The Kansas City Chiefs could lose a key member of their coaching staff soon after the 2024 Super Bowl.
According to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones on February 4, Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen is considered a candidate for “several” defensive coordinator jobs, among which include the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders, and Michigan.
Cullen has been an NFL coach since 2006. During his first 14 years in the NFL, he was the defensive line coach for the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Baltimore Ravens respectively.
In 2021, Cullen became a defensive coordinator under then-head coach Urban Meyer in Jacksonville. But he was fired from that role after one season and then joined Kansas City’s coaching staff in 2022.
It’s not a coincidence that Cullen’s arrival in Kansas City coincided with defensive tackle Chris Jones‘s back-to-back All-Pro seasons, which were the first two All-Pro nominations of Jones’s career. Cullen has a knack for getting the best out of the players he coaches, which is also evident in second-year defensive end George Karlaftis, who had a strong rookie campaign but followed it with an even stronger year 2 (64 total pressures, 11 sacks, 24 stops, per PFF).
Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen is considered a candidate for several defensive coordinator jobs, sources say. His name is in the mix with the Seahawks and Commanders, as well as at the University of Michigan.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 4, 2024
If the Chiefs were to lose Cullen, it would be a big blow to the defense.
Twitter/X Reacted to Joe Cullen News
Users on X, formerly Twitter, reacted to teams expressing interest in hiring Cullen as their defensive coordinator.
“Outside of (Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo) Spags retiring and him taking over theres nothing the Chiefs can really do to stop it. This sucks, not for him obviously, but for the team,” one user wrote.
“With the significant coach drain/dispersal the ’23 ravens are experiencing right now, the more former coaches that have worked with Macdonald/Martindale/Pees recently the better,” another user wrote.
“#Seahawks are really doing an incredible job putting together a defensive staff,” another user wrote. “Young HC with a track record of incredible play-calling, and potentially TWO veteran coaches who can help with the Xs & Os during weekly game planning….id love this addition.”
Spags Talks Loss of Charles Omenihu
Speaking of Kansas City’s defensive line — the Chiefs lost a key piece of their defensive line in the AFC Championship when defensive end Charles Omenihu suffered a torn ACL. That means he won’t be available to play in the 2024 Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.
During his press conference on February 2, Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo discussed the loss of Omenihu and what Kansas City will do to fill the void left by him.
“I’ll tell you, you don’t replace that height and that length that he (Charles Omenihu) has but we’ll get guys to step in there,” Spags explained. “Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) will probably have to step in, everybody has to up their game in a Super Bowl anyway. Hopefully, like last week, I think it was decent in the first half where we didn’t have to play as many plays. If the play count gets up, that’s where it gets tough for George (Karlaftis) being out there a lot and Mike (Danna) and that’s when we have to have guys to step in there.”
The 2024 Super Bowl will take place in Las Vegas on February 11 at 5:30 p.m. Central time.
According to Heavy’s projections, which are powered by Quarter4, the Chiefs have a 36% of beating the 49ers.
