Arrowhead anxiety: Turnover off the field causes concern

[Dr. Gigglepants]

Secrecy, intimidation, fear and a watchful eye have become hallmarks of working for the Chiefs, say some current and former employees.

BY KENT BABB THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Todd Haley walked into the public relations office at Chiefs headquarters on a Thursday in early December. Four days before he was fired as the team’s coach, he wanted to talk about what life was like inside this organization. But he didn’t know who else might be listening.

continued...

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14...nover-off.html

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This article goes into a lot of detail on the changes that came into effect with the Pioli regime. Sounds like a shitty ass place to work now.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Amazing how the level of conversation elevates the second the KC press churns out a really great story, isn't it.

Let all reporters follow the way of Babb going forward.

After a story like this, I have a feeling it may be a while before somebody does.

In my company, management would be finding a way to fire somebody right now if they could establish reasonable proof they contributed to the story.

I highly doubt that. There are whistleblower laws and they're becoming much stricter. I'd be shocked if any HR department would allow that to happen. Even in terms of Facebook, etc..., to my knowledge, there is limited precedence of being allowed to fire somebody based on what they write about.

[DRU]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

How in the world did you come to that?

Deny any of these things:
1) The majority of the accusations in the piece were allowed a counter-response, whether from Hunt, Pioli, etc...
2) The Chiefs were reached out to and given plenty of time to offer their input. The man being accused, Pioli, for some dumb reason, chose not to participate
3) While the story slightly skews to the negative, there is probably a good 60/40 balance between negative/positive, which is a hell of a lot better than many media outlets, which usually go 100/0

So... other than the fact that my entire post talks about how this wasn't your typical sensationalistic piece.... I guess you only read what you want to read.

You're just further proving my point. I chose not to include all these additional facts that you quoted in my quick example. I took the one thing you said that looked like you agreed with me and posted that as your direct quote.

That's exactly what the media does, is all I'm saying. I'm not saying that as a direct attack on Babb or anything like that. He's obviously done a good job of stirring up a lot of conversation about a particular topic.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I learned a few years ago to never completely trust anything that comes from the media. They can make things look however they want, and they do exactly that.

[donkhater]

Originally Posted by Laz

great example of how bullshit gets blown out of proportion.

Almost every single person declaring Pioli an evil dictator the likes of Hitler, would change their mind completely if Pioli cut Cassel and traded up for Luck.

the QB position has nothing to do with the rumor-filled POS article and yet they are link because people are pissed as hell that Cassel is our QB. Some people declared war on Pioli the moment he got Cassel and passed on Sanchez.

kind of like how nobody gave a shit about whether Baldwin started/caused the fight that got his hand hurt. They hate Jones and think Baldwin has potentialm so Jones was in the wrong.

It's some seriously silly shit.

A-fu*****-men

[Rausch]

Four days before he was fired as the team’s coach, he wanted to talk about what life was like inside this organization. But he didn’t know who else might be listening.

Looking up toward the ceiling, he darted into a back hallway before hesitating. Then he turned around, going back through a door and stopping again. Haley suspected that many rooms at the team facility were bugged so that team administrators could monitor employees’ conversations. Stopping finally in a conference room, Haley said he believed his personal cellphone, a line he used before being hired by the Chiefs in 2009, had been tampered with.

Not only did you suck but you're clearly a paranoid schizophrenic...

[FringeNC]

Originally Posted by Laz

great example of how bullshit gets blown out of proportion.

Almost every single person declaring Pioli an evil dictator the likes of Hitler, would change their mind completely if Pioli cut Cassel and traded up for Luck.

the QB position has nothing to do with the rumor-filled POS article and yet they are link because people are pissed as hell that Cassel is our QB. Some people declared war on Pioli the moment he got Cassel and passed on Sanchez.

kind of like how nobody gave a shit about whether Baldwin started/caused the fight that got his hand hurt. They hate Jones and think Baldwin has potentialm so Jones was in the wrong.

It's some seriously silly shit.

