JohninGpt
01-06-2006, 10:28 AM
Chiefs have Jets' Edwards firmly in sights for coaching job
Jan. 6, 2006
By Clark Judge
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Clark your opinion!
Now the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Herman Edwards picture, front and center. And they're not only in it, they're expected to hire the New York Jets head coach.
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Team president Carl Peterson said Friday morning that the Chiefs gained permission from the Jets to speak to Edwards, who has two years left on his contract, and he indicated the two would begin negotiations shortly.
"We have received permission to interview and possibly sign Herman Edwards as the next head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs," Peterson said. "If it is concluded, then we will give the Jets our 2006 fourth-round draft choice."
Peterson indicated the league office has approved the deal "if or when we come to an agreement with Herman."
Now that the Chiefs are talking to Edwards, it is expected he will succeed Dick Vermeil. Peterson knows Edwards well, with Edwards starting with the club as a scout in 1990, so seeking permission was a formality. But it is a necessary move with any NFL employee under contract.
With the NFL office signing off on a deal, negotiations are expected to be concluded shortly -- with Edwards named the next Kansas City head coach.
Earlier, the Chiefs indicated they wouldn't trade draft picks for their next head coach but changed their minds when talks heated up Thursday evening. It is unclear what forced them to make the move, but the club went through a similar process last year when it balked at a trade with the Miami Dolphins for cornerback Patrick Surtain.
After weeks of refusing the Dolphins' demands for a first-round choice, the club offered a second-round pick -- and the deal was done. The Chiefs also surrendered a second and third-round pick for Vermeil, hired in 2001 to replace Gunther Cunningham, and a first-rounder for quarterback Trent Green.
Kansas City's move ends a hectic week where the club was rumored to be involved in negotiations to secure Edwards as early as Tuesday, with one New York radio station reporting Wednesday that a deal was imminent.
Sources in Kansas City said that wasn't the case; that talks were preliminary and that Edwards was not considered a candidate for the team's coaching vacancy. However, they indicated he could be if he were to be released from his contract -- which, it turns out, the Jets were willing to do.
The club apparently had tired of Edwards' name linked with other openings -- especially the one in Kansas City -- and wasn't interested in granting a contract extension to keep him happy.
It is unclear who made the first move, but as the week wore on the club seemed to rule out Edwards' return -- with the coach for the first time Thursday telling his staff that his future in New York was uncertain.
Now it is all but over. And now he seems headed to Kansas City.
What makes this story so intriguing is that Edwards originally was not on the Chiefs' wish list. It was only after Peterson interviewed Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders, Baltimore offensive coordinator Jim Fassel and Indianapolis defensive coordinator Ron Meeks that he veered toward Edwards Thursday.
In fact, Peterson had other interviews scheduled for this weekend -- and Edwards was not among them.
But Peterson changed direction, sources said, because: 1) He realized Edwards not only was available but that the Jets did not want him back; and 2) that Edwards was interested in Kansas City, where the Chiefs' future is far rosier than that of the Jets.
The club was 10-6 this year, where the Jets were 4-12. The club has a future star in running back Larry Johnson; the Jets have a fading star in running back Curtis Martin. The club has an established quarterback in Green; the Jets have an injured quarterback in Chad Pennington.
It is unclear what the Jets do after Edwards, with former New Orleans coach Jim Haslett mentioned as one possibility, while defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson -- whom the Saints will consider -- as another. What is certain is that Herman Edwards is finished with them.
Jan. 6, 2006
By Clark Judge
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Clark your opinion!
Now the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Herman Edwards picture, front and center. And they're not only in it, they're expected to hire the New York Jets head coach.
Advertisement
Team president Carl Peterson said Friday morning that the Chiefs gained permission from the Jets to speak to Edwards, who has two years left on his contract, and he indicated the two would begin negotiations shortly.
"We have received permission to interview and possibly sign Herman Edwards as the next head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs," Peterson said. "If it is concluded, then we will give the Jets our 2006 fourth-round draft choice."
Peterson indicated the league office has approved the deal "if or when we come to an agreement with Herman."
Now that the Chiefs are talking to Edwards, it is expected he will succeed Dick Vermeil. Peterson knows Edwards well, with Edwards starting with the club as a scout in 1990, so seeking permission was a formality. But it is a necessary move with any NFL employee under contract.
With the NFL office signing off on a deal, negotiations are expected to be concluded shortly -- with Edwards named the next Kansas City head coach.
Earlier, the Chiefs indicated they wouldn't trade draft picks for their next head coach but changed their minds when talks heated up Thursday evening. It is unclear what forced them to make the move, but the club went through a similar process last year when it balked at a trade with the Miami Dolphins for cornerback Patrick Surtain.
After weeks of refusing the Dolphins' demands for a first-round choice, the club offered a second-round pick -- and the deal was done. The Chiefs also surrendered a second and third-round pick for Vermeil, hired in 2001 to replace Gunther Cunningham, and a first-rounder for quarterback Trent Green.
Kansas City's move ends a hectic week where the club was rumored to be involved in negotiations to secure Edwards as early as Tuesday, with one New York radio station reporting Wednesday that a deal was imminent.
Sources in Kansas City said that wasn't the case; that talks were preliminary and that Edwards was not considered a candidate for the team's coaching vacancy. However, they indicated he could be if he were to be released from his contract -- which, it turns out, the Jets were willing to do.
The club apparently had tired of Edwards' name linked with other openings -- especially the one in Kansas City -- and wasn't interested in granting a contract extension to keep him happy.
It is unclear who made the first move, but as the week wore on the club seemed to rule out Edwards' return -- with the coach for the first time Thursday telling his staff that his future in New York was uncertain.
Now it is all but over. And now he seems headed to Kansas City.
What makes this story so intriguing is that Edwards originally was not on the Chiefs' wish list. It was only after Peterson interviewed Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders, Baltimore offensive coordinator Jim Fassel and Indianapolis defensive coordinator Ron Meeks that he veered toward Edwards Thursday.
In fact, Peterson had other interviews scheduled for this weekend -- and Edwards was not among them.
But Peterson changed direction, sources said, because: 1) He realized Edwards not only was available but that the Jets did not want him back; and 2) that Edwards was interested in Kansas City, where the Chiefs' future is far rosier than that of the Jets.
The club was 10-6 this year, where the Jets were 4-12. The club has a future star in running back Larry Johnson; the Jets have a fading star in running back Curtis Martin. The club has an established quarterback in Green; the Jets have an injured quarterback in Chad Pennington.
It is unclear what the Jets do after Edwards, with former New Orleans coach Jim Haslett mentioned as one possibility, while defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson -- whom the Saints will consider -- as another. What is certain is that Herman Edwards is finished with them.