In the end, Herm Edwards kept or gained the loyalty of players who had every reason to be sick of a...

In the end, Herm Edwards kept or gained the loyalty of players who had every reason to be sick of a losing organization. Tony Gonzalez, who wanted to be traded because of all the losing, went to bat for him. All the players wanted him to stay. We all realize that Edwards could not stay, but it is a tragic shame that we cannot appreciate what he did with what the Chiefs gave him. Ultimately, we became no better than the Jets' fans.

So, here is one Kansas City Chiefs' fan who says, "Thank you, Herm Edwards." Although ten years from now nobody will ever know it, if the Chiefs are a significant contender within three years from now, there is at least one person who will give Herm Edwards a little of the credit. You really could not stay, Herm, but I'm glad you did.

Comments

HA

What a loser.

14 losses doesn’t equal a good job.

Just because Herm is a nice dude and relates to the players because he used to be a player himself doesn’t mean he’s a good coach. I have plenty of friends who suck at their job but who I would still defend publically because they are my friends. No one has ever said Herm is a bad dude. He’s just a terrible coach and those who aren’t close with him can see the obvious bad job he has done.

Herm Edwards - the new Art Shell.

by CBaller13 on Jan 25, 2009 11:29 AM CST reply actions

Let's watch the loser talk

Jon is a great member of the Chiefs’ blogosphere. You can make the same point without the “loser” remark, assuming that you were referring to Jon and not Herm. Because if you meant Herm was a loser, then yeah you’re right.

Arrowhead Pride

by Chris Thorman on Jan 25, 2009 11:31 AM CST up reply actions

Actually

That was Phil Yoon who wrote that piece, not Jon.

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

Neither will Mike Shanahan.

by UCrawford on Jan 25, 2009 11:41 AM CST up reply actions

But

Agreed on calling him a loser…MVN writes some pretty good articles.

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

Neither will Mike Shanahan.

by UCrawford on Jan 25, 2009 11:41 AM CST up reply actions

Thanks

Doing my best to get insults out of here…

Arrowhead Pride

by Chris Thorman on Jan 25, 2009 11:44 AM CST up reply actions

Agree

I don’t get it when people always bring up the “he’s popular with the players” point. A person can do a lot of things to make himself popular with different crowds of people but that doesn’t make it the right thing to do.

A President of US could decide to cut all taxes to zero, provide free services to citizens for everything from gasoline, electricity, to healthcare and be the most popular president ever. But, the US would be bankrupt within minutes (oh, wait we already are).

US foreign policy could make us the most popular country in the world by doing whatever the French and UN want us to do but it wouldn’t be the right thing for the US.

And a football head coach could have short (or no) practices, great parties at his house, no curfews or other restrictions on players hitting the bars the night before games, he could bring in prostitutes for free, you name it. He would be quite popular but produce horrible football teams.

meat

by kabrink on Jan 25, 2009 11:45 AM CST up reply actions

I was referring to Herm

Sorry Jon. No pun intended.

Herm Edwards - the new Art Shell.

by CBaller13 on Jan 25, 2009 11:34 AM CST reply actions

Okay cool

Sorry for calling you out that like.

Arrowhead Pride

by Chris Thorman on Jan 25, 2009 11:45 AM CST up reply actions

It's all good

Everyone knows my hatred for Herm. I should have been more specific with the leading sentence.

Herm Edwards - the new Art Shell.

by CBaller13 on Jan 25, 2009 11:49 AM CST up reply actions

Deserve...Deserve...Deserve...

People like to use the word “deserve” a lot and rarely seem to put much thought into what it means.

Herm Edwards was hired to win games. He was paid a lot of money to do it. He was given three years. He won less than a third of them and the team got worse every year he was here. He may have been the nicest guy on earth, but he “deserved” to get fired…just like any other coach who loses over two-thirds of their games over three years. That’s what he signed up for when he signed the contract with the Chiefs and that’s what every coach signs up for when they join a team, whether that team does everything perfectly for them or not. And, as Len Dawson said, he got as fair a shake as anyone in the NFL gets and he would probably be the first to admit that.

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

Neither will Mike Shanahan.

by UCrawford on Jan 25, 2009 11:40 AM CST reply actions 1 recs

The only good things that would have come out of Herm’s era is the loading the roster with young players and those beloved quotes that we all just grew to love the last 3 years. Oh, by the way, he averaged 5 wins in those 3 years. Good Riddance.

by mike70 on Jan 25, 2009 12:02 PM CST reply actions

In praise of Herm

Yeah I wanted him gone with a burning passion and I ripped him hard when I feared he’d return but that was because at best I thought him to be a mediocre coach and why settle for that with a new GM. That being said the Star article Joe P wrote about him was on point. Carl stuck him with Gun (whom I’ve lost all respect for) it was an old team with delusions of greatness. Blowing it up was the right thing. Tying your hopes to Brodie Croyle was foolhardy.

by FrankPitts on Jan 25, 2009 12:55 PM CST reply actions

He might have brought in young players

but how many of them stick, and be solid players for the future is yet to be determined. Yep a lot of the young guys that he drafted played, but how many of them would have been starting for another team? Not sold on these young players yet. The defensive backs, and Branden Albert seem to be the most solid picks.

