Mellinger roasts Pioli over an open flame

[Hammock Parties]

This didn't get posted? ****, best thing Sammy has written.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/12...his-share.html

Chiefs GM Pioli due his share of blame in Haley's failures

Scott Pioli brought this critical point in Chiefs history on himself, and now he must rise to it.

This can go one of only two ways. Championship or bust, waving from a parade or looking for work, remembered as the man who just needed to find the right coach or the general manager who repeatedly failed the men he brought on board.

Pioli fired Todd Haley, the only coach he’s ever hired. This is how their dysfunctional marriage had to end. A once-strong relationship deteriorated past personal differences and into professional obstacles.

The Chiefs could go nowhere with both Pioli and Haley in the same building, so in that way, the GM essentially pulled rank.

That was the easy part. Now we get to see, once and perhaps for all, whether Pioli is the golden-boy personnel guru from his Super Bowl-winning days in New England or just one more poser taking credit and fame off the glow of Bill Belichick’s star.

Because firing Haley is a meaningless delay tactic if Pioli doesn’t accept and reflect on his part of the Chiefs’ current mess.

We all understand that Haley made mistakes. The preseason plan was a disaster. Tyler Palko is still taking snaps long after he proved to be incompetent. An unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against the Jets provided a sad image of Haley’s self-control, which, combined with a remarkably inconsistent and often uncompetitive season, made the Chiefs the magnetic opposite of what owner Clark Hunt wants them to be.

But if Haley failed, he followed Pioli’s example.

Because Pioli chose Haley, who coached the roster Pioli gave him. The Chiefs’ current state of disarray is as much an indictment of Pioli as Haley. The boss put the coach in a virtually unwinnable position: not enough support from either the general manager or the roster to do much more than hope for survival.

And this is where Pioli comes in. Or, more accurately, where he must come in.

Injuries to Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, Matt Cassel and Tony Moeaki fundamentally changed what the Chiefs are capable of. But they also exposed so many of Pioli’s own shortcomings, and unless he takes this opportunity to stop creating self-assuring excuses to justify his ineffective status-quo style of management, there is no reason to believe the Chiefs can rise above NFL mediocrity.

One of Pioli’s great strengths is his thoughtfulness, his thoroughness, his steadiness. He isn’t reactive. He is measured. If he grows emotional, he has trained himself to put the decision aside until he’s calm. The most effective judgments, Pioli believes, are made with the brain, and not the heart.

This is part of what eventually led to fundamental differences with the man he hand-selected to be his first coach.

And more than just one of Pioli’s great strengths, this is also perhaps his greatest flaw … and a chunk of what is holding back the Chiefs.

Go back to the NFL’s truncated offseason. The whole thing lined up perfectly with Pioli’s sweet spot, set up to be won by the general manager with the best information and temperament to navigate what many inside the industry called the most hectic personnel period in league history.

Instead, Pioli treaded water.

He signed Steve Breaston (who shares an open and mutual man-crush on Haley) and Kelly Gregg while letting Ron Edwards and Shaun Smith walk. Opportunities to add a backup quarterback, or much-needed depth at other positions, floated by.

Pioli’s only personnel successes with the Chiefs are in the draft (Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Justin Houston) and contract extensions awarded to stars (Charles, Brandon Flowers, Tamba Hali). Notice the pattern here.

Draft selections come with inherent time limits. Negotiations for contract extensions have a predictable schedule.

Pioli is most effective when he knows what’s coming and can read the clock. He becomes tentative and hesitant among surprises and unknowns.

He wants control, over everything, and struggles in situations he can’t have it.

Nearly three full years after he took over, the Chiefs’ best players are still predominately holdovers from his predecessor, Carl Peterson, even as Pioli spends too much time and energy fixing what he sees as major holdover flaws from the previous leadership.

All of this means that Pioli is at the most critical point of his professional career in terms of how he’s remembered and thought of as a football man.

Some will expect him to close his eyes, cover his ears, la-la-la out all the criticism, and keep pushing the Chiefs in the same misguided direction.

