Chiefs Whitlock: Why should the Chiefs bring Haley back? - Page 10

**Tribal Warfare** · 12-20-2009, 11:17 PM

Why should the Chiefs bring Haley back?
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star

I’m not arguing that Todd Haley should be fired. I’m wondering what’s the justification for bringing him back.

Loyalty? Fairness?

You throw them overboard with the waiting list for season-ticket holders. Anyone arguing the Chiefs have made progress this season hasn’t heard about what happened inside Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns visited.

On a day when Cleveland quarterback Brady Quinn threw for 66 yards and two interceptions, the Browns rumbled for 351 yards on the ground and surpassed the 40-point barrier in a 41-34 victory over Haley’s Chiefs.

Keep in mind, the Browns are in the process of wooing Mike Holmgren to take over their organization and can embattled head coach Eric “Dead Man Coaching” Mangini. The Browns are bad. The Chiefs are worse.

It took a total team effort to give Cleveland a road victory.

“When you allow two returns for touchdowns, that’s generally not going to end up being a good thing,” Haley said, scolding the special-teams unit that allowed Josh Cribbs to find the end zone twice on kickoff returns.

“When you drop nine balls, and we had 39 to 40 by the NFL’s count going into this game — 50-plus by my count — it’s going to be very difficult,” Haley said, scolding his receivers for their inability to catch.

“When you allow a team to run the football the way they were able to run the football, you’re not going to have much of a chance to win,” Haley said, scolding a defensive unit that has surrendered 800-plus rushing yards in its last three games at Arrowhead Stadium.

That’s all three units, folks. Special teams. Offense. And defense.

It’s Christmas, and all three phases of Haley’s team are in disarray.

We’ve spent so much time focusing on the shortcomings within Kansas City’s roster, we’ve failed to mention that it’s likely Haley will overhaul his entire coaching staff, too.

You think Clancy Pendergast is coming back as defensive coordinator after some kid named Jerome Harrison gained 286 yards and finished 10 yards shy of the NFL’s all-time rushing record? We know Haley is a hothead. He booted his most qualified assistant (Chan Gailey) before the season. He’s already demoted a receivers coach. He benches receivers when his mood dictates.

Come on, you know Haley’s instincts will tell him to fire everyone except his wingman, Maurice Carthon. Haley can argue that he got this head-coaching position so late last offseason that he was unable to lure top-flight assistants.

Will top assistants want to come work for Haley this offseason? Let’s don’t even deal with the damage Haley has done to his reputation with his wild-man coaching routine and his handling of Gailey. Why would a top assistant come to KC when Haley is going to enter next season on the hot seat?

You know who would come? A coach with ties to Scott Pioli; a coach who thinks he could be the interim head coach if Haley gets fired six weeks into the season. Charlie Weis. Romeo Crennel.

Yes, more of the Patriots Way. A continuation of the flawed philosophy that you can export a winning culture from one city to another. Winning produces its own unique culture wherever it lands.

Let me get back on topic. I’m not saying Todd Haley should be fired. I’m wondering what’s the justification for bringing him back.

Mike Shanahan appears to be headed to Washington. Mike Holmgren apparently is going to take over Cleveland’s front office. Bill Cowher might rejoin the coaching ranks. The Chiefs are going to stand pat with Haley?

What has he shown us that gives us confidence he’ll hire a competent coaching staff? And if the Chiefs are going to be starting over with a new assistant-coaching staff, why not just start all the way over with a new head coach?

I did not say fire Todd Haley. I’m searching for reasons to bring him back. Right now, loyalty and fairness come to mind.

Scott Pioli stuck Haley with a craptastic roster. The stupidity of playing all season with special-team players masquerading as starting linebackers and safeties has caught up with the Chiefs the last month. And so has playing musical waiver wire at receiver.

Haley’s defenders can argue quite persuasively that he hasn’t been given a fair shot. Haley’s critics could argue that Haley has made a bad situation worse.

I’m not arguing anything. And I’m cool with Haley coming back ... as long as he realizes he has to make a boatload of fundamental changes to his coaching approach.

TEX · 12-21-2009, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spott

Keeping Haley is a waste of time. He hasn't improved this team one bit and is in way over his head. There are plenty of better coaches out there that will just go by the wasteside if they keep Haley around next year.

This X 2.

