Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs
I finally got a chance to wade through the e-mail of the weekend, most of it tied to the hiring of Todd Haley as Chiefs head coach.
Some fans are thrilled with the employment of Haley.
Others are ambivalent.
And there is a strong minority of fans who are having a hard time believing Haley was the best candidate among all the available coaches out there. The most repeated phrase was the Chiefs simply went out and signed up the flavor of the month in the NFL.
First, let’s establish right off the bat that Scott Pioli’s words about building a team also apply to hiring a head coach. He wasn’t looking for an all-star; he was looking for somebody who would mesh well with his beliefs and those of the Hunt family in how the Chiefs should go forward. Yes, a guy like Jon Gruden has a longer track record. He did take a team to the Super Bowl and won the game. A guy like Brian Billick has done the same thing, and we don’t have to mention guys like Shanahan and Cowher.
None of those coaches was going to give the franchise what it was looking for in a head man. Pioli and the Hunts believe they have found that man in Haley. Whether they are correct or not, we’ll see in the next few years.
But let’s look at the most frequent complaints about the Haley hire. The No. 1 item I’ve heard on the street and in the e-mail is they are concerned that Haley did not play pro football. “If he’s never played the game on the pro level, how are players going to follow him?” asked one e-mailer.
Here are the facts: Haley is now one of 22 NFL head coaches who did not play pro football. That’s right, only 10 of the current team leaders played the game at that level. Three of that group played in Canada, or had a very short cup of coffee in the NFL: Tom Cable, Mike Smith and Sean Payton. The seven coaches who actually had NFL careers were: Dick Jauron, Gary Kubiak, Jeff Fisher, Ken Whisenhunt, Jim Zorn, Jack Del Rio and Mike Singletary. Only Singletary is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his playing career.
So, not playing in the NFL and becoming a head coach in the league is not an unusual situation. But Haley is unusual in this fact: he didn’t play college football either, or high school football. As much background as can be gained from team media guides and NFL publications, he would be the only head coach in ’09 who did not play football. Among the other 31, all had some sort of college football playing career. Many played at small college programs, like Wesleyan (Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini), John Carroll (Josh McDaniels), New Haven (Tony Sparano), Georgetown (Jim Schwartz), Hofstra (Raheem Morris) and Springfield (Steve Spagnoulo).
There have been 43 Super Bowls played since the championship game was first scheduled after the 1966 season. Of the champions, 13 were led by a head coach who had played in the league: Tom Landry (2), Don Shula (2), Chuck Noll (4), Tom Flores (2), Mike Ditka, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy.
Ditka is the only one of those seven coaches who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame because of his playing career.
Another complaint: why pick a guy who has never been a head coach before? Why does his on-the-job training have to come with the Chiefs? Again, remember what Pioli was looking for in his partner. Sometimes a guy who has already been a head coach is set in his ways, and those ways may not be the way the Chiefs need to go. Right now, there are seven of the 32 NFL head coaches who have held a head coaching job in the league before their current assignment: Belichick, Mangini, Norv Turner, Wade Phillips, Tom Coughlin and Jim Mora, Jr.
So again, the majority of NFL head coaches have not been in that role before.
The third hit on Haley was phrased in a number of different ways, but came down to concern not about his age, but about the time he’s been in coaching.
The 2009 season will be Haley’s 13th in coaching. That ranks him in the bottom third when it comes to experience. Here are the fastest routes to being an NFL head coach taken by current coaches in their present position:
- 6 seasons of coaching at all levels – Mike Singletary
- 7 seasons – Jack Del Rio
- 10 seasons – Jeff Fisher
- 11 seasons – Josh McDaniels
- 12 seasons – Eric Mangini and Raheem Morris.
- 13 seasons – Haley, Mike Tomlin and Ken Whisenhunt.
