TEICHER-Chiefs hire Gailey(new) - Page 3

C-Mac · 01-16-2008, 11:03 PM

Chiefs hire Gailey as offensive coordinator
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

When he started his search for a new offensive coordinator, Herm Edwards could have gone after a bigger, more popular name: Mike Martz, Cam Cameron, Brian Billick.

He could have found a bright, aggressive up-and-comer yet to make a name for himself in coaching, someone like Texas-El Paso’s Eric Price, who wound up interviewing for the job.

None was a better fit for the Chiefs, in Edwards’ opinion, than Chan Gailey, which is why the veteran coach got the job Wednesday.

“He’s a good fit for us,” Edwards said. “He’s a veteran play-caller, and our philosophies are similar. Just follow the guy’s career. You know he’s a solid guy. He’s a good teacher. He can make it simple enough that the young guys can line up and play. He’s been on the college level for the last six years. He can relate to the younger players.

“He understands how we want to play football: offense, defense and special teams together. He’s been a head coach. He’s been in that seat.

“The thing I like about Chan when we talked is the one thing he kept saying. He kept saying that it’s real simple, what it’s all about. It’s about winning the game and doing whatever you have to do to win the game. He’s exactly right.”

The Chiefs still need to hire wide receiver, offensive line and running back coaches. They were close to hiring Karl Dorrell as the receivers coach. Dorrell, recently fired after five seasons as UCLA’s head coach, formerly coached wide receivers for the Broncos.

His search for a coordinator never took Edwards to a name with more sizzle, possibly excepting former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, who never appeared to be a serious candidate.

Edwards passed on inviting big names like Martz, Cameron or Billick to interview mainly because he wasn’t sure any of them would have been a good match. There’s no guarantee any of them would have been interested.

The Chiefs have plenty of building to do, so coordinating their offense isn’t a prime job at the moment. And working under Edwards’ conservative, often-confining parameters could have scared away many qualified candidates.

At the other end, Edwards needed to find a coach he could sell to the returning players, who are beaten down by one of the worst offensive seasons in Chiefs history. That might have been difficult with the other publicly identified candidates: Fassel (fired at midseason by Baltimore from his most-recent coordinator job), Price (hasn’t coordinated an offense in the NFL or major college) or Jacksonville quarterbacks coach Mike Shula (his teams ran predictable offenses and scored few points).

Edwards doesn’t believe selling Gailey, 56, to his players will be difficult. Gailey has ample selling points.

Generally, Gailey has succeeded as an NFL offensive coordinator. While his teams haven’t always been high-scoring, they’ve almost always won. He was coordinator for the Broncos (1989 and 1990), Steelers (1996 and 1997) and Dolphins (2000 and 2001) for a total of six seasons, and five of those teams advanced to the playoffs.

The 1989 Broncos and 1996 Steelers reached the Super Bowl.

His teams almost always ran the ball well, no small matter to Edwards.

Gailey spent the last six seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech, taking the Yellow Jackets to a bowl game every year before being fired at the end of this season. He was also head coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 1998 and 1999, though that experience didn’t go quite as smoothly.

The Cowboys went to the playoffs each season, but lost in the first round both times. Gailey alienated some of his key players, including eventual Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, and was fired.

“His background was more of a power running game and not real sophisticated in the passing game,” Aikman said. “Chan wanted to do things entirely different from the way we had done it and the way we had had success. That was very challenging, not only for me, but for our entire team. He’d had a great deal of success doing it his way in Pittsburgh, running the football. I and our team had a great deal of success and won three Super Bowls doing it a different way. It just was not a good fit.”
Edwards had a different view of Gailey. He became well-acquainted with Gailey’s coaching in 2001 when Edwards coached the Jets and faced Gailey and the Dolphins twice as division rivals.

“His offenses were always tough,” Edwards said. “They ran the ball. His teams were always balanced. When you were trying to defend against him, you always knew they could run it, so you knew you would have to stop the run. They could throw it, so you had to watch the big play in the passing game. They were good on third downs. They always had some special plays you had to watch out for. Very tough to defend.”

