"The transition of power at Arrowhead Stadium, begun in the hours that followed perhaps the most disheartening season in the 53-year history of the Chiefs, became mostly complete on Friday.

Rocked by historic ineptitude on the field and nearly unthinkable tragedy off it, the Chiefs handed control of their football operations to 54-year-old Andy Reid, who agreed to a five-year contract making him their head coach.

Reid, a burly, mustachioed man with a striking resemblance to former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren — one of Reid's mentors — spent the last 14 seasons as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, where in one of the NFL's most competitive divisions he won six NFC East championships and took three other teams to the playoffs as wild-card entrants.