GRETZ: Gunther still a loon

[Hammock Parties]

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2007/06...her_manifesto/

GRETZ: Living the Gunther Manifesto
Jun 04, 2007, 8:53:44 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

Gunther Cunningham smiles a lot these days.

Events like this past weekend’s mini-camp can generate even more smiles from the Chiefs defensive coordinator.

“We’ve got something building here,” Cunningham said. “This is what I was talking about, this is what I wanted to do when I came back here. I wanted to bring defense back to Kansas City.”

This is the fourth season Cunningham will be in charge of the defense in his second tour of duty with the team. When he came back to join Dick Vermeil’s staff in 2004, he found a defense in tatters on the field, on the roster and in the minds of just about everyone at Arrowhead Stadium. There was no longer a defensive culture in the building.

That was far different from Cunningham’s first trip through Arrowhead. When he arrived in 1995, defense ruled the roost for the Chiefs under Marty Schottenheimer. Cunningham added to that as defensive coordinator.

All that was gone by 2004 and Cunningham’s frustration grew on a daily basis. Whatever emotion comes after the feeling of beating your head against a brick wall is where he resided on most days. There was marginal talent, no fire and no defensive attitude. He had been through many things in over 30 years of coaching, but nothing sapped his energy and passion more than the 2004 and 2005 seasons. That overwhelming frustration led to the “Gunther Manifesto.”

Cunningham poured out his feelings by producing an eight-page document called simply: “Culture of the Chiefs Defense.” It was a game plan on how to change the prevailing attitudes he found at Arrowhead Stadium when it came to his side of the football. Only a handful of people have seen the full manifesto, and it won’t be coming to a Barnes & Noble any time soon. It begins with three simple statements:

1. The embedded beliefs, values and behavior patterns carry tremendous voltage.
2. It doesn’t make sense to try to change culture according to the old rules.
3. The rules themselves are part of the problem.

The rules changed last year when Herm Edwards became head coach. Now, as the team prepares for the second season of the Edwards Era, there has been a huge culture shift on the team, and especially on the defense.

Production and performance improved on that side of the football in 2006, as the Chiefs climbed from the lower ranks of the league to the middle of the pack.

But mediocre is not something that satisfies Edwards and Cunningham. They want more, much more. This isn’t about just one game, or one season. This is about re-establishing a defensive culture.

Right now, still three months from the start of the 2007 season, the Chiefs are much closer to realizing the theme of the Gunther Manifesto.

“The first priority was to get some tough guys and I think that first draft last year is the keynote of the plan,” said Cunningham. “We got Tamba (Hali), Jarrad (Page) and Bernard (Pollard.)

“This year, we knew what we wanted out of the draft on defense. We believe we have dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s by the type of people we are getting. Each guy we drafted fits not only the overall personality of what this defense is going to be, but the personality of the head coach and all the assistants and definitely what I believe.”

The turnover has been dramatic. Just check out the defensive starters from the opener two years ago to the projected starters for this season’s opener in Houston:



(Author’s note: the projected starters for the ‘07 opener were not named by Edwards or Cunningham. They are my assessment.)

Right now there are only two defensive players still on the roster who were part of the team before Cunningham returned: Wesley and defensive lineman Jimmy Wilkerson.

“We’ve looked at a lot of players, at a lot of tape and there was a commitment made by Carl (Peterson) and Bill Kuharich (VP of player personnel) to find us players,” Cunningham said.

“But the guy making it go is Herm.”

Coming on Wednesday: More about the Chiefs defense and the seemingly unlikely football marriage of Herm Edwards and Gunther Cunningham

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Anyone ever been to this site?

www.guntheristhebestdcinthenfl.com

dude that is NSFW, it pulled up Redrums moms site!

[Steve Sewell]

That chart is pretty cool. I didn't realize how much the Chiefs have overhauled their defense since 2005. 9 out of 11 starters...that's nuts.

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by Steve Sewell

That chart is pretty cool. I didn't realize how much the Chiefs have overhauled their defense since 2005. 9 out of 11 starters...that's nuts.

Might be nuts, but most of them sucked major ass and it was defiantly time for an upgrade...

[bdeg]

Well when they interview him what do you want him to say? "Ya, we're gonna be really bad again this year..." I'm sure that'd go over real well with the players.

[Chiefnj]

&A GUNTHER CUNNINGHAM
Apr 30, 2005, 1:07:34 PM



Q: How do you feel about the additions to the defense?



