Chiefs Gretz: Haley takes over... - Page 2

DaWolf · 09-01-2009, 09:24 AM

Haley Takes Over … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs
September 1, 2009 - Bob Gretz

We already knew things were different around the Chiefs with the new regime and all.

On Monday, Todd Haley drove that point home once again with his decision to dump Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator.

With that move, Haley did something that Gunther Cunningham, Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards were not willing to do. All three of the more recent Chiefs head coaches had assistants on their staffs that were not working out and all three soldiered on with those coaches rather than going through with the difficult decision of making a change.

Cunningham, Vermeil and Edwards were also big on allowing their coordinators free reign and they were reticent to inject themselves into game planning and game-day decisions. With Vermeil that approach worked out on offense with Al Saunders, and did not work with Greg Robinson. With Edwards, that worked last year with Gailey, but not before with offensive coordinator Mike Solari. Part of the problems with the Chiefs defense last year was that Edwards and Cunningham were intent on doing different things and the team’s defensive identity was split.

Ultimately when there are those types of situations, it’s the head coach who pays the price in the end because generally there are more defeats than victories.

It appears that Haley is going to work with his staff more in the manner that Marty Schottenheimer handled his over 10 seasons as head coach. Schottenheimer was never afraid to stick his finger into the offensive, defensive or special teams plan; he made known what he wanted and if it didn’t come, heads rolled.

The decision to relieve Gailey of his position has nothing to do with the quality of the man’s work or his competence. Gailey is one of the best offensive minds in the game. On top of that, there are not many better people in the game of football. He’s the personification of class, something Haley acknowledged on Monday.

It’s just that Gailey’s approach and style, and his idea of what’s important with the ball and play calling are different than Haley’s approach.

There needs to be some soul searching on the part of both Haley and Scott Pioli on what’s happened. Haley was encouraged to keep Gailey on his staff by Pioli. This kind of outcome was predicted by folks in the NFL that knew both men and their styles. It could have been and was predicted.

One guy who predicted this clash of styles was Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. At the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, Aikman talked of a conversation he had with Haley during the NFL owners meeting in southern California. The former Cowboys quarterback predicted there would be problems between Haley and Gailey because of their different approaches. He explained that Gailey didn’t like to call plays where the pass went over the middle and that he was conservative in his passing game approach. Aikman said that was going to clash with Haley’s willingness to use the middle of the field and his more aggressive style in throwing the ball.

Now, we must remember that Aikman is not a Gailey fan from their days together with the Cowboys. It was Gailey’s job to tell Aikman his career was over, and that’s something the quarterback has not forgotten.

But he turned out to be right on the money with this insight.

Stand on the same street corner on NFL Main Street long enough and you’ll see t he same parade go by several times. There may be different faces among the marchers, but their route remains the same.

Haley is not the first Chiefs head coach to fire a coordinator in the pre-season, one of the worst possible times to make a coaching staff move. Back in the summer of 1984, head coach John Mackovic fired defensive coordinator Bud Carson (right) on a Monday morning after a contentious personnel meeting the previous night.

The subject of that Mackovic-Carson disagreement was LB Charles Jackson. Mackovic wanted Jackson more involved, while Carson thought he was a coach killer, a player whose mistakes would ultimately lead to the termination of the coach. Turned out Carson was correct, but in a way in never envisioned as he was killed in a football sense the next day.

That situation 25 years ago was not really about a single player or meeting. It just came down to Jackson being the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Mackovic and Carson had many disagreements in the season before. In fact, at the end of the ‘83 season, Carson tried to resign but Mackovic refused to make a change. He thought they could work out their differences.

Was it a similar plot 25 years later with Haley and Gailey? Sometime in the future the real story of what happened will be revealed, but right now the head coach says there was no particular moment that created this move. Did they disagree on the approach of the Chiefs offense that has so few weapons in the passing game? With Matt Cassel injured, did they disagree on whether it should be Tyler Thigpen or Brodie Croyle as his replacement? Did Haley want to go back to using Thigpen in the spread offense from last year?

What Haley wouldn’t say is this: he and Gailey were not on the same offensive page, and the head coach was not going to live with that in his first season and first chance as an NFL head coach.

Hopefully Haley is also quite aware that the move and his decision to call plays and serve as the team’s quarterbacks coach takes the bull’s eye on his back and makes it even bigger. He will be severely second guessed if the Chiefs offense continues to stumble around like it has during the pre-season.

