The only surprise to some people is that the move came a full 10 days after Scott Pioli's hiring as the team's new general manager.

But Pioli, who has yet to secure Edwards' replacement, needed the time to get Edwards' read on the players he would inherit. And Edwards, ever the good soldier with a year left on his contract with the Chiefs, dutifully kept reporting for work and fulfilling his obligations, even as he suspected that The Turk would be coming for him soon.

Not surprising, either, was the class with which Edwards left the organization.

"There is not a more gracious family in all of professional sports than the Hunts," Edwards said in a prepared statement. "The Chiefs franchise is clearly in good hands for many years to come under Clark's leadership. I have no doubt that Clark and Scott Pioli will continue to steer the Chiefs in the right direction.

"This is going to be a very good football team," Edwards added. "Chiefs fans will be proud to cheer for this team for many years to come. With the tremendous nucleus of young talent on this roster, I sincerely believe that his team is poised to do great things. I respect the tough decision that was made to move in a new direction."

-- The Chiefs lost their first offensive assistant when quarterbacks coach Dick Curl accepted a position with the St. Louis Rams following Edwards' departure.

UNIT-BY-UNIT ANALYSIS

QUARTERBACK: Starter -- Tyler Thigpen. Backup -- Quinn Gray. Injured reserve -- Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle.

The inability of Croyle, the designated starter all through spring and summer, to stay healthy for more than two games was a major setback to the Chiefs' offensive plans. When veteran backup Huard went down shortly after Croyle, the Chiefs changed from the power-running, play-action game they envisioned to a semi-spread offense built around the abilities of Thigpen, a spread QB in college. Thigpen moved the offense after taking over on a full-time basis in Week 8 against the Jets. The Chiefs scored more than 10 points only once in six games before the transition. They scored 19 or more in eight of Thigpen's 10 consecutive starts. Still, the Chiefs were only 1-10 in Thigpen's starts, one of them a spot start in Week 3 when he threw three interceptions in Atlanta. But as a full-time starter he had 18 TDs and nine picks, though his performances ebbed somewhat as the season ground to a halt. The Chiefs under Pioli and whoever his coach may be now must decide if Thigpen is the guy to take them into 2009.

RUNNING BACK: Starter -- Larry Johnson. Backups -- Mike Cox (FB), Jamaal Charles, Jackie Battle. Injured reserve -- Kolby Smith.

Johnson began the season as the face of the Chiefs offense, and ended it saying he believed his time in Kansas City was over. After rushing for 1,750 yards in both 2005 and 2006, then getting a big contract extension in 2007, Johnson just wasn't the same after the foot injury that knocked him out of the final eight games that year. He had a strong 198-yard game in the Week 4 upset of then-unbeaten Denver, and seemed on the verge of being the LJ of old. But he missed four games -- three on a team decision, one on a league suspension -- after two off-field incidents involving shoving incidents with women came to light. When he returned to action, the Chiefs were a spread offense team, and LJ did not fit in well. He finished with only 874 rushing yards, but a decent 4.5-yard average. Rookie backup Charles seemed more in tune with the new look. How much the Chiefs use the spread under new management will determine whether Johnson has a future in KC.

TIGHT END: Starter -- Tony Gonzalez. Backup -- Brad Cottam.

Gonzalez continued to be one of the best tight ends to ever play the game in his 12th season at age 32. He didn't get his second 100-catch season, but his 96-catch, 1,058-yard campaign with 10 TDs was his third best in receptions, fourth in yardage. No other tight end in NFL history has as many 1,000-yard seasons. Gonzo also set the league record for career receiving yards by a tight end, adding to his NFL record for career receptions and TDs. Cottam saw more time early in the season as a blocker in twin-tight end formations, less after KC went to the spread.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- LT Branden Albert, LG Brian Waters, C Rudy Niswanger, LG Adrian Jones, RT Damion McIntosh. Backups -- G/C Wade Smith, T Herb Taylor, T Barry Richardson.

