This time last year, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey were still getting used to the facility. The duo had been hired in January and had spent just a few weeks on the job before free agency was here (and what a busy free agency it was).
This year, things are going much smoother, according to KC Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who spoke with KCChiefs.com's Rachel Santschi.
"It's smoother because you have a staff, you've got John Dorsey and his staff," Reid said.
I look back at the previous regime. The first draft was ... not very good. Todd Haley was hired in February so the Chiefs were behind the eight ball as it was. The second draft (2010) was much, much better. I hope to see the same trend this year with the Chiefs.
Reid talked a little bit about his offseason and what they're doing to prepare for the draft, including the NFL Combine last month in Indianapolis.
"[The Combine is] a time where John catches me up on personnel, introduces me to it really. And then I have a chance to meet the players. If I take one thing out of there, it's that I can sit down with them like we're sitting here and talk.
"Even though they're a little bit programmed by their agents," Reid said, "you work your way through that and get to know the person. You're dealing with some great kids. There are a bunch of them where you go, 'Mom and Dad did a great job with you', or their coach or mentor or whoever did a great job. They're great people. That's what makes this job so much fun and so interesting."
Everyone likes to talk about the flaws that these "kids", as Reid calls them, has. I like how Reid's focus is on the good people that you get to meet.
The Combine was last month. Coming up this month is free agency, which starts on Tuesday when the Chiefs will have roughly $9 million in cap space. After free agency is the 2014 NFL Draft from May 8-10.
Here's what the coaches are doing during that period, according to Reid:
"For the football side, we work scheme evaluation half the day and the other half is personnel leading up to free agency and the college draft," Reid told Santschi. "That's the way it will go right up to the draft. Whatever John needs us to do from a personnel standpoint, we'll do.
"If w'ere not doing a whole lot there, we're doing the football part of it. After the draft you have the minicamps coming up, so you're prepping for that. You're prepping for scheme evaluation. What are going to do different this year to keep the opponent off guard because they're sitting in there studying you, our opponents, just like we are? So you want to keep it fresh and exciting.
"That'll take it right up to the end before we take our break and get ready for training camp."
So ... training camp is around the corner. Didn't the season just end?