Haley Fired

The recap of the Chiefs-Jets game is going to take a backseat for a while, because the biggest and the most frustrating news of the Chiefs 2011 season was just announced: Todd Haley was fired as head coach.

Before I get to my opinion on the matter, let me just put what the Chiefs official press release said on the matter:

“This was a difficult decision but one that we feel is best for the future of the Chiefs,” Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “Although there have been bright spots at different points this season, we have not made meaningful progress and we felt that it was necessary to make a change. We appreciate Todd’s contributions during his time with the club, and we wish him well in the future.”

“Todd helped this team in many valuable ways over the past three seasons, and I am thankful for his contributions,” Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli said. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to establish the kind of consistency we need to continue to build a strong foundation for the future and we believe a change is important at this time.”

Alright, enough with the whitewashing displayed by released statements from the Chiefs public relations team. This move was made because Pioli didn't like Haley. Simple as that.

Haley inherited a very bad team when he arrived in 2009. He then turned them around to an AFC West Champion in 2010. Now the team has regressed back to 5-8 this season, but the injuries sustained by the Chiefs would be considered insurmountable to any coaching staff. Very good tight end Tony Moeaki out for the season before the season even started with a torn ACL. Eric Berry out in the first half of the first game with a torn ACL. Jamaal Charles, next game, torn ACL. Matt Cassel, broken hand, out for the year when the Chiefs were still near the top of the division.

If a head coach in this league could have done better with the tools supplied to him by his General Manager, then he's the reincarnation of Bill Belichick. After all these injuries and without the proper depth to have viable backups, Pioli's reasoning of failing to establish "consistency" is insulting to a fan's intelligence.

And Arrowhead Pride brought up a very interesting point this morning. It mentioned that Clark Hunt, being interviewed by the KC Star on Haley's performance, said 1) "Making a head coaching change is not something we're contemplating." 2) "I do think Todd has done a very good job since he's been the head coach of the Chiefs."

Obviously I don't expect an owner to tell a paper that he doesn't like what his head coach is doing (outside of Dallas), but then, I guess I also don't expect a playoff coach from a year ago get fired. We have 5 wins with a diminished team. If your goal is to establish consistency, then don't fire your head coach. I've never understood why more owners don't realize this. Look at the ultimately successful organizations, like the Steelers, Packers and Patriots. They leave their coaching staffs in place. They realize that's how you establish an organization. The coaching staff and the system is the constant, and the players are the variables, the parts that could be picked up or let go depending on how they fit the system.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there was no grounds on which to fire Haley besides personal reasons. Haley turned us from a rebuilding team to a division contender. Now to fire him sets the whole franchise back. It feels like we are now in the middle of rebuilding all over again, and that is an awful feeling.

So what comes next?

It has been circulating that Romeo Crennel will take over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. This makes sense, and was the first thought I had when I learned Haley was let go this morning. Crennel is a former head coach with the Browns, and should do fine holding the team together over the final three weeks of the season. Is he a long term solution? No. He struggled as head coach of the Browns from 2005 to 2008, and he is also quite old. I doubt he's even interested in being anything other than the defensive coordinator for the future.

Other rumors are already circulating including former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and former Browns and Jets head coach Eric Mangini. All occupy branches of the Bill Belichick family tree, as do Crennel and Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli.

Any direction the Chiefs take is the wrong one in my opinion. Haley should still be head coach, and now that he's not, I'm going to be that much more skeptical of any move Scott Pioli does. He's on a short leash in my book.

Shame on the Chiefs organization.