Kansas City also allowed 55 sacks, second-most in franchise history, and averaged 276.8 yards in total offense, putting the Chiefs right behind San Francisco for worst in the NFL.

A season like that is going to lead to some changes, and the Chiefs didn't waste any time, firing offensive coordinator Mike Solari and three other offensive assistants two days after the season ended.

The next step will be to find an offensive coordinator. But that person will have to accept the Chiefs' new offensive philosophy that running into the back of the line twice, then throwing a pass to the flat, isn't going to work anymore.

After years of making fans wonder if he'd rather kick field goals than score touchdowns, coach Herm Edwards says he wants to take a few more chances downfield, to balance out the offense so there isn't so much burden on the running game.

Running the ball will still be a priority -- few teams win consistently without doing it -- but the new coordinator will have to be willing to put the ball in the air, at least a little more than Kansas City teams have before.

''It's time now to move in a different direction,'' Edwards said. ''You can say it's a youth movement, however you want to categorize it, but for me it's a position we have go in now. Our offensive philosophy is going to change.''

But to get one alteration, the Chiefs will have to make another.

For years, Kansas City has taken the quick-fix route, grabbing veteran free agent players to fill holes in the roster, hoping to find two or three pieces to turn a good team great. It worked for a while, particularly when the team was winning, but the bottom has fallen out; the Chiefs' needs now are in chunks, not pieces.

It's always been Edwards' plan to rebuild the Chiefs through the draft, to use free agency sparingly and only on young players who fit his system. He got it started by sprinkling the defense with youth over the last two years, but didn't really touch the offense, hoping the holdovers from those powerful Chiefs offenses of the Dick Vermeil era still had something left.

Now that it's clear most of Vermeil's former players are just getting old, Edwards is ready to charge ahead with his plan.

''Our basic way of how we're going to try to build this thing is through the draft, with young players, and they're going to have to play right away,'' Edwards said. ''We're excited about it going into the 2008 season.''

A few things will remain the same.

Peterson said after Sunday's season finale that he and Edwards will be back. The Chiefs remain committed to Brodie Croyle, still counting on him as their quarterback of the future, and receiver Dwayne Bowe is certainly in their plans after a solid rookie season.

And, despite speculation that they'll be traded, Johnson and tight end Tony Gonzalez will be back in red and gold. They signed multiyear contracts a year ago, and it wouldn't make financial sense for the Chiefs to get rid of them or for another team to want them.

What has to change is the offensive line.

The Chiefs went into the season hoping to wring out one more good year from an aging unit. The gamble backfired when early season injuries forced Kansas City to cobble a line together and a few players -- notably Kyle Turley and Chris Terry -- reached the end of their ropes a little quicker than everyone expected.

The defensive line could probably use a little upgrading, and so could the defensive backfield, particularly after the Chiefs watched one-time stars Ty Law and Patrick Surtain struggle to keep up with much younger, faster receivers.

In other words, there's going to be plenty of changes -- inside and out of Arrowhead Stadium.

''As we rebuild the new Arrowhead, we will be rebuilding this football team,'' Peterson said. ''And it will be done in the image of Herm, what he wants and what he needs.''