ILChief · 12-21-2009, 06:44 PM

yeah, I can't believe Haley didn't take a 2 win team, watch the team trade its best offensive player who is a first ballot HOFer and take that team to the Super Bowl. He must suck

Brock · 12-21-2009, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILChief

yeah, I can't believe Haley didn't take a 2 win team, watch the team trade its best offensive player who is a first ballot HOFer and take that team to the Super Bowl. He must suck

I take it you don't agree that Haley has been making decisions like a man with his head firmly planted up his own ass?

Knob · 12-21-2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEX

This X 2.

I'll double that

This X 4.:Scanlon:

ILChief · 12-21-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

I take it you don't agree that Haley has been making decisions like a man with his head firmly planted up his own ass?

It's tough to gauge Haley as a head coach this year. Every game (except maybe yesterday) his team has been at a disadvantage talent-wise. As a result you have to take risks you normally wouldn't (like going on 4th down all the time) The main problem I have is Pendergast as DC. But Haley was hired so late in the offseason that there weren't exactly alot of top notch assistants available. I Haley deserves a year with an upgraded roster.

Brock · 12-21-2009, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILChief

It's tough to gauge Haley as a head coach this year. Every game (except maybe yesterday) his team has been at a disadvantage talent-wise. As a result you have to take risks you normally wouldn't (like going on 4th down all the time) The main problem I have is Pendergast as DC. But Haley was hired so late in the offseason that there weren't exactly alot of top notch assistants available. I Haley deserves a year with an upgraded roster.

Do those risks include kicking the ball to Joshua Cribbs over and over again?

ILChief · 12-21-2009, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

Do those risks include kicking the ball to Joshua Cribbs over and over again?

well our kick coverage has been decent (up until yesterday) this year so I can't really say too much about it.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 12-21-2009, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

Do those risks include kicking the ball to Joshua Cribbs over and over again?

Brock · 12-21-2009, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILChief

well our kick coverage has been decent (up until yesterday) this year so I can't really say too much about it.

WTF? Even after he just roasted your ass for a 100 yard return?

ILChief · 12-21-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

WTF? Even after he just roasted your ass for a 100 yard return?

so you think if you get beat for a long TD pass you should just play prevent the rest of the game? Cribbs had returned 6 kicks for TDs in his career so the odds of 2 in a row were small so yeah I would have kicked to him.

Brock · 12-21-2009, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILChief

so you think if you get beat for a long TD pass you should just play prevent the rest of the game? Cribbs had returned 6 kicks for TDs in his career so the odds of 2 in a row were small so yeah I would have kicked to him.

That's ****ed up.

ILChief · 12-21-2009, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

That's ****ed up.

no it's not. Cribbs has returned 262 kickoffs in his career. He had 6 TDs going into yesterday. He returned one for a TD. The odds of him doing it again in the same game were very small. Granted, it happened and hindsight being 20/20 they shouldn't have done it. But if they would have kicked the ball out of bounds every kickoff the rest of the game people would be calling him a pu$$y and an idiot for giving up such good field position.

It's just like the people that hate Obama or hated Bush. If Obama/Bush said the sky was blue people would bitch. If you have it out for somebody you'll gripe no matter what.

SPATCH · 12-21-2009, 07:10 PM

If we're going to keep the leash this short and fire Haley, as the majority of the planet apparently wishes; what kind of message does that send to prospective coaches? What kind of coach would want to come here?

Whitlock throws out the terms loyalty and fairness as if they are absurd. However, loyalty and fairness are still important to me, and they should be to any person or organization of character.

Loyalty? Fairness? Those are two pretty damn good reasons to me.

ILChief · 12-21-2009, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_spatula

If we're going to keep the leash this short and fire Haley, as the majority of the planet apparently wishes; what kind of message does that send to prospective coaches? What kind of coach would want to come here?

Whitlock throws out the terms loyalty and fairness as if they are absurd. However, loyalty and fairness are still important to me, and they should be to any person or organization of character.

Loyalty? Fairness? Those are two pretty damn good reasons to me.

Agreed.

Hammock Parties · 12-21-2009, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_spatula

If we're going to keep the leash this short and fire Haley, as the majority of the planet apparently wishes; what kind of message does that send to prospective coaches?

Don't fail at epic levels.

