Chiefs SAM MELLINGER-There’s only one thing to do now that Chiefs’ season is over

ShowtimeSBMVP · 12-30-2012, 10:11 PM

There’s only one thing to do now that Chiefs’ season is over
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (right) has decisions to make about GM Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel.
DAVID EULITT
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (right) has decisions to make about GM Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel.

DENVER -- The most excruciating, miserable, disappointing, infuriating and depressing season of most any professional sports team in recent memory is over. Finally. No more weekly suffering for a fan base that didn’t deserve this, and here comes the reward for all the pain.

Or, at least, here comes Chiefs owner Clark Hunt’s chance to reward the pain.

The Chiefs completed the least competitive season in their franchise’s proud history Sunday, an appropriately limp 38-3 loss to the Broncos that should be the last game before coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli have their key cards shut off.

This must be the end, rock bottom, the worst game from the league’s worst team serving as the final push toward massive change that no sane person could argue against.

“Evidently I didn’t do enough to help this team this year,” Crennel said.

This is an indefensible mess. Crennel is the coach of a team with five Pro Bowlers and two wins. Pioli is the GM who brought in just one of those Pro Bowlers, who somehow turned a 2-14 team he inherited into a worse 2-14 team in four years.

All that’s left is for a sitdown with Hunt, Crennel, Pioli and human resources. The Chiefs have a lower approval rating than the flu and if that’s a bad joke, then, well, good.

That’s what the Chiefs have become.

Even now, with it all over but the sewage cleaning, Hunt isn’t giving indications about what he’ll do. There are enough conflicting reports by credible journalists to suggest nobody really knows. You could say that keeping a secret — at least the secrets Pioli wants kept — is the one thing the Chiefs have done well this year.

Well, here’s all the indication we should need: the Chiefs are historically inept, have regressed in four years, and are despised by many of their fans.

Crennel seems to know what’s coming, saying that if the criteria is wins and losses — and what other criteria is there for the coach of an NFL team expected to compete for the playoffs? — then “there’s not much defense” of him keeping his job.

Pioli didn’t talk to reporters after the game, but if he’s not fired, he’s the new Matt Millen.

Actually, if they’re both not fired, the Chiefs are the new Lions.

They broke an 83-year-old NFL record by not holding a lead in regulation until the ninth game. They broke a 68-year record for most rushing yards in a loss. They just lost their ninth game by more than two touchdowns, a level of ineptitude unmatched since the 1981 Colts — back when they played in Baltimore. They once went until late in the third quarter without a first down. They turned the ball over six times in one game, and lost six others with one or zero turnovers.

They fumbled snaps at the goal line, threw passes off facemasks, claimed to have lost their spirits after missed field goals before halftime (twice), drove their most passionate fans to organized protests, celebrated touchdowns that didn’t count (twice), were insulted by fans at goodwill photo ops and trash-talked their opponents to the ugly end.

Many longtime fans came to hate this team, and the Chiefs played like the feeling was mutual.

With Crennel presumably out, bringing Pioli back means letting him hire a third head coach in five seasons — a talent pool diminished because nobody wants to come work for a GM who drove his first coach to paranoia and who might soon be on his way out.

Bringing Pioli back means letting him make the franchise’s first No. 1 overall pick since the AFL-NFL merger. It means ignoring his inability and then reluctance to acquire a good quarterback, four draft classes that have so far produced two impact players, and colossal personnel mistakes like Stanford Routt.

Hunt says he values stability over everything, and Pioli has so far overseen some of the most tumultuous years in franchise history. The Chiefs have had nine different coordinators in four years, and Pioli fired a head coach less than a year removed from a division title.

As bad as the Chiefs were when Pioli took over, they are now somehow worse.

The most significant development is that Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Flowers, and Branden Albert — some of the Chiefs’ best players before Pioli arrived, and some of their best players now — are four years older.

After years of trying to make the total greater than the parts’ sum, the Chiefs are the most underachieving team in the NFL.

So, worst season of your life?

“Oh, of course,” says Eric Winston, a seven-year veteran.

“No question about it,” says Ryan Lilja, an eight-year pro.

Season tickets are up for renewal, and more importantly, so is the care and support of many longtime fans. It’s hard to come up with a case to bring back the current leadership that has any semblance of logic.

