Underappreciated Kuharich deserved better from Chiefs

[T-post Tom]

Caution, this may piss you off...

Underappreciated Kuharich deserved better from Chiefs
Jan. 13, 2009
By Clark Judge
CBSSports.com Senior Writer

Memo to Scott Pioli: Keep Bill Kuharich.

Kuharich is Kansas City's vice president of player personnel, and to say he just got a raw deal is an understatement. Kuharich deserved to be part of the Chiefs' hunt for a general manager, but he wasn't ... and he wasn't because the Chiefs confined their search to applicants outside the club.

So they landed the Patriots' Pioli, and hooray for them.

Now my question is: Where does that leave Kuharich? I suspect only Pioli knows.

If he does what is best for him and his new employer keeps him, he trusts him and he relies on him. Kuharich not only is good at his job; he is so good he deserved to be a candidate for the position Pioli just filled.

But he wasn't, and I'm still not sure why.

Maybe the Chiefs considered him too old. He's 55. Maybe they wanted someone more telegenic. Kuharich is more at home in a sweater and khakis. Or maybe they just wanted a perspective from someone outside the organization, someone more removed from former president Carl Peterson.

"He was collateral damage," one NFC general manager said. "The Chiefs didn't want to go anywhere near someone close to Carl. And that's unfortunate because Kuharich is outstanding."

Well, whatever the reason it was apparent Kuharich didn't pass the physical and that owner Clark Hunt would be sold on someone outside the 816 area code. And that's OK if Hunt also understood that by doing that he eliminated one of his most qualified candidates.

"I want somebody who's a shrewd evaluator of football talent," Hunt said last month. "(His) job will be to think 24/7 about the football team. That's the most important quality."

Pardon me, but I think he just described Kuharich.

Look, I don't know if he could have outpolled Pioli. I don't know that anyone could. But I do know he deserved a chance to make his case because, like Pioli, he knew how to build a football team. He did it when he was general manager with the Saints, and he has done in his nine years with the Chiefs.

Let's start with New Orleans. I know what you're going to tell me: The Saints didn't rebound from their 1990s funk until Kuharich left, and you're right. But this just in: They got good with Kuharich's players.

The foundation of the team that went to the 2000 playoffs was laid by Kuharich, and don't tell me how foolish it was for the Saints to trade away an entire draft class for Ricky Williams.

First, that was an organizational decision, with the owner signing off on it. Second, of the draft picks they sacrificed, only one -- tackle Chris Samuels -- amounted to anything. Third, Williams became a marquee player for the Saints, rushing for 179 yards in a game as a rookie and 1,000 or more yards in two of his three seasons there.

So, yeah, that move worked out. Like other drafts in New Orleans worked out, with four first-rounders under Kuharich going on to Pro Bowls.

When he left after the 1999 season, the Saints were stocked with talent -- much as Tampa Bay was when Tony Dungy departed following the 2002 season. The Saints went from dead last (3-13) in their division in 1999 to first (10-6) a year later, a remarkable achievement that earned Kuharich's successor, Randy Mueller, the league's Executive of the Year.

But the Saints won with many of the players Kuharich chose, which means he was as much Executive of the Year as Mueller.

And let's not forget, it was Kuharich who brought free agent Jake Delhomme to the Saints in 1997. I once remember him telling me he thought the guy was good enough to start for the club. Only he never really had a chance. So he shuffled off to Carolina after Kuharich left ... and took the Panthers to the Super Bowl.

Score another for Kuharich.

Now fast forward to Kansas City. It was Kuharich who ran the pro personnel department that acquired starters like running back Priest Holmes, quarterback Trent Green and wide receiver Eddie Kennison and that swung the deal for tackle Willie Roaf.

It was Kuharich who ran the past three drafts that delivered a raft of starters, including Tamba Hali, Dwayne Bowe, Bernard Pollard, Jarrad Page, Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Flowers and Branden Albert. And it was Kuharich who oversaw a 2008 draft that was universally acclaimed as one of the best anywhere.

Four draft picks became starters, and all but one of the 11 choices played.

Then there was quarterback Tyler Thigpen, whom Kuharich recommended after watching him in a preseason game with Minnesota. The Chiefs claimed him after he was waived, and he started 11 games this season.

So the Chiefs went 2-14. Big deal. This is a tear-down long overdue. They served youth, with so many young players gaining experience that the foundation Kansas City needs to rebuild is firmly established.

Too bad the guy who made it happen isn't.

I don't know what happens to Kuharich now, and I bet he doesn't know, either. Essentially, management has just told him he's gone as far as he can in the organization, and that if he wants a promotion he can start by reaching for the yellow pages.

That's a mistake.

