Kansas City, Mo ? Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs are not alone in hoping to see history repeat itself.

From the players’ weight room in the bowels of Arrowhead Stadium, to the plush executive offices on the fourth floor, to the lonesome seat at the very end of the uppermost row high above the field, excitement reigns.

Year No. 3, everyone knows, has always been a breakthrough season everywhere Dick Vermeil has coached.

“When coach Vermeil was at Philadelphia, they went to the playoffs in his third year for the first time in I don’t know how long,” said linebacker Shawn Barber, one of three key defensive newcomers.

“His third year at St. Louis, they went to the Super Bowl and won it. Now this is his third year in Kansas City.”

In year No. 2 of Vermeil’s regime, the offense flowered.

Now it’s time for the defense to follow suit. If the offense can be just 90 percent of the unit that led the NFL in total yards last year and the defense can be improved from worst to just middle-of-the-pack, Vermeil’s third year could indeed follow a familiar pattern.

If he does become the first man to lead three different teams to the Super Bowl, Vermeil probably would join Hank Stram one day as former Kansas City head coaches in the hall of fame.

“If you’re doing things right, the good things compound,” Vermeil said. “By your third year, you ought to be a better football team.”

The sadsack unit that ranked 32nd in total defense last season will have at least four new starters and possibly five.

The key addition is Barber. The Chiefs are counting on the former Eagles standout to provide speed and leadership to a defense badly in need of both.

“He’s brought a natural instinct to the position,” Vermeil said. “A lot of guys run fast, but they get started slow. Other guys run fast but they don’t read what’s happening until it’s too late. He has a great sense for what’s going on and responds to it.”

Also signed to free agent contracts were defensive end Vonnie Holliday and cornerback Dexter McLeon. Holliday will help an anemic outside pass rush. McLeon was initially thought of as a nickel back. But if veteran William Bartee falters as badly as last year, McLeon will start.

As important as any newcomer will be safety Jerome Woods, an eight-year veteran who went out for the year with a broken leg last August, an absence that sent shockwaves through the already-shaky secondary. A steel rod in his leg gave him trouble in training camp, but the defense will be strengthened significantly if Woods regains his stamina and form.

Another new face, although he’s technically a second-year man, will be 320-pound defensive tackle Ryan Sims. The sixth player taken overall in the 2002 draft, Sims sat out training camp and then injured his elbow shortly after he finally broke into the lineup and missed the rest of the year.

But the North Carolina product reported to camp in good condition and looks like he could develop into a forceful presence in the middle of the defensive line.

The other defensive end will be veteran Eric Hicks, who figures to be double-teamed much less this year with so many other good defenders for opponents to worry about.

The other outside linebacker will be Scott Fujita, an uncommonly bright, hardworking fifth-round find in the 2002 draft.

“Being around this defense and these guys the last few months, I don’t see this being a last-place defense at all,” Barber said. “It must have been more of a mental breakdown than lack of talent level.”

Even a drastically improved defense would, of course, be greatly negated if running back Priest Holmes does not come back strong after season-ending hip surgery. The NFL’s offensive player of the year, Holmes was brought slowly along during the exhibition season.

Also to be resolved was his demand for a contract extension, with money befitting the man who led the league the past two years in total yards from scrimmage.