Kansas City, Mo ? Herm Edwards, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs during the worst two-year span in team history, was fired Friday.

Edwards goes out with a three-year regular-season record of 15-33 and with one year remaining on a four-year, $12 million contract. As head coach of the New York Jets in 2001-05, he had a regular-season mark of 39-41 and was 2-3 in the playoffs.

Edwards had been waiting to learn his fate since president and general manager Carl Peterson abruptly resigned on Dec. 15. When Scott Pioli was introduced as Peterson’s successor on Jan. 13, he was noncommittal and said only that he intended to speak with Edwards.

“This was not an easy decision. Herm is an outstanding football coach and a man of integrity. We appreciate his leadership over the past three seasons, and we wish him all the best in the future,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in a written statement.

Pioli said he has had several conversations with Edwards over the last week.

“After careful consideration, Clark and I felt that it was best to make a change,” Pioli said.

Bob Moore, a spokesman for the team, said the Chiefs didn’t have a timeline for replacing Edwards. He said all the assistant coaches still with Kansas City are under contract.

Edwards expressed his gratitude to the Hunt family and said he respected “the tough decision that was made to move in a new direction.”

“There is not a more gracious family in all of professional sports than the Hunts,” Edwards said in a statement released by the team. “To the players and coaches who worked so hard for our team, I appreciate their efforts.”

After Edwards and Peterson launched a full-fledged rebuilding project in 2008, youth and injury led to a 2-14 record and a distressful two-year tally of 6-26 that cost both men their jobs. Particularly embarrassing to Edwards was a defense that managed only 10 sacks this season, gave up a team-record 332 yards rushing in one game and a team-record 54 points in another. Edwards had promised on his first day as head coach to repair the weak defense that characterized the five-year Dick Vermeil regime.

Following a 10-year career as an NFL cornerback, Edwards’ first experience with Kansas City came as a training camp assistant in 1989. Seventeen years later, he had the distinction of being the first man to become head coach of the team that brought him into the NFL through the league’s minority coaching fellowship program.

Edwards’ most costly mistake may have been overlooking Brodie Croyle’s history of injuries and designating him as the foundation quarterback. A third-round pick out of Alabama in 2006, Croyle never could stay healthy and was 0-8 as a starter when he went down for the season due to a knee injury.

Edwards’ first year in Kansas City was a success. The Chiefs went 9-7 and captured the last wild-card playoff spot. He became only the fifth man to take two different teams to the postseason in his first year as head coach; the Jets went to the playoffs three times in his five seasons there.