Whitlock: Saunders is a legend in the media's mind - Page 6

tk13 · 01-22-2006, 02:13 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/13682142.htm

Saunders is a legend in the media’s mind
JASON WHITLOCK
Kansas City Star

Breaking news: Al Saunders did not invent the game of football.

This news, I’m sure, will shock many of my media brethren here in Kansas City, particularly those who earn a living hosting radio shows.

Saunders, however, did perfect the art of making insecure media members feel like they’re the next Howard Cosell. Saunders scored more points with members of the media than the Chiefs did on the football field during Saunders’ tenure as offensive coordinator.

Saunders returned every phone call, made love to every microphone put in his face, swapped locker-room hugs with Karen Kornacki, acted interested in Jack Harry’s ticket- and parking-prices rants, shared conspiracy theories with the New Don Fortune, counseled The Freak Renshaw during a meltdown, memorized the name of Neal St. Davey B. Franz and offered me dieting tips.

Saunders worked the media. And judging by the drastic overreaction to his departure, he accomplished his goal. He convinced members of the media that the Chiefs absolutely cannot play football without him.

Unfortunately for Saunders, he’s having a much harder time convincing NFL general managers and owners that he’s God’s gift to football.

There’s a reason that there were 10 NFL head-coaching jobs available, and Raiders owner Al Davis was the only man to pretend to be significantly interested in Saunders. The reason has nothing to do with Saunders’ age (59) or his rocky relationship with Carl Peterson.

Around the league, Saunders is known as a climber, a self-promoter, a snake. The labels have stuck with him since his days as head coach in San Diego, where reporters there contend Saunders used insecure media puppets to back-stab Don Coryell to get the Chargers job.

So I’m not surprised that Saunders is on his way to our nation’s capital to lead Joe Gibbs’ offense while sources claim that Peterson promised Saunders the head-coaching position here. Oh, and what a twist, Saunders, a reporter’s best friend, is shockingly unavailable for comment.

Yeah, when I learned that Saunders was inside Arrowhead Stadium on Friday, I made a special trip to Arrowhead to question him about Peterson’s alleged promise. I left a message on Saunders’ voice mail. I haven’t heard from him.

Not only did I want to know about Peterson’s promise, but I wanted to hear Saunders explain why nearly a third of the NFL’s teams took a look at his stellar resume and hired 30-year-old kids. Now, keep in mind, I’m someone who believed — until this messy departure from KC — Saunders was worthy of getting a second crack as a head coach.

But this messy departure says a lot about Saunders. Consider that the St. Louis Rams didn’t even grant Saunders an interview for their vacant head-coaching position. The Rams, despite pleas from Dick Vermeil, first pursued defensive-minded Gregg Williams and then changed course and hired Dolphins offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.

The evil and allegedly reneging Carl Peterson does not run the Rams franchise. He has no pull in St. Louis. John Shaw, the president of the Rams, knows Al Saunders quite well. Saunders worked in St. Louis with Vermeil and Mike Martz. Saunders couldn’t get an interview. That’s telling.

While Saunders has no problem connecting with star-struck members of the media, his connections with football folks aren’t nearly as strong.

A week ago, long before there was a strong hint that Mike Solari would replace Saunders as offensive coordinator, a low-level member of the Chiefs family and a Saunders fan told me a revealing story.

During training camp, Vermeil singled out an assistant coach to speak to the team each night. The assistants were rather competitive about the speeches. They put a great deal of thought into connecting with the team.

My details may be a little sketchy, but the overall point is accurate. Saunders talked with the team about growing up with an illness (polio) that could be helped by daily swimming. Saunders said his dad took a job at a location that had a swimming pool so that Al could swim every day. Al said he swam every day to save his own life, and that’s how he wanted the team to approach the season.

The person who told me this story said he was very touched by Al’s story and was surprised when he found players chuckling about Saunders’ story when the meeting broke up.

“They thought it was made up or exaggerated,” he told me.

When it was Solari’s day to speak, he showed a movie clip — I believe from Clint Eastwood — of a bunch of guys taking turns pounding a huge rock with sledgehammers. Solari said that’s how he wanted the team to approach the season.

