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I came across a good observation by DocBarnabee at Chiefs Coalition in regard to the Kansas City Chiefs coaches that I wanted to mention.
Doc pointed out that only the Chiefs' defensive and special teams coaches have been pursuing/are being pursued by other NFL teams. Gunther Cunningham has been rumored to be a solid candidate for the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator job. David Gibbs, the Chiefs' defensive backs coach, was hired by the Texans recently. And our special teams coach Mike Priefer is reportedly going to accept the same position with the Denver Broncos.
That's buzz around three defensive coaches and nothing from the offensive side. Zip. Not even a hint of news. Do you remember our defense last year?
It would appear, as Doc pointed out, that the defensive coaching staff has been told to find other employment whether Herm is the coach or not. Denny Thum and Clark Hunt may have decided that no matter who the GM was or who the head coach was, this defensive staff needed to be allowed to interview for other jobs while teams were hiring. Obviously, the team would have no problem if probably any defensive coach left.
The fact that Cunningham and Priefer can walk into new jobs is crazy to me. It just goes to show how incestuous the NFL coaching pool is. Despite having quite literally no achievements to point to this decade, Cunningham will quickly get another job. I don't know. It just seems nuts to me.
Okay back to the topic at hand. We could also assume from this disparity that the Chiefs' offensive coaches have been given some sort of reassurance about their job in KC. That's because if any coaches from the 2008 Chiefs should be interviewed for other positions, it's the offensive staff that should be getting the calls. If the staff was unsure about their future, they'd have already put feelers out there and floated their name. It is possible that they have done this and we just haven't heard about it.
And here is the full offensive staff, in case you were wondering.
Offensive Coordinator - Chan Gailey
Offensive Line - Bob Bicknell
Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks - Dick Curl
Assistant Offensive Line - Joe D’Alessandris
Tight Ends - Jon Embree
Defensive Backs - David Gibbs
Running Backs - Curtis Modkins
Offensive Assistant/Quality Control - Kevin Patullo
Wide Receivers - Eric Price
If we want to jump to more conclusions, we can also assume that if the offensive staff is safe, Clark Hunt likes the what the Chiefs are doing on offense. And, let's keep going further, that could mean that Tyler Thigpen is going to be given the best possible chance to be the starter in 2009.
Or this could mean nothing. Fun to think about though.