Airing It Out

It has to be said that Todd Haley is struggling as a head coach.

Now, despite the Chiefs’ tribulations, I’m not close to asking for his dismissal — that would be an out-of-the-question stretch. I’ve gathered sufficient proof to get a convincing feel that he has what it takes to succeed. For starters, he has diligently climbed the coaching ladder from the bottom; consequently, wherever he has been, he’s always brought improvement along with him. Most importantly, you can see by the fire in his eyes that he’s crazy enough to lead a football team.

But just like everybody else, he could use some help. And the thing is, deep down, he knows it.

Nothing comes across as easy as criticism. I cannot take anybody to task for doing it; I’ve done it, my friends have done it, just about everyone I know has done it. After all, pointing out a flaw is a simple exercise that requires a minimum of personnel and effort and the self-serving reward is more than appealing