“We gotta pound that rock.”

The players repeated Solari’s theme throughout the season. In this instance, Solari connected and Saunders didn’t.

Solari is quiet. He’s one of the most respected coaches in the league, but he totally avoids the spotlight. He pounds the rock year round and leads the strongest aspect of the Chiefs franchise — the offensive line. No disrespect to Saunders, but the play of the Big Willies — Willie, Will, Waters, Wiegmann and Welbourn — has been far more impressive and effective than KC’s play-calling or game planning.

Furthermore, Herman Edwards would be foolish if he failed to adjust Saunders’ record-setting, playoff-winless offense. You have to adjust for Larry Johnson’s talents. You have to adjust so that your all-world tight end, Tony Gonzalez, is a bigger threat in the red zone. You have to adjust because Trent Green will be 36 next season.

I hope Saunders enjoys success in Washington. Gregg Williams, Gibbs’ heir apparent, should watch his back. Washington owner Dan Snyder falls in love easily, and you can bet Saunders will tell Snyder everything he wants to hear.

As for things here, call me when the Chiefs players express outrage about Saunders’ departure. Edwards would’ve been stupid to retain Saunders as offensive coordinator. You don’t keep a guy on the assistant-coaching staff who openly believes he should be the head coach unless the players love him the way the Chicago Bears loved Buddy Ryan.

Those of us in the media don’t suit up. Our love of Saunders is irrelevant.

Deberg_1990 · 01-22-2006, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tk13

[url]
Unfortunately for Saunders, he’s having a much harder time convincing NFL general managers and owners that he’s God’s gift to football.

I wanted to hear Saunders explain why nearly a third of the NFL’s teams took a look at his stellar resume and hired 30-year-old kids. .

Interesting read. Im not certain its 100% accurate, but there is obviously something there as to why Saunders keeps getting passed over for unproven kids.

greg63 · 01-22-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

You opened up a Whitlock thread just to let everyone know you didn't read the article, but Whitlock is the "legend in his own mind?"

...Drawing on past experience; I've opened several Fatlock threads to inform everyone there that I don't read and react to his ramblings. It kills me how people read his crap and then moan and groan about what he wrote. If ya don't like what he writes then quit reading it.

Just call it a sense of social responsibility on my part.

Ultra Peanut · 01-22-2006, 03:46 PM

Big Sexy FOR THE WIN.

jlscorpio · 01-22-2006, 06:16 PM

This is exactly what I was saying in my post yesterday and got hammered by all the AS clones. Solari is the perfect fit for an offense that revolves around LJ. AS coordinated almost as many losses as wins.
Like JW said, there HAS to be a reason that the Faiders were the only team giving him a serious look. Don't get it twisted. I respect Al as a coordinator, but this was DV's offense and Solari's running attack with both Priest and LJ. AS is not the genius that the media and his clones on here make him out to be...

milkman · 01-22-2006, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlscorpio

This is exactly what I was saying in my post yesterday and got hammered by all the AS clones. Solari is the perfect fit for an offense that revolves around LJ. AS coordinated almost as many losses as wins.
Like JW said, there HAS to be a reason that the Faiders were the only team giving him a serious look. Don't get it twisted. I respect Al as a coordinator, but this was DV's offense and Solari's running attack with both Priest and LJ. AS is not the genius that the media and his clones on here make him out to be...

This is not Dick's offense.

This is the Coryell offense that Al learned from Coryell.
Martz ran it in StL, after learning it from Norv Turner.

Dick brought Al with him from StL because of his knowledge of the system.

jlscorpio · 01-22-2006, 06:44 PM

whatever. it duzn't matter they're both gone, so no more double fake reverse wr screens. Give LJ the ball behind Roaf/Waters, watch the records fall and the wins pile up...

tk13 · 01-22-2006, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SideWinder

This is not Dick's offense.

This is the Coryell offense that Al learned from Coryell.
Martz ran it in StL, after learning it from Norv Turner.

Dick brought Al with him from StL because of his knowledge of the system.

