The decision to end the Scott Pioli era and to hire Andy Reid is already paying off for the Hunt family. The ownership of the Kansas City Chiefs answered calls from fans to fire Pioli as general manager and Romeo Crennel as coach after a 2-14 season.

The Chiefs then hired an accomplished coach in Reid to take over. Since then, the Chiefs have made huge splashes by keeping several key free agents and trading for quarterback Alex Smith.

It is playing big in the fan base. According to the Associated Press, tickets sales are up 112 percent from a year ago. That is vital in Kansas City, where the fan base was starting to waver in recent years. But the Chiefs appear on their way to filling Arrowhead Stadium once again, and the season is still six months from starting.

That wouldn’t be the case if Pioli’s regime was kept. Fans loudly voiced their opinion about the four-season Pioli era last year, complete with airplane flyovers with banners asking the team to make a change. A change has been made, and it is clearly paying off in Kansas City.

In other AFC West news:

ESPN.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha doesn’t believe Terrelle Pryor is ready to be a starting quarterback.

Predictably, the Chiefs will meet with Texas A&M left tackle Luke Joeckel later this month. He is considered a favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Chiefs.