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Chiefs’ coaching staff reportedly had changes made to the team hotel in Arizona

After arriving Sunday at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, the Chiefs players took team buses to the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch.

That will be their home for the next week as the team prepares to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

NFL Network reporter James Palmer said the Chiefs’ players had a security meeting on Sunday night, but for the most part they had time for themselves.

Palmer also noted the Chiefs’ coaching staff made some changes at the team hotel. The goal is to make the players feel at ease.

“What’s interesting here in this hotel, they want to make it feel as much like Kansas City and their facility there, as possible,” Palmer reported Sunday. “I was told all of the meeting rooms that they have, because they have meeting rooms here (and) the coaches have their own offices, they made these meeting rooms look exactly like their meeting rooms in Kansas City.

“So when the players walk into them, they have that feel that they are back in Kansas City. It’s a normal week as much as possible while they’re here at the hotel, because we know there’s so many other things about this week that are just not normal as a player.”

One of the abnormalities about the week: the Chiefs and Eagles players will have media sessions on four different days and they will start at three different times, so there is little consistency.

Palmer noted the Chiefs are looking to their preparation for Super Bowl LIV as inspiration for this year’s big game. Ahead of Super Bowl LV, the Chiefs flew in two days before kickoff rather than a week ahead because of COVID restrictions, so they’re not following that formula.

“Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is a big journaler, so he went back and looked at his journal, all the notes that he took about what he liked in terms of preparing his defense for that game in 2019,” Palmer said of Super Bowl LIV, which the Chiefs won 31-20 over the 49ers. “Maybe some changes he wants to make.”

Palmer added that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes plans to lead by example, so the younger players can know what to expect this week.

“He’s trying to lay a blueprint for them on how you handle this from a player’s perspective. That the schedule is not going to be the same every day,” Palmer said of Mahomes. “You have to find time on your own to watch film. He’s lending a hand, leading this team as he could in any capacity in their preparation for Sunday.”

Here are the clips of Palmer talking about the Chiefs preparations for this week.