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Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are one year into Scott Pioli's tenure as the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs. King Carl Peterson has been retiring on his island of Elba, while we fumble our way through the dark without the tyrannical guidance of an unwanted despot. I imagine this must be what the colonials felt like after shucking off the chains of King George, and replacing him with the new American government, which has been historically far more secretive than a monarchy that announces its horrible decisions to the public.
So what's more egotistical, I ask you? Scott Pioli, who maintains an air of secrecy, only divulging his decisions and strategies after they have been executed, in an effort, I imagine, to avoid the embarrassing mishap of not finishing an announced deal? Or Carl Peterson brazenly announcing every decision, almost daring the public to disagree with him?
Personally, I will say the latter.
But let's explore Scott Pioli's tenure more.
1. Hired Todd Haley, an up-and-coming coordinator with no head coaching experience but came from the Bill Parcells coaching tree.
2. Traded a second round pick for Mike Vrabel and Matt Cassel
3. Traded Tony Gonzalez for a future 2nd round pick.
4. Retained offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, defensive line coach Tim Krumrie.
I'm sure we can agree that the book is still out on Haley. While I like the hire, what I liked about it the most at the time was this - he was Pioli's guy. They targeted Haley. They waited for Haley. He didn't come in and "wow" them in the interview - they planned to go get him. Todd Haley immediately ruffled feathers with his "conversation" with Brian Waters - more on that later.
2. Trading the second round pick for two veteran players, one of which a potential franchise quarterback and the other a pro bowl linebacker who knows the new defensive scheme inside and out - an unequivocal success. I personally found it hilarious how much people were ranting and raving about tyler thigpen and his playmaking ability. These are the same people who were flabbergasted when Thigpen took over the starting job, and the same people who make fun of him today as a horrible answer to a terrifying question. Thigpen was never, ever, ever, ever a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL. He threw touchdowns, simply because he threw them high to Tony and Dwayne Bowe. In that regard, he was a genius. He did very little else.
3. Tony was leaving. It's as simple as that. He was going to "retire" and sign somewhere else. That window was closing. No one likes trading pro bowlers away, and certainly not Hall of Famers, but getting a second round pick, which often times equates to a 7-10 year player, in exchange for a player with 1 more year of service to offer - again i say it's an absolutely brilliant move. It's painful, sure, but necessary. (by the way - with the success of Jamaal Charles, is the jared allen trade a little less painful? maybe? Nah, probably not).
4. retaining Chan Gailey was likely the lesser of two evils. New guy you don't want vs old guy you don't want. At least the old guy is familiar with the personnel. When Gailey was released right before the season opener, it was heralded as pure ego. Why didn't Tampa Bay and Buffalo get labeled the same way? Perhaps Gailey was relieved of his duties, because his presence was considered detrimental to the team's development? And isn't firing your OC right before the season and admission of error? Why would one make such a dangerous move, unless they realized it was necessary? Ego, to me, would be keeping Gailey on the staff, despite his negative impact on the team, purely for public appearances. I see NO ego in this move.
Now, this is the tricky part - the draft. In my mind, Pioli was hamstrung in the draft. He had a full year of scouting reports for the Charlie Weis offensive system and the 3-4 defense...sitting in Foxborough. He had a full year of scouting reports for the 4-3 Tampa 2 defense...in Kansas City. Think about all of those college games that the scouts watched, dissecting every player, tailoring their reports to Herm Edwards, not todd haley. Pioli likely couldn't make any brilliant picks. Didn't know the diamonds in the rough, so instead of trading back to get more picks, he went with the sure thing - defensive line (his position in college) and players he knew personally (vrabel and cassel). It wasn't sexy, but it was safe.
I anticipate this draft being much more interesting to watch. Perhaps we will get some movement in the first round, maybe some extra picks later. Why? Because after last year's draft, Pioli fired the ENTIRE scouting department. He replaced them with scouts that he knows, and more importantly, know him and his coach's systems.
Now there has bee a LOT talk, or should I say "Whit-talk" about Scott Pioli's ego. Why? From where does this come? Is it because Todd Haley told Brian Waters that he could win 2 games with 22 guys off the street? Let's really think about that statement. what is he saying? Brian Waters is a bad player? Is no better than 22 guys with no professional playing experience? No. He's saying that 2 wins isn't good enough. It's not impressive. It earns you absolutely ZERO respect or leverage. If you have won 2 games in a season, shut your mouth, go to work, or YOU will be one of the 22 guys off the street trying to find a job. I didn't find it disrespectful to anyone. I find 2 wins disrespectful to the fans.
Maybe the ego wasn't Haley. Maybe it was Pioli. right? I mean, who hires a rookie head coach and then doesn't answer questions about it? surely this guy thinks that he is infallible, right? Surely he thinks all of his decisions are perfect, right? Then why did he hire two super bowl winning coordinators? Why did Haley agree to bringing in Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel? Wouldn't it make more sense, ego-wise, to bring in young, unproven lackeys who will follow Haley's every command and suffer his every F-bomb? They opened the wallets for Crennel and Weis, or more accurately, their resumes. They are admitting they need help - big help - getting this franchise turned around. That's not ego, people, that's humility.
In Scott Pioli's first year as a GM, we doubled our win total from the previous year. We acquired the most sought-after quarterback prospect on the trading block, for a fraction of market value. We traded one year with a superstar for the potential of 10 years with another. Tamba Hali's career has been saved from ruin. Larry Johnson's cancerous presence was dealt with perfectly. The slate was wiped clean, and once tainted, he was dismissed. Most importantly, however, is that there is hope - HOPE! - back among the Chiefs faithful.
(I mean, we could all be Buffalo fans right now, and be listening to press conferences where they try to convince us Chan Gailey is the savior of the franchise. I think I'd quit watching altogether.)
Yes, there is hope in Kansas City. So what would continue that hope? I think it's a short list:
-Vince Wilfork. i know there has been a MASSIVE influx of New England talent and personnel, but I genuinely believe that this is the one piece everyone is truly clamoring for. Sign Vince to solidify our young, talented d-line. Keep those interior linemen off our middle linebackers.
-get a veteran inside linebacker. there are many, many, many excellent linebackers due to be UFAs this offseason. If the CBA is agreed upon, then we have many opportunities to massively upgrade our defense before the draft. D'Qwell Jackson (drafted by crennel), Barret Ruud (2nd in tackles in the league this season), Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard, DJ Williams, Elvis Dumervil, (all AFC West guys), Demarcus Ware, Demeco Ryans, and Keith Ellison are all available linebackers, and do nothing but produce.
Can you imagine our defense with Vince Wilfork, DJ Williams, Demarcus Ware, and Eric Berry added to the mix? think that would help? Yeah, me too.
But everyone knows that the biggest talent influx is in the coaching ranks. We finally have legitimate, marquis names at the coordinator positions, and I fully expect to see it translating, not only on the field, but in the win/loss column as well. We can nit pick all we want about individual player moves. That's fine, but I believe there is no denying that this franchise is headed in the right direction. "Families are always rising and falling in America." The same is true for NFL franchises, and this one has taken major steps to be a riser in 2010.
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