Whitlock: Sign in Chiefs’ locker room is a childish distraction...

[DaWolf]

Sign in Chiefs’ locker room is a childish distraction

Let me translate the sign and one-win distraction stunt that’s hanging inside the Arrowhead Stadium practice facility:

“Losers question our qualifications to fix this franchise. Winners do what we tell them to do to avoid getting fined, cut or losing access to our self-promoting, unenlightening off-the-record conversations. And in keeping with our tight-lipped approach on talking about in-house matters, we have no comment on Larry Johnson.”

Scott Pioli and Todd Haley hung their “losers and winners” sign in an all-access location because they’re trying to intimidate players, assistant coaches, support personnel and the media.

Their sign read: “Losers assemble in small groups and complain about the coaches and other players. Winners assemble as a team and find ways to win.”

You might think the sign is intended for Larry “Tweet Tweet” Johnson’s edification. Not true. Larry isn’t around. He’s still suspended. You might think it’s simply a hostile reminder to players to keep their mouths shut about any glaring errors made by Egoli and Haley. There’s some truth in that.

But Pioli and Haley were thinking big picture when they hung the sign. It was for everyone’s edification.

Don’t buy Haley’s Thursday excuse that the hallway where the sign was posted is “sacred” and that the media shouldn’t have reported what the sign said. A Chiefs employee tweeted a picture of the sign. At one point Thursday, Haley said he didn’t even know what Twitter is.

These guys are in over their heads. Haley is taking the bullet for a sign that I’d almost guarantee came from Egoli’s head. No way the sign went up without Pioli’s approval. It took 24 hours for Pioli and Haley to figure out the sign makes them look Mickey Mouse and hypocritical.

LJ talked smack on Twitter. Pioli and Haley responded on a public bulletin board.

If you question them, you’re a loser. Remember Pioli — like Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and countless others — stood around the pile while Bill Belichick and Tom Brady racked up Super Bowl tackles. Pioli was credited with several assists. Plus, his father-in-law is none other than Bill Parcells, one of the 10 best football leaders of all time. And Haley’s dad was a legendary personnel man for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plus, Haley’s coaching godfather is none other than Bill Parcells, one of the 10 best football leaders of all time.

Pioli and Haley have great résumés. Unfortunately, in their short time in Kansas City, they haven’t demonstrated they have a clue about leadership.

Pioli is adept at swinging deals with his dad and his former New England cronies, concocting rules that allegedly create a football-only “winning” environment and leaving the impression that King Carl Peterson was a warm-and-fuzzy charmer. Haley is good at yelling, one of the best the league has ever seen.

Leadership? Not so much.

“Winners assemble as a team and find ways to win.”

That comment paints the picture that Pioli and Haley are interested in solutions offered by their players. We know that’s not the case. They hit town with a clear message:

“You guys don’t know anything about winning. We have all the answers. Shut your mouth, do as you’re told and we’ll win games. Oh, and Mike Vrabel, who is mad as hell about being sentenced to this hell hole at the end of his career, is going to teach you about preparing to be a champion.”

The reality is Pioli assembled a terrible roster, Haley has mismanaged it, and Pioli and Haley’s leadership “style” has stripped the team of the primary tool necessary to play the game at a high level — emotion.

You can play baseball, basketball, tennis, golf and poker without much emotion. You can’t do it in football. The game is just too barbaric and stupid. Where you have to go mentally to play at a championship level, you can’t get there without heavy doses of emotion.

That emotion generally begins by giving players ownership in the direction of the ballclub. Out in San Francisco, Mike Singletary turned immature tight end Vernon Davis into a team captain. In Denver, Josh McDaniels flipped receiver Brandon Marshall into a fan.

Haley probably made a mistake canceling the Bowe Show, the on-field gyrations of receiver Dwayne Bowe. The Bowe Show needed editing, not a pink slip. Brian Waters needed to be redirected, not disrespected.

It’s worth mentioning again that other coaches have faced the crisis staring at Haley and Pioli. Dick Vermeil almost flopped in St. Louis because his first two years, he had all the questions and answers. Tom Coughlin almost bombed in New York for the same reason.

Vermeil and Coughlin changed. They realized today’s NFL is a partnership with the players, who have little fear and increased leverage.

Will Pioli and Haley change? I don’t know them well enough to offer a credible guess. They remind me a little bit of legacy frat boys. Those guys never change. They think success is their birthright and people without their bloodlines are beneath them.

The childish sign they posted at the practice facility is an indication Pioli and Haley are in no mood to do any self-evaluation. They know exactly what they’re doing. And if you question them, you’re a loser.

[L.A.Chieffan]

well...that was a let down.

[DaWolf]

Whitlock has nothing these days. It's the same old tune. He needs to find a new hook. He spends an entire column telling us what Pioli and Haley supposedly are and ends it by admitting he doesn't know much about them. Typical...

[soundmind]

"If you question them, you’re a loser. Remember Pioli — like Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and countless others — stood around the pile while Bill Belichick and Tom Brady racked up Super Bowl tackles."

Really....Brady's racking up tackles again. Son of a bitch.

[wild1]

Zzzz

[Prometheus]

Jason is an ass, but his analysis here is pretty good.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

[BossChief]

well, Im not the only one that made the comparisons to DV and TC now.

Our only hope is that is the destination we will end up at.

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showp...&postcount=176

I wonder if he read my post???

[kcrockaholic4life]

So much for him "unloading" on Haley and Pioli. That article was pretty sad overall. Some of it is true, but his work today was not good.

I guess I just dont like Whitlock's work in general. Maybe its just me?

[soundmind]

I hate that Tom Brady and his tackle collection.

[Adam]

A pretty tough beat-down. All opinion, though. The only really legit column I can remember from Whitlock this year is the one Waters gave him. I've enjoyed others, but that was the one that packed a whallop, and it's because it had an actual story behind it.

[Coach]

"Sign in Jason Whitlock's small office is a childish distraction."

[stevieray]

hellhole..?

well, there you have it...it would make sense why we rarely get rare talent...I wonder if Jason might've slipped and said how the NFL views KC and the Chiefs.

[CaliforniaChief]

His assertion that the team plays without emotion doesn't jive with what I've seen. His charge on Pioli assembling a terrible roster makes a little more sense, particularly in not addressing the offensive line. But the sign is so overblown, IMO...and Whitlock continues to misrepresent evidence to point to a pre-determined conclusion.

[swayy07]

I really wish would just shove a cupcake in his mouth and shut the hell up. he says nothing new at all.