Yeah, what DV deserves credit for is going against his more conservative roots to allow these guys to bring in their aggressive offense and take a lot more chances than most coaches would allow, and also keeping guys like Saunders and Martz balanced and not getting too pass happy and making sure they ran the football. DV is the perfect coach for somebody like Saunders or Martz because he never really choked them back, but never let them get carried away, much like Martz did after DV left.

milkman · 01-22-2006, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlscorpio

whatever. it duzn't matter they're both gone, so no more double fake reverse wr screens. Give LJ the ball behind Roaf/Waters, watch the records fall and the wins pile up...

The wins won't pile up unless the defense gets fixed.

milkman · 01-22-2006, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tk13

Yeah, what DV deserves credit for is going against his more conservative roots to allow these guys to bring in their aggressive offense and take a lot more chances than most coaches would allow, and also keeping guys like Saunders and Martz balanced and not getting too pass happy and making sure they ran the football. DV is the perfect coach for somebody like Saunders or Martz because he never really choked them back, but never let them get carried away, much like Martz did after DV left.

Exactly.

Good post.

jlscorpio · 01-22-2006, 06:52 PM

agreed. yet another reason to hire herm over AS...

Mr. Laz · 01-22-2006, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

did you watch our offense during the Marty Era? we always had a good OL, how was our offensive production?

dang straight ... if the oline was the only thing that matters Marty shottenheimer would have 10 super bowls under his belt already.

jabberwocky

01-22-2006, 02:13 AM
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $1952500	Whitlock: Saunders is a legend in the media's mind http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/13682142.htm Saunders is a legend in the media’s mind JASON WHITLOCK Kansas City Star Breaking news: Al Saunders did not invent the game of football. This news, I’m sure, will shock many of my media brethren here in Kansas City, particularly those who earn a living hosting radio shows. Saunders, however, did perfect the art of making insecure media members feel like they’re the next Howard Cosell. Saunders scored more points with members of the media than the Chiefs did on the football field during Saunders’ tenure as offensive coordinator. Saunders returned every phone call, made love to every microphone put in his face, swapped locker-room hugs with Karen Kornacki, acted interested in Jack Harry’s ticket- and parking-prices rants, shared conspiracy theories with the New Don Fortune, counseled The Freak Renshaw during a meltdown, memorized the name of Neal St. Davey B. Franz and offered me dieting tips. Saunders worked the media. And judging by the drastic overreaction to his departure, he accomplished his goal. He convinced members of the media that the Chiefs absolutely cannot play football without him. Unfortunately for Saunders, he’s having a much harder time convincing NFL general managers and owners that he’s God’s gift to football. There’s a reason that there were 10 NFL head-coaching jobs available, and Raiders owner Al Davis was the only man to pretend to be significantly interested in Saunders. The reason has nothing to do with Saunders’ age (59) or his rocky relationship with Carl Peterson. Around the league, Saunders is known as a climber, a self-promoter, a snake. The labels have stuck with him since his days as head coach in San Diego, where reporters there contend Saunders used insecure media puppets to back-stab Don Coryell to get the Chargers job. So I’m not surprised that Saunders is on his way to our nation’s capital to lead Joe Gibbs’ offense while sources claim that Peterson promised Saunders the head-coaching position here. Oh, and what a twist, Saunders, a reporter’s best friend, is shockingly unavailable for comment. Yeah, when I learned that Saunders was inside Arrowhead Stadium on Friday, I made a special trip to Arrowhead to question him about Peterson’s alleged promise. I left a message on Saunders’ voice mail. I haven’t heard from him. Not only did I want to know about Peterson’s promise, but I wanted to hear Saunders explain why nearly a third of the NFL’s teams took a look at his stellar resume and hired 30-year-old kids. Now, keep in mind, I’m someone who believed — until this messy departure from KC — Saunders was worthy of getting a second crack as a head coach. But this messy departure says a lot about Saunders. Consider that the St. Louis Rams didn’t even grant Saunders an interview for their vacant head-coaching position. The Rams, despite pleas from Dick Vermeil, first pursued defensive-minded Gregg Williams and then changed course and hired Dolphins offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. The evil and allegedly reneging Carl Peterson does not run the Rams franchise. He has no pull in St. Louis. John Shaw, the president of the Rams, knows Al Saunders quite well. Saunders worked in St. Louis with Vermeil and Mike Martz. Saunders couldn’t get an interview. That’s telling. While Saunders has no problem connecting with star-struck members of the media, his connections with football folks aren’t nearly as strong. A week ago, long before there was a strong hint that Mike Solari would replace Saunders as offensive coordinator, a low-level member of the Chiefs family and a Saunders fan told me a revealing story. During training camp, Vermeil singled out an assistant coach to speak to the team each night. The assistants were rather competitive about the speeches. They put a great deal of thought into connecting with the team. My details may be a little sketchy, but the overall point is accurate. Saunders talked with the team about growing up with an illness (polio) that could be helped by daily swimming. Saunders said his dad took a job at a location that had a swimming pool so that Al could swim every day. Al said he swam every day to save his own life, and that’s how he wanted the team to approach the season. The person who told me this story said he was very touched by Al’s story and was surprised when he found players chuckling about Saunders’ story when the meeting broke up. “They thought it was made up or exaggerated,” he told me. When it was Solari’s day to speak, he showed a movie clip — I believe from Clint Eastwood — of a bunch of guys taking turns pounding a huge rock with sledgehammers. Solari said that’s how he wanted the team to approach the season. “We gotta pound that rock.” The players repeated Solari’s theme throughout the season. In this instance, Solari connected and Saunders didn’t. Solari is quiet. He’s one of the most respected coaches in the league, but he totally avoids the spotlight. He pounds the rock year round and leads the strongest aspect of the Chiefs franchise — the offensive line. No disrespect to Saunders, but the play of the Big Willies — Willie, Will, Waters, Wiegmann and Welbourn — has been far more impressive and effective than KC’s play-calling or game planning. Furthermore, Herman Edwards would be foolish if he failed to adjust Saunders’ record-setting, playoff-winless offense. You have to adjust for Larry Johnson’s talents. You have to adjust so that your all-world tight end, Tony Gonzalez, is a bigger threat in the red zone. You have to adjust because Trent Green will be 36 next season. I hope Saunders enjoys success in Washington. Gregg Williams, Gibbs’ heir apparent, should watch his back. Washington owner Dan Snyder falls in love easily, and you can bet Saunders will tell Snyder everything he wants to hear. As for things here, call me when the Chiefs players express outrage about Saunders’ departure. Edwards would’ve been stupid to retain Saunders as offensive coordinator. You don’t keep a guy on the assistant-coaching staff who openly believes he should be the head coach unless the players love him the way the Chicago Bears loved Buddy Ryan. Those of us in the media don’t suit up. Our love of Saunders is irrelevant.
Posts: 54,957

