Not many professional football teams can go from 2-14 to division champions in two years. But from 2008 to the 2010 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs did just that, crawling out of the basement of the AFC West to earn a trip to the playoffs.

Although their playoff hopes ended at the hands of Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens last weekend, their turnaround is still impressive. And it can all be attributed to one factor: Scott Pioli, Todd Haley and the rest of the coaching staff.

The seeds for this reversal of fortunes were planted in 2009 with the departure of Head Coach Herm Edwards and the hiring of new general manager and former New England Patriots executive Scott Pioli. After firing Edwards, the Chiefs hired the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, Todd Haley, to be their new head coach. Although both Edwards and Haley aimed at “rebuilding,” only Haley found success; in Haley’s two seasons at Kansas City, the Chiefs have gone 14-18, as compared to 15-33 in the three seasons under Edwards.

Haley’s achievements with the Chiefs have been equally as impressive as his record with the Cardinals, especially the way he has revitalized Kansas City’s running game. With his guidance (and the efforts of Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles), the Chiefs had the strongest rushing attack in the NFL in 2010. Beyond the offensive aspects of the team, Haley also presided over one of the most impressive defensive improvements in the NFL. The Chiefs defense showed this season that it could steal a game on its own, a feature that had been missing from the AFC West team for years.

The team’s success is rooted in Kansas City’s personnel changes, both on and off the field. Pioli and Haley have brought in several promising young players, in stark contrast to past Chiefs trades that often brought in aging veterans whose glory days were long behind them. The first major acquisition of the Pioli-Haley era was Matt Cassel, who had a rough first year but showed that he could be the Chiefs’ franchise quarterback this year, harkening back to the days of Trent Green and Len Dawson when the Chiefs were built around their signal callers. Despite his struggles in his first season in Kansas City, Cassel showed potential in 2010, especially in Week 16 against the Titans when he threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns while completing 24 of 34 passes.

Cassel hasn’t been the only key to the turnaround, as several other players have stepped in and made huge impacts for the Chiefs. Rookie first-round pick and safety Eric Berry has greatly improved the Chiefs defense, which had long been regarded as the weakest component of the team. Along with cornerback Brandon Flowers, another Pioli acquisition, Berry has proven that the Chiefs are a force to be reckoned with defensively, complementing the Kansas City offense, which has earned its place — thanks to new additions such as Jones, Charles and Dexter McCluster — as one of the strongest in the NFL.

All these key players have one thing in common: They were brought to Kansas City by Haley and Pioli. Without these men in charge, it’s unlikely that the Chiefs would’ve chosen to take on some of these players.

In addition to improving the quality of players on the field, Haley and Pioli hired extensive coaching talent, most notably offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. These two men, who returned to the positions they held in New England for the Patriots’ Super Bowl wins, had a huge impact on returning the Chiefs to their winning ways. Their additions signaled that the Chiefs were serious about rebuilding and were willing to spend the money necessary to hire quality coaching talent. Crennel has been key to the Chiefs’ defensive turnaround, and Weis oversaw the meteoric rise of the Chiefs running game, which improved 15 spots in two years. However, Weis’ biggest impact was on Cassel, who, under Weis’ tutelage, went from a disorganized season in 2009 to a franchise-caliber quarterback this season.

Thanks to a strong performance this year, the Chiefs’ schedule will be much more difficult next season. Their devastating loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the wild card round proved that they still have a long way to go before they are considered a true championship contender, and Weis won’t be back as he moves to the University of Florida next season. But Kansas City is in a much better place than it was two years ago today, and the men who made that happen have the Chiefs on the right track.