Member of Chiefs’ Super Bowl I team and later KC’s defensive coordinator dies at 84
Walt Corey had the rare distinction of twice being fired from the Chiefs coaching staff, but the third time he left Kansas City, it was of his own accord. And it proved to be one of the best decisions of his life.
In 1987, Corey joined former Chiefs coach Marv Levy, who was coaching the Buffalo Bills. With Corey as defensive coordinator, the Bills made four straight Super Bowl appearances.
Corey, who died Monday at the age of 84, oversaw a Buffalo defense that was among the NFL’s top-10 units in two seasons and included stars like Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett.
Despite that success in Buffalo, Corey spent most of his time in the NFL with the Chiefs. He was a Pro Bowl linebacker during his seven seasons with the Chiefs franchise, starting with the Dallas Texans in 1960.
Corey later was the Chiefs linebackers coach from 1972-74, then returned to coach either the defensive line and defensive backs from 1978-85 before being named defensive coordinator in 1986.
“My family and I are saddened by the news of Walt Corey’s passing,” Chiefs CEO and chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. “An original Dallas Texan who joined the club in 1960, Walt was part of the formative years of the franchise. After his seven-year playing career, he went on to spend an additional 12 years coaching for the Chiefs. He remained invested in the Kansas City community as an Ambassador once he left the sideline and will be remembered for his determination and humility. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
Super Bowl veteran
Corey joined the Dallas Texans as a free agent after playing at the University of Miami. He was part of two American League Football championship teams (1962 and 1966).
After his Pro Bowl (then called AFL All-Star Game) appearance in 1963, Corey explained a key to his success: weight lifting.
“If they had taken weights away from me, I’d be teaching school full time,” he told the Star in 1964. That story noted a health club had asked Corey to stop visiting because of fears he would break the equipment.
Corey taught math at an Independence junior high during the offseason, and that desire to tutor others came in handy when his playing days ended following his appearance in Super Bowl I. After coaching at Utah State., Corey joined Hank Stram’s staff as a linebackers coach in 1972.
When Stram was fired after the 1974 season, Corey found work as the Browns’ linebackers coach for three seasons before returning to Kansas City in 1978 when Levy hired Corey for his staff.
Once again, Corey was let go by the Chiefs when Levy was dismissed in 1983. But when John Mackovic was hired as head coach, he brought back Corey, and ahead of the 1986 season, Corey was promoted to defensive coordinator.
That year the Chiefs won their final three games and finished with a 10-6 record, which got the franchise in the postseason for the first time since 1971.
The Chiefs had the eighth-ranked defense in total yards and was first in turnovers created with a whopping 49.
In the final game of the season, the Chiefs beat the Steelers 24-19 to get in the playoffs.
‘’We did it the same way we have done it all year, with special teams and defense,’‘ Mackovic told reporters. ‘‘Our offense wasn’t that good. But I feel great because people didn’t think we could make it to the playoffs.’‘
The downside to that victory? The Steelers rolled up 515 yards of offense. Ahead of the playoff game, Corey talked to the Associated Press about the defense, and offered insight into his coaching style.
“I don’t even like to grade films when they’re like that,” Corey said. “You never like to see your friends have bad days. I’ve been through days like that as a player. You get in bad positions, and you get chewed out.”
In the postseason game, the Chiefs lost three turnovers and the defense failed to get one for the first time all season. The Jets won 35-15 and Mackovic was soon fired.
Special teams coach/assistant head coach Frank Gansz was hired as the Chiefs head coach. Corey, who had been with the franchise longer than Gansz, wasn’t even interviewed. Despite the Chiefs’ desire to keep him as defensive coordinator, Corey left in 1987 for Levy and the Bills where he would stay through the 1994 season, winning four AFC championships along the way.
“I can say I was disappointed, being with an organization as long as I was and not even being considered,” Corey told the Associated Press in 1987.
Despite his disappointment with how things ended with the Chiefs, Corey didn’t harbor any hard feelings.
“I left (general manager) Jim Schaaf saying, ‘Jim, regardless of how this thing turned out I still like you. I still like the Kansas City Chiefs,’” Corey told The Star after leaving the Chiefs in 1987. “You don’t work with somebody as long as I have and say, ‘I wish you harm.’ That’s the furthest thing from my mind.
“Things didn’t turn out the way I would have liked for them to turn out, and I was hurt by it. But I’m not bitter. That’s not me.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 2:00 PM.
