Fox Sports Flanagan: Haley Coach of the Year

[Carlota69]

http://www.foxsportskansascity.com/12/28/10/Flannys-Take-Haley-should-be-NFL-coach-o/landing.html?blockID=380764&feedID=5128

[WebGem]

By Jeffrey Flanagan
FOXSportsKansasCity.com
Dec. 28, 2010

There have been some great coaching performances in the NFL this year, but none better than the sensational turnaround pulled off by Todd Haley with the Kansas City Chiefs.

And Haley's worst-to-first run in the AFC West should be recognized when it's all over as worthy of earning coach of the year honors.

Granted, there have been some other exceptional coaching performances this season:

* Let's start with the game's best coach, Bill Belichick, of New England. Belichick has helmed a team that many thought would be good, but not this good. Not an NFL-best 13-2. But as good as Belichick has been, let's face it: He also has the best quarterback in the game. And while he has a pretty young team, especially defensively, he still has plenty of know-how-to-get-it-done veterans hanging around to help the cause.

* Raheem Morris of Tampa Bay has done an incredible job with a young team, a young quarterback, a young running back and so on. He has taken a team that was abysmal last year at 3-13 and has put them in the running for a playoff spot (they need a lot of help now). But playoffs or not, he has directed the Bucs to a 9-6 mark. Some of those wins were extremely lucky (such as beating the Redskins on a missed extra point at the end of the game), and his team has outscored its opponents by only 13 points. But this is a team that should only get better.

* Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears went 7-9 last year, and his job was in jeopardy. He has a veteran team, but he deserves credit for a major turnaround that has the Bears fighting for the No. 2 seed in the NFC. The Bears got undressed by the superior Patriots at home, but they have stood toe to toe with everyone else.

* Mike Smith of Atlanta should get far more credit than he has been getting. His Falcons keep getting overlooked when it comes to talking about the NFL's elite, and despite the loss to the Saints, the Falcons still will sew up the top seed in the NFC with a win Sunday.

* Andy Reid of Philadelphia has won the NFC East, thanks mainly to a bold decision to dump Donovan McNabb. Now, to be fair, Reid got lucky that his quarterback of choice got hurt in the first game, forcing him to go with Michael Vick, who is having an MVP-type year. But Reid has a team with a lot of weapons and will be dangerous in the playoffs.

* Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers probably won't get many votes because he has a veteran team. But he kept the Steelers on even keel when the team was without Big Ben early in the year, and once again the Steelers are a Super Bowl threat.

* Mike McCarthy of the Packers. Say what? Granted, the Packers haven't even clinched a playoff spot yet (if they beat the Bears on Sunday, they're in). But no coach has had to deal with more season-ending injuries to key players than McCarthy - he lost his No. 1 running back, No. 1 tight end, No. 1 middle linebacker, No. 1 outside linebacker, No. 1 right tackle, No. 1 strong safety and so on and so on. He also lost Aaron Rodgers for the better part of two games, yet the Packers are still in it and could be a threat in the playoffs.

All that being said, none of those performances is better than Haley's. Haley took a dreadful 4-12 team from a year ago and somehow got them to believe they could win again. The best part for Chiefs fans is that the rebuilding process is only about half done, at best, and yet they already have a division crown.

Haley's top off-season acquisitions weren't even the ones on the field. Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel have done amazing things with their offensive and defense units, respectively, to fuel the turnaround.

Crennel gets the most credit - he took a defense that couldn't stop most college offenses last year but has mostly the same players now believing they are actually good. Chances are, that defense will get exposed in the playoffs, but it's been a heck of a switch from last year, when unknown running backs were gashing the Chiefs on a routine basis.

Yet it all starts at the top of the coaching chain with Haley, and he deserves the national recognition..

[Chiefs Pantalones]

Thread title a bit misleading, but I feel ya

[Fritz88]

I wonder how much credit Haley really deserves. Take out Romeo and Weis and see what happens.

[The Bad Guy]

I wonder how much credit Haley really deserves. Take out Romeo and Weis and see what happens.

How many great coaches have shit coordinators?

Is the sky always falling for you? You remind me of a depressed emo teenager.

[RealSNR]

Yeah for a second I thought Haley actually won the award.

I know it wasn't on purpose, but we might want to switch up the thread title just to prevent confusion

[TheGuardian]

How many great coaches have shit coordinators?

Is the sky always falling for you? You remind me of a depressed emo teenager.

Exactly.......he's a dumb fuck.

[CrazyHorse]

I wonder how much credit Haley really deserves. Take out Romeo and Weis and see what happens.

Well....if Haley brought those guys in (and he did) then he deserves all the credit. So you can stop wondering now.

[Sofa King]

shouldn't the coach get credit for bringing in good cordinators????