reason 9

I moved this one up. It was going to be number one. But given the developments of today at One Arrowhead Drive, its now number 9.

Todd Haley.

I don't rank Mr. Haley number 9 to dump on our former head coach. Far from it. There is no bigger Herm Edwards fan than me. The man has spent the decade coaching my two favorite teams. With pretty solid success in New York ... and yeah, not really so successful here in Kansas City.

No, I rank Todd Haley number 9, because I'm about to do something I rarely do.

Admit I was wr ... wr ... wr ... possibly incorrect, when it comes to how to win in the modern NFL.

I am a defense first guy. I freely admit that. I'd much rather win a 13-10 slobberknocker than a 45-35 "last team with the ball wins" shootout. I love defensive football. I love it.

But its not the future of the NFL.

Todd Haley, the air it out approach, that's the future of this league.

And I'm damned glad we have the most innovative offensive mind in the game, working for us.

And I don't buy into the "play calling just adds too much to the plate" argument. Really? Its that difficult to multi-task? Granted, it might be for some coaches, but Todd Haley doesn't strike me as someone who is in over his head. If anything, the move today should reaffirm your belief in the guy if you're a Chiefs fan. He's not afraid to accept complete responsibility.

When was the last time we had anyone willing to do that? Carl dodged the media that dared question 15 straight playoff-winless seasons. Dick Vermeil cried on cue. Gunther had his smelling salts. Even Marty checked out in 1998, choosing to walk away over dealing with the roster he created in 1996-1998, leaving Carl to clean up the salary cap catastrophe.

I like that our head coach saw what he considered to be a problem, stepped in, and pulled the plug on the problem now. Rather than let it get worse, he decided to pull the plug. Accountability. Responsibility. We've got it in this guy.

I love the Haley hiring. I loved it even more after today's events. And I think all of Arrowhead Nation is going to love it come mid-December, when we're somehow in a dogfight with the supremely overrated and piss-poorly coached Chargers for the 4 seed in the AFC.

Having said that ...

I think today's move was somewhat chicken sh*t. If it isn't working with Gailey, I'm fine with pulling the plug. But how on earth can anyone conclude Chan Gailey's offense is a problem? The Star posted today an interesting article, in the 9 games after Gailey and Herm basically decided "screw it, we're airing it out every down", only one NFL team scored 17 or more points in all 9 games.

That would be ... your Kansas City Chiefs.

Chan Gailey did a PHENOMENAL job as offensive coordinator. Not even God himself could have won with the crap we trotted out last fall as our "offensive unit". A discarded 7th round draft pick at QB who barely made the final roster. A running back corps led by a rookie out of Texas. A receiving corps that wouldn't even rate a D on Madden rankings. The worst offensive line in franchise history. And somehow, Chan Gailey found a way to put this team in position to win most weeks (even though we didn't, because of the worst pass rushing defense in NFL history).

I hope Gailey lands on his feet somewhere in a better job. Actually I don't need to hope; someone of his stature will. Probably will Bill Cowher next fall in an as-yet-undetermined NFL city. And I'll be rooting for him to do what he always does: succeed.

Except when he faces Todd Haley and the Chiefs ...