CUNNINGHAM: “Carl Peterson, Denny Thum, Lynn Stiles and Bill Kuharich had a plan. We got together, we met for hours and hours to tried to develop the plan. The original plan came to fruition and that’s what I enjoyed. We developed a game plan and were able to bring some new players in. We targeted those players and we got them.”

Q: What do you envision for this defense?

CUNNINGHAM: “The organization had a goal to reshape our defensive personnel so we could put a product on the field that was better than last year. We’ve got the players, now what we have to do is turn the calendar back. I know what I like on defense. That takes a lot of time. We spend hours talking about philosophy and our approach to the game. I think that philosophy is coming across. What we’d like to do is play like we used to around here. That’s the goal I see at the end of my dream to the bring back the explosion and speed, taking the ball away and putting it in ‘Amen Corner,’ we’d like to be able to score on defense.”

Q: How excited are you about using the tools Carl Peterson has given you on defense?

CUNNINGHAM: “The biggest thing for me is that Carl knows what I’m all about and I definitely know what he’s all about. That’s the reason I came back here. He’s tough. He’s hard-core when it comes to management and doing the right things. That’s who I wanted to be with. He stepped on the table at the end of the season. Everybody got involved in the Personnel Department. We had a plan and Carl stuck to that plan. I know everybody was getting impatient and you weren’t the only ones. It’s difficult to go through three months when you know the plan, but not everybody else (in the media and the public) knew it. When you talk about (CB) Samari Rolle, we had four or five guys listed who I felt that if we got one of them, we could go to work. It was the same thing with the linebackers. It was Julian Peterson and Kendrell Bell or Kendrell Bell and Julian Peterson. When Julian signed, we saw Kendrell sitting there and we said, ‘let’s go to work.’

“With all the negotiations, it’s a difficult job, but he (Carl) got it done. It’s a difficult, difficult job. But Carl, along with Denny and Woodie Dixon got it done. There’s three guys working on it. Woodie went to Harvard and I didn’t, so I stepped out of that part and they did it.”

[DMAC]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

Those 2005 "bums" were the players Gun wanted. Hell, in 2004 Gunther said it wasn't the players, it was the scheme.

Of course he said that...do you really want to "out" your players on a national scale. No Way. That would not quite motivate them, you know.

He was taking the blame. Of course it's the players. He knew that.

[kcxiv]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

Those 2005 "bums" were the players Gun wanted. Hell, in 2004 Gunther said it wasn't the players, it was the scheme.

Them 2005 guys were some of the guys Gun wanted. He still had the rest of the shithole defense.

I am not saying Gun is a saviour or anything, but our defense was just horrible, beyond horrible.


and what do you expect Gun to say? oh, we stand no chance, why even bother to take the field. Get serious.

[The Rick]

Originally Posted by rxrider

It's a "Mission Statement"

Gunther will be having lunch with his agent sometime this week to discuss it!

I was waiting for a Jerry Maguire reference!

I figured it would be something along the lines of Gun saying to Herm: "YOU. COMPLETE. ME."

[DMAC]

Originally Posted by kcxiv

Them 2005 guys were some of the guys Gun wanted. He still had the rest of the shithole defense.

EXACTLY. Look at the players he wanted...Johnson, Surtain, Knight, Bell (one mess up...but you would have taken him too). So that remark earlier is effin way off.

[htismaqe]

Gunther stood on the table in the War Room and jumped up and down because he wanted us to draft...































Junior Siavii

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DMAC

EXACTLY. Look at the players he wanted...Johnson, Surtain, Knight, Bell (one mess up...but you would have taken him too). So that remark earlier is effin way off.

He also wanted Junior Siavii and Kendrell Bell.

[DMAC]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

He also wanted Junior Siavii and Kendrell Bell.

3 out of 5 ain't bad. It's actually quite good.

[Mr. Laz]

Gunther is fine now that he has a defensive head coach to hold his hand ... err leash.

but he's hardly a great defensive mind

[Chiefnj]

Originally Posted by kcxiv

Them 2005 guys were some of the guys Gun wanted. He still had the rest of the shithole defense.

.

The first year Gun was in KC the Chiefs resigned the existing players because that was what Gun wanted. They were busy in free agency that year retaining their own poor players.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DMAC

3 out of 5 ain't bad. It's actually quite good.

Everybody wanted Derrick Johnson, he fell into their laps like a gift straight from Heaven.

Vermeil openly campaigned for Surtain. Nobody campaigned for Law.

Which leaves Siavii and Bell, who Gunther OPENLY admitted were on "his" wish list. Who Gunther openly and VEHEMENTLY defended even after they started to show signs of sucking on the field.