For the most part, I agree with this. However, do you really think this type of commitment to secrecy is going to be the factor that leads to playoff success? I don't give a **** if Pioli is prick, but I do care if doesn't have his priorities straight. For me, reading this article lowered my opinion of Pioli's competence.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Laz

great example of how bullshit gets blown out of proportion.

Almost every single person declaring Pioli an evil dictator the likes of Hitler, would change their mind completely if Pioli cut Cassel and traded up for Luck.

the QB position has nothing to do with the rumor-filled POS article and yet they are link because people are pissed as hell that Cassel is our QB. Some people declared war on Pioli the moment he got Cassel and passed on Sanchez.

kind of like how nobody gave a shit about whether Baldwin started/caused the fight that got his hand hurt. They hate Jones and think Baldwin has potentialm so Jones was in the wrong.

It's some seriously silly shit.

This.

[JohnnyHammersticks]

I would go through a year of kickboxing training just to have one opportunity at wheel-kicking Scott Pioli's huge, bald head.

You're supposed to be running a pro football team Pioli, not the ****ing CIA. Maybe if he'd spend more time evaluating talent and less time evaluating gum wrappers--the Chiefs would have drafted Yates in the 5th round and had a 3rd-string QB who they could actually put on the field instead of one who--in their own words--wasn't ready.

What an insecure little stupid man Pioli is. The egomaniac persona is just that--a persona. In reality this little insecure man probably looks at himself in the mirror and despises what he sees (while wishing he had hair). Well join the club Scott--because most of us despise you too.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Wow, so we should throw out any case where there is strong eyewitness testimony? You know... because we're relying on people's word. Again, you don't look at these as facts. You look at them as patterns. And there is a lot of both in this article and everything we already know.

I don't think anyone really believes Haley's cell phone was tampered with. The problem was that the organization drove him to that level of paranoia. I imagine that paranoia stemmed from him wondering how private information became discovered. What's the pattern? We know that the Chiefs were so invasive of his private life that they were calling in radio shows leaking out that Haley was going to a Lil Wayne concert and having pizza with his family. We saw multiple sources claiming that office phone, e-mail, and internet records were not just monitored, but heavily monitored. We heard a story about Denny Thum having months of phone records scrutinized. We know that Pioli has invaded people's privacy in the past. The pattern suggests that this paranoia is very real, that their communications within Arrowhead are not only heavily monitored, but acted upon. And by the way, he's the one who built the culture around Spygate--you don't think that is a pretty damning piece of evidence that this organization might go beyond the lengths of what is ethical to invade associates' privacy? Again, there is a lot of legal area for companies to invade your privacy by monitoring communications. But this is the first I've heard of a company building a system around stretching every boundary they can.

What patterns do we see of a systematic problem? We heard a story that lots of people are denied access to certain floors (I doubt that's made up). We've heard a heavy pattern of stories in this article and multiple others that seem to show that Pioli most definitely has a big ego (the courier van, the temperature of his office, calling him by his first name--that's not details, that's just pettiness). The claim that the Chiefs all draw their shades down is very real... you can have an opinion, if you choose, as to whether that's good or bad. Same with the gum wrapper--that was very real. The fact that co-workers from different departments have to go to great lengths to hide the fact that they're going to lunch together... that appears to be true too.

And, again... I can guarantee that the age discrimination is only going to make this whole thing worse.

so your basic argument is that with this much smoke there has to be a fire somewhere.

and

Pioli is at least guilty of creating a hostile work environment because he pissed off people enough for them to say something, even if that something is just speculative bullshit?

[DRU]

Originally Posted by JohnnyHammersticks

I would go through a year of kickboxing training just to have one opportunity at wheel-kicking Scott Pioli's huge, bald head.

You're supposed to be running a pro football team Pioli, not the ****ing CIA. Maybe if he'd spend more time evaluating talent and less time evaluating gum wrappers--the Chiefs would have drafted Yates in the 5th round and had a 3rd-string QB who they could actually put on the field instead of one who--in their own words--wasn't ready.

