--Chiefs corner Patrick Surtain, on the give-and-take byplay between himself and his new coach, former NFL cornerback Herm Edwards.

"Herm's a proud man who'll tell you his stats, tell you what he did in the league," Surtain noted. "It's fun going back and forth with him.

"He told me the other day, 'Don't talk to me until you're in the 40 Interception Club.' I told him I was only five away and that I'd be seeing him next year."

Surtain has yet to play his ace in the hole rebuttal. That would be reminding Edwards of the film clip in which he's the Philadelphia Eagles defender seen chasing Oakland's Kenny King into the end zone on the 80-yard touchdown bomb in Super Bowl XV that was then the longest play in Super Bowl history.

"I haven't put that one on him yet," Surtain said with a chuckle. "I might not, either."

--The Chiefs began preparing for life after Carl Peterson last week when they promoted long-time executive Denny Thum from assistant general manager to chief operating officer -- the No. 2 position in the day-to-day operations of the team.

Thum, who has risen through the Chiefs ranks since his hiring as a staff accountant in 1974, has negotiated contracts and been the club's top salary cap authority as Peterson's top assistant. His new position will have him involved in every aspect of the Chiefs operation and was seen by many as Peterson's way of preparing his successor.

"That's fair to say," Peterson acknowledged. "The question is whether I'm getting ready to replace myself. I'm not there yet, but we are preparing for the future."

Peterson said upon hiring Herm Edwards that his current five-year contract, which has four more years, would be his last with the Chiefs.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Hey, it might have been self-sabotage, too." -- Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, asked where he went wrong in becoming the first player booted off the poorly received Celebrity Cook-Off program on which he was a participant.

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