01-22-2006, 03:46 PM	#78
Ultra Peanut v^V^v^V^v^V^ Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Holland* Casino cash: $10005177	Big Sexy FOR THE WIN. __________________
Posts: 39,518

01-22-2006, 06:16 PM	#79
jlscorpio Veteran Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rapid City, SD Casino cash: $10004900	This is exactly what I was saying in my post yesterday and got hammered by all the AS clones. Solari is the perfect fit for an offense that revolves around LJ. AS coordinated almost as many losses as wins. Like JW said, there HAS to be a reason that the Faiders were the only team giving him a serious look. Don't get it twisted. I respect Al as a coordinator, but this was DV's offense and Solari's running attack with both Priest and LJ. AS is not the genius that the media and his clones on here make him out to be... __________________ For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't believe, no explanation will do.
Posts: 1,089

01-22-2006, 06:44 PM	#81
jlscorpio Veteran Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rapid City, SD Casino cash: $10004900	whatever. it duzn't matter they're both gone, so no more double fake reverse wr screens. Give LJ the ball behind Roaf/Waters, watch the records fall and the wins pile up... __________________ For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't believe, no explanation will do.
Posts: 1,089

01-22-2006, 06:52 PM	#85
jlscorpio Veteran Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rapid City, SD Casino cash: $10004900	agreed. yet another reason to hire herm over AS... __________________ For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who don't believe, no explanation will do.
Posts: 1,089