12-20-2009, 11:17 PM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2997187	Whitlock: Why should the Chiefs bring Haley back? Why should the Chiefs bring Haley back? By JASON WHITLOCK The Kansas City Star I’m not arguing that Todd Haley should be fired. I’m wondering what’s the justification for bringing him back. Loyalty? Fairness? You throw them overboard with the waiting list for season-ticket holders. Anyone arguing the Chiefs have made progress this season hasn’t heard about what happened inside Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns visited. On a day when Cleveland quarterback Brady Quinn threw for 66 yards and two interceptions, the Browns rumbled for 351 yards on the ground and surpassed the 40-point barrier in a 41-34 victory over Haley’s Chiefs. Keep in mind, the Browns are in the process of wooing Mike Holmgren to take over their organization and can embattled head coach Eric “Dead Man Coaching” Mangini. The Browns are bad. The Chiefs are worse. It took a total team effort to give Cleveland a road victory. “When you allow two returns for touchdowns, that’s generally not going to end up being a good thing,” Haley said, scolding the special-teams unit that allowed Josh Cribbs to find the end zone twice on kickoff returns. “When you drop nine balls, and we had 39 to 40 by the NFL’s count going into this game — 50-plus by my count — it’s going to be very difficult,” Haley said, scolding his receivers for their inability to catch. “When you allow a team to run the football the way they were able to run the football, you’re not going to have much of a chance to win,” Haley said, scolding a defensive unit that has surrendered 800-plus rushing yards in its last three games at Arrowhead Stadium. That’s all three units, folks. Special teams. Offense. And defense. It’s Christmas, and all three phases of Haley’s team are in disarray. We’ve spent so much time focusing on the shortcomings within Kansas City’s roster, we’ve failed to mention that it’s likely Haley will overhaul his entire coaching staff, too. You think Clancy Pendergast is coming back as defensive coordinator after some kid named Jerome Harrison gained 286 yards and finished 10 yards shy of the NFL’s all-time rushing record? We know Haley is a hothead. He booted his most qualified assistant (Chan Gailey) before the season. He’s already demoted a receivers coach. He benches receivers when his mood dictates. Come on, you know Haley’s instincts will tell him to fire everyone except his wingman, Maurice Carthon. Haley can argue that he got this head-coaching position so late last offseason that he was unable to lure top-flight assistants. Will top assistants want to come work for Haley this offseason? Let’s don’t even deal with the damage Haley has done to his reputation with his wild-man coaching routine and his handling of Gailey. Why would a top assistant come to KC when Haley is going to enter next season on the hot seat? You know who would come? A coach with ties to Scott Pioli; a coach who thinks he could be the interim head coach if Haley gets fired six weeks into the season. Charlie Weis. Romeo Crennel. Yes, more of the Patriots Way. A continuation of the flawed philosophy that you can export a winning culture from one city to another. Winning produces its own unique culture wherever it lands. Let me get back on topic. I’m not saying Todd Haley should be fired. I’m wondering what’s the justification for bringing him back. Mike Shanahan appears to be headed to Washington. Mike Holmgren apparently is going to take over Cleveland’s front office. Bill Cowher might rejoin the coaching ranks. The Chiefs are going to stand pat with Haley? What has he shown us that gives us confidence he’ll hire a competent coaching staff? And if the Chiefs are going to be starting over with a new assistant-coaching staff, why not just start all the way over with a new head coach? I did not say fire Todd Haley. I’m searching for reasons to bring him back. Right now, loyalty and fairness come to mind. Scott Pioli stuck Haley with a craptastic roster. The stupidity of playing all season with special-team players masquerading as starting linebackers and safeties has caught up with the Chiefs the last month. And so has playing musical waiver wire at receiver. Haley’s defenders can argue quite persuasively that he hasn’t been given a fair shot. Haley’s critics could argue that Haley has made a bad situation worse. I’m not arguing anything. And I’m cool with Haley coming back ... as long as he realizes he has to make a boatload of fundamental changes to his coaching approach.
Posts: 43,454

12-21-2009, 06:44 PM	#137
ILChief MVP Join Date: Jan 2001 Casino cash: $7764831	yeah, I can't believe Haley didn't take a 2 win team, watch the team trade its best offensive player who is a first ballot HOFer and take that team to the Super Bowl. He must suck
Posts: 11,478

12-21-2009, 07:10 PM	#148
SPATCH birth of spatch Join Date: May 2008 Casino cash: $10006207	If we're going to keep the leash this short and fire Haley, as the majority of the planet apparently wishes; what kind of message does that send to prospective coaches? What kind of coach would want to come here? Whitlock throws out the terms loyalty and fairness as if they are absurd. However, loyalty and fairness are still important to me, and they should be to any person or organization of character. Loyalty? Fairness? Those are two pretty damn good reasons to me.
Posts: 4,569