I've got a suggestion for the Chiefs front office.
Let me explain.
How many times have we heard Todd Haley say the Chiefs have to cut down on their penalties?
In the preseason and early part of the regular season, they were a big problem. Things got better as the season went along but the Chiefs still finished in the top 10 in defensive penalties. The offense was better at 25th in the league.
And then there's negative plays.
After "it's a process", the most oft-repeated phrase in 2009 had to be "avoiding negative plays."
Since penalties -- or avoiding them -- is a focus for Haley and a major part of those "negative plays", then it only makes sense that they look at hiring former NFL VP of officiating Mike Pereira.
Pereira, who recently left his post with the NFL, expressed interest in joining a NFL team as some sort of assistant coach specializing in penalties, according to Peter King of SI.com.
He believes he could train the team year-round in penalty prevention, working with the coaching staff on what makes officials reach for the flag on touchy calls like pass-interference, and then be in the coaches booth on Sunday upstairs telling the head coach when to throw the challenge flag.
And then this, also from King:
But as Pereira said, a hallmark of so many good teams are those that minimize mistakes. Would it be more valuable for a team to have an assistant special teams coach, or to have a coach who could eliminate 300-400 negative yards from penalties in the course of 16 games?
Very interesting. King suggests he's more likely to stay near the west coast but Pereira's idea for his next job sounds intriguing.
Who else to get the best on avoiding penalties than the NFL's own (former) officiating czar?