What an insecure little stupid man Pioli is. The egomaniac persona is just that--a persona. In reality this little insecure man probably looks at himself in the mirror and despises what he sees (while wishing he had hair). Well join the club Scott--because most of us despise you too.

God you guys are making way too big a deal out of this wrapper thing. PIOLI ISN'T THE ONLY ONE IN BUSINESS WHO USES THIS AS AN EXAMPLE WITHIN A WORKPLACE. I've seen it on numerous occasions. It's just a simple tool to spark conversation and prove a point about overlooking details in the work place.

He's not scouring the complex for candy wrappers, and if you really think that, you're a shining example of ignorance.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

For the most part, I agree with this. However, do you really think this type of commitment to secrecy is going to be the factor that leads to playoff success? I don't give a **** if Pioli is prick, but I do care if doesn't have his priorities straight. For me, reading this article lowered my opinion of Pioli's competence.

How does secrecy affect play off success? So far this team is one player away from being a serious contender. Like I said, if we can acquire that one player, Pioli can have the TSA at arrowhead for all I care.

This isn't a big deal at all. If the people don't like working in that environment, they can quit. It's not like they're going to go to unemployment if they quit. They're NFL front office workers. If they're truly good, they'll get a job in no time.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

For the most part, I agree with this. However, do you really think this type of commitment to secrecy is going to be the factor that leads to playoff success? I don't give a **** if Pioli is prick, but I do care if doesn't have his priorities straight. For me, reading this article lowered my opinion of Pioli's competence.

no doubt, i worry that Pioli is going to have to fail in KC before he learns to be more flexible about stuff. But this article is complete crap.

I'm far more worried about Pioli's reluctance to 'go big' and his belief that free agency is fool's gold. Also worry about his seeming dedication to Cassel ... although this might be completely in my head. Pioli might be ready to move on and i just don't know it.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Laz

no doubt, i worry that Pioli is going to have to fail in KC before he learns to be more flexible about stuff. But this article is complete crap.

I'm far more worried about Pioli's reluctance to 'go big' and his belief that free agency is fool's gold. Also worry about his seeming dedication to Cassel ... although this might be completely in my head. Pioli might be ready to move on and i just don't know it.

Let's hope we are all wrong about him.

[donkhater]

Originally Posted by Laz

no doubt, i worry that Pioli is going to have to fail in KC before he learns to be more flexible about stuff. But this article is complete crap.

I'm far more worried about Pioli's reluctance to 'go big' and his belief that free agency is fool's gold. Also worry about his seeming dedication to Cassel ... although this might be completely in my head. Pioli might be ready to move on and i just don't know it.

See, the whole FA thing is something I don't get. The Patriots first SB run with Brady was with a LOT of low level free agents. He also was around when they went after people like Dillon, Moss, Welker, Harrison and Seau.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by notorious

Let's hope we are all wrong about him.

One thing I've learned about Pioli is that he's about the most unpredictable GM in the league. Hopefully that means that he'll cut Cassel.

[JohnnyHammersticks]

Originally Posted by DRU

God you guys are making way too big a deal out of this wrapper thing. PIOLI ISN'T THE ONLY ONE IN BUSINESS WHO USES THIS AS AN EXAMPLE WITHIN A WORKPLACE. I've seen it on numerous occasions. It's just a simple tool to spark conversation and prove a point about overlooking details in the work place.

He's not scouring the complex for candy wrappers, and if you really think that, you're a shining example of ignorance.

What you're missing is that the gum wrapper is a metaphor for a much larger problem, which is that this flaming prick OBVIOUSLY needs to spend more time doing his ****ing job, and less time freaking out over things that have absolutely nothing to do with the product on the ****ing field. Then maybe the Chiefs wouldn't enter a ****ing season with a starting QB who can't play, a 2nd-string QB who had no business being within a mile of an NFL stadium without buying a ticket, and a 3rd-string QB who they couldn't even put on the field because--in their own words--he wasn't ready to play at the NFL level yet.