KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu were watching the AFC championship game on television a year ago, their teams knocked out of the playoffs, never thinking for a moment what the following 12 months might bring them.
Or more accurately, where it might take them.
But after the Kansas City Chiefs watched their defense fold in overtime against the New England Patriots, costing them a chance to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in nearly five decades, coach Andy Reid embarked on a massive overhaul of the unit. He replaced longtime coordinator Bob Sutton with Steve Spagnuolo, jettisoned aging and unproductive players, then asked general manager Brett Veach to bring in some legitimate playmakers to better fit their new scheme.
That’s how Clark and Mathieu wound up in KC.
The Chiefs signed Mathieu, the 27-year-old ball-hawking safety who received the nickname “Honey Badger” as an LSU standout, to a $42 million, three-year deal to bring his talent and swagger to the back end of their defense. A month later, they traded a package of draft picks to the Seattle Seahawks for Clark, then signed the 26-year-old end to a $105.5 million, five-year contract before the bruising pass rusher had even played a down for them.