Winner: Charlie Weis

[Hammock Parties]

Winner: Charlie Weis
		By Nicholas Athan Warpaint Illustrated Publisher Posted Dec 9, 2011 | More With the news that Charlie Weis has returned to the Midwest to become the new head football coach at the University of Kansas, it’s time to revisit the Weis-Haley earthquake that shook the Kansas City Chiefs a year ago at this time.
It’s been well documented, but not always believed, that Haley and Weis feuded last year. The explanation for the breakup was that Weis left because he wanted to join his son at the University of Florida. The truth is, Weis left the Chiefs because he could not work with Haley. Sure, he wanted to be closer to his family and begin a new life in Florida, but deep down he wanted to be a head coach again. Had he stayed in Kansas City one more year, there is no doubt that Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli would have given Weis a chance to become the head coach in 2012. And yes, I do think – just like most of the local and national media - that the Chiefs will dump Haley at season’s end, or sooner. For the University of Kansas, Weis’ hire means they’ve finally found a stabilizing force for their fledgling college football program. It also means the Chiefs let a talented offensive mind slip away. Had Weis been KC’s offensive coordinator this season, regardless of the quarterback on the field, the team would have two or three more wins. While we’ll never know for certain what Weis would have done in the Chiefs’ coaching booth this season, we do know what Haley has done. He decided it was his way or no way, and struggled all season long to delivers plays to the quarterback. I have no issue with that philosophy. Haley is the head coach and the buck stops with him. So it’s his coaching career that’s on the line. He did a solid job getting his team ready for the Chicago Bears. This week he has a much more difficult task in repeating that performance against a feisty New York Jets team. But the Chiefs game on Sunday will likely be overshadowed around these parts because of the Jayhawks’ decision to hire Weis. The constant “what if” scenarios will play out during his introductory press conference on Friday. Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger just put Kansas football back on the map. With the hiring of Weis, the university has an opportunity to elevate their college football program to a place they’ve never been before. I compare the hiring of Weis to the hire the university made when they lured Larry Brown away from the NBA’s New Jersey Nets in the 1980s. All he did was restore the tradition of Kansas basketball and win a National Championship. To this day, he maintains that coaching and living in Lawrence was the greatest honor of his life. Time will tell if that will ring true for Weis, but it could turn out that way. I believe Weis could have made an equal impact for the Chiefs, so his hire is bittersweet. I wear my crimson and blue on Saturday, but my Chiefs red on Sunday. Now I get to wear them both with equal pride. At least I will if the Chiefs make a coaching change and find the right man for the job like the Jayhawks did Thursday.