He has the Chiefs on the road to recovery; it just might be time to find the next patient to cure. Maybe he never becomes a general manager anywhere again, but he should at least go where he's appreciated -- and I can't believe that can't be Kansas City.

"What I've always liked about him," one league source said [Rufas Dawes?], "is that he knows what a football player looks like. He doesn't need a stopwatch or a list of measureables. He can just look at a guy and tell."

I remember when Kuharich once told me about an offensive lineman he admired and how he was sure he would be a perfect fit for New Orleans. Yeah, I said, I had heard of Willie Roaf, but I wasn't sure he was a can't-miss prospect. Kuharich was.

Bill Kuharich knew what he was doing then, just as he knows what he's doing now. He deserves a chance to stay with the Chiefs. So give it to him, Scott Pioli.

[Brock]

I do hope they keep Kuharich around.

[Hammock Parties]

RING RING

"Hello?"

"Judge, it's Carl."

"My liege? What can I do for you."

"My servant Bill Kuharich has not been given proper courtesy in Hunt's search for a new GM. This displeases me. You must pen 900 words in defense of Kuharich and why Pioli should continue to offer him Hunt money."

"Yes, my liege. Right away!"

"And Judge?"

"My liege?"

"Keep trashing LJ. We can use him in Miami."

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by T-post Tom

Or maybe they just wanted a perspective from someone outside the organization, someone more removed from former president Carl Peterson...

Well, whatever the reason it was apparent Kuharich didn't pass the physical and that owner Clark Hunt would be sold on someone outside the 816 area code.

Yep. This was a difficult one to figure.

Hunt said that he wanted "a new set of eyes" to be in charge of the organization. And then, unbelievably surprisingly shockingly, this is...WHAT HE DID1111

Solid article, Clark! You ****ing dumbass you.

[Deberg_1990]

Oh boo hoo...

Buh Bye

[BigRock]

At least now we know who Judge's source with the Chiefs has been all these years.

[StcChief]

why not Evaluate him vs. what Pioli wants? age at this point is irrelevant. Experience and decisions are.

Pioli seems rational about things. his assistant for sure.

[DrRyan]

I would not mind seeing him kept around in a player personnel capacity(obviously) under Pioli. That said, if he is collateral damage and is out, so be it, I will trust Pioli until I have been given reason not to.

[RealSNR]

I'll humor Clark and call Kuharich a "great" possible candidate for GM.

If he did a "great" job at managing the Saints when they weren't that ****ing good at all, what do you call what Pioli did in New England to win 3 Super Bowls?

Does Clark Judge even know what a Super Bowl trophy looks like? Maybe he just stops covering the Chiefs so early every year that he forgets about that goal for all the teams. Maybe Judge based on what he's done every year assumes that remaining in contention for the playoffs up to the last week with your 8-8 record is the mark of a good team.

If that's the case, then yes, we should've hired Kuharich instead.

Seriously. LOOK AT THE SUPER BOWLS. Is this guy ****ing mad?

[jjchieffan]

I understand the perspective this article comes from. He has done a fine job. I am glad we went with Pioli, because a fresh start is needed. That said, I hope he retains his positon under Pioli. I think he could be one of the valuable people that Pioli will surround himself with. If the only reason to completely cast him away is because he worked for Carl, then I don't believe that is reason enough.

[aturnis]

As do I, I think he is VERY deserving. Before all these other names like Pioli came into play, and Clark said he wanted a guy from outside of the club, I was a little confused. Just like Judge just said, he at least deserved to be interviewed.

[Nero's Neptune]

I think Clark wanted someone who was not in Herm or Carl's back pocket to run the show....which imo is smart.

It seems he's a good evaluator...Pioli can offer him a job if that's the case...if he doesn't, he doesn't. It not like Kuharich has been interviewing all over the place for these vacant GM jobs.... I'm not going lose any sleep over this.

[Hoover]

I like Kuharich a lot, but to say that the Chiefs made a mistake by picking Pioli (basically the Pats GM) for his is just silly.

It was smart for Clark to go outside the organization, but there is risk in signing Pioli, we could lose good guys like Kuharich. Its a business and its not fair. Plus, if he's so well respected I would think the Broncos, Lions, and Browns would be all over him.

[DaWolf]

I will say this, Kuharich isn't bad in his role per se, but if Kuharich is as great as Clark Judge is describing him, how come no one has hired him over the past 4-5 years to be a GM? He's interviewed, he's been recommended by Carl, but no one bit.

The other thing is, he's been pretty good at building mediocre football teams that never go anywhere. That's it. And that's what the Chiefs have been for the better part of 40 years...

[Hammock Parties]

#1 reason not to hire Billy K:

He would have kept Herm.