Kansas City, Mo. ? In the first few minutes of his first practice as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Herman Edwards seemed to be everywhere.

Now he’s shouting encouraging words to the defensive backs. Now he’s over there with the defensive linemen, pulling a young player aside and speaking to him intently.

Now all of a sudden he’s all the way back on the other side of the field having a chat with the linebackers.

“I’ll get with the offensive linemen this afternoon,” he said with a grin. “Then I’ll be with the wide receivers.”

All the draftees and rookie free agents were merely the subplot Friday to the first day of Kansas City’s rookie minicamp.

Most eyes were on Edwards, and everyone learned that the 51-year-old coach acts more like 20.

He’s here, there and everywhere, a hands-on, high-energy contrast to the easygoing style that characterized the Dick Vermeil era the past five seasons.

“When you see me not be hands on, let me know,” Edwards said. “Because I’m going to be that kind of coach, and I’m going to be involved with all the positions.”

Edwards has been slowly putting his stamp on things since he was hired last winter to replace the retired Vermeil. For example, players will no longer pull out their cell phones the minute they walk into the locker room and start dialing.

They won’t pass time by shooting a little pool, either. Cell phones, which had become omnipresent during Vermeil’s time, have been banned from the locker room. The pool table Vermeil installed in the middle of the room as a gift to the players has been packed up and taken away.

“It’s not a pool hall. It’s a football facility,” Edwards said. “We’re here to practice football and learn football. We come in here to go to work.”

They’ll work at a quicker pace, too. Edwards wants to run the same crisp and efficient practices that worked so well for him as head coach for the New York Jets.

“The way you practice and prepare is the way you’re going to play. I told these guys we’re going to be a very, very fast team, on both sides of the ball and on special teams.”

For assistant coaches, a premium will be put on organization.

“That’s what you do when you have practices that aren’t that long,” he said. “You have to be organized in your teaching method – get it to the players as fast as you can get it to them, and then they’ve got to execute,” he said.

The Edwards method will take some getting used to for Kansas City’s players and assistant coaches alike. Vermeil over his many years had evolved a laid-back, hands-off style.

Much of the time he would stand in the middle of the field during practice and observe – a loving grandfather keeping a careful eye on the playground. He spent almost no time with the defense.

But Edwards is perpetual motion.

“They have to get familiar with me, especially with me blowing the whistle and running around like I’m crazy,” he said. “I think some of them think I’m going to die out the second half. They got no idea. I’ve got a lot of energy in me.

“I enjoy football. This is what I do. I’ve been blessed to be a participant in this league for 27 years. I enjoy coaching players on the grass.

“You’ve got to have some energy, and you’ve got to have fun with them. This is a kid’s game. You can’t ever lose that kid in you. And I never have.”