Hunt grew up with this franchise, literally, as part of his family. The narrative of him as a miserly owner who doesn’t care about football is wildly out of touch but will stick to him like tar until he announces change. This is now his moment and, considering the palpable anger of fans back in Kansas City, the most important series of decisions he’ll have made with the team.

Your move, Clark.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/30...#storylink=cpy

Mizzou_8541 · 12-30-2012, 10:15 PM

Good read.

**Bowser** · 12-30-2012, 10:16 PM

It just sucks to read these articles, only because they're spot on.

Rock bottom.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 12-30-2012, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser

It just sucks to read these articles, only because they're spot on.

Rock bottom.

Actually, rock bottom is tomorrow when we find out Pioli still has a job.

Mizzou_8541 · 12-30-2012, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Actually, rock bottom is tomorrow when we find out Pioli still has a job.

If that's the case, then Clark Hunt=Rachel Phelps.

**Bowser** · 12-30-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Actually, rock bottom is tomorrow when we find out Pioli still has a job.

Will it be? The way I see it is that if he is NOT kicking rock at 2 pm, it's going to feel like a giant scythe cutting the line from around my neck that is connecteed to all the ****s I give about this team.

If Clark is not interested in earnest in winning a championship by keeping personnel here that have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are straight up incapable of getting the job done, then why should I let myself be invested in such a team? **** 'em.

**1ChiefsDan** · 12-30-2012, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser

Will it be? The way I see it is that if he is NOT kicking rock at 2 pm, it's going to feel like a giant scythe cutting the line from around my neck that is connecteed to all the ****s I give about this team.

If Clark is not interested in earnest in winning a championship by keeping personnel here that have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are straight up incapable of getting the job done, then why should I let myself be invested in such a team? **** 'em.

x100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Psyko Tek · 12-30-2012, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Actually, rock bottom is tomorrow when we find out Pioli still has a job.

and he is bringing LJ back as team ambassador to the people of KC

CoMoChief · 01-01-2013, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser

It just sucks to read these articles, only because they're spot on.

Rock bottom.

milkman · 12-30-2012, 10:17 PM

Nail.

Head.

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 12-30-2012, 10:17 PM

SMells nails it.

Hammock Parties · 12-30-2012, 10:18 PM

Quote:

The Chiefs have had nine different coordinators in four years

This is a new and rather disgusting fact.

stevieray · 12-30-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

This is a new and rather disgusting fact.

...and consecutive HC's doing two jobs.

siberian khatru · 12-30-2012, 10:18 PM

Think about that, Clark.

Because of Pioli, there are longtime fans who now DESPISE this franchise.

**Dave Lane** · 12-31-2012, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Think about that, Clark.

Because of Pioli, there are longtime fans who now DESPISE this franchise.

I'm one of them.

