NEW O-COORDINATOR? IT'S TODD HALEY, NOW WHAT?
Todd Haley just told the assembled media in the Arrowhead press room he was the new offensive coordinator. He gave the deposed Chan Gailey the obligatory compliments & respect, but in the end, Haley said the responsibility came back to him. So he will call the plays. Gailey was also the quarterbacks coach. Haley said he would be more involved with the QBs & that offensive quality control coach, Nick Sirianni, may take this position. Sirianni, a 1st year NFL coach, was the offensive coordinator & wide receivers coach at Indiana(Pennsylvania), a Division III school. Sirianni is all of 31-years old.
So why, just 13 days before the season opens, did Haley make such a move? Was Gailey retained after Herm Edwards was fired by Clark Hunt, Scott Pioli or Todd Haley? Remember it was Hunt & Pioli who interviewed Gailey as a head coaching candidate. Did Hunt or Pioli insist on keeping Gailey as the offensive coordinator? When Haley was hired, did he have any say so in Gailey's position or was it already decided? Was Gailey's demotion a result of Matt Cassel's injury & how best to stabilize the offense?
I think it boils down to a couple of philosophical differences between Haley & his O-coordinator. If you watched the game Saturday night, the offense was as bad as I've ever seen with this team, including Marv Levy's Wing-T. The QB play was miserable, with the exception of Dwayne Bowe, the receivers got very little separation & dropped passes, but most of the blame gets heaped on the offensive line. It's a combination of sub-par talent, poor technique & fundamentals plus I question their coaching. If something isn't done very quickly to upgrade this unit's overall performance, the Chiefs are starring right down the barrel of another 2-14 season. Their defense doesn't get to the passer, so it's hard for them to get turnovers, giving the offense superior field position or even scoring a touchdown. Their kick & punt return game is a trainwreck, no superior field position or touchdowns there either, so it all comes back to the offense. Haley likes to throw the ball first, while Gailey preferred to run first. I would guess there was a meeting sometime yesterday or last night to attempt to decide who would sub for Cassel. The Chiefs haven't even commented on his condition as of yet. Is he hurt worse than has been reported? Chan Gailey performed nothing short of a miracle last season, taking a cast-off QB, putting him a spread offense & making that offense semi-competitive. Yeah, they didn't win, but as my buddy Chuck points out, a big part of the losing streak was the fault of the defense. It's possible at that meeting Gailey wanted to revert to the spread with Thigpen running it. It's also conceivable Todd Haley doesn't want to change the offense for 3-4 games & then go back to what they were running. Haley has maybe 5 NFL quality starters on offense, Bowe, Albert, Waters, LJ & I hope, Matt Cassel. All five could be exceptional players altho Waters could decline soon, Albert might be better on the right side & Cassel has only shown his stuff for 1 season & he did it with monster talent around him.
Sadly, there's no quick fix for this offense, with or without Chan Gailey. Peterson, Edwards & company left the cupboard pretty much bare. Todd Haley is the recipient of years of poor scouting, poor organization, poor drafting & multiple free agent signings that were so off the mark, I can't believe it went on as long as it did. As recently as 4 years ago, the Chiefs had 3 offensive lineman playing in the Pro Bowl, they had the best tight end in the history of the game, had a big, bruising, productive running back & an accurate & intelligent quarterback. Add the most dangerous return man in the league & they were thrilling to watch, until the defense went on the field. They had one of the worst defenses in the league, they couldn't get out of the first game of the playoffs because their defense couldn't make a stop when it counted.
Remember when Bill Parcells said "if you're supposed to cook the dinner, shouldn't you be allowed to shop for the groceries?" I think Todd Haley was saddled with an offensive coordinator that didn't suit him, he'd rather have done it himself. After all, if you hire a head coach who's entire coaching experience is as a QB coach, a WR coach & an offensive coordinator, isn't it reasonable to expect an offense that is at least semi-productive? If this offense stinks 2 years from now Haley will pay the ultimate price for a coach, he'll be fired. Till then Chiefs fans, keep the antacids handy & the sharp objects put away on Sundays.
So why, just 13 days before the season opens, did Haley make such a move? Was Gailey retained after Herm Edwards was fired by Clark Hunt, Scott Pioli or Todd Haley? Remember it was Hunt & Pioli who interviewed Gailey as a head coaching candidate. Did Hunt or Pioli insist on keeping Gailey as the offensive coordinator? When Haley was hired, did he have any say so in Gailey's position or was it already decided? Was Gailey's demotion a result of Matt Cassel's injury & how best to stabilize the offense?
I think it boils down to a couple of philosophical differences between Haley & his O-coordinator. If you watched the game Saturday night, the offense was as bad as I've ever seen with this team, including Marv Levy's Wing-T. The QB play was miserable, with the exception of Dwayne Bowe, the receivers got very little separation & dropped passes, but most of the blame gets heaped on the offensive line. It's a combination of sub-par talent, poor technique & fundamentals plus I question their coaching. If something isn't done very quickly to upgrade this unit's overall performance, the Chiefs are starring right down the barrel of another 2-14 season. Their defense doesn't get to the passer, so it's hard for them to get turnovers, giving the offense superior field position or even scoring a touchdown. Their kick & punt return game is a trainwreck, no superior field position or touchdowns there either, so it all comes back to the offense. Haley likes to throw the ball first, while Gailey preferred to run first. I would guess there was a meeting sometime yesterday or last night to attempt to decide who would sub for Cassel. The Chiefs haven't even commented on his condition as of yet. Is he hurt worse than has been reported? Chan Gailey performed nothing short of a miracle last season, taking a cast-off QB, putting him a spread offense & making that offense semi-competitive. Yeah, they didn't win, but as my buddy Chuck points out, a big part of the losing streak was the fault of the defense. It's possible at that meeting Gailey wanted to revert to the spread with Thigpen running it. It's also conceivable Todd Haley doesn't want to change the offense for 3-4 games & then go back to what they were running. Haley has maybe 5 NFL quality starters on offense, Bowe, Albert, Waters, LJ & I hope, Matt Cassel. All five could be exceptional players altho Waters could decline soon, Albert might be better on the right side & Cassel has only shown his stuff for 1 season & he did it with monster talent around him.
Sadly, there's no quick fix for this offense, with or without Chan Gailey. Peterson, Edwards & company left the cupboard pretty much bare. Todd Haley is the recipient of years of poor scouting, poor organization, poor drafting & multiple free agent signings that were so off the mark, I can't believe it went on as long as it did. As recently as 4 years ago, the Chiefs had 3 offensive lineman playing in the Pro Bowl, they had the best tight end in the history of the game, had a big, bruising, productive running back & an accurate & intelligent quarterback. Add the most dangerous return man in the league & they were thrilling to watch, until the defense went on the field. They had one of the worst defenses in the league, they couldn't get out of the first game of the playoffs because their defense couldn't make a stop when it counted.
Remember when Bill Parcells said "if you're supposed to cook the dinner, shouldn't you be allowed to shop for the groceries?" I think Todd Haley was saddled with an offensive coordinator that didn't suit him, he'd rather have done it himself. After all, if you hire a head coach who's entire coaching experience is as a QB coach, a WR coach & an offensive coordinator, isn't it reasonable to expect an offense that is at least semi-productive? If this offense stinks 2 years from now Haley will pay the ultimate price for a coach, he'll be fired. Till then Chiefs fans, keep the antacids handy & the sharp objects put away on Sundays.
Comments