1989 Kansas City Chiefs season

1989 Kansas City Chiefs season
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer
Home field	Arrowhead Stadium
Results
Record	8–7–1
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	FB Christian Okoye LB Derrick Thomas CB Kevin Ross CB Albert Lewis

The 1989 Kansas City Chiefs season ended with an 8–7–1 record and second-place finish in the AFC West. The season was the first with head coach Marty Schottenheimer and general manager Carl Peterson.

The Chiefs had changed coaches before, but never had the organization gone through the complete overhaul it did between the 1988 and 1989 seasons. On December 19, 1988, Lamar Hunt hired Carl Peterson as the team's new president/general manager. Peterson wasted no time in making changes. On January 5 he fired head coach Frank Gansz two weeks after taking over. On January 24 he hired Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired by Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell. Schottenheimer also cleaned house and with Peterson's help by making several roster changes.

The Chiefs started the season at Denver on September 10 but the Chiefs lost the opener, 34–20. The very next Sunday the Chiefs downed the Los Angeles Raiders 24–19, Schottenheimer's first win as Chiefs' head coach.

The Chiefs would start the season 1–4, but soon turned things around. On October 22, Christian Okoye carried the ball 33 times for 170 yards as the Chiefs defeated the Dallas Cowboys at Arrowhead Stadium, 36–28. During the Chiefs unexpected success, rookie linebacker Derrick Thomas made 10 sacks while Stephone Paige led the receivers with 44 receptions.

On November 26, Kansas City cruised past the Houston Oilers, 34–0 to start a 3-game winning streak to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs. Steve DeBerg passed for 2,529 yards in his second season with the team.

On December 17, using a bruising running game and a smothering defense, the San Diego Chargers marched into Arrowhead Stadium and crushed the Chiefs' playoffs dreams. They bulldozed their way to 219 yards rushing, 176 by Marion Butts, and won 20–13. The all but eliminated the Chiefs from any chance of making the playoffs. Christian Okoye constantly found his path blocked, holes jammed. Chiefs' quarterback Steve DeBerg was ineffective because of the chilling 18-degree weather and completed just 14 of 33 passes. The Chiefs had one final opportunity to tie the game, driving from their own 36 yard line to the San Diego 19. Deberg's next pass into the end zone was intercepted, ending the Chiefs' chances and the game. The loss Left the Chiefs Needing a win at Miami combined with a Pittsburgh Loss in final week to make the playoffs.

The next week, the Chiefs did bounce back and defeated the Miami Dolphins for the second time in the season, 27–24 and had their first winning record in the Schottenheimer-Peterson era. Pittsburgh however won their game and final AFC Playoff spot. Christian Okoye led the NFL in rushing with 1,480 yards. Okoye was named to the Pro Bowl along with defensive stars Derrick Thomas, Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross. This season proved to be a prelude of good things to come.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1989 NFL draft

1989 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Derrick Thomas * †	Linebacker	Alabama
2	32	Mike Elkins	Quarterback	Wake Forest
3	60	Naz Worthen	Wide receiver	North Carolina State
4	88	Stan Petry	Defensive back	TCU
6	143	Robb Thomas	Wide receiver	Oregon State
7	171	Ron Sancho	Linebacker	LSU
8	199	Bryan Tobey	Running back	Grambling State
8	220	Todd McNair	Running back	Temple
9	227	Jack Phillips	Defensive back	Alcorn State
10	255	Rob McGovern	Linebacker	Holy Cross
11	283	Marcus Turner	Defensive back	UCLA
12	311	Bill Jones	Running back	Texas State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1989 Kansas City Chiefs staff

Front office Founder – Lamar Hunt Chairman of the Board – Jack Steadman President/General Manager/Chief Executive Officer – Carl Peterson Assistant General Manager – Dennis Thum Director of Player Personnel – Whitey Dovell Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Joe Pendry Running Backs – Bruce Arians Receivers – Al Saunders Offense/Tight Ends – Jim Erkenbeck Offensive Line – Howard Mudd

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Bill Cowher Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Defensive Backs – Tony Dungy Special Assistant/Quality Control – Darvin Wallis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Kurt Schottenheimer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Russ Ball

Roster

1989 Kansas City Chiefs roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Steve DeBerg 11 Steve Pelluer Running backs (RB) 44 Herman Heard 48 Todd McNair 35 Christian Okoye FB 21 James Saxon Wide receivers (WR) 88 Carlos Carson 86 Emile Harry 89 Pete Mandley 83 Stephone Paige 81 Robb Thomas Tight ends (TE) 85 Jonathan Hayes 87 Alfredo Roberts

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Mark Adickes G 76 John Alt T 77 Rich Baldinger G 70 Mark Cannon C 75 Irv Eatman T 72 Dave Lutz G 53 Mike Webster C Defensive linemen (DL) 99 Mike Bell DE 95 Bruce Clark DE 98 Leonard Griffin DE 63 Bill Maas DT 97 Dan Saleaumua DT 90 Neil Smith DE

Linebackers (LB) 54 Walker Lee Ashley 56 Dino Hackett 57 Chris Martin 50 Rob McGovern 58 Derrick Thomas Defensive backs (DB) {{{defensive_back}}} Special teams  2 Kelly Goodburn P  8 Nick Lowery K

Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 10, 1989	at Denver Broncos	L 34–20	74,284
2	September 17, 1989	Los Angeles Raiders	W 24–19	71,741
3	September 24, 1989	at San Diego Chargers	L 21–6	40,128
4	October 1, 1989	Cincinnati Bengals	L 21–6	61,165
5	October 8, 1989	at Seattle Seahawks	W 20–16	60,715
6	October 15, 1989	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 20–14	40,453
7	October 22, 1989	Dallas Cowboys	W 36–28	76,841
8	October 29, 1989	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 23–17	54,194
9	November 5, 1989	Seattle Seahawks	W 20–10	54,489
10	November 12, 1989	Denver Broncos	L 16–13	76,245
11	November 19, 1989	at Cleveland Browns	T 10–10	77,922
12	November 26, 1989	Houston Oilers	W 34–0	51,342
13	December 3, 1989	Miami Dolphins	W 26–21	54,610
14	December 10, 1989	at Green Bay Packers	W 21–3	56,694
15	December 17, 1989	San Diego Chargers	L 20–13	40,623
16	December 24, 1989	at Miami Dolphins	W 27–24	43,612

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Denver Broncos(1)	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	362	226	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	8	7	1	.531	3–5	6–7–1	307	286	W1
Los Angeles Raiders	8	8	0	.500	3–5	6–6	315	297	L2
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	4–4	7–5	241	327	L1
San Diego Chargers	6	10	0	.375	4–4	4–8	266	290	W2