The 1989 season was the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

' 20th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, their 30th overall and their first under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...

and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Carl Peterson Carl D. Peterson (born May 26, 1943) For more than 50 years, Carl Peterson was a creative force in the world of American Football, starting at the high school level, through small college ball, to major college football, and on to professional fo ...

. They improved on their 4–11–1 record from 1988 and finished with an 8–7–1 record. The Chiefs did not qualify for the playoffs in for the third straight year but did send four players to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. The Chiefs Week 11 10–10 tie against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

remains the most recent tie in Chiefs history.

Background

The Chiefs had changed coaches before, but never had the organization gone through the complete overhaul it did between the 1988 and 1989 seasons. On December 19, 1988,

Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...

hired Carl Peterson as the team's new president/general manager. On January 5 Peterson fired head coach

Frank Gansz Frank Gansz (November 22, 1938 – April 27, 2009) was an American football coach whose career spanned nearly 40 years. He served as the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) from 1987 to 1988, compiling a rec ...

, just two weeks after taking over. On January 24 he hired Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired by

owner

Art Modell Arthur Bertram Modell (June 23, 1925 – September 6, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise for 35 years and established the Baltimore Ravens franchis ...

. Schottenheimer also cleaned house and with Peterson's help by making several roster changes, including drafting future

hall of famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Derrick Thomas Derrick Vincent Thomas (January 1, 1967 – February 8, 2000), nicknamed D.T., was an American football linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Considered one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, he p ...

. Thomas later became a key part to the Chiefs defense in 90s and became one of the most popular players with fans in franchise history.

Season summary

The Chiefs started the season at

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

on September 10 but the Chiefs lost the opener, 34–20. The very next Sunday the Chiefs downed the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

24–19, garnering Schottenheimer's first win as Chiefs' head coach. The Chiefs would start the season 1–4, but soon turned things around. On October 22,

Christian Okoye Christian Emeka Okoye (; born August 16, 1961) is a Nigerian-American former American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1987 to 1992. Nicknamed the "Nigerian Nightmare", he is known for his powerful running style and ability ...

carried the ball 33 times for 170 yards as the Chiefs defeated the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...

, 36–28. On November 26, Kansas City cruised past the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

, 34–0 to start a 3-game winning streak to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs. On December 17, using a bruising running game and a smothering defense, the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

marched into Arrowhead Stadium and crushed the Chiefs' playoffs dreams. They bulldozed their way to 219 yards rushing, 176 by

Marion Butts Marion Stevenson Butts, Jr. (born August 1, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, the New England Patriots and the H ...

, and won 20–13. The all but eliminated the Chiefs from any chance of making the playoffs. Chiefs' quarterback

Steve DeBerg Steven Leroy DeBerg (born January 19, 1954) is an American retired professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 years. Early life DeBerg is an alumnus of Savanna High School in Anaheim, Califo ...

was ineffective because of the chilling 18-degree weather and completed just 14 of 33 passes. Okoye constantly found his path blocked, holes jammed. The Chiefs had one final opportunity to tie the game, driving from their own 36 yard line to the San Diego 19. DeBerg's next pass into the end zone was intercepted, ending the Chiefs' chances and the game. The loss left the Chiefs needing a win at Miami on Christmas Eve, combined with losses by Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and the Raiders that day and Cincinnati on Christmas Day to make the playoffs. The next week, the Chiefs did bounce back and defeated the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

for the second time in the season, 27–24 and had a winning record in the first Peterson-Schottenheimer season at 8-7-1. The Bengals, Colts and Raiders also lost that weekend; however, the Steelers won their game and final AFC Playoff spot, finishing 9-7 overall. DeBerg passed for 2,529 yards in his second season with the team. Okoye led the NFL in rushing with 1,480 yards.

Stephone Paige Stephone Paige (born October 15, 1961), is a former professional American football player who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1983 to 1992. A 6'2" 185 lb. wide receiver undrafted free agent from California State University, Fresno, ...

led the receivers with 44 receptions. Rookie linebacker

recorded 10 sacks. Okoye was named to the

along with defensive stars Albert Lewis, Kevin Ross and Thomas.

Offseason

NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Denver Broncos

Week 2: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

Week 3: at San Diego Chargers

Week 4: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 5: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 6: at Los Angeles Raiders

Week 7: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 8: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 9: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 10: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 11: at Cleveland Browns

Week 12: vs. Houston Oilers

Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Week 15: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 16: at Miami Dolphins

Standings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1989 Kansas City Chiefs Season

Kansas City Chiefs seasons

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...