By Herbie Teope

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Inept NFL offenses aren’t often worthy of praise, especially a unit coming off a season ranked last or near the bottom of the league in statistical categories.

But new Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson sees a beautiful swan in his inherited ugly duckling.

“I think it’s a talented group,” Pederson told reporters during a conference call on Friday. “It can be an explosive group. There are some great weapons there on offense, very similar to the circumstances that we had in Philadelphia this past year.”

The Eagles' offense last season wasn’t special, but that unit was in a better place when compared to the Chiefs.

Kansas City’s passing game averaged 169.6 yards per game, ranking last in the league. QBs Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn combined for eight passing touchdowns, also last in the league, and threw the second-most interceptions in the league (20). As for scoring, the Chiefs were at the bottom yet again with 13.2 points per game.

Anchored by RB Jamaal Charles, only the Chiefs’ ground game, which ranked fifth in the league (149.7 yards per game), proved to be a bright spot in an otherwise black hole known as the Chiefs' offense.

Still, Pederson remained confident over the roster’s potential as he embarks on his first-ever offensive coordinator position.

“We’re just looking forward to getting in there as a staff, studying the guys that we have, putting our guys in the best position to be successful on the football field and going from there,” Pederson said. “I like the guys that we have, the guys I’ve seen on film, and I think it can be a good group.”

Pederson, 44, joins the Chiefs after four years in Philadelphia, where he served as the Eagles QB coach (2011-2012) and offensive quality control coach (2009-2010) under Andy Reid, now the Chiefs' head coach.

A 12-year NFL quarterback, Pederson also played for Reid in 1999.