Head Coach Question
 

After 6 games this season it's apparent and I agree that wholesale changes need to be made. A question I have is what ever happened to Al Saunders. I thought at one time he was in line for the Chiefs Head Coach job. I would love to see him with the talent that we have on this team and work with it. I can't think of anyone else that might be able to repolorize the fan base as he could. He was popular.

He's an offensive assistant in Oakland.

He will also never coach in KC again. He got screwed by Carl after DV left and he holds everybody accountable including Clark.

He's been with several teams. A very good offensive mind, but a lot of his success was undoubtedly riding on the coattails of Vermeil.

Al Saunders is 65 years ago, and the last time he was a head coach in the NFL was in 1988. That's a long time. I would have hired him to succeed Vermeil since he was the offensive coordinator of a great offense and we would have continuity, but I don't think I'd hire him now. Too old.

Added

Was it Carl or Clark? I think money would talk. I guess the question is would he be a good fit.

I want a hardass prick the drops the hammer on horrible play.


Oh, wait......

The Chiefs freefall can all be traced to hiring Herm over Al Saunders.

I would welcome the guy Milkman once mentioned -- McCoy, I believe is his name. OC for the Broncos.

I was an advocate of Mike Sullivan. We saw his offense today, he's the Bucs' OC. He's a former QB coach under Tom Coughlin. Good coach, really helped Eli. He'd be a good coach to have with a new young QB.

The Chiefs situation is so dire, they need someone with a proven HC track record for winning.

Andy Reid, Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick... jump aboard the proven winner train.

Carl but apparently he holds the Hunts responsible as well.

OH AND ROMEO ISNT OLD AS ****ING SAND

i am not defending Al Saunders but the old argument is hilariously sad when we just had a coaching vacancy and we filled it with a 65 year old who was already a failure at HC at the NFL level just a few years ago.

Romeo wasnt "too old" but now Al Saunders is. Makes sense

Let's be honest...Al doesn't win on his own...he rode the success of Don Coryell and Dick Vermeil.

Wasn't he on the interview list when they hired Haley, or was that a smoke screen?

He may have been on a list but he wasn't ever a candidate.

:Lin:

heh. LMAO

Wouldn't a decent GM candidate want to have some input on the HC decision? I imagine that some guys would drop out of the GM race if a new HC is already in place. The Chiefs probably ought to be thinking about an interim coach that can act as a tourniquet to stop the hemorrhaging. They're not in a position to look for a long-term solution now, IMHO.

Also, IMHO, Zorn could be on the verge of seeing a great deal of power and opportunity shift his way — if he wants it.

I'm not saying I advocate Andy Reid as HC after he gets canned this year, but JC would be a dangerous mother ****er with him... then throw in Geno Smith.

edit: And I do like his attacking D... ****, I'm really tired, but I'm afraid I'm talking myself into wanting Andy Reid's gigantic fat ass here. I need halp.

Reid is basically Marty with a couple of playoff wins. Pass.

He interviewed for our OC spot before we hired Daboll this past offseason.

Whatever hurt feelings he had have obviously settled.

What kept him from getting over the NFCC game hump? Lazy QB?

Well, right up until he was told he didn't get the gig.

Don't have a clue. He had several SB quality teams but could never get one there.

Not only that but he didn't land a single offensive coordinator spot he interviewed for in the offseason and went back to oakland with his tail between his legs for a demotion. Does that sound like a viable head coaching candidate to anybody else? Maybe 8 years ago.

+1 gazillion!

I would take Al back tofreakinday!

Good point.

I wonder, though, how many teams employ the line of thinking that we do; the whole "he's not from the GM/Head Coach's tree" kind of thing. You wouldn't think it would matter with Saunders' resume, but I guess it could be a possibility?

Saunders was the OC with the Rams when they fired Scott Linehan midseason, and I remember someone reporting that they didn't even consider him to be the interim HC.

The guy couldn't get a head coaching job if he was getting off a plane in Hawaii with a handful of pardons.

LMAO

:LOL: More comedy. Keep it coming...