Todd Haley wants his fingerprints on the offense. He wanted to be the answer. It’s now his problem to correct and turn around.

He’s got his work cut out for him.

ChiefMojo · 09-01-2009, 11:27 AM

Gretz has been good ALL off-season since Carl is gone. He pulled his head out of Carl's arse and realized he actually could write something that wasn't spouted by Carl first.

wild1 · 09-01-2009, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FringeNC

Now that Gretz is no longer a pawn for Carl Peterson, it turns out he is the best source for inside information. I didn't know Gretz could be this competent.

This is true. I used to hate him, but this is a free blog with so much quality information about the Chiefs, and it's analysis from someone who knows what they are talking about. It's every-morning reading for me.

**the Talking Can** · 09-01-2009, 11:43 AM

gretz is clowning the star

teedubya · 09-01-2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Doesn't seem like the end of the world now. Damn I shouldn't have went out and blown my 401K on strippers.

seems like a wise investment, to me!

TEX · 09-01-2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigChiefFan

I'm glad to hear Haley will be more aggressive on offense. We need to keep teams on their toes and calling a conservative game-plan only hampers our chances of an upset. Gailey did a decent job, but I look forward to a more powerful offense, utilizing the entire playbook.

With our $hitty OL, that could be dangerous.

Mecca · 09-01-2009, 04:04 PM

Ha that is still overly nice about Aikman/Gailey Aikman absolutely hated Gailey with a passion while he was playing for him.

keg in kc · 09-01-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEX

With our $hitty OL, that could be dangerous.

Agressive doesn't necessarily mean slow-developing plays. You don't have to have 7-step drops, deep routes or play action to attack.

I wouldn't be surprised if this offense looked a lot like the early 2000s with a lot of running, a lot of screens and draws and maybe more slants or other quick YAC routes. Take better advantage of Bowe's ability to catch in traffic, take advantage of Charles' speed. Try to keep defenses off balance.

I think there were positive signs last game, even with Cassel on the training table. They got the running game going in a fairly big way, and there were open passes. It just happened that Thigpen couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

Trick, of course, will be to not get Cassel hurt two minutes into his next game so Thigpen won't be in there playing drive killer. Hopefully that will turn out to be a fluke injury in more ways than one.

Pasta Little Brioni · 09-01-2009, 04:51 PM

Haley called passing plays in the 2nd half of the Super Bowl that exploited a weakness in the Steelers defense. The weakness was in the middle of the field, so if Gailey didn't believe in calling those plays it is not surprising that he's gone.

B_Ambuehl · 09-01-2009, 05:10 PM

So Troy Aikman knows more about our coaches then the guy that hired them?

Why am I not surprised.

Mecca · 09-01-2009, 05:14 PM

Hey now Aikman is a smart guy...he could probably coach if he wanted.

Contrarian · 09-01-2009, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaWolf

I would agree. On the bright side, it's not Dick Curl...

EXACTOMUNDO!!!!!!!