That would support the narrative of Pioli as Ego Gone Wild, and almost certainly ensure that the Chiefs waste a championship window that will close along with the primes of Charles, Hali, Flowers and other stars.

A consequence of Pioli’s decision to speak publicly as little as possible is that it’s virtually impossible for anyone outside a small circle to know his motivations, perspective or fears.

If they did, they probably would see as much insecurity as ego. Part of his hesitation on personnel moves comes through second-guessing. Part of his focus on signing the team’s inherited stars is admitting he can’t find anyone better.

And if Pioli handles it the right way, part of firing the coach will be a very public acknowledgment that he — not Haley, not Hunt, not anyone else — made bad decisions that turned the Chiefs from division champion to disorder one year later.

How Pioli makes it through this very personal inner conflict will decide how his time in Kansas City ends. On Monday, he portrayed humility, saying he needed to do his job better.

That’s good, but ultimately irrelevant if he doesn’t do his job differently.

[FringeNC]

Originally Posted by FAX

I have no idea as I am no longer invited to their meetings being as how I was a pro-Haley guy, and all. However, I should like to speculate out the ass like unto Mr. SensibleChiefsfan ...

After what several Planeteers mentioned regarding the presser, I went back and watched it again paying special attention to both physical and facial clues that indicate discomfort and falsification (as you know, Mr. Chiefnj2, I am a student of such things).

I determined that Clark felt far more "in control" and calm than Pioli. Clark did not outright lie during the conference, and even though he did dance around answers, he did so with composure. Pioli, on the other hand, looked very uncomfortable throughout and was either extremely ill-prepared or downright discombobulated. Pioli also resorted to lies regarding his relationship with Haley and the reasons for the dismissal at this time.

In summary, Clark is pissed off and desires a course correction that does not involve technical fouls on the HC and lots of curse words. Pioli appears to have been doused with a jug of Humility Juice.

The thing I thought that was most telling was Pioli's comment that "I have to do a better job" in reference to the roster. I think it was Gretz who posed the question ... "so ... was it coaching or talent?" that caught Pioli completely off guard and off balance. It's clear to me, at least, that Pioli is embarrassed by something ... it could be that his ass was kicked by the man sitting next to him ... or it could be that he was simply cowed by the fact that his HC choice didn't work out.

FAX

Yep. And then there is also the possibility that Clark is appalled by the political games the front office played on Haley, if he just found out, which is possible, given that I don't think he's informed about the team as most CP'ers.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Wow.

Just heard the clip from yesterday's presser where Gretz asked Pioli if hiring Haley was a mistake.

"Uh, um, um, uh, uh....uncomfortable stammering"


Why can't Pioli just admit that he made a mistake?

How about the part where they need someone who can help them continue to develop..."not just the young guys"...

He's talking about MATT ****ING CASSEL. I want to puke.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

How about the part where they need someone who can help them continue to develop..."not just the young guys"...

He's talking about MATT ****ING CASSEL. I want to puke.

Factory of sadness.

[Estron]

Originally Posted by 2bikemike

Pioli is responsible for acquiring talent. To leave money on the table when there are clearly needs that need to be met is just asinine if you want to contend.

Is the money being left on the table because of Pioli or because of Hunt? Has Hunt ever said to Pioli, "Go get me the best team you can get within the cap," or have his instructions been, "Let's see what we can do with the cheapest talent we can get"?

If it's on Hunt, then that's just too bad; as long as Hunt doesn't start gabbling Marge Schott-style about how good Hitler was, you can't, can't, can't fire the owner. But if the decision to spend so little was Pioli's, then why hasn't Hunt fired him already?

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Estron

Is the money being left on the table because of Pioli or because of Hunt? Has Hunt ever said to Pioli, "Go get me the best team you can get within the cap," or have his instructions been, "Let's see what we can do with the cheapest talent we can get"?