:facepalm:

Another old head coach? No thanks.

Don Shula?

Ferentz of Iowa. Oh wait.............

Is Hal McRae available?

Hell no, I dont' want someone coming in and winning a few games so Chunt thinks that the coach was the main problem. Also that would F our chances at Geno. Just let it bleed, this year is over.

**** retreads, the Chiefs need to clean house. Romeo is a retread and a typical chicken shit Oaklandesk pick... I hate the old man is dead but I love the change in my team even if it hasn't produced many wins... Raiders will be good again all they need is a good solid draft of football players and not track stars... Example Arian Foster, an UNDRAFTED player from Tennessee , "Foster passed 5,000 yards from scrimmage (rushing yards+receiving yards) in his 40th game, becoming the third-fastest player to reach 5,000 yards to do so" Texans struck Gold and are reaping the benefits of that Gold as one of the best teams in the NFL now.

Ya, so where was that "Priest Holmes/Roaf/TG/TG Offense while Saunders was at STL & OAK?????

The problem here is, many fans don't destinguish the diff between good coaching & great players.

Saunders has been in the NFL for 4 decades. He isn't HC material. In fact, he is over rated by this fanbase.

Al Saunders will never be a HC in this league. He burned too many bridges in San Diego.

Chiefs need a young, energetic leader with good management skills and PR skills that will demand excellence from his players and that the players will run through brick walls for. I have no clue who that guy is...but it's not Al Saunders.

We would come in, have two rebuilding years but improve the offense, the thrid year they would have an awesome offense but horrible defense, make the playoffs, have a home game, but lose because of a horrid defense. In the days after the game he would cry about having to get a new Defensive Cordinator and scold everyone for putting him down. After that there would be two mediocre years with no playoffs, after that he retires.

Saunders is a good OC but only that. His time to be a HC is looonngg gone!

People cringe with rehashed coaches but that is just nature of the NFL. Everyone has been fired one time or another after awhile, no matter how good.

Goes back to the likes of Gruden and Billick... these guys are very good coaches but even they came to the end of their rope. IMO they are the type of coaches we need personality wise.

No coach has enough energy to get back up to the top. Andy Reid will be 55 in March. Cowher is a year older than that and has lost his competitive edge. Gruden is the youngest of the bunch and will turn 50 next year. Billick won because he had Ray Lewis who could make up for that train wreck of an offense. He thought Elvis Grbac, Jeff Blake and Kyle Boller were the answer. They might bring name recognition, but if we hire any one of them then we are consigning ourselves to five years of mediocrity. Billick hasn't coached since 2007, Gruden 2008, and Cowher since 2006.

Does the Harbaugh family have any more brothers?

.

Ferentz would have been the right coach when we had the 2010 staff with Weis and Crennel running things on their sides of the ball. He would be perfect in that role.

My first choice for coach would be Mike Nolan. The guy can put a quality defense out there without a big turnover in personnel. I'm sure he knows someone that can run his system. We bring in an OC that can run a balanced attack that can take advantage of our defense.

You know that one has played out sufficiently when The Onion runs with it. Discard and get new, please.

Petrino still available.

I wonder what my HS girlfriend is doing...

It seems more common that coaches tend toward more success in their second opportunity...so while this list isn't exhaustive, I'm pretty sure each of these guys are hoping to head coach again. I left Haley off the list on purpose. It's a mixed bag on the previous success for this group, with Del Rio and Haslett having the most success. Not a super inspiring group.

Jack Del Rio
Josh McDummy
Jim Haslett
Mike Nolan
Tony Sparano
Steve Spagnuolo
Cam Cameron

Out of this group, its Nolan or death.

Not a chance.

He failed miserably in San Francisco and that was with the number one overal pick spent on Alex Smith.

Some guys are just better coordinators than head coaches.

Still say Jack DelRio would do a good job if you wanted a retread... I bet Josh Mcdaniels winds up in KC

That's your first choice? Jesus.

LMAO

Cam Cameron was 1-15 and failed 4 years at Indiana. He'll never be a head coach anywhere again.