Welcome to KC Scott Pioli, home of the most rabid football fans in the NFL!

by Eric Allen on Jan 25, 2009 1:37 PM CST reply actions

Defending my column

I respect any criticisms of my post on MVN, but I have to ask whether most of you read the entire thing? My defense of Edwards is not based on his popularity with his players; in fact, player support was just about the most minor point I raised.

If you’re going to critique my piece, I ask that you read the whole thing. My point is exactly what a lot of you have raised. Edwards is the one who pushed and pushed for an emphasis on young players. He was met with resistance. Edwards willingly kept Cunningham, even though he knew Cunningham had little experience with the type of defense he wanted to run.

UCrawford, you’re probably right that he was hired to win games, but he recognized that he could not win many games in the long run by keeping the status quo. Unfortunately, Carl Peterson thought Herm could. All I’m saying is that things might have been much different if the rebuilding project had started in Year 2, as Edwards wanted, rather than Year 3.

Anyway, point being, there are a lot of reasons I’m defending Herm, even though the decision to fire him is correct.

by paChiefsFan on Jan 25, 2009 2:09 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

I liked the article

I completely agree. I think he did the best with what he had and it really did take guts to do it. In the end, it just didn’t fall his way. We really couldn’t keep him, because the responsibility was his. He will do well where ever he goes.

by TXChiefan on Jan 25, 2009 6:48 PM CST up reply actions

Good article

by FrankPitts on Jan 25, 2009 8:36 PM CST up reply actions

Regarding Herm's Situation

but he recognized that he could not win many games in the long run by keeping the status quo. Unfortunately, Carl Peterson thought Herm could. All I’m saying is that things might have been much different if the rebuilding project had started in Year 2, as Edwards wanted, rather than Year 3.

Unfortunately he should have been able to recognize that the Chiefs were an aging team before he even took the job. The information was all there for the public to see. But I question whether he even did any due diligence at all before he took the Chiefs’ job or if he signed on because he knew his time in New York was coming to an abrupt end so he didn’t care where he landed.

Did Peterson’s decision-making hurt Edwards? Sure. That’s why I was a big proponent of firing Peterson too. He was doing a terrible job. But Herm can’t really make the case he didn’t know who Peterson was, given their history, and the only way he couldn’t have seen the problems with the roster was if he wasn’t looking. Once he signed on to take the job, he became responsible for the results on the field and his were terrible so he lost his job. That’s just life in the NFL, and that’s why guys like Parcells often take so long before jumping into a coaching situation…they want to make sure that the conditions are as favorable as possible for their success.

Herm Edwards will not be the Chiefs' head coach next season.

Neither will Mike Shanahan.

by UCrawford on Jan 25, 2009 9:57 PM CST up reply actions

My thoughts...

I do beleive that the time for Hem to go was now. With Pioli coming in it was time to allow for a fresh start and to allow the GM to assemble his own staff.

I do also think that Herm does get too hard hard of a time from a lot of fans. He choose to push the youth agenda in Kansas City. What they choose to do was blow up an aging roster and try get young very fast. I would argue it might be the most ambitious rebuild ever, with the highest turnover. When they choose to do it Herm and the staff knew very well it might cost them their jobs. If they were concerned about keeping there jobs they would have signed a bounch of washed up veterans and tried to win 7 or 8 games. They choose to take their lumps.

Now I am not saying this is going to work, but remember when they announced they had planned on blowing the team up and building through the draft most fans thought it was a great idea. After a couple of years most have forgot that. We will see how this project works out. I think we have started to build a young talented roster, that only benefited from the expereince gained over the past 2 years.

The “Herm” rebuilding effort might be a failure, but if it turns out that many of these players go on to help the chiefs become a superbowl contender over the next few years, I hope that some of you remember that the decision that Herm and the staff made to move towards building through the draft played an important role in the long term success of the chiefs.

Only time will tell.

"If you go out and you’re looking for the girl to wink at you and she hasn’t winked at you before 12 she isn’t going to. You might as well go home."-Herm

by saskwatch on Jan 25, 2009 2:33 PM CST reply actions

Agree entirely.

Great post, Phil. Couldn’t agree anymore.

It’s easy to say that Herm was all bad, and set the franchise back years, but if we are successful in the next five years, Herm Edwards’ tenure will be an integral step in reaching that point. A classic example of having to take a step back, recollecting, rebuilding, before putting your best foot forward. I don’t think our best foot forward involved Herm Edwards as head coach, but he was willing to be the one to take the step back. And for that, I thank him.

by rockchalk on Jan 25, 2009 9:08 PM CST reply actions

Herm Edwards is not my problem any more.

He is gone and I believe the team will greatly benefit from this. I personally will not recognize or give Herm Edwards any credit whatsoever for the team the Chiefs will become over the next three years. I don’t think he has earned any credit. I wish Herm the best. I really do. I hope he finds a niche which fits him and which utilizes his talents. I think Herm Edwards is probably a nice guy. The fact is, though, he is a horrible head football coach at the NFL level. The Herm Edwards era is a done deal in Kansas City. Bashing Herm now will accomplish nothing. I say let the man go in peace, and may he find peace wherever he winds up.

by G.L. on Jan 26, 2009 9:44 AM CST reply actions