If it's on Hunt, then that's just too bad; as long as Hunt doesn't start gabbling Marge Schott-style about how good Hitler was, you can't, can't, can't fire the owner. But if the decision to spend so little was Pioli's, then why hasn't Hunt fired him already?

The cap deal is a bit of a mirage. We have a young team which naturally tends to keep the payroll down. We haven't seemed to have much difficulty in coming to terms with guys we want to keep, though. And that's an indicator that we're not being too chintzy. Then, you have FA which is a deal you normally use to fill in players once you've built your core roster. Most people will tell you that's where and when the money needs to be spent.

However, it's pretty clear that the Hunts decided to stay under the cap in order to recoup their investment in the Arrowhead renovations. Even so, I'm not sure how spending more money would have improved the team so much that it would have made a difference this year.

You could make a legitimate argument that we could have spent money to improve our depth or found players at a couple of key positions. Still, unless or until we have a quarterback who can compete at this level, that's patching holes in a boat that's already at the bottom of the Sea Of Dashed Aspirations.

FAX

[ChiefsCountry]

Cassel is all about Piol's ego. He was the one who scouted Cassel at USC's pro day, he was the one who drafted him in New England, he was the dumbass who traded and gave him the big contract. Pioli thinks he is the smartest guy in the room and doesn't want to admit failure which Cassel is.

[DTLB58]

Scott-You need to fix the QB, NT and RT
Immediately. If you do and everyone comes back healthy
With strong leadership at HC they can begin to go places, if not
We will be watching your presser sooner than later.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by KCtotheSB

GoChiefs, why are you the only user that can't seem to stick with ONE username and avatar? Find one and be done with it already.

I don't change my username. Mods do that. The mods are evil creatures.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Wow.

Just heard the clip from yesterday's presser where Gretz asked Pioli if hiring Haley was a mistake.

"Uh, um, um, uh, uh....uncomfortable stammering"


Why can't Pioli just admit that he made a mistake?

That was the best part of it all...Pioli was sweating.

I'm guessing Clark told Scott he didn't want to slam Haley during the presser, and that they needed to accept some responsibility.

[O.city]

Hopefully Hunt reemed Piolis ass for not making him more money.

[GloryDayz]

LOL... I love it!!!!

[stonedstooge]

The new CBA had to include a minimum of 90 percent of monies for players salaries be spent because of Clark Hunt continuing to not spend money that was supposed to be for players salaries. Called the Chiefs out specifically. So what does Clark do? Holds back another $30 million of players money this year

[whoman69]

Originally Posted by FAX

The cap deal is a bit of a mirage. We have a young team which naturally tends to keep the payroll down. We haven't seemed to have much difficulty in coming to terms with guys we want to keep, though. And that's an indicator that we're not being too chintzy. Then, you have FA which is a deal you normally use to fill in players once you've built your core roster. Most people will tell you that's where and when the money needs to be spent.

However, it's pretty clear that the Hunts decided to stay under the cap in order to recoup their investment in the Arrowhead renovations. Even so, I'm not sure how spending more money would have improved the team so much that it would have made a difference this year.

You could make a legitimate argument that we could have spent money to improve our depth or found players at a couple of key positions. Still, unless or until we have a quarterback who can compete at this level, that's patching holes in a boat that's already at the bottom of the Sea Of Dashed Aspirations.

FAX

I have to disagree. Creating depth on this team would not have impacted greatly the money spent, but we failed to do that. We also left a hole at RT the size of Pioli's ego. It might have been patchwork, but it was needed and in not doing so contributed to many of the blowout losses.

[whoman69]

Originally Posted by Omega

That was the best part of it all...Pioli was sweating.

I'm guessing Clark told Scott he didn't want to slam Haley during the presser, and that they needed to accept some responsibility.

Nope, he just went and did it through all his cronies in the media behind the scenes.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Phobia

We mods usually change his name to coincide with the most recent reeruned thing he's done or posted.

Well, why not change his name to "Tim Tebow" and put a Tebow avatar and/or sig? I think that's a great punishment.