Nolan failed in SF and was even given the number one overall draft pick in Alex Smith. Fail.

Spags was awful in St. Louis and his defense in New Orleans is the main reason why they're 1-4.

Sparano went from "Run Game Coodinator" to head coach because of his association with Parcells. He was awful and isn't burning up the league in New York with the Jets.

Haslett? Um, no. Del Rio? No. McDaniels? Maybe, someday, if he proves he can do something without Belichick.

Del Rio basically quit in mid season and tried everything to get fired. He's just a saner version of Todd Haley.

Yup. Like I said...not a real inspiring bunch.

Its the only way to get his defense here. Alex Smith took 7 years to get it, and really he still isn't a great answer at QB. Did you drink the Kool Aid and forget that they tried to replace him in the off season? I think Nolan is the biggest reason for the improvement of the Falcons this year. He's had great defenses everywhere he went. Mike McCarthy was the OC at SF and couldn't get Alex Smith going. Norv did a little better by running Gore 300 times the next year. By the time Nolan was ushered out the door, their best QB was Shaun Hill.

Nolan is not head coaching material.

Period, end of story.

Hiring a retread isn't the answer. If there's a new GM, hopefully he'll have a plan prepared for the Chiefs that doesn't include one.

Wade Phillips is a better DC than Nolan. Maybe we should hire him as HC.

Well...6 of the last 10 Super Bowl winners were on their 2nd gig...and the other 4 were on their first gig...so I'm cool with it as long as it's not a hire that's best known for the "tree" they come from or a guy stubbornly committed to a system...his players be damned.

Well, keep in mind that Belichick and Coughlin both won Super Bowls as assistants before winning as head coaches, so I think it's a little different than outright hiring a guy that's failed elsewhere (Nolan, Del Rio, etc.).

Russ Ball as GM.

Head Coaching choices:
Winston Moss, Packers Assitant Head Coach
Jay Gruden, Bengals OC
Dave Toub, Bears ST Coach (Ironically replaced Ball at Mizzou)
Pete Carmichael, Saints OC
Gus Bradley, Seahawks DC

I'm really starting to hop on the Bradley bandwagon. As long as he doesn't try and be the HC and the DC at the same time.

I'm becoming more open to the idea of a retread who maybe didnt fare so well at his last stop, the impetus for that change of heart is Pete Carroll... i NEVER liked that guy & knew in my soul that he would be an abymal failure in seattle.

Instead, he has put together a murderers row of big, fast ruthless rapists on both sides of the ball, even had the rocks to pay big jack to Flynn & then bench him in favor of an unproven rookie... if there is a Most Improved Coach award, its gotta go to that guy.

Of course, we also took a shot on a guy who didnt fare well at his last stop...

Pete Carroll is a Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator. He was fine in New England going 10-6, 9-7 then 8-8 (and Belichick followed up with 5-11 after Carroll's firing). He was more than fine at USC, winning a national championship and sharing another.

He was fired in New England because Robert Kraft demanded more than mediocre and had his sights set on Belichick.

Yeah, pretty sure i let a lot of media perceptions at the time cloud my view of the guy.

He's doing an awesome job with seattle, they have good players, they have a definite swagger, their schemes are modern, the works.

I think we should add Kevin Gilbride to the list. Six years as the Giants OC. They're top of the league in yards per attempt, and have consistently had a solid running game without being a ground and pound, "run first" team. They still throw it, and they throw it deep.

They're fun to watch. Pete is fun to watch. He clearly loves football, loves being around the guys and loves to coach. I'm not a Seahawks fan, per se, but I am a Pete fan.

I need to have something to root for these days...

One of the worst head coaches in Chargers' history

He was horrible in San Diego.

As I've mentioned throughout this thread, some guys just aren't cut out to be head coaches and he's definitely one of them. Any and all of his success has been with Coughlin.

You see clips of him in the locker room after games & he's a bundle of infectious energy, his players obviously love to play for him, he is where they are getting that swagger from.

Romeo has given us a waddle, not a strut.

And that's really a shame. Romeo's a likeable guy, just not a good head coach.