Of course, Tomlin and Whisenhunt were the Super Bowl head coaches just last week. Whisenhunt played pro football, but Tomlin did not. Here’s how the histories of Tomlin and Haley match up over the last 14 years:
| Todd Haley |
Year |
Mike Tomlin |
| Personnel assistant N.Y. Jets |
1995 |
WRs coach at VMI |
| ” ” ” ” “ |
1996 |
Grad assistant at U. of Memphis |
| Offensive assistant N.Y. Jets |
1997 |
WRs coach at Arkansas State |
| ” ” ” ” “ |
1998 |
DBs coach at Arkansas State |
| WRs coach N.Y. Jets |
1999 |
DBs coach at U. of Cincinnati |
| ” ” ” ” “ |
2000 |
” ” ” ” “ |
| WRs coach Chicago Bears |
2001 |
DBs coach Tampa Bay Bucs |
| ” ” ” ” “ |
2002 |
” ” ” ” ” “ |
| ” ” ” ” “ |
2003 |
” ” ” ” ” “ |
| WRs coach Dallas Cowboys |
2004 |
” ” ” ” ” “ |
| ” ” ” ” “ |
2005 |
” ” ” ” ” “ |
| ” ” ” ” “ |
2006 |
Def. Coordinator Minnesota Vikings |
| Off. Coordinator Arizona Cardinals |
2007 |
Head coach Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Super Bowl losing off. Coordinator |
2008 |
Super Bowl winning head coach |
Forget for a moment the 2008 season and Tomlin’s Super Bowl victory. Look at the resumes from 1995-2007. Does one look any better than the other? Tomlin had only six years of NFL coaching before he replaced Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh, and only one year as a coordinator. Haley had 12 seasons of NFL coaching and two seasons as a coordinator before being named the Chiefs head coach.
So, Todd Haley hasn’t played pro football, he has not been a head coach at any level before and he doesn’t have a lengthy resume in coaching.
All of that does not make him an unusual hire as an NFL head coach. Whether it makes him a good hire, he’ll get the chance to prove in the next year or two.
BIG BEN HAD CRACKED RIBS
During Super Bowl week, there was a great deal of discussion about the health of Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger. It was reported by the website profootballtalk.com that Big Ben had x-rays on his ribs during the week. The Steelers never outright denied the story, but they also would not confirm it. Tomlin said he didn’t know anything about x-rays.
Well on Sunday before the game, Roethlisberger admitted that he’d had x-rays and now thanks to SI.com’s Peter King we know that he had two cracked ribs. That was confirmed by an MRI exam after the Super Bowl.
“Luckily, in the game, I didn’t take any big hits to make ‘em hurt,” Roethlisberger told King. “But I knew all along there was something wrong. There wouldn’t have been anything they could have done about fractured ribs anyway. It was just suck it up and play.”
Here’s the details, plus a good look from Roethlisberger’s perspective of that final drive.
PLAYER MOVES AROUND THE LEAGUE
Monday was the first day that NFL teams could clear players off their roster. More than a few took the opportunity. A couple signed impending free agents. Here are the details:
BROWNS - released quarterbacks Ken Dorsey and Bruce Gradkowski.
BUCCANEERS – signed impending UFA QB Josh McCown to a two-year contract.
COWBOYS – announced they released CB Adam “Pacman” Jones.
FALCONS - are considering slapping the franchise player tag on punter Michael Koenen.
GIANTS - signed impending UFA QB David Carr to a one-year contract. The Giants cut S Sammy Knight, CB Sam Madison and RB Reuben Droughns.
LIONS – released five starters from last season in CB Leigh Bodden, S Dwight Smith, G Edwin Mulitalo, WR Mike Furrey and TE Dan Campbell.
FROM THE PAGES OF PRO BOWL HISTORY
On February 10, 2007, the AFC beat the NFC 31-28, thanks to a game winning FG of 21 yards from Nate Kaeding that went through the uprights with no time left on the clock. The NFC had scored twice within 66 seconds to tie the score with 108 seconds to play. Leading the AFC offense was Cincinnati QB Carson Palmer who completed eight of 17 for 190 yards and two touchdowns to earn MVP honors. Colts WR Reggie Wayne caught six passes for 137 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown play. Baltimore S Ed Reed had two interceptions.
SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO …
A handful of former Chiefs defensive backs who all share February 10 as their date of birth. Let’s start with S Bennie Thompson, born in 1963 in New Orleans. Thompson played 11 seasons in the NFL, including two years with the Chiefs (1992-93) when he appeared in 32 games, mostly on special teams. However, he did have four interceptions in ’92.
Born in 1968 in Dumas, Arkansas was S Doug Terry, who came out of the University of Kansas and made the Chiefs roster as a rookie free agent in 1992. He ended up playing four seasons (1992-95) for the Chiefs, appearing in 57 games with 10 starts. He had two interceptions and three fumbles recovered.
Born in 1974 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania was CB Ty Law
(left). He’s played 14 seasons in the NFL, including last season with the New York Jets. Law played two seasons (2006-07) and started 32 games for the Chiefs, with six interceptions.
Born on February 10, 1957 in Weymouth, MA was offensive lineman Jim Rourke, who played seven seasons in the NFL, six of those for the Chiefs (1980-84, 1986). He played in 64 games with 20 starts.
Hey Bob. Good info. I’d just like to add a couple of points to your piece.
1 – Pioli did not hire Haley because he’s the flavor of the month. Pioli has known Haley for many years and has watched him grow. I guarantee that Pioli had considered Haley a potential head coach in waiting well before this last season began.
2 – A head coach must have a different skill set than a coordinator. Being a great (or even good) coordinator has little to do with the eventual success (or lack of it) as a head coach. Hopefully Haley has the necessary skills. None of us can know. And even Pioli is trying to project whether or not Haley has these skills.
3 – Hiring experienced head coaches is no guarantee of future success. There are way more examples of coaches who continue to fail (like Norv Turner and Wade Phillips) than there are ones who prosper in their second gig (Belichick).
Keep up the great work Bob!
For all those new “Haley Haters” out there, come on, it can’t get any worse than a 2-14 season under “YOUR” coach Herm. I think Haley will do a much better job than what Herm did, or at least I hope so. Lets give him a chance & support our Chiefs.
Go Chiefs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Any news on a D-coordinator? Anybody hear anything?
anybody remember the dude that always said “once again hunt reaffirms that Herm is the man!! heh, heh, heh,”?
wonder where he went?
Haley strikes me as the right guy, with the right temperment and intensity to replace the so-called ‘player’s coach’ in Herm. Ratcheting up the focus and holding players accountable for their actions and working standards aren’t everything when it comes to fielding a better NFL team.
But, it’s a good start and the Chiefs will get it with this young head coach. I’m glad he’s the one with the job.
Nice break down Bob. It certainly changed my prospective on the guy. I hope he is the right guy – the management seems to be all on the same page now(both Clark and Scott at the press conferences) and that is a nice change in pace. I am going to keep the faith alive and I will say that he should be the right one to tell LJ to either STFU or pack it the **** up.
JB
MenInRed I agree with you. Let’s give this man a chance. He hasn’t done a thing with our team yet and people are already starting to pour on the crap. Chiefs fans need to stand up right now and let our new leaders lead. Who the hack knows? It may not work. But we have to get this ship moving in the right direction here, and the fans I think could be a big part of that. Show up in Week 1 of the ’09 season and blow that stadium up with noise.
Also, does anyone else notice how Big Ben always appears to have a mysterious “injury” or circumstance that he seems to announce to raise himself up onto a pedastal? It just seems a bit odd to me that you always hear from Big Ben………”Huh, Yeah I was playing with a broken ankle and a seperated shoulder and I had a butt pimple and I had absolutly no idea. I must be good.” Just an observation.
And did anyone else see the KU\MU Basketball Game last night? Sweet mother…….
Congrats to Will Shields!!
“Former Chiefs’ star Shields honored
February 9, 2009 2:33 PM
Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson
Former Kansas City Chiefs great Will Shields was honored Saturday as he was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Shields, a Pro Football Hall of Fame-caliber guard, spent 14 seasons with the Chiefs. He made the Pro Bowl 12 times. He played 224 consecutive games for the Chiefs, which was the second longest active streak behind Brett Favre. Shields retired after the 2006 season.