While the Chiefs are moving away from the offensive system they used for several seasons, Edwards laid out only in broad terms what the new offense would look like.

“It’s going to be a balanced attack,” he said. “It’ll be the Chiefs offense. I don’t want to call it anything else.

“We’ll run the ball between the tackles. That’s what (Larry Johnson) does (well). In the passing game, we’ll take our shots down the field. (Gailey) believes in getting big plays. We’ll have the ability to go no-huddle. We’ll have the ability to line up four wideouts. We could have a different plan every week. But the staple will be toughness. That’s what we’ll be.”

HypnotizedMonkey · 01-17-2008, 07:46 AM

It's ironic that the offense played so Gaily this year.

mylittlepony · 01-17-2008, 08:20 AM

"Edwards passed on inviting big names like Martz, Cameron or Billick to interview mainly because he wasn’t sure any of them would have been a good match. There’s no guarantee any of them would have been interested."

Wow, I wont invite them to an interview because they might turn me down. That sounds like one of the losers who didnt get a date for the prom. Man up, I rather have had the best OCs available laugh in our faces, then having the pick of the litter of whoever was desperate enough to come here. I meen for crying out loud. Dare to be great.

TEX · 01-17-2008, 08:29 AM

Maybe Herm will let Gailey change things to RUN, PASS, RUN, PUNT!

TEX · 01-17-2008, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mylittlepony

"Edwards passed on inviting big names like Martz, Cameron or Billick to interview mainly because he wasn’t sure any of them would have been a good match. There’s no guarantee any of them would have been interested."

Wow, I wont invite them to an interview because they might turn me down. That sounds like one of the losers who didnt get a date for the prom. Man up, I rather have had the best OCs available laugh in our faces, then having the pick of the litter of whoever was desperate enough to come here. I meen for crying out loud. Dare to be great.

That and this way Herm won't be looking over his shoulder. He's such a LOSER in every sense.

stonedstooge · 01-17-2008, 08:51 AM

I thought the comment that the teams he worked for were not necessarily high scoring teams. He must have worked with some hellish Defensive Coordinators then didn't he.

**Rausch** · 01-17-2008, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

A simple passing approach could actually be effective with a team that has a young QB with a shotgun arm, combined with two big bruisers like Tony G and Dwayne Bowe. The goal should be simply to get the ball into their hands.

I laughed every time they threw that fast pass to Dwayne Bowe this year. Every single time but one, I think, he broke the cornerback's attempt at a tackle and kept going.

If you have the right people a complex offense like Saunders/Martz or the West Coast are nice. You don't have to be complex though. It's about the players on the field.

With a young QB and a physical pass catchers like Gonzo and Bowe a play action/basic offense isn't a bad thing.

BigChiefFan · 01-17-2008, 09:07 AM

More of the same. Bye season tickets.

**Rausch** · 01-17-2008, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigChiefFan

More of the same. Bye season tickets.

I can understand being a skeptic of Herm but at least give Chan a shot before punting on him...

KCJohnny · 01-17-2008, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I don't get Aikman's quote. When were the 90's Cowboys ever sophisticated in terms of passing? That team was all Emmitt all the time. Guy averaged 350 carries a season during their title run, cleared 1700 yards rushing twice, and was just under 1500 yards the other two years. And he caught 50+ passes/year during that time.

Aikman never - in his entire career - had 3500 yards passing and only once cleared 20 TDs. Another funny thing is, he threw 442 passes under Gailey in '99, which was the third most attempts in his 12-year career.

That team was probably the most conservative version of the Coryell offense to date, although the Chiefs in '05 might challenge for that title.

Excellent observation, Kyle. Someone else pointed out that Aikman's career tanked after Gailey left.

I think Herm is looking for balance, and that's what Gailey's offenses bring. I'm really excited about Gailey and some new blood on offense. If we get Jake Long, Berrian (or another FA WR), a real FB and some big young bulldozers on the OL, this could be a major turn around. If the Chiefs would have scored just 21 points in each game last year they would have finished 10-6. I think Channyball gets us to 21+ PPG.

