Mellinger roasts Pioli over an open flame

[Hammock Parties]

This didn't get posted? ****, best thing Sammy has written.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/12...his-share.html

Chiefs GM Pioli due his share of blame in Haley's failures

Scott Pioli brought this critical point in Chiefs history on himself, and now he must rise to it.

This can go one of only two ways. Championship or bust, waving from a parade or looking for work, remembered as the man who just needed to find the right coach or the general manager who repeatedly failed the men he brought on board.

Pioli fired Todd Haley, the only coach he’s ever hired. This is how their dysfunctional marriage had to end. A once-strong relationship deteriorated past personal differences and into professional obstacles.

The Chiefs could go nowhere with both Pioli and Haley in the same building, so in that way, the GM essentially pulled rank.

That was the easy part. Now we get to see, once and perhaps for all, whether Pioli is the golden-boy personnel guru from his Super Bowl-winning days in New England or just one more poser taking credit and fame off the glow of Bill Belichick’s star.

Because firing Haley is a meaningless delay tactic if Pioli doesn’t accept and reflect on his part of the Chiefs’ current mess.

We all understand that Haley made mistakes. The preseason plan was a disaster. Tyler Palko is still taking snaps long after he proved to be incompetent. An unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against the Jets provided a sad image of Haley’s self-control, which, combined with a remarkably inconsistent and often uncompetitive season, made the Chiefs the magnetic opposite of what owner Clark Hunt wants them to be.

But if Haley failed, he followed Pioli’s example.

Because Pioli chose Haley, who coached the roster Pioli gave him. The Chiefs’ current state of disarray is as much an indictment of Pioli as Haley. The boss put the coach in a virtually unwinnable position: not enough support from either the general manager or the roster to do much more than hope for survival.

And this is where Pioli comes in. Or, more accurately, where he must come in.

Injuries to Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, Matt Cassel and Tony Moeaki fundamentally changed what the Chiefs are capable of. But they also exposed so many of Pioli’s own shortcomings, and unless he takes this opportunity to stop creating self-assuring excuses to justify his ineffective status-quo style of management, there is no reason to believe the Chiefs can rise above NFL mediocrity.

One of Pioli’s great strengths is his thoughtfulness, his thoroughness, his steadiness. He isn’t reactive. He is measured. If he grows emotional, he has trained himself to put the decision aside until he’s calm. The most effective judgments, Pioli believes, are made with the brain, and not the heart.

This is part of what eventually led to fundamental differences with the man he hand-selected to be his first coach.

And more than just one of Pioli’s great strengths, this is also perhaps his greatest flaw … and a chunk of what is holding back the Chiefs.

Go back to the NFL’s truncated offseason. The whole thing lined up perfectly with Pioli’s sweet spot, set up to be won by the general manager with the best information and temperament to navigate what many inside the industry called the most hectic personnel period in league history.

Instead, Pioli treaded water.

He signed Steve Breaston (who shares an open and mutual man-crush on Haley) and Kelly Gregg while letting Ron Edwards and Shaun Smith walk. Opportunities to add a backup quarterback, or much-needed depth at other positions, floated by.

Pioli’s only personnel successes with the Chiefs are in the draft (Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Justin Houston) and contract extensions awarded to stars (Charles, Brandon Flowers, Tamba Hali). Notice the pattern here.

Draft selections come with inherent time limits. Negotiations for contract extensions have a predictable schedule.

Pioli is most effective when he knows what’s coming and can read the clock. He becomes tentative and hesitant among surprises and unknowns.

He wants control, over everything, and struggles in situations he can’t have it.

Nearly three full years after he took over, the Chiefs’ best players are still predominately holdovers from his predecessor, Carl Peterson, even as Pioli spends too much time and energy fixing what he sees as major holdover flaws from the previous leadership.

All of this means that Pioli is at the most critical point of his professional career in terms of how he’s remembered and thought of as a football man.

Some will expect him to close his eyes, cover his ears, la-la-la out all the criticism, and keep pushing the Chiefs in the same misguided direction.

That would support the narrative of Pioli as Ego Gone Wild, and almost certainly ensure that the Chiefs waste a championship window that will close along with the primes of Charles, Hali, Flowers and other stars.

A consequence of Pioli’s decision to speak publicly as little as possible is that it’s virtually impossible for anyone outside a small circle to know his motivations, perspective or fears.

If they did, they probably would see as much insecurity as ego. Part of his hesitation on personnel moves comes through second-guessing. Part of his focus on signing the team’s inherited stars is admitting he can’t find anyone better.

And if Pioli handles it the right way, part of firing the coach will be a very public acknowledgment that he — not Haley, not Hunt, not anyone else — made bad decisions that turned the Chiefs from division champion to disorder one year later.

How Pioli makes it through this very personal inner conflict will decide how his time in Kansas City ends. On Monday, he portrayed humility, saying he needed to do his job better.

That’s good, but ultimately irrelevant if he doesn’t do his job differently.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by 2bikemike

There is plenty of blame to go around, and there is a lot of speculation swirling around. But I think Haley did do a good job of coaching up some players and failing on others. Which to me proves the point what works for some doesn't work for others. Haley was unable to adjust.

Weiss was sorely missed this year. He did a much better job of managing Cassel and IMHO play calling. The running off of Weiss is on Haley. There was no effort to replace Weiss with a legitimate OC as Haley thinks he can wear both hats. Clearly he isn't capable of doing that.

