Neha Patil (Editor)

1978 Kansas City Chiefs season

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Record
  
4–12

Playoff finish
  
did not qualify

Start date
  
1978

Home field
  
Arrowhead Stadium

Division place
  
5th AFC West

Pro Bowlers
  
None

Head coach
  
Marv Levy

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The 1978 Kansas City Chiefs season began with the hiring of new head coach Marv Levy, formerly of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. With the NFL expanding its schedule to 16 games, the Chiefs finished with a 4–12 record and fifth place in the AFC West.

Coach Levy's systematic restocking of a relatively barren defensive roster began with a 1978 draft class that included a pair of future Chiefs franchise hall of famers in defensive end Art Still and linebacker Gary Spani. Running back Ed Podolak, who was the club's all-time leading rusher at the time, retired in the offseason on June 15.

Perhaps Levy's most unconventional tactic in rebuilding the Chiefs was installing the Wing-T offense. "It was a situation where we took over a team that had the worst defensive record in the history of the National Football League," Levy explained. "We wanted to keep that defense off the field, so we ran the ball 60 times a game." The 1978 Chiefs team ran and ran often, posting franchise records with 663 rushing attempts and 2,986 ground yards. Levy's squad ran the ball a staggering 69 times in a 24–23 Opening Day win at Cincinnati on September 3, the most rushing attempts in an NFL contest since 1948. Five different players had 100-yard rushing games during the year, including running back Tony Reed, who finished the season with 1,053 yards to become the team's first 1,000-yard back since 1967. Despite the squad's Opening Day success, the club lost 10 of its next 11 games, including a pair of overtime decisions. However, the team showed signs of improvement with the defense recording a 23–0 shutout against San Diego on November 26 as the club concluded its first 16-game schedule with a 4–12 mark.

Regular season

1978 Kansas City Chiefs Team Starters Offense 10 Mike Livingston QB 21 Arnold Morgado RB 32 Tony Reed FB 22 Ted McKnight WR 89 Henry Marshall WR 88 Walter White TE 60 Matt Herkenhoff LT 73 Bob Simmons LG 58 Jack Rudnay C 65 Tom Condon RG 77 Charlie Getty RT Defense 67 Art Still LDE 61 Don Parrish NT 75 Sylvester Hicks RDE 64 Whitney Paul LB 55 Dave Rozumek LB 59 Gary Spani LB 52 Tom Howard LB 24 Gary Green LCB 18 Emmitt Thomas RCB 46 Tim Gray SS 26 Gary Barbaro FS Kicking Team 3 Jan Stenerud K 7 Zenon Andrusyshyn P 34 Eddie Payton PR/KR

References

1978 Kansas City Chiefs season Wikipedia