09-01-2009, 09:24 AM
DaWolf Cry havoc... Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $10007725	Gretz: Haley takes over... Haley Takes Over … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs September 1, 2009 - Bob Gretz We already knew things were different around the Chiefs with the new regime and all. On Monday, Todd Haley drove that point home once again with his decision to dump Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator. With that move, Haley did something that Gunther Cunningham, Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards were not willing to do. All three of the more recent Chiefs head coaches had assistants on their staffs that were not working out and all three soldiered on with those coaches rather than going through with the difficult decision of making a change. Cunningham, Vermeil and Edwards were also big on allowing their coordinators free reign and they were reticent to inject themselves into game planning and game-day decisions. With Vermeil that approach worked out on offense with Al Saunders, and did not work with Greg Robinson. With Edwards, that worked last year with Gailey, but not before with offensive coordinator Mike Solari. Part of the problems with the Chiefs defense last year was that Edwards and Cunningham were intent on doing different things and the team’s defensive identity was split. Ultimately when there are those types of situations, it’s the head coach who pays the price in the end because generally there are more defeats than victories. It appears that Haley is going to work with his staff more in the manner that Marty Schottenheimer handled his over 10 seasons as head coach. Schottenheimer was never afraid to stick his finger into the offensive, defensive or special teams plan; he made known what he wanted and if it didn’t come, heads rolled. The decision to relieve Gailey of his position has nothing to do with the quality of the man’s work or his competence. Gailey is one of the best offensive minds in the game. On top of that, there are not many better people in the game of football. He’s the personification of class, something Haley acknowledged on Monday. It’s just that Gailey’s approach and style, and his idea of what’s important with the ball and play calling are different than Haley’s approach. There needs to be some soul searching on the part of both Haley and Scott Pioli on what’s happened. Haley was encouraged to keep Gailey on his staff by Pioli. This kind of outcome was predicted by folks in the NFL that knew both men and their styles. It could have been and was predicted. One guy who predicted this clash of styles was Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. At the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, Aikman talked of a conversation he had with Haley during the NFL owners meeting in southern California. The former Cowboys quarterback predicted there would be problems between Haley and Gailey because of their different approaches. He explained that Gailey didn’t like to call plays where the pass went over the middle and that he was conservative in his passing game approach. Aikman said that was going to clash with Haley’s willingness to use the middle of the field and his more aggressive style in throwing the ball. Now, we must remember that Aikman is not a Gailey fan from their days together with the Cowboys. It was Gailey’s job to tell Aikman his career was over, and that’s something the quarterback has not forgotten. But he turned out to be right on the money with this insight. Stand on the same street corner on NFL Main Street long enough and you’ll see t he same parade go by several times. There may be different faces among the marchers, but their route remains the same. Haley is not the first Chiefs head coach to fire a coordinator in the pre-season, one of the worst possible times to make a coaching staff move. Back in the summer of 1984, head coach John Mackovic fired defensive coordinator Bud Carson (right) on a Monday morning after a contentious personnel meeting the previous night. The subject of that Mackovic-Carson disagreement was LB Charles Jackson. Mackovic wanted Jackson more involved, while Carson thought he was a coach killer, a player whose mistakes would ultimately lead to the termination of the coach. Turned out Carson was correct, but in a way in never envisioned as he was killed in a football sense the next day. That situation 25 years ago was not really about a single player or meeting. It just came down to Jackson being the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Mackovic and Carson had many disagreements in the season before. In fact, at the end of the ‘83 season, Carson tried to resign but Mackovic refused to make a change. He thought they could work out their differences. Was it a similar plot 25 years later with Haley and Gailey? Sometime in the future the real story of what happened will be revealed, but right now the head coach says there was no particular moment that created this move. Did they disagree on the approach of the Chiefs offense that has so few weapons in the passing game? With Matt Cassel injured, did they disagree on whether it should be Tyler Thigpen or Brodie Croyle as his replacement? Did Haley want to go back to using Thigpen in the spread offense from last year? What Haley wouldn’t say is this: he and Gailey were not on the same offensive page, and the head coach was not going to live with that in his first season and first chance as an NFL head coach. Hopefully Haley is also quite aware that the move and his decision to call plays and serve as the team’s quarterbacks coach takes the bull’s eye on his back and makes it even bigger. He will be severely second guessed if the Chiefs offense continues to stumble around like it has during the pre-season. Todd Haley wants his fingerprints on the offense. He wanted to be the answer. It’s now his problem to correct and turn around. He’s got his work cut out for him.
Posts: 6,798

09-01-2009, 11:27 AM	#16
ChiefMojo Happy, Happy, Happy!!! Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $10004935	Gretz has been good ALL off-season since Carl is gone. He pulled his head out of Carl's arse and realized he actually could write something that wasn't spouted by Carl first.
Posts: 2,283

09-01-2009, 11:43 AM	#18
the Talking Can Supporter Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: street Casino cash: $9152208	gretz is clowning the star __________________ Clark Hunt: "Thank god for the Dominican pool boy"
Posts: 51,585

09-01-2009, 04:04 PM	#21
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $-722950	Ha that is still overly nice about Aikman/Gailey Aikman absolutely hated Gailey with a passion while he was playing for him.
Posts: 115,380

09-01-2009, 04:51 PM	#23
Pasta Little Brioni Consuming CP souls Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: U.S.A. Casino cash: $158880	Haley called passing plays in the 2nd half of the Super Bowl that exploited a weakness in the Steelers defense. The weakness was in the middle of the field, so if Gailey didn't believe in calling those plays it is not surprising that he's gone.
Posts: 73,011

09-01-2009, 05:10 PM	#24
B_Ambuehl Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Casino cash: $9705405	So Troy Aikman knows more about our coaches then the guy that hired them? Why am I not surprised.
Posts: 2,613

09-01-2009, 05:14 PM	#25
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $-722950	Hey now Aikman is a smart guy...he could probably coach if he wanted.
Posts: 115,380