Chiefs make a flurry of coaching staff moves on the defensive side of the ball as first order of offseason business
The Kansas City Chiefs have made some changes to their defensive coaching staff. First, they are losing safeties coach Donald D'Alesio to the Baltimore Ravens, per a report from CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. D'Alesio joined the Chiefs in 2021 as a defensive assistant before coaching the safeties in 2022. The safety position has been a […]
The Kansas City Chiefs have made some changes to their defensive coaching staff.
First, they are losing safeties coach Donald D'Alesio to the Baltimore Ravens, per a report from CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz. D'Alesio joined the Chiefs in 2021 as a defensive assistant before coaching the safeties in 2022. The safety position has been a strength for Kansas City's defense during D'Alesio's tenure. He will serve as Baltimore's defensive backs coach.
Zenitz also reported that the Chiefs are hiring Matt House as their senior defensive assistant coach. It's a return for House to K.C. as he served its linebackers coach from 2019-201. He left to be the defensive coordinator at LSU in the college ranks, and returned to the pros as the Jacksonville Jaguars' LB coach in 2024.
Finally, the Chiefs are also expected to add Chris Orr to their defensive coaching staff (another hat tip to Zenitz). Orr was a standout linebacker at Wisconsin, and had a short stint in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. He also played in the UFL as recently as 2024, but decided to end his playing career and join Jackson State as its linebackers coach.
It's unfortunate that K.C. is losing a bright, young coach in D'Alesio, but it remains in good hands with current DBs coach Dave Merritt. The Chiefs were very high on House during his first stint with the team, and he could reinvigorate their defensive approach a bit.
Orr is still in the very early stages of his coaching career, but clearly HC Andy Reid and DC Steve Spagnuolo see some potential in him. If there are any other Chiefs coaching additions or subtractions, we here at A to Z Sports will continue to deliver the news and analysis.