12-30-2012, 10:11 PM	Topic Starter
ShowtimeSBMVP Chiefs Join Date: Feb 2009 Casino cash: $3476009	SAM MELLINGER-There’s only one thing to do now that Chiefs’ season is over There’s only one thing to do now that Chiefs’ season is over By SAM MELLINGER The Kansas City Star Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (right) has decisions to make about GM Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel. DAVID EULITT Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (right) has decisions to make about GM Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel. DENVER -- The most excruciating, miserable, disappointing, infuriating and depressing season of most any professional sports team in recent memory is over. Finally. No more weekly suffering for a fan base that didn’t deserve this, and here comes the reward for all the pain. Or, at least, here comes Chiefs owner Clark Hunt’s chance to reward the pain. The Chiefs completed the least competitive season in their franchise’s proud history Sunday, an appropriately limp 38-3 loss to the Broncos that should be the last game before coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli have their key cards shut off. This must be the end, rock bottom, the worst game from the league’s worst team serving as the final push toward massive change that no sane person could argue against. “Evidently I didn’t do enough to help this team this year,” Crennel said. This is an indefensible mess. Crennel is the coach of a team with five Pro Bowlers and two wins. Pioli is the GM who brought in just one of those Pro Bowlers, who somehow turned a 2-14 team he inherited into a worse 2-14 team in four years. All that’s left is for a sitdown with Hunt, Crennel, Pioli and human resources. The Chiefs have a lower approval rating than the flu and if that’s a bad joke, then, well, good. That’s what the Chiefs have become. Even now, with it all over but the sewage cleaning, Hunt isn’t giving indications about what he’ll do. There are enough conflicting reports by credible journalists to suggest nobody really knows. You could say that keeping a secret — at least the secrets Pioli wants kept — is the one thing the Chiefs have done well this year. Well, here’s all the indication we should need: the Chiefs are historically inept, have regressed in four years, and are despised by many of their fans. Crennel seems to know what’s coming, saying that if the criteria is wins and losses — and what other criteria is there for the coach of an NFL team expected to compete for the playoffs? — then “there’s not much defense” of him keeping his job. Pioli didn’t talk to reporters after the game, but if he’s not fired, he’s the new Matt Millen. Actually, if they’re both not fired, the Chiefs are the new Lions. They broke an 83-year-old NFL record by not holding a lead in regulation until the ninth game. They broke a 68-year record for most rushing yards in a loss. They just lost their ninth game by more than two touchdowns, a level of ineptitude unmatched since the 1981 Colts — back when they played in Baltimore. They once went until late in the third quarter without a first down. They turned the ball over six times in one game, and lost six others with one or zero turnovers. They fumbled snaps at the goal line, threw passes off facemasks, claimed to have lost their spirits after missed field goals before halftime (twice), drove their most passionate fans to organized protests, celebrated touchdowns that didn’t count (twice), were insulted by fans at goodwill photo ops and trash-talked their opponents to the ugly end. Many longtime fans came to hate this team, and the Chiefs played like the feeling was mutual. With Crennel presumably out, bringing Pioli back means letting him hire a third head coach in five seasons — a talent pool diminished because nobody wants to come work for a GM who drove his first coach to paranoia and who might soon be on his way out. Bringing Pioli back means letting him make the franchise’s first No. 1 overall pick since the AFL-NFL merger. It means ignoring his inability and then reluctance to acquire a good quarterback, four draft classes that have so far produced two impact players, and colossal personnel mistakes like Stanford Routt. Hunt says he values stability over everything, and Pioli has so far overseen some of the most tumultuous years in franchise history. The Chiefs have had nine different coordinators in four years, and Pioli fired a head coach less than a year removed from a division title. As bad as the Chiefs were when Pioli took over, they are now somehow worse. The most significant development is that Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, Dwayne Bowe, Brandon Flowers, and Branden Albert — some of the Chiefs’ best players before Pioli arrived, and some of their best players now — are four years older. After years of trying to make the total greater than the parts’ sum, the Chiefs are the most underachieving team in the NFL. So, worst season of your life? “Oh, of course,” says Eric Winston, a seven-year veteran. “No question about it,” says Ryan Lilja, an eight-year pro. Season tickets are up for renewal, and more importantly, so is the care and support of many longtime fans. It’s hard to come up with a case to bring back the current leadership that has any semblance of logic. Hunt grew up with this franchise, literally, as part of his family. The narrative of him as a miserly owner who doesn’t care about football is wildly out of touch but will stick to him like tar until he announces change. This is now his moment and, considering the palpable anger of fans back in Kansas City, the most important series of decisions he’ll have made with the team. Your move, Clark. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/30...#storylink=cpy
Posts: 23,755

12-30-2012, 10:15 PM	#2
Mizzou_8541 Starter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Kansas City, MO Casino cash: $2297473	Good read.
Posts: 533

12-30-2012, 10:16 PM	#3
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $3161616	It just sucks to read these articles, only because they're spot on. Rock bottom.
Posts: 101,115

12-30-2012, 10:17 PM	#10
milkman Dumbass! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Leading the Marty bashing Casino cash: $10029395	Nail. Head. __________________
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12-30-2012, 10:17 PM	#11
mikeyis4dcats. Scarlett Johansson's boytoy Join Date: Nov 2006 Casino cash: $9555998	SMells nails it. __________________
Posts: 12,526

12-30-2012, 10:18 PM	#14
siberian khatru 21st Century Schizoid Fan Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Gates of Delirium Casino cash: $2224950	Think about that, Clark. Because of Pioli, there are longtime fans who now DESPISE this franchise.
Posts: 69,312