Foreseen Wisdom

On February 3rd, 2011, Bill Muir was promoted to be the Chiefs next offensive coordinator. This was not the hire that many Chiefs fans expected or even wanted. We were just coming off an AFC West Championship, and at the helm of our much improved offense was Charlie Weis, the big off-season acquisition, calling the plays.

Charlie was a well-known figure in football and an experienced offensive mind. He was the kind of offensive coordinator that other teams get jealous of because of his experience and success (in New England, not necessarily at Notre Dame). Paired with Romeo Crennel, we had reconstructed two vital pieces from New England's dynasty team coaching staff.

And then Charlie announced he was leaving for Florida. And then we lost in the first round of the playoffs. And then we promoted Muir.

If that had been the end of the "and then's" and we experienced a normal off-season, I would still currently be disappointed with the uninspiring promotion of Muir to OC (and yes, I was disappointed with the promotion of Muir at the time). But it wasn't the end.

And then there was the NFL lockout.

And 129 days into the lockout (although the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be extremely close), everything is different then it could have been. We'll be lucky to start training camp on time, rookies will have to work harder than ever to learn the playbook in time for the season, and an off-season worth of free agency is going to take place in a short amount of time.

And 129 days into the lockout, I feel that the promotion of Muir to OC was the best thing the Chiefs could have done.

Although Muir, in all likelihood, won't actually be calling the plays, he knows the playbook and knowing the playbook and being familiar with the team are very important after missing this much time. Although Kent Babb, from the Kansas City Star, doesn't think there will be a lockout hangover for the coaches (one of the questions I asked him on his 1 o'clock chat today), there will be for the players, and having an offensive coordinator that knows the system and can help coach the players on that system with more ease is what's best.

Muir was the safe call; a decision made on the chance that the lockout would last the majority of the summer. Well it did, and the safe bet looks like the right one. Other teams that lost coaches and coaching staff will have to make up a lot of ground in the first few weeks after the lockout ends. Whether it be becoming familiar with a new head coach or completely learning a new offensive or defensive system, a lot of work will have to be done. By simply promoting Muir, we kept our playbook, and we kept our players familiarity with that playbook.

Plus, we hired Jim Zorn as our quarterbacks coach. Cassel can now have one-on-one coaching from a former starter in the NFL. But more importantly, I believe Zorn is our future offensive coordinator. Perhaps the reason he wasn't made offensive coordinator immediately was because of the impending lockout. But whatever the reason, this wouldn't be the best time for Zorn to be OC, but next season can be.

Now, I did say earlier that Muir probably would not be calling plays. I said that because most people, including myself, believe that head coach Todd Haley will be taking upon that responsibility. Some people may not like that, but with this lockout, it's probably for the best. Just like with the Muir promotion, Haley calling plays insures that the playbook remains the same and that last year's players are still familiar.

Rookies, however, won't benefit much from having the Muir promotion. Rookies everywhere won't benefit from the lockout as a matter-of-fact. As Takeo Spikes said on ESPN, it's like a high school student jumping from algebra to trigonometry without any preparation. But the move does benefit the majority of the team, and when we are trying to defend an AFC West Championship, that's the most important thing.

It's funny how a lockout can change a person's perspective, but, for me, it did. Chalk up a point for the Kansas City Chiefs in the foreseen wisdom category.