Over the past few months, the majority of folks "in the know" have hinted that Todd Haley will hire, or wants to hire an offensive coordinator for the 2010 season. Haley began telling some announcers this season in pre-production meetings Saturday night before the game that he doesn't want to be calling the plays and wishes he could focus on the overall management of the game.
A few weeks ago, Chiefs GM Scott Pioli was asked his thoughts on Haley calling plays. "I don't know if it's too much," he said, "but it certainly puts an additional burden on you, particularly in your first year as a head coach."
Pioli has said he will advise Haley when he asks but, "The head coach has to be given the ability to make these decisions." Haley has previously said that he has control over the coaching staff meaning he can make the call on whether to hire a coordinator to call plays.
So is this the last game Haley will be calling plays for the Chiefs?
On the one hand, Haley might have trouble giving up the playcalling duties. Folks in Haley's position and other upper management football positions have to have a slight ego, just by nature of the job, and that could be giving up more control of the offense than he wants to. Besides, he got the job in Kansas City because of his ability as a coordinator calling plays in Arizona.
He's even said he has a "crystal clear" vision of what he wants from the offense, so why would anyone be able to execute his vision better than him?
On the other hand, the Chiefs have a plethora of other problems that could require more attention from Haley - drops, offensive line issues and pass rushing to name a few. These are the types of things he probably means by "overall game management."
The signs for several weeks have been that an offensive coordinator will come in so today's game against the Broncos might be the last Haley-called game for the Chiefs.