StcChief · 01-17-2008, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hog Farmer

Being fired is overated. Sometimes people get canned just because they look stupid.

or do stupid things like smoke dope at lunch hour and come back to work
FU.

**DaKCMan AP** · 01-17-2008, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

I thought the comment that the teams he worked for were not necessarily high scoring teams. He must have worked with some hellish Defensive Coordinators then didn't he.

As WR coach of Pitt they were 5th and 6th in scoring.

As OC of Pitt they were 6th and 8th in scoring.

As HC of Dallas they were 6th and 5th in scoring.

As OC of Miami they were 8th and 9th in scoring.

**DaKCMan AP** · 01-17-2008, 09:34 AM

Not to mention it's about damn time we got someone from Florida on the roster/staff.

beach tribe · 01-17-2008, 09:36 AM

I'm sorry dumbass, but it was the 95 Steelers that went to the SB.

**HemiEd** · 01-17-2008, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

As WR coach of Pitt they were 5th and 6th in scoring.

As OC of Pitt they were 6th and 8th in scoring.

As HC of Dallas they were 6th and 5th in scoring.

As OC of Miami they were 8th and 9th in scoring.

Well thats cool.

01-16-2008, 11:03 PM
C-Mac Lurker Extraordinaire Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Wally World Casino cash: $1143699	TEICHER-Chiefs hire Gailey(new) Chiefs hire Gailey as offensive coordinator By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star When he started his search for a new offensive coordinator, Herm Edwards could have gone after a bigger, more popular name: Mike Martz, Cam Cameron, Brian Billick. He could have found a bright, aggressive up-and-comer yet to make a name for himself in coaching, someone like Texas-El Paso’s Eric Price, who wound up interviewing for the job. None was a better fit for the Chiefs, in Edwards’ opinion, than Chan Gailey, which is why the veteran coach got the job Wednesday. “He’s a good fit for us,” Edwards said. “He’s a veteran play-caller, and our philosophies are similar. Just follow the guy’s career. You know he’s a solid guy. He’s a good teacher. He can make it simple enough that the young guys can line up and play. He’s been on the college level for the last six years. He can relate to the younger players. “He understands how we want to play football: offense, defense and special teams together. He’s been a head coach. He’s been in that seat. “The thing I like about Chan when we talked is the one thing he kept saying. He kept saying that it’s real simple, what it’s all about. It’s about winning the game and doing whatever you have to do to win the game. He’s exactly right.” The Chiefs still need to hire wide receiver, offensive line and running back coaches. They were close to hiring Karl Dorrell as the receivers coach. Dorrell, recently fired after five seasons as UCLA’s head coach, formerly coached wide receivers for the Broncos. His search for a coordinator never took Edwards to a name with more sizzle, possibly excepting former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, who never appeared to be a serious candidate. Edwards passed on inviting big names like Martz, Cameron or Billick to interview mainly because he wasn’t sure any of them would have been a good match. There’s no guarantee any of them would have been interested. The Chiefs have plenty of building to do, so coordinating their offense isn’t a prime job at the moment. And working under Edwards’ conservative, often-confining parameters could have scared away many qualified candidates. At the other end, Edwards needed to find a coach he could sell to the returning players, who are beaten down by one of the worst offensive seasons in Chiefs history. That might have been difficult with the other publicly identified candidates: Fassel (fired at midseason by Baltimore from his most-recent coordinator job), Price (hasn’t coordinated an offense in the NFL or major college) or Jacksonville quarterbacks coach Mike Shula (his teams ran predictable offenses and scored few points). Edwards doesn’t believe selling Gailey, 56, to his players will be difficult. Gailey has ample selling points. Generally, Gailey has succeeded as an NFL offensive coordinator. While his teams haven’t always been high-scoring, they’ve almost always won. He was coordinator for the Broncos (1989 and 1990), Steelers (1996 and 1997) and Dolphins (2000 and 2001) for a total of six seasons, and five of those teams advanced to the playoffs. The 1989 Broncos and 1996 Steelers reached the Super Bowl. His teams almost always ran the ball well, no small matter to Edwards. Gailey spent the last six seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech, taking the Yellow Jackets to a bowl game every year before being fired at the end of this season. He was also head coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 1998 and 1999, though that experience didn’t go quite as smoothly. The Cowboys went to the playoffs each season, but lost in the first round both times. Gailey alienated some of his key players, including eventual Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, and was fired. “His background was more of a power running game and not real sophisticated in the passing game,” Aikman said. “Chan wanted to do things entirely different from the way we had done it and the way we had had success. That was very challenging, not only for me, but for our entire team. He’d had a great deal of success doing it his way in Pittsburgh, running the football. I and our team had a great deal of success and won three Super Bowls doing it a different way. It just was not a good fit.” Edwards had a different view of Gailey. He became well-acquainted with Gailey’s coaching in 2001 when Edwards coached the Jets and faced Gailey and the Dolphins twice as division rivals. “His offenses were always tough,” Edwards said. “They ran the ball. His teams were always balanced. When you were trying to defend against him, you always knew they could run it, so you knew you would have to stop the run. They could throw it, so you had to watch the big play in the passing game. They were good on third downs. They always had some special plays you had to watch out for. Very tough to defend.” While the Chiefs are moving away from the offensive system they used for several seasons, Edwards laid out only in broad terms what the new offense would look like. “It’s going to be a balanced attack,” he said. “It’ll be the Chiefs offense. I don’t want to call it anything else. “We’ll run the ball between the tackles. That’s what (Larry Johnson) does (well). In the passing game, we’ll take our shots down the field. (Gailey) believes in getting big plays. We’ll have the ability to go no-huddle. We’ll have the ability to line up four wideouts. We could have a different plan every week. But the staple will be toughness. That’s what we’ll be.”
Posts: 5,638

