Chiefs Teicher: Fired Chiefs scouts were good football people

**Tribal Warfare** · 04-28-2009, 11:23 PM

Fired Chiefs scouts were good football people

There’s a perception out there among Chiefs fans that the Chiefs had a lousy group of scouts, given their spotty draft record over the years. But I can tell you from talking to people around the league about the Chiefs scouts that they had a good group; these were well-respected people.

I’m using the past tense here because the Chiefs fired a number of their college scouts, and among those fired was Chuck Cook, the director of college scouting.

Now, there’s no arguing the Chiefs have had some spotty drafts over the years, but for that you can blame Carl Peterson, who was in charge and made the final call. I can tell you some instances where the Chiefs went against their draft board to reach for a player at a position of need and it just didn’t work out. That’s the kind of thing that gets you into trouble on draft day.

Now, Scott Pioli came in, he wants his own people in there and you can’t blame him for that. I think a lot of these scouts knew this day was coming. But don’t cast a negative eye toward them because of this. They’re all good football people, and they’ll all stay in the business if that’s what they choose to do.

Famous miss

Back in early March, juco big man Jarrid Famous visited Columbia and attended the MU-OU game. Famous was said to be high on Mizzou, and with Mike Anderson still having a pair of scholarships available, it seemed like a good match. How’d that work out?

It didn’t. According to the various recruiting tidbits I read, Famous had narrowed his choices to Mizzou, Xavier, South Florida and Villanova. Famous is apparently talented enough that he would have been the best big-man recruit in Columbia since Doug Smith.

So it would have been quite a coup for Anderson to land Famous. It would have also been reassuring for those like me that still have lingering doubts about Anderson’s ability to make inroads on a higher level of the recruiting game.

As it turned out, Famous took a visit to Arizona after Xavier’s Sean Miller took the coaching job in Tucson. Immediately upon returning home, Famous met with South Florida coach Stan Heath. If you read between the lines of the reports, Heath was basically waiting on Famous’ doorstep. In short order, Famous signed a letter of intent.

Where was Anderson during all of this? Who knows? The bottom line is that Mizzou, coming off a high-profile triumph, lost out to South Florida on a prime recruit.

Along the same lines, mega-recruit DeMarcus Cousins came back into play when John Calipari defected from Memphis to Kentucky. Cousins was once believed to have included Mizzou in his “final four” — a group that did not include Kentucky. However, when Calipari left, Cousins followed. The moral: It’s the coach that wins the recruit, not the school. And that’s why I find it troubling that Anderson was not able to close on Jarrid Famous.

04-28-2009, 11:23 PM	Topic Starter
Tribal Warfare The Boom Boom Room Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $822813	Teicher: Fired Chiefs scouts were good football people Fired Chiefs scouts were good football people There’s a perception out there among Chiefs fans that the Chiefs had a lousy group of scouts, given their spotty draft record over the years. But I can tell you from talking to people around the league about the Chiefs scouts that they had a good group; these were well-respected people. I’m using the past tense here because the Chiefs fired a number of their college scouts, and among those fired was Chuck Cook, the director of college scouting. Now, there’s no arguing the Chiefs have had some spotty drafts over the years, but for that you can blame Carl Peterson, who was in charge and made the final call. I can tell you some instances where the Chiefs went against their draft board to reach for a player at a position of need and it just didn’t work out. That’s the kind of thing that gets you into trouble on draft day. Now, Scott Pioli came in, he wants his own people in there and you can’t blame him for that. I think a lot of these scouts knew this day was coming. But don’t cast a negative eye toward them because of this. They’re all good football people, and they’ll all stay in the business if that’s what they choose to do. Famous miss Back in early March, juco big man Jarrid Famous visited Columbia and attended the MU-OU game. Famous was said to be high on Mizzou, and with Mike Anderson still having a pair of scholarships available, it seemed like a good match. How’d that work out? It didn’t. According to the various recruiting tidbits I read, Famous had narrowed his choices to Mizzou, Xavier, South Florida and Villanova. Famous is apparently talented enough that he would have been the best big-man recruit in Columbia since Doug Smith. So it would have been quite a coup for Anderson to land Famous. It would have also been reassuring for those like me that still have lingering doubts about Anderson’s ability to make inroads on a higher level of the recruiting game. As it turned out, Famous took a visit to Arizona after Xavier’s Sean Miller took the coaching job in Tucson. Immediately upon returning home, Famous met with South Florida coach Stan Heath. If you read between the lines of the reports, Heath was basically waiting on Famous’ doorstep. In short order, Famous signed a letter of intent. Where was Anderson during all of this? Who knows? The bottom line is that Mizzou, coming off a high-profile triumph, lost out to South Florida on a prime recruit. Along the same lines, mega-recruit DeMarcus Cousins came back into play when John Calipari defected from Memphis to Kentucky. Cousins was once believed to have included Mizzou in his “final four” — a group that did not include Kentucky. However, when Calipari left, Cousins followed. The moral: It’s the coach that wins the recruit, not the school. And that’s why I find it troubling that Anderson was not able to close on Jarrid Famous.
Posts: 42,111