a praise ... tribute ... thanks ... and goodbye, to my coach.

"Baby come here and sit down, let's talk.
I got a lot to say, so I guess I'll start by,
Saying that I love you, but you know this thing
Ain't been no walk in the park for us.

I swear, it'll only take a minute,
And you'll understand when I'm finished (yeah),
And I don't wanna see you cry,
But I don't wanna be the one to tell you a lie so ...

How do you let it go when you,
You just don't know what's on,
The other side of the door
When you're walking out (talk about it),

Everything I tried to remember to say,
Just went out of my head,
So I'm gonna do the best I can,
To get you to understand, cause I know ...

There's never a right time,
To say goodbye,
But I gotta make the first move,
Cause if I don't,
You're gonna start hatin' me.

Cause I don't really feel the way
I once felt about you,
Girl, its not you -- its me;
I kinda gotta figure out what I need.

There's never the right time
To say goodbye,
But we know, we gotta go
Our separate ways.

And I know its hard,
But I gotta do it,
And its killing me.
Cause there's never a right time,
A right time to say goodbye ..."

-- Chris Brown, "Say Goodbye"

------------------------------------

The Chiefs will never employ someone with more integrity, more character, more decency, than Herm Edwards.

And that's part of what draws me to him.

Herm is ... Herm.

He's never going to change who or what he is, to fit the situation. He will never compromise his views, his beliefs, to save his position in life.

Sadly, we have too few Herms in this country anymore.

And in Kansas City, we now have one less than we did at this time yesterday.

Herm's tenure here began on January 9, 2006. Noone, and I truly can say this without reservation, NOBODY was happier to see him arrive than me. Nobody.

Its probably good I no longer work for "former employer", so that I can't resurrect my email reactions to his hiring. But on the other hand, I stand behind my initial thoughts.

I truly believed that, if given the full faith and support of the Chiefs organization, Herm Edwards could take the team you and I love to the Super Bowl within 5 years.

Herm didn't get 5 years. He got 3. Only one of which he legitimately was given a chance to show his value with.

And show his value in that season, first season and a half, he did.

Its not often you can neatly split up a person's tenure into two pretty much evenly matched segments. But with Herm you can.

You had 24 games "pre-Greg Jennings". And 24 games "post-Greg Jennings".

The first 24 games, were everything I expected out of a Herm coached team. OK, scratch that. It far exceeded anything even I could have expected out of a Herm coached team.

Seriously, put yourself in Herm's shoes. You come in to take over an aging, underachieving team that probably should have been blown up and rebuilt from day one. You don't get to pick your coordinators, you inherit them from the previous regime. And then, too add injury to insult, in that first game, you lose your franchise quarterback early in the second half. And have to turn to a journeyman who hadn't even seen the field since 2001 to guide your team.

I don't know. In hindsight, maybe Herm was the exact wrong person to come into that situation. Maybe he was the proverbial hot as hell blonde chick you meet at the bar on a Friday night. You start chatting her up, buy her a couple rounds, and can't believe how much you have in common. You head back to your place to, uuh, have some fun ... and then wake up the next morning, find out she has 4 kids by 4 different guys, two of whom she's unsure who the baby daddy is, and then remember that you didn't use a condom for round three. Maybe that was Herm. The worst nightmare imaginable disguised as the greatest thing ever.

The last 24 games of his regime, the analogy certainly applies.

But the first 24 ... he was Herm. The Herm I was excited to see come to town. The guy who took an aging, underachieving Jets team in 2001 to the playoffs. Then rallied from 2-5 in 2002 to win a division and blow out the Colts 41-0 in the wildcard round. Then went on the road in 2004 to beat the 12-4 Chargers in the wildcard round, before losing in overtime at 15-1 Pittsburgh in the divisional round.

You know, the Herm that looked at Trent Green laying unconscious on the field, looked at Damon Huard warming up ... and promptly won 7 of 10 to position the Chiefs to make the playoffs.

The Herm that took Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard, and a ton of contract issues to a 4-3 division topping record, and held a 22-19 lead over 6-1 Green Bay in week 9, with the Packers facing a 3rd and 6 at their own 38 with 3:06 to play.

I've always argued that when it comes to the rise and fall of most things in life, especially in sports, you can point to one specific moment when the rise occurred, and when the fall began.

If the Vermeil era Chiefs began their rise on an improbable penalty-aided toss to John Tait at Cleveland to open the 2002 season ... then the sun set on those years, on those championship aspirations, on that 3rd and 6, when Ty Law got burned, and Jarrad Page was out of position, and Greg Jennings caught a 62 yard touchdown to put Green Bay ahead for good.

Herm's Chiefs didn't win again that year. They only won twice more after that play. But if you're going to judge him for the last 24 games of his regime, you also have to remember the first 24.

You know, the 24 that include the thrilling come-from-14-down last second victory at Arizona. The 24 that include one of the most amazing 7 day stretches in franchise history, to beat the Chargers on a last second 54 yard field goal in the cold and rain ... and then turn around and beat the defending NFC Champion Seahawks on a late touchdown in the 82 and sunny weather. (I obviously liked the latter better. Seriously, that Seahawks game rocked. Anytime its hot and sunny enough on Halloween to have the shirt off in 132, its a f*cking awesome day).

The 24 that include a blowout of our cross state rivals, in their house. That includes a last second goalline interception to beat the raiders ... and includes "Brave" Benny Sapp taunting the donkeys on their bench 4 days later as the Chiefs hold serve at home against denver on Thanksgiving Night.