Shields was also honored for his off-the-field success. He established his own foundation in Kansas City and was known for his charitable work. He won the NFL’s prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2003.
When he is eligible in 2012, Shields should get serious consideration as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”
My kinda guy!
Yeah, I remember him. His name was Rin Tin Tin. HAHAHAHA. Not much insight in the Chiefs organization, that’s for sure!
Nobody really knows how Haley will be. But most everybody loves the Pioli hiring. If you are one of those people that loves Pioli then you also must trust Pioli…..if you love Pioli and thus trust Pioli then you must trust that hiring Haley is a good thing. No more crying….the future looks good.
…………Hi DS.
Would love any update on the hiring of coaches out at Arrowhead. When hires are made, it’d be great to see information on them here. I’m almost as interested in who the new Special Teams Coach will be, as I am, the Def. Coordinator. I, like all of us, miss the days of Vanover and Dante Hall. (Let’s not talk about kickers…) Thanks Bob.
Detroit’s cuts, made yesterday, were real interesting, especially Bodden(CB). That’s puzzling. The guy has new life, you’d like to think, with a new coaching staff. But, before the sun sets on their introductory press conferences, they cut him. Detroit gave a lot up for a package that included Bodden. So, what’s that about?
I am one who thinks the hiring of Pioli to right this organization is just the first step taken by Clark Hunt to prove that he is in charge and is on top of everything. Scott Pioli is going to be the best thing for this organization, and I think he will bring in the best coaches and players in his opinion. The fact there is no information coming out of one arrowhead drive is OK, frustrating but OK. To me it means they are assembling a team like the Steelers and Pats and getting everything lined up before making any announcements. I would prefer it this way to the way the Browns, Raiders and Cowboys are doing things. This tells me we may not be an overnight sensation like the Falcons or Dolphins of last year. But we will be getting good for the long haul, no quick fixes this year only to pay for them with several years of cap trouble. GO CHIEFS!
I agree with the others. Barely has the GM and coach been hired and out come the boo birds. WTF?? Do those people just want the team to fail or are they really bronco/raider fans just trying to pee in the pool? Either way we WILL NOT be 2-14 this year. No way. Not gonna do it. I don’t expect a Super Bowl appearance but at least a .500 or better showing would be nice. Maybe I’m too optimistic……
No Don in Wichita………you are not too optimistic…you are a true fan.
I expect a Super Bowl, and will be disappointed with anything less. Why? Because that’s what winners like Pioli and Haley expect. If you don’t set your goals high, you’ll achieve the mediocrity you accept. No more “It’s OK, “get over it” nonsense coming from Chief leaders. No more shifting blame everywhere. Striving for excellence is the only chance to achieve it.
chiefwurm, I find this hard to believe, but a friend of a friend is an attorny and I was told that he was working on finalizing a contract for the purchase of a house on ward parkway for Bill Cowher. I don’t know how accurate a source this is, but it is what I heard. Cowher as DC? I would love to see it, but I find it hard to believe. Just my two cents for today.
Its unbelievable that everyone complained about Herm and Carl. Now they get their wish with their respective firing and resignation. We get some fresh faces with a equally fresh perspective and everyone complains. Relax and give it some time. You asked for change and its going to be here awhile!
It would not surprise me that Peoli and Haley have already asked for permission to interview for their coordinators. Some may have already been here for interviews. Like everything else you’re not going to get much information from Arrowhead on who is coming and who has already interviewed. I would guess they they should have all their staff early next week, if not sooner. I’ve heard no new names other than those already rumored-Romeo Crennell for defense, Chan Gailey or Greg Olson for offense.
someone should find out who the defensive coordinator candidates are…
We’ll know at the Press conference introducing the staff. No leaks. I love this new way of doing business for the Chiefs.
Got to post this – Some big time KC fan wants the team to draft the best DE available with the third pick. That was to “light a fire” under Dorsey. Who would have thought the 5th pick of a year ago need a fire to play the game?
Bennie Thompson for special teams coach! He was GREAT! Remember the fire hydrant tackle?
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