FanPost

Chiefs Deny Lions Permission To Interview Gunther Cunningham

In what can only be described as a rather bizarre move by the Chiefs, the team has apparently denied the Detroit Lions permission to interview Gunther Cunningham for their opening at defensive coordinator, according to MLive reporter Tom Kowalski.

According to a league source, the Lions were initially refused permission to talk to Kansas City defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham about taking the same position with Detroit.

The Chiefs might be in a transition period with new general manager Scott Pioli deciding the fate of head coach Herm Edwards. According to the source, the Lions are waiting to see if the Chiefs will eventually grant Cunningham permission to talk to the Lions.

I think it's safe to say that for quite a few fans on this board the departure of Gunther Cunningham (either to Detroit or by way of firing) was considered a foregone conclusion.  Gunther and Herm haven't appeared to be a particularly productive pairing for their three year run, and one or the other was widely considered likely to take the blame for the Chiefs fielding one of the worst defenses in league history in 2008 by losing their job.  Now it appears that the Chiefs haven't yet decided if anyone's to take the blame.

Got to say that this is a puzzler.  If Gunther and Herm really aren't able to work together effectively, is this move indicative that the Chiefs think the problems were more Herm's responsibility?  Or is it a sign that the Chiefs think Herm and Gunther can work these problems out so that both might be coming back?  Or is it a sign that the Chiefs still haven't gotten around to evaluating their staff's performance yet?  It's certainly not being done with worries about Gunther coming back to bite us in 2009 in mind...the Chiefs play the NFC East next year so Detroit's not on tap for another season.

Very strange signals coming from Arrowhead Drive...and I can't help but wonder if we'll be seeing something similar in regards to Chan Gailey's reported job interview in Tampa Bay.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.