Despite a big win from the Kansas City Chiefs after their bye week to remain undefeated, there was some negative discourse on the sideline between one of the Chiefs’ defensive stars and their defensive line coach.
While they dispatched the Los Angeles Chargers with ease in Week 6, one defensive tackle wasn’t satisfied with his performance after years of being one of the most dominant defensive presences in the NFL.
Chiefs Defensive Line Coach Gets Into It With Chris Jones
Despite a 22-6 win, defensive tackle Chris Jones has been an afterthought for the Chiefs’ defense so far this season. Despite earning First-team All-Pro honors from 2022 through the 2024 season, Jones has had a slow start to the 2026 season.
Nick Jacobs posted a video from a CBS broadcast showing Jones in a heated exchange with Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen.
CBS sideline reporter Melanie Collins shared the details of the incident and said, “Chris Jones and Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen have been in a screaming match down here on the sideline on the Chiefs bench. Hard to tell what exactly is going on, I’ll give you an update as I hear more, but frustrations (are) boiling over down here with the Chiefs defense.”
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The broadcast continued, downplaying the situation between the coach and the veteran. “And they’re close, aren’t they?” Kevin Harlan asked Trent Green, who replied, “They are, Joe Cullen’s been the defensive line coach here for a long time, and he and Chris have a good relationship. I just don’t think Chris liked the fact that he put his hand on his shoulder and just asked him politely to take it off.”
After their Week 6 game, the Chiefs rank as the third-best defense in the NFL, according toPFN’s Defense Impact Metric, with an impact score of 79.2. While not a massive improvement from their 2025 score of 77.6, the Chiefs are ranked much higher in 2026, 3rd overall, compared to 12th overall in 2025.
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In 17 games for the Chiefs last season, Jones had 15 solo tackles and sacked the quarterback seven times. He also defended two passes while having 25 quarterback hits. While that was an improvement from his five sacks in 2024, it was still a step back from his 15.5-sack season in 2022 and 10.5-sack season in 2023.
While Jones is still a disruptive force on the defense, the Chiefs await the wrecking ball that sat on the line a few seasons ago.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.