01-17-2008, 07:46 AM	#31
HypnotizedMonkey usually hooplah is involved Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Corpus Christi, TX Casino cash: $10004925	It's ironic that the offense played so Gaily this year.
Posts: 1,311

01-17-2008, 08:20 AM	#32
mylittlepony Starter Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Casino cash: $10005855	"Edwards passed on inviting big names like Martz, Cameron or Billick to interview mainly because he wasn’t sure any of them would have been a good match. There’s no guarantee any of them would have been interested." Wow, I wont invite them to an interview because they might turn me down. That sounds like one of the losers who didnt get a date for the prom. Man up, I rather have had the best OCs available laugh in our faces, then having the pick of the litter of whoever was desperate enough to come here. I meen for crying out loud. Dare to be great.
Posts: 921

01-17-2008, 08:29 AM	#33
TEX Out Gunning CP's Fandom Police Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Galveston, TX Casino cash: $943127	Maybe Herm will let Gailey change things to RUN, PASS, RUN, PUNT! __________________ "The CHIEFS, HAVE THEIR DYNASTY!"
Posts: 35,502

01-17-2008, 08:51 AM	#35
stonedstooge Arf! Arf! Arf! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: North Casino cash: $5104173	Gailey I thought the comment that the teams he worked for were not necessarily high scoring teams. He must have worked with some hellish Defensive Coordinators then didn't he.
Posts: 25,288

01-17-2008, 09:07 AM	#37
BigChiefFan MVP Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: In the Top 10 Casino cash: $9924205	More of the same. Bye season tickets. __________________ A 35 year drought can make you thirsty.
Posts: 15,777

01-17-2008, 09:34 AM	#42
DaKCMan AP Beloved & Awesome CP Celebrity Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Florida Casino cash: $6574952	Not to mention it's about damn time we got someone from Florida on the roster/staff. __________________
Posts: 35,703

01-17-2008, 09:36 AM	#43
beach tribe Keep doubting J MFing Houston Join Date: May 2007 Location: ft.lauderdale Casino cash: $4428036	I'm sorry dumbass, but it was the 95 Steelers that went to the SB.
Posts: 21,429