The transition to the spread, coupled with the development of a scrambling QB, seemed to help the Chiefs offensive line. Waters won a fourth Pro Bowl designation. Albert played up to his reputation as the 15th player drafted by being a very steady left tackle in the 15 games he started. Niswanger held his own at center, though his 6-4 height would suggest his real future is at guard. The right side of the line was a problem early, but going to the spread cut down on sacks and opened running lanes that weren't there in the first six games. Smith was an important backup in filling in at right guard when Jones went down, and briefly at center when Niswanger was hurt. Taylor showed some occasional flashes at tackle when Albert was down. Still, the Chiefs needed improvement here, at both the right sides positions and in terms of depth

DEFENSIVE LINE: Starters -- LDE Tamba Hali, LDT Tank Tyler, RDT Glenn Dorsey, RDE Turk McBride (IR). Backups -- DE Jason Babin, DT/DE Alfonso Boone, DT Ron Edwards, Injured reserve -- DE Brian Johnston.

A major reason why the Chiefs recorded an NFL-record-low 10 sacks was the offseason departure of 2007 sack leader Jared Allen via a trade to Minnesota. It was a loss from which the Chiefs didn't recover. Hali was supposed to replace Allen's right-side rush, but he was ineffective and eventually moved back to his left-side position. First-round pick Dorsey, a college difference-maker when blowing up opposing plays at LSU, was a disappointment in failing to get penetration on either rush or pass defense. Babin, a midseason acquisition, finished with two of the team's mere 10 sacks. McBride was showing some promise before missing the final six games on IR. Tyler was just OK on run defense, but he and McBride have yet to play up to their reputations as second- and third-round draft picks. Ditto with Hali and Dorsey as first-rounders.

LINEBACKERS: Starters -- LOLB Demorrio Williams, MLB Derrick Johnson, ROLB Rocky Boiman. Backups -- MLB Pat Thomas, ROLB Donnie Edwards.

This was an area in flux all year. The nagging hamstring injury that limited veteran Edwards (for a second consecutive year) was a killer. He played in only seven games, and only four starts, and the Chiefs never could fill his position despite trying a variety of different packages. Johnson started the season on the right side, a change from his previous three seasons. After playing with little impact there, KC finished the year trying him in the middle. Not a lot of difference. Williams, KC's major free-agent acquisition, was no factor. Boiman, a young vet acquired five games into the season, ended up starting nine of 11 games. This remains one of the team's biggest need areas.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters -- LCB Brandon Carr, RCB Brandon Flowers, SS Bernard Pollard, FS Jarrad Page. Backups -- CB Maurice Leggett, CB Patrick Surtain, SS DaJuan Morgan, S Jon McGraw.

Flowers and Carr were thrown into the fire in Week 1 as rookies, and Carr went from nickel back to starter when aging vet Surtain played only eight games because of injury in what was likely his final year in KC. By season's end, undrafted rookie Leggett was a starter too, in three of the 12 games he played. The rookies took their inevitable burns, but showed the kind of fight that makes the Chiefs think all three have futures. That's especially true of Flowers, a second-round pick who played like it. He got two picks of Favre in a last-minute loss to the Jets, and returned one for a TD. Leggett had a two returns TD in back-to-back weeks, one on special teams and one on defense. Page was a steady centerfielder who had a career-high four picks in his third pro season. He's a keeper even in a new administration. Pollard continued to battle missed tackle problems, possibly because he still goes for the killer hit instead of the steady tackle. His time here is in jeopardy if he doesn't adjust. Rookie Morgan was thought to be his replacement, but he never played out of a backup's role.

SPECIAL TEAMS: P Dustin Colquitt, K Connor Barth, LS Thomas Gafford, KR Kevin Robinson. Injured reserve -- LS Jean-Phillippe Darche.

Colquitt battled a groin injury that limited him in several games and still averaged 44.4 gross and 39.2 net. His inside-the-20 count remained solid at 27, tying a career high in only 14 games. Rookie Barth joined the Chiefs for the final 10 games. He hit nine straight mostly short- to medium-range kicks, but missed both tries in a one-point loss at San Diego. Robinson came off the PUP list that kept him out of training camp and had little impact in the return game, where he shared duties with Jamaal Charles.