ORLANDO, Fla. _ Less than a week removed from the offsides call that changed it all, Dee Ford is grinning as he lingers on one of the many fields at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando.
Relaxed on the final day of Pro Bowl practices, Ford could have every reason to be a little on edge.
His Chiefs team fired its defensive coordinator a day ago, and the new guy brings a new scheme _ one that would force Ford to shift positions. And as a free agent, Ford's future in Kansas City is far from guaranteed.
And yet, he's not thinking about any of that. The Pro Bowl experience is a freeing one, one that gives him a well-deserved break from the real world for a couple days.
"It's a lot of fun," Ford said, who was selected to his first Pro Bowl earlier this year. "We're all playing this game pretty much with no pressure. The same game that we've all grown up to play. It feels like being in pee-wee again."
Over the last couple of days, Ford has heard from nearly every one of his Pro Bowl teammates about that offsides call. They empathized with his plight and were impressed with the introspective way he handled the aftermath.
"They've been admiring the way I've handled it," Ford said. "You know what the crazy part for me, that was very instinctive. That was how I handle all my problems. Everything that's in me, that's how I handle every single situation. It meant a lot that they actually saw that outlook.
"Things happen and you know, of course, it's the nature of the game. The nature of the beast. Things are magnified. Everything's magnified at that time of the year. I was just on the short end of the stick, so it's about how you respond to it."
Now Ford is faced with a new test: the hiring of Steve Spagnuolo to replace Bob Sutton as the Chiefs' defensive coordinator.
"He has a great reputation," Ford said of Spagnuolo. "I'm really looking forward to meeting him. Look, man, if Andy's hiring anybody, you know he's salty _ you know he's pretty good."
As Ford pointed out Friday, he's already prepared for some of the impending changes. For one thing, Ford is familiar with the 4-3 scheme Spagnuolo figures to bring to Kansas City. He played end in high school in Odenville, Ala. And at Auburn, Ford played a weakside defensive end in a 4-3 scheme before transitioning to a 3-4 outside linebacker in his first round of OTAs with the Chiefs in 2014.
"I was a 4-3 end first," Ford said. "It'll be nothing for me to press 'play' and go back to those days."
In college, Ford recorded 20{ sacks, including 10{ in his final season. If he returns to his college position in Spagnuolo's frequently used "4-3 Under" scheme, he'd be a hand-in-the-dirt end primarily responsible for setting the edge and rushing the quarterback.
Asked if he had a scheme preference, Ford laughed.
"I would prefer to rush the quarterback," he said. "I'm going to rush the quarterback in both. I'm always going to get that preference."
The scheme switch, he said, should also help out some of the Chiefs' younger players, such as rookie Breeland Speaks. A defensive tackle and defensive end at Mississippi State, the 4-3 scheme fits Speaks' natural abilities better than Sutton's 3-4. Speaks' transition to outside linebacker wasn't the smoothest during his rookie season, and moving him to strongside defensive end in the 4-3 is a natural fit.
He'll have more run-stuffing responsibilities and less time playing in space _ one of the things that gave him the most trouble in his first year in the NFL.
"Breeland's such a good player," Ford said. "He's going to emerge in either one. But he definitely has the body type for a 4-3. He's definitely gonna splurge."
Speaking of splurging, the Chiefs have a pretty important monetary decision ahead of them regarding Ford. As an elite pass rusher coming off the best season of his career, Ford will be a hot commodity when free agency opens in March. To keep him around, the Chiefs could opt to apply the franchise tag and pay him upwards of $14 million in a one-year deal.
But now they'll have to decide if he's worth that expense as the defense is expected to transition to a new look.
Ford isn't worried about how the change in coordinators and scheme might affect his contract status.
"It'll be easy to plug me into the defense," Ford said. "Whatever we decide to do is whatever we decide to do. And we'll move from there."
