The Chiefs Next Offensive Coordinator

 

Jason La Canfora, an insider for NFL Network, wrote in an article yesterday that Chiefs current offensive coordinator, Bill Muir, is likely to retire according to a league source. The Chiefs offense ranked 27th in yards per game (310.8), 31st in points per game (13.2), 31st in total points (212) and had a -2 turnover differential. In other words, if Muir didn't retire, he'd likely be replaced anyway.

So, if Muir either retires or is replaced, the question arises of who will take his place. The OC position for next season has actually been speculated since Todd Haley was fired and rumors and conversations have already ran rampant throughout the Chiefs fan base. I, on the other hand, really think there are only two valid options for the job. The reason I think that is simple: Matt Cassel.

Let's assume some things right now: Romeo Crennel comes back as head coach next season, Kyle Orton is allowed to leave through free agency, and Scott Pioli doesn't pay a king's ransom for either Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck depending on which one the Colts decide to sell. That means that Matt Cassel will be returning as the starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, something that many sources have been reporting and many fans have been fearing.

So why does Cassel make the decision simple?

Since Cassel has arrived in KC after a trade following the 2008 season, he has had Chan Gailey, Todd Haley, Charlie Weis and Bill Muir as offensive coordinators. That's four in three seasons. I'm not going to defend Cassel's poor and inconsistent performance on his lack of continuity in the OC department, but it does have an effect. If Scott Pioli is going to roll with Cassel, the first move he made when he got the Chiefs GM position, then he is going to have to offer some continuity to his QB. Cassel is no Tom Brady, and the learning curves of learning new systems has obviously been an issue. That's why the two options are:

1. To hire Josh McDaniels away from St. Louis.
2. To promote QB Coach Jim Zorn.

Option Number One: Josh McDaniels is a source of instant conversation in Kansas City, and mostly because nobody likes him. But it's not up to the fan base to decide, it's up to Scott Pioli, and Pioli goes back quite a ways with McDaniels from their days in New England. And, like I said, this is about Matt Cassel. Cassel had his best (or second best) season as a Pro under McDaniels' tutelage in 2008 New England. He was 327/516 (63.4%) for 3,693 yards, 21 TDs and 11 INTs. Granted, Cassel was inheriting perhaps the greatest offense that had ever existed, the 2007 Patriots, but these numbers are still good.

The reason most fans tremor at the thought of bringing on McDaniels as the Chiefs OC is because of what he's done since that 2008 season. He ran the Broncos franchise into the ground in less than two seasons while managing to trade away a lot of talent including Jay Cutler and Peyton Hillis. He was accused of a very Spy-Gate type incident before finally being fired during the 2010 season. And since he's taken over St. Louis's offense this season with blossoming star QB Sam Bradford, the Rams actually ranked 31st in yards per game (283.6) and 32nd in points per game (12.1).

Option Number Two: Jim Zorn was hired right before the lockout last offseason as the QB coach for the Chiefs. After the hire, Haley had said Zorn and Cassel had watched film together and discussed form, technique, etc. as part of the interview process. Zorn wouldn't have been hired if he didn't have a connection with Cassel during that part of the interview.

Before being hired with the Chiefs, Zorn had been a QB coach in Seattle, Detroit, and spent the 2010 season in Baltimore. He also spent two seasons as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2008-2009. A trend followed his career of wherever Zorn was coach, the quarterbacks would have career years; whether it was Charlie Batch, Matt Hasselbeck, Jason Campbell or Joe Flacco, quarterbacking numbers improved under his guidance. Flacco even criticized the Ravens organization when they let Zorn go following last season.

Zorn now has a year learning and contributing to the Chiefs offensive system and is probably ready for the upgrade to offensive coordinator. But more importantly, the move would offer Matt Cassel continuity in the offense, which is the most important decision Scott Pioli has to make in his hiring process.

So both options offer the required continuity for Cassel seeked by Scott Pioli. One option offers continuity for the entire Chiefs offense. And one option doesn't include Josh McDaniels.

What do you think Chiefs fans: Josh McDaniels or Jim Zorn?