Kansas City, Mo. ? After meeting with quarterback Trent Green, Kansas City Chiefs officials feel confident they’ll work out a new contract and prorate the $8 million roster bonus their quarterback is due in March.

But apparently also coming back — to the disappointment of many fans — will be defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.

The Chiefs, desperate to retool the NFL’s worst defense through free agency and the draft, need to get Green’s bonus prorated in order to gain more room under their salary cap. They could do that by redoing the five years left on Green’s contract and making it a signing bonus.

Coach Dick Vermeil and team president Carl Peterson each met personally with Green Tuesday morning.

“He wants to be here. He wants to be a Chief,” Vermeil said. “He wants to get (the contract) done quickly.”

With Green hitting better than 61 percent of his passes, the Chiefs set numerous team records on offense and led the NFL in scoring while going 8-8 behind their ineffectual defense.

Ironically, the Chiefs find themselves in the same situation and with the same agent, Dick Steiner, as they were two years ago with then-starting quarterback Elvis Grbac.

Grbac declined to redo his contract and eventually moved on to Baltimore, forcing the Chiefs to give up a No. 1 draft choice to trade with St. Louis for Green.

“His agent’s tough,” Vermeil said. “But I’ve dealt with him before. It would be an advantage to get it done quickly because it defines what (assistant general manager Denny Thum) and Carl have to do with the rest of our salary cap, and free agents that are out there.”

The last thing the Chiefs want heading into the final year of Vermeil’s three-year contract is to break in a new quarterback.

Green, 32, indicated he has no interest in leaving.

Kansas City quarterback Trent Green (10) walks off the field after the Chiefs' season finale. KC lost to the Raiders, 24-0, on Saturday in Oakland, Calif.

“After Trent talked with Dick this morning he came down the hall to my office and sat down and assured me that would not be the situation,” Peterson said.

Even if they end up paying the $8 million up front, the Chiefs could still work it under their cap, Peterson said.

“Would it be better for us to do a new contract with him? Quite obviously, yes. We can make a better situation for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Trent knows that.”

As soon as they get Green’s contract taken care of, the Chiefs will turn full attention to their defense, which finished 32nd among the 32 NFL teams and caused a wonderful season by the offense to go to waste. Despite being the least-penalized team in the league and setting an NFL record by losing only two fumbles, the wretched defense caused the Chiefs to miss the playoffs a fifth straight season.

Nevertheless, despite cries from fans and media to can Robinson and his complex scheme, Vermeil said he does not plan any coaching changes.

He did say he would take the next week to go home to Philadelphia and get away from Kansas City to review the year and the team.

“We need some help on defense,” Vermeil said. “Either we need help on our pass rush or on our pass rush scheme. It’s a combination of a lot of things.”

Veteran safety Jerome Woods, a former first-round pick, broke his leg in the exhibition season and was lost for the year. The Chiefs also got almost nothing out of this season’s No. 1 pick, defensive tackle Ryan Sims, who injured his elbow early in the year and was put on injured reserve.

“This next year we’ll put Sims back out on the field. We’ll have another first round pick and we get (Woods back),” Vermeil said. “There’s three first-round pick players. They didn’t play this year. Boy, it makes a difference.”

Poor tackling was a problem all year.

“I have to go back and evaluate how we run our fundamental sessions in training camp,” Vermeil said. “Maybe I took the full pads off this group too soon this season. (In shells) You can’t hit each other like you do in pads. You’re not getting enough repetition in tackling.”

Peterson also said there would be a “nominal” hike in ticket prices next year, the 12th increase in 13 seasons.