Arrowhead anxiety: Turnover off the field causes concern

[Dr. Gigglepants]

Secrecy, intimidation, fear and a watchful eye have become hallmarks of working for the Chiefs, say some current and former employees.

BY KENT BABB THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Todd Haley walked into the public relations office at Chiefs headquarters on a Thursday in early December. Four days before he was fired as the team’s coach, he wanted to talk about what life was like inside this organization. But he didn’t know who else might be listening.

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http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14...nover-off.html

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This article goes into a lot of detail on the changes that came into effect with the Pioli regime. Sounds like a shitty ass place to work now.

[007]

I think this article will draw up a lawsuit against Babb.

[The Bad Guy]

After a while, a saying was adopted by top administrators for behavior that didn’t fit the new standards: “That’s so 2-and-14,” they would say, referring to the Chiefs’ win-loss record in 2008. This pertained to matters large and small: Stephanie Melton, who worked 11 years on the team’s operations staff, recalled Pioli’s reaction after she and a coworker, after working past midnight on a weekend, had parked a courier van in the unmarked space usually occupied by Pioli’s car. The women had forgotten to move it, and Pioli was livid the next morning. Melton said she was made to feel for several days that she’d be fired.

“There was an incredible fear of saying and doing the wrong thing,” said a former business-side executive, who was among a group of sources who requested anonymity — in some cases because they still worked for the Chiefs, and in others because they believed their comments might hinder their chances of getting another job in sports.

He's a ****ing bully. What's the standard for 7-9 Scott? How about 4-12? You've had 2 losing seasons out of 3.

I can't root for people like Scott Pioli.

[Dr. Gigglepants]

Originally Posted by Guru

I think this article will draw up a lawsuit against Babb.

Sure looks like he fell on his pen here. We'll see how he's treated after this, Babb might not be the Chiefs guy anymore, but he went ahead and exposed this clown for what he is.

[Hammock Parties]

Yeah, that was a great big ****ing bomb for sure.

I wonder if Haley is the unnamed source for any of that.

[Bugeater]

That's a lot of words.

[Hammock Parties]

GODDAMMIT, WE'RE SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY ON COFFEE!!!

Oh, and draft Tyson Jackson, trade for Matt Cassel and give them $120 million.

I'm outta here, I think I saw a candy wrapper in the east wing.

[Chiefs Pantalones]

Originally Posted by Dr. Gigglepants

Sure looks like he fell on his pen here. We'll see how he's treated after this, Babb might not be the Chiefs guy anymore, but he went ahead and exposed this clown for what he is.

I think everyone knew. It was just a matter of time before it got blown up.

[007]

If this is true he needs to be fired 2.5 years ago.

[ZootedGranny]

Anyone down to chip in for a skywriter to fly over the practice field and write "WE'RE WATCHING YOU"?

[Bowser]

Control freak with an inferiority complex. Probably killing him watching the Patriots light up the Broncos today.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

That's a lot of words.

Best parts:

Haley suspected that many rooms at the team facility were bugged so that team administrators could monitor employees’ conversations. Stopping finally in a conference room, Haley said he believed his personal cellphone, a line he used before being hired by the Chiefs in 2009, had been tampered with.

During his first year, Pioli noticed a candy wrapper in a back stairwell and waited to see how long it took to be picked up. About a week passed, and it remained in the stairwell. He placed the wrapper in an envelope, and during a meeting of department heads, Donovan, then the team’s chief operating officer, brandished the wrapper as evidence of the attention to detail that Chiefs employees had grown to ignore.

“A great coaching moment,” Donovan said.

Pioli frequently came down hard on minutiae. Some emphases made sense, some staffers said; others, though, seemed over the top. One executive, who’s no longer with the team, was sent to human resources for casually referring to Pioli by his last name; the executive said, however, that first names were acceptable. Pioli also sent a memo with detailed instructions, including which stairway to use and which doorway to enter, when using the facility’s gym.

When Pioli took over the Chiefs, he seemed determined to eliminate the chance of a competitor spying on his team. This past November, a security guard noticed a sedan stopped on Lancer Lane, a public road that runs adjacent to the Chiefs’ practice fields, as the team’s morning session was beginning. The driver took a photograph on his cell phone, and the guard ran toward him, standing there until the man deleted the picture. As the guard returned to his post, he told a Star reporter that, if the man hadn’t erased the photo, the guard would’ve confiscated the phone.

Melton said she frequently took the brunt of Pioli’s outbursts on such matters as the temperature in his office, the radio signal in the weight room, and how much the organization spent annually on coffee.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by ZootedGranny

Anyone down to chip in for a skywriter to fly over the practice field and write "WE'RE WATCHING YOU"?

In

[PornChief]

if it gets us a superbowl he can give em all cavity searches for all i care.

[The Bad Guy]

“He was so focused on what seemed like unimportant details for the general manager of a football team,” she said. “We all had to step to the beat of his drum, but we all kept questioning: ‘How is this building a better football team?’"

****ing exactly. Don't build the depth on the line, safety, or quarterback Scott.

Just worry about the radio frequency in the locker room and how much coffee is being consumed.

[Brock]

I understand some of the things in the article being thought of badly, but does anybody really think of "Hey they could be watching my email and my web surfing and my phone log" as something odd? The bottom line is if you want stable employment working for more or less easygoing people, a sports franchise is probably among the worst things you could pick.