Herm Edwards needs to finish what he started

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

You want Herm to stay? Take it up with the new GM. I have a feeling it's going to take him about two seconds to determine Herm's fate.

I really wonder about those who want Herm to stay. Only explanation I can come up with is that they are die-hard smash-mouth fans, and even though Herm's experiment with a return to that type of football was an absolute disaster (we were getting outgained by 200-300 yards per game), Herm supporters still think the best chance of playing that type of football is with Herm Edwards as coach.

Peter King's interview with Clark:

Talking to new Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, you get the impression he wants to keep coach Herman Edwards for the fourth and final season of his contract -- but won't stand in the way if a strong-willed general manager wants to make a coaching change.

With King Carl Peterson out as president and general manager, Hunt plans to hire two people in his place: a general manager who will have full authority over the football side of the team and a club president to run the business side. The latter will be a vital hire in this economy because the Chiefs in 2010 open a rehabbed Arrowhead Stadium with 50 additional luxury suites and 7,000 new club seats.

But for now, Hunt, son of the late Lamar Hunt, will look for a Scott Pioli or Charley Casserly to run his team and help determine the fate of Edwards.

"I'm looking for a shrewd evaluator of football talent," Hunt told me. "He's got to be a strong leader, effective communicator, and preferably will come from a winning organization. I don't have a short list right now. I have a very broad list, but I expect to start interviewing soon after the [regular] season."

Hunt said he was "very supportive of Herm, because I believe he's gone about the building of this team the right way. The new general manager will have input [about Edwards' future], and the decision whether to keep him will be mine, but I will listen to what the new GM has to say about it."

I asked whether he would consider hiring a GM who would want full authority over all things football, including the hiring and firing of the head coach. Hunt paused for a moment, then said: "I'm going to be open-minded about that. It's possible that we'll give our GM that authority."

I asked because I would think many of the top GM candidates, such as Pioli, would say, "Why would I leave where I am for a place that gives me control over the draft and the roster but not over the one man with the most control over whether the players I bring him succeed or fail?" Hunt will probably have to cede that authority.

Edwards told me Sunday that he wanted to stay next year, and for the foreseeable future. "I wish we'd started the rebuilding project a year earlier," Edwards said. "I'd love to be the guy to lead this team for a long time. We're building a good, solid base of talent."

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I think the new GM, whoever he is, is going to have a steep hill to climb in order to fire Herm Edwards. Clark clearly supports him and the direction that the team has taken in 2008.

Regardless of all the "Haters" in the forum.