Question... do you think he does these things with a good QB?

Notice how we didn't attempt many onsides kicks last year. It seems to me that Haley knew his team was a complete longshot and the only shot at winning was to take a few risks and get a few breaks. On 4th and 1, that could have been moreso due to distrust in your team to get the minimum yardage.

Again, what makes it hard to scrutinize these decisions is that most coaches trust the talent on their team to win games. It becomes a different story when a coach knows he is brutally outmatched and has to start pulling from a bag of tricks to win.

The players are clearly better. He has maximized the talent on this team. The defense is better, but asked to do way too much to support a horrible offense. We have a very good run blocking o-line... but only when we have a decent running back in the backfield. Our pass protection was significantly better last night, largely because we had a QB who was visibly picking up blitzes.

I'm sorry, but this team when healthy has improved in every single area except the QB position. Yes, I truly believe our healthy supporting cast is a HELL of a lot better than New Orleans or Indianapolis. I think they're even better than New England's.

I am going on the record to say that when all our players are healthy, with a top 10 QB, this team is a serious contender.

I REALLY like the team we've assembled (apart from the QB position, that is). I've been saying that since this offseason. Acquiring depth at a few key positions shouldn't be difficult at all if we ever find a real QB.

Haley's just a TERRIBLE game day coach. He's worse than Andy Reid. He's Herm-level. I don't really see us winning very many playoff games with his idiocy in charge.

Some coaches play checkers, Haley plays golf.

Golf doesn't have a clock, but I'm sure he slow-plays.

No chance. Our lines on BOTH sides are weak. Also , not much quality depth. To become a contender, you need good coaching. That's where the Chiefs fail. On game day, Haley is terrible.

One interesting thing about our coaching/QB situation is this. Our team, like most, have the coach and QB tied together. So if there's any chance we'll actually draft a 1st round QB, what does that mean for Haley? Jacksonville was the 1st and only team I can think of that drafted a 1st round QB with a lame duck coach. While I was excited to see them finally get a QB, I was dumbfounded they did it when both the head coach and GM were 1 year away from being fired. Each new regime wants their own guy. Look no further than Denver for that.

So bottom line. We either fire Haley AND draft a 1st round QB or we do neither. A vote to fire Cassel is essentially a vote to fire Haley, IMO.

Our lines are not weak.

Our o-line is a very good run blocking o-line and they pass protect fine when the QB actually understands blitz pickups. Did you see Palko yesterday literally tap guys on the shoulder and move them to a position where they could stop the blitz? This o-line is better than New Orleans or New England. They just don't have the right QB. And our running game improves once defenses respect our passing game.

On defense, the d-line is strong, it's jsut the wrong system because Pioli has no imagination to build a defense outside of what he built in NE. This 2-gap system was probably a huge mistake. That's not on Haley. Pioli drafting Jackson at #3 made it very clear that Haley had no choice.

Tell me if you think otherwise, but I thought he was fine as a gameday coach last year. He seems to make a lot more iffy/risky decisions when he doesn't trust his team. Is he sitting on clock with 2 minutes to go in the first half in most games because he's inept? Or does he just have this "oh shit' fear that Cassel is going to screw it up?

I kinda see us like the 49ers last year in a sense. We've got good young talent, but we've got coaches who don't necessarily know what they want this team to be and how to coach them to be that team. The most damning thing to me about Haley is that we have no identity. Some of that is injuries, but I lay a lot of that on his promotion of Muir to OC. Again, to me this is like Mike Singletary and Jimmy Raye. You've got guys who are showing that they don't really know how to put guys in positions to succeed. I get that there are injuries, but there is no excuse to getting blown out this many times.

I think you get a proven, veteran coach in here who knows how to drive guys and get them ready to compete, and who can actually work with other coaches so that you can bring in a bright mind at OC, then you sprinkle in some more talent through the draft, sign a few savvy free agents, and get your injured stars back, and we can be right back in the thick of it. Lots of people coming into the year were comparing us to where the Packers were a few years ago, when they went from 13-3 to 6-10, then back to 11-5. I see the makings of a good nucleus here. The critical difference, of course, is the lack of the franchise QB. But again that's where I go back to SF, because Harbaugh is proving that if you know what you are doing and give your team an identity and put guys in a position to succeed, you can still win with a guy like Smith...

I'm picturing Sergio waggling/regripping 13 times.

It's unfortunate Haley has had to work with shitty quarterbacks. This could be his own fault, though.

Haley seems like a beaten man. I won't be upset if he is fired, but I also wouldn't be upset if he was kept around. Nothing really matters until the QB position is addressed. Pioli made a huge bet on Cassel and lost big. Now the franchise is in chaos because of it.

No they aren't.

I think he's tired of trying to push an elephant up three flights of stairs.

Ultimately, it may not fall to Pioli or Clark whether Haley stays or goes.

I'm sure he gets a ton of calls from other teams. If I were him, I'd consider another job somewhere else. It's impossible to win when you don't have a quarterback and, at some point, you have to look out for yourself.

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