The Kansas City Chiefs must stay the course

The 2012 season hasn't worked out exactly how the Kansas City Chiefs were imagining it would in training camp.

Most experts thought the team could win the AFC West, and certainly everyone believed Kansas City had the talent to beat anybody at home. Fast forward to Week 6, and the Chiefs are 1-4 with an 0-3 record in the suddenly unfriendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium.

However, that's in the past. What sits before Romeo Crennel's group is a game against the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a new quarterback under center. Brady Quinn is far from the savior, but perhaps the ominous clouds can be lifted a bit with Matt Cassel still recovering from a concussion.

It's impossible to sit here and say the Chiefs don't look like an unmitigated disaster thus far. Regardless of what happens going forward, Clark Hunt needs to fire Romeo Crennel and hire a front office hell-bent on bringing in a first round quarterback come next April.

The Chiefs may make a run at the division considering how brutally awful it is, but that doesn't disguise the gaping holes in their championship plans.

All that said, Kansas City can rectify its year by beating Tampa Bay and getting healthy over the bye week before playing another beatable team in the Oakland Raiders. The hardest part of the schedule is behind the Chiefs, so maybe this group can make a run back into contention.

Considering they wake up only two games behind the San Diego Chargers, it's not out of the question even if it's unlikely.

Quinn needs to step up big and prove quite a few pundits wrong about his ability. Since being drafted out of Notre Dame, the ex-Golden Domer has never shown the talent that was once thought to be within him. If Quinn wants to alter the memory of his career, now would be a great time to get the job done.

With banners flying over the stadium and everyone wanting to see some serious change, this team will need to rely on one another for support and belief. They won't be getting it from the media, which is justifiably leading the charge with pitchforks in hand towards Scott Pioli.

When the curtain falls on this campaign, hopefully some changes will come to fruition. Crennel should be jettisoned and hopefully replaced with someone who has proven they can win like Brian Billick or Bill Cowher.

It's murky whether Cowher wants another coaching gig anytime soon. Billick has made his intentions much more clear, saying he's ready to return when the right opportunity strikes.

Then again, all that talk is for the offseason, this is October.

It's time for this regime to put up or shut-up for good in Kansas City.