Teicher: Haley, not satisfied with receivers, makes coaching change

[Tribal Warfare]

Haley, not satisfied with receivers, makes coaching change
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

Apparently frustrated with a lack of progress from the wide receivers, coach Todd Haley has made another staff change, replacing position coach Dedric Ward with Richie Anderson.

Anderson joined the Chiefs this year as a member of the NFL’s minority coaching fellowship program. A former NFL running back, he helped coach the wide receivers for the Jets in 2006.

Ward is still coaching for the Chiefs, but Anderson was running the receiver drills during the media portion of practice Thursday.

“Coach Haley and everybody involved in the decision making are trying to find a way to get things right,’’ wide receiver Bobby Wade said. “Richie’s been helping out for us. He’s been in our position meetings and at practice anyway. Dedric Ward’s still out there helping. So I think it’s more of a change for the coaches than for us. It’s not a drastic thing for us as players. It has more to do with how (Haley) wanted to see things done.

“But I think everybody is looking for things that are going to help us. Everybody in this locker room has to be open to that.’’

Haley wouldn’t comment even to confirm the move. He did make a general statement about the receivers in his regular daily news conference.

“They definitely made some big plays (in last week’s game against Dallas),’’ Haley said. “The third-and-long catch by Bobby (Wade) . . . where he took a big (shot) and then obviously the fourth-down (touchdown) throw to Dwayne (Bowe) were big plays and plays to build on for those guys and for us.

“Now, there were other plays in that game and in the last couple of games that we had some game-changing plays potentially that haven’t been made. So it’s a work in progress. They need to make plays. That’s their job. They need to do a good job (blocking) in the run game. That’s their job. We just need to be better across the board, and that’s another spot where that holds true.’’

Haley made a change on his offensive staff during the preseason, firing coordinator Chan Gailey and taking over the play-calling responsibilities. Still, the Chiefs have been sluggish offensively. They are 30th among the NFL’s 32 teams in yardage and 24th in scoring.

The play of the receivers has, as Haley indicated, been up and down. Bowe, Wade and Mark Bradley have combined for 42 catches and six touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 0-5 start.

But the top three receivers have also tended to disappear at times. They combined for five catches in a recent game against the Giants.

The receiver situation has been unsettled since the start of training camp. Bowe was demoted for a time because the Chiefs were unhappy with his effort. Starter Devard Darling was lost for the year because of a knee injury suffered during the preseason.

Veterans Amani Toomer and Ashley Lelie were signed during training camp, but neither lasted until the start of the regular season. Wade joined the Chiefs as a free agent after the first regular-season game.

Perhaps Haley believes having a more experienced receivers coach will help. Anderson coached wide receivers for the Jets in 2006 and moved on the next year to the Arizona Cardinals. He was fired four days after being arrested for soliciting a prostitute, but the charge was dropped.

Ward coached wide receivers in 2006 for Missouri State and was an offensive assistant the last two seasons for the Cardinals, but this was his first season as an NFL position coach.

Wade said he was comfortable working with either coach and thought the other receivers felt the same way.

“In my experience, it’s really important to build a rapport with your receivers coach,’’ Wade said. “He needs to understand you as an individual and what you can do on the field and what you might lack as far as skill. Then he needs to give you the best opportunity to play up to your ability.

“So it’s important for every position to have a coach that’s going to be there and going to be consistent.’’