Let me be very, very clear from the outset: the Kansas City Chiefs should not make any changes to their head coaching situation for 2010. Now with that said, let me write an entire article that seems to point to the opposite.
My primary thoughts at this time of day are spurred by the ridiculous buzz swirling current NFL head coaching wanna-bes salivating over all kinds of wonderfully desperate situations. The Redskins, Buccaneers, Bills, Bears, Browns, Raiders, Cowboys and more all sit with neon "vacancy" signs up (or pending ones, it seems) and the likes of Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, Mike Holmgren and hot assistants like Leslie Frazier (Minnesota's defensive coordinator) are all in the spotlight. And that's with a few weeks still left of the regular season.
It's the sort of rumors that fans of losing franchises love to read about, considering there's not much on-field product worth pondering. It's also something Kansas City fans must remember from this time a year ago when "what ifs" floated around Arrowhead like Rocky Mountain cloud formations. But unlike last year, this season's coaching candidates are absolutely off the charts in terms of experience, expertise and sheer reputation. And that's a shame the Chiefs cannot be in on this bunch.
More after the jump:
Of course, the Chiefs won the grand prize last year, when the front office candidates available looked like this year's coaching hires. Scott Pioli was the head of the class, the best in the business, and when he shook hands with Clark Hunt, every KC fan (and NFL fan for that matter) knew there were much better days ahead in the City of Fountains. But the same couldn't be said of Pioli's choice for head coach.Now, the Chiefs must sit this off-season with Todd Haley while the most beautiful head coaching class in a long time struts their stuff for teams in need. It's the equivalent of being over the salary cap next summer while having to passively watch the upcoming free agent class of 2010 in the NBA, when LeBron, Chris Bosh and others change permanent addresses. When such options are available, one can't help but wonder what it would look like for a Cowher or Shanahan to walk the sidelines of the red and gold.
We've seen unending posts both favoring Todd Haley and slamming the first-year HC. There are valid points to be made on all sides. But we are married. You don't change head coaches that quickly, so we have what we have and the absolute worst move would be to can Haley at this point. He deserves to grow with the job, to see this thing through and fans should understand that. That doesn't mean, however, that we don't look at the current dating scene and wonder what it'd be like to be single again. It's a fine class and even as a non-participant, it should be fun to watch it unfold.