That includes the "Immaculate Trifecta", as Bob Gretz put it. A win at home in the snow against the Jaguars to keep playoff hopes alive. And then to see the Patriots drop 40 on the Titans, to see the Steelers win in overtime at the Paul ... and to see a team we beat 41-0, the 49ers, overcome a 13 point halftime deficit at fake mile high to nail an overtime victory to propel us into the postseason.

If you're going to bash Herm for the last 24 games, then you have to recognize the over-achieving, the incredible moments and champagne-toasting successes, that the first 24 brought.

In the end, its probably proper to end it this way, a simple termination on a Friday, a week after everyone thought it would happen. I'm not shedding any tears for Herm, and noone else should either. The last 24 games of his regime, was the worst 24 game stretch in franchise history. For that, he must be held accountable. And for that, his termination is justifiable, and probably four weeks overdue.

But the first 24 games ... those have to count as well. They were fun, they were exciting, and Herm delivered in one season everything Dick Vermeil delivered in 5 (a playoff berth, and prompt loss to the Colts).

Those first 24 games, rocked the house for me. And yet, my favorite game, was in the last 24.

The one that ended the 12 game losing streak.

Chiefs 33. donkeys 19.

Thanks Coach, for one final happy moment at that stadium.

Here's hoping your successor, whoever it is, replicates that magical September afternoon 8 times a year ...

the very definition of "bittersweet"

Nobody ... and I can honestly say that without preconditions, pre-qualifications, ask anyone who knew me on January 9, 2006 ... NOBODY was more happy, satified, fired up, pumped up, ecstatic, at the news that Herm Edwards was to be the man to replace Dick Vermeil as Chiefs head coach.

Nobody wanted Herm in this town more than me. Nobody.

So it is with some sadness and regret that I note that Herm's reign as Chiefs coach came to an end today.

And his alleged rumored replacement ... is my most hated person employed by an NFL franchise last year, Mike Shanahan.

(Just capitalizing the man's name felt weird).

I'm not ready to post my thoughts on Herm's three years here yet. Quite honestly, I don't know what to say. The first 24 games, 3 quarters, and 11 minutes that count, of Herm's reign, I couldn't have been more satisfied with. A playoff berth. Somehow in first place at 4-3, with Green Bay on the ropes with 3:06 to play.

The last 24 games, 3 minutes that count ... were brutally bad. Were historically bad. Were "no Chiefs team ever was this horrific" bad.

So, let me address the people who have written or texted the following to me today:

Damien: "shanahan? you like that move?" and the follow-up: "even though he was a donkey?"

Phil: "are you going to quit on the Chiefs if they go with shanahan?"

Dusty: "wow"

Heath: "you excited about shanarat?"

Anthony: "I love it, he can coach and is great when he's not the gm"

To Damien's texts, I simply replied that I wanted Mike Shanahan because "he's the best mind available". But I should have been more specific.

Week 13, 2005.

The single most amazing, incredible, "holy sh*t, this guy gets it!" moment of coaching I have ever been privileged enough to witness in my lifetime.

To recap: the Chiefs lead 31-27 with 2:07 to play. It is 4th and 2 for denver at their own 47, and Shanahan decides to go for it, mainly because he has no timeouts left (that, and he's at midfield, why not go for it). He calls a run up the middle with mike anderson. Bill Leavy's crew initially marks it as a first down (after the measurement), and we hit the two minute warning.

Only Dick Vermeil challenges the spot.

And wins the challenge. The Chiefs held! Its the Chiefs ball!

The crowd is going nuts. I was going nuts in my little section of insanity known as section 132. Its cold, its a must-win game, and the Chiefs have somehow, someway, won this thing, right? Two minute warning, denver can't stop the clock again, three knees and its over!

Only ... one person in that stadium, despite all the pandemonium, despite all the craziness, never lost his composure.

That man ... was Mike Shanahan.

Who (correctly) called Bill Leavy over to the sideline. And noted that if the runner was stopped short of the line to make ... then 7 seconds didn't run off the clock. Shanahan challenged the clock.

And won his second back.

Putting 2:01 on the clock.

Meaning the Chiefs had to run a play prior to the two minute warning, and had to get a first down to run out the clock. And if we didn't get a first down, denver would get the ball back with about 40 seconds to play.

Mike Shanahan single-handedly kept his team afloat for two minutes ... and one second ... longer than it should have.

THAT is what I want in my head coach. Someone who doesn't get lost in the moment, but rises to it.

As I noted in my thoughts on Obama's inaugural speech and the first three days of his administration, (steve voice) "play time is over. The grown-ups are back in charge".

"The grown-ups are back in charge".

With Scott Pioli, we have a grown-up, not some seasoned citizen in the Depends diaper that has long outlived his usefulness and senility, in the GM's chair.

And with Mike Shanahan on the sideline, well ... the days of calling two timeouts on one play, the days of having to ask Mike White whether to challenge or not, the days of saying your first round pick needs to "take the diapers off", the days of having the smelling salts ready for Gun when he got too excited ... yeah. Those days are over. Playtime is over.

The grown-ups are back in charge.

So if the rumors are true, and its Shanahan's job if he wants it ... then let me, the biggest Mike Shanahan hater known to man, allow me to be the first. Welcome to KC, Mike. Welcome to KC.

(Just forgive me if it takes a few games to get the booing and raised middle fingers out of my system ...)