Chiefs' Edwards not worried about his future

Dec 29, 2008 - 10:50 PM KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- On a day when three of his peers were fired, Kansas City Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said Monday he would not lobby to retain his job.

The Chiefs capped a dismal 2-14 season with Sunday's 16-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the team's 23rd loss in the last 25 games.

That, naturally, has led to speculation that Edwards' job is in jeopardy - particularly after the resignation of president and general manager Carl Peterson earlier this month.

"Maybe it's my upbringing, but I'm not one to try and build cases," Edwards said. "I let my work speak for itself. That's the bottom line. I'm not big on promoting Herman Edwards, never have been and I'm not going to start now.

"I've been in this business too long and I think I try to do things the right way and try to do things right for this organization and this football team."

Three NFL coaches - Eric Mangini of the New York Jets, Rod Marinelli of the Detroit Lions and Romeo Crennel of the Cleveland Browns - were fired on Monday.

Edwards guided Kansas City to a 9-7 record and a playoff berth in 2006 - his first with the club - but things have steadily regressed since.

The Chiefs lost their last nine games last season en route to a 4-12 mark and skidded to 2-14 this season, which included a number of close defeats.

Kansas City also endured season-ending injuries to quarterbacks Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard and a four-game suspension to star running back Larry Johnson, who already said he does not want to return to the organization.

Yet Edwards insisted his youthful squad, which has undergone a massive rebuilding project, is not far away from being a winner.

"Are we going in the right direction? Yes," he said. "Do we have a football team that has a chance to win a bunch of games next year? Yep, I believe that and I think the players believe it.

"That's the most important thing: that the players believe it. We've got to add some more pieces to it. Is it far away? No, it's not far away at all."

In five seasons with the New York Jets, Edwards had the team in the playoffs three times, which is among the reasons he remains confident in his abilities.

"I'm not going to defend how I coach. I don't need to do that," Edwards said. "My tenure will tell you how I coach and it's not on one year, one season or two seasons. It's accumulative. That speaks for itself."

However, Peterson was a staunch backer of Edwards, and his departure will put the coach's fate in the hands of the next general manager.

Again, Edwards said he feels he doesn't need to sell himself.

"I'm pretty sure if it's a new GM who gets hired he's going to know who I am unless he's not in America," Edwards said. "I've been in this league 30 years. He's got to make a decision on what he wants to do. He's got to look at it and say is this guy the right guy and if he's not that's OK. I'm OK with that."