff in Tampa Bay in ’96.