Pioli is responsible for aquiring talent. To leave money on the table when there are clearly needs that need to be met is just assinine if you want to contend. We are still dealing with the same holes on the O-line that we have been dealing with since Shields and Roaf got old. We can't develop a decent pass rush with the exception of Hali.

Actually, that's not what is emerging as truth, Mr. 2bikemike. At least, not entirely.

Apparently, Weis and Haley disagreed as to how to properly develop Cassel. Weis then became petulant and told Haley to "do it himself". (By the way, that sounds a heck of a lot like this girl I once knew.) So, the idea that Weis "developed" Cassel is untrue. In fact, it has also been stated that Haley became upset as the media continually credited Weis with Cassel's perceived improvement. You can draw your own conclusions as to which man is the more intense whiny bitch in that respect.

These stories are going to run rampant again, I guess.

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[FAX]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

They did, but the most important thing is, it didnt translate to WINS.

Also, the offense(what Haley was known for) was a complete failure under him. In 3 seasons the only time it was good and consistent was when Weis was here and really only for about an 8 or 9 game run during the middle of last year.

Cassel isnt a huge talent (thats on Pioli) but other coaches have proven you can get at production out of him at times. Haley never got anything out of him.

I hesitate to disagree with you, Mr. Deberg_1990. I have the highest possible regard for your posting abilities and believe that you are an intelligent, thoughtful person.

Howeve, Cassel is an asswipe. He succeeded only when he was with NE who could recover from his sacks and moronic play due to the team around him and the system he was in. He only succeeded here when he played against other bad teams. Blaming Haley for Cassel is like blaming Jesus for tittah moles. You cannot win games with that moron. It is the reality of the situation.

Anyhow, here's what you said, "Theres (sic) alot of talent on this team. A head coaches job is to analyze the skillsets hes been given and to put those players in positions to succeed. Get maximum effort. For the most part Haley was pretty lousy at that."

I merely stated that Haley did, in fact, coach up and develop several key players on this team and most everybody else improved during his tenure. It is patently unfair to give Haley no credit and all blame. Unfair and nonfactual.

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[Bearcat]

tl;dr:

Injuries to Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, Matt Cassel and Tony Moeaki fundamentally changed what the Chiefs are capable of. But they also exposed so many of Pioli’s own shortcomings, and unless he takes this opportunity to stop creating self-assuring excuses to justify his ineffective status-quo style of management, there is no reason to believe the Chiefs can rise above NFL mediocrity.

[Rasputin]

I am sick of the "Patriot way" I am a Chiefs fan not a got damn Patriot fan.

I want the Chiefs to give homage of the great Sitting Bull indian chief that made Custer's last stand. Clark Hunts failure to bring in a GM that does it out of form from there convictions not our or his own convictions to build a championship team. I want the Chiefs to get credit for winning a Super Bowl and not the Patriots getting a piece of it. They had there's to enjoy **** them.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

I am sick of the "Patriot way" I am a Chiefs fan not a got damn Patriot fan.

I want the Chiefs to give homage of the great Sitting Bull indian chief that made Custer's last stand. Clark Hunts failure to bring in a GM that does it out of form from there convictions not our or his own convictions to build a championship team. I want the Chiefs to get credit for winning a Super Bowl and not the Patriots getting a piece of it. They had there's to enjoy **** them.

Great post.

[YourMult]

I'm tired of the Chiefs repeatedly becoming a vagina-touting version of some other team. The Niners. The Rams. Now the Patriots. I guess we should be happy there isn't isn't a team called the Cumguzzlers, because if there was we would hire their last head coach, and become an even shittier version of the ****ing Cumguzzlers.

How's that for an introductory post?

[FAX]

Originally Posted by YourMom

I'm tired of the Chiefs repeatedly becoming a vagina-touting version of the head coach's previous team. The Niners. The Rams. Now the Patriots. Every coach brings over some people they are comfortable with, but this is ridiculous. I guess we should be happy there isn't isn't a team called the Cumguzzlers, because if there was we would hire their last head coach, and become an even shittier version of the ****ing Cumguzzlers.

How's that for an introductory post?

Not bad, Ms. YourMom. Not bad, at all.

I particularly like the use of the term "Cumguzzlers" in the context you chose.

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[Sofa King]

Originally Posted by YourMom

I'm tired of the Chiefs repeatedly becoming a vagina-touting version of some other team. The Niners. The Rams. Now the Patriots. I guess we should be happy there isn't isn't a team called the Cumguzzlers, because if there was we would hire their last head coach, and become an even shittier version of the ****ing Cumguzzlers.

How's that for an introductory post?

Interesting. As is your username choice.

[FringeNC]

Suppose the rumors of Pioli undermining Haley are true. Suppose Clark Hunt just found out about them during the exit negotiations with Haley. Might explain why Pioli seemed shell-shocked during the PC.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

Suppose the rumors of Pioli undermining Haley are true.

Wait, wasn't Haley "The Don's" choice?

Haley and Cassel were both big wants for Pioli...

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Wait, wasn't Haley "The Don's" choice?

Haley and Cassel were both big wants for Pioli...

Which would make his nefarious deeds all the more snarky.

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[Bane]

What did sportscenter just say?They kept Pioli because he was the mastermind behind the SB rings in N.E huh.... stupid mother****ers /BB.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by FAX

Which would make his nefarious deeds all the more snarky.

FAX

Or he's imperfect and made two REALLY shitty evaluations in year one...

[Bowser]

All you pricks need to shut your traps. We are still mathematically in the playoff race, here. You think that happens by mistake?

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Or he's imperfect and made two REALLY shitty evaluations in year one...

No evil genius gets it right all the time.

FAX