New Chiefs coach promises to 'attack' on offense
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City's fifth offensive coordinator in four years is hoping to lend some much-needed permanence to his new team.
Brian Daboll said Monday that he considers stability to be very important.
"You look at teams, for the most part percentage-wise that have been successful over the years, one word I think is sometimes overlooked is continuity," Daboll said Monday at his introductory news conference with the Chiefs. "When you can have a system in play and you understand that your players are going to be in that system and they understand their roles, that gives you a little bit of a jump start.
The 36-year-old Daboll will replace the retired Bill Muir. He was offensive coordinator last year at Miami and ran the offense at Cleveland the two years before that.
Since Scott Pioli took over as general manager after the 2008 season, offensive coordinator in Kansas City has been one of the most insecure positions in the NFL. Chan Gailey was fired a few days before the 2009 season began and replaced by Todd Haley, who spent his first year as a head coach also running the offense.
Charlie Weis held the job the next season, resigned and was replaced for one year by Muir.
"So we've got some work to do here installing our stuff and I look forward to it," Daboll said.
Like Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel, Daboll's career roots are deep in the New England system, where he was a young assistant from 2000-2005.
"I think a lot of people say he's another guy from the New England tree," Crennel said. "But it's been a while since he's been in Mew England, and I just happen to be from that New England tree also. Sometimes knowing people and knowing what they're about is important. In this case, that was important to me. Plus, I know he's a good person and a very hard worker."
Daboll inherits an offense that was devastated by injuries last year, losing Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles after only 12 carries and tight end Tony Moeaki in the preseason. A hand injury shelved quarterback Matt Cassel for much of the second half of a season that ended with a 7-9 mark and Haley's dismissal.
Daboll promised an aggressive approach.
"The first word I want to use is `attack,'" he said. "When you're an offensive football coach, you want to try to really set precedent on the defense and attack the defense."
Daboll's best NFL offense so far has ranked 22nd in the league. Since Crennel plans to be defensive coordinator as well as head coach, Daboll will have more autonomy than most offensive coordinators in the NFL.
"You know what, to a degree he will because I'm going to depend on him to handle the offensive side of the ball," Crennel said. "But that being said, because of our relationship, we're going to be able to sit down and say, `This is how we need to attack an opponent, this is what we need to do in a game plan,' and then expect Brian to implement those things."
Daboll shrugged off reports that he was hard to get along with and feuded with quarterback Colt McCoy while in Cleveland.
"With most of the players that I've coached, I have a very good relationship," he said. "Colt and I have a good relationship. It's not a bad relationship. I think there's certain times when you're a coach and sometimes emotion can get to you. Maybe you step back and say, `Boy, I would rather have handled it that way rather than this way. But I think the job as a coach is to tell the players what to do and show them how to do it and really not accept any excuses. It's an emotional game."
He added: "I'm a high-energy, up-tempo guy. I expect perfection. I know that's not possible all the time but I think we need to all hold ourselves to a high standard, to really setting the tone and expecting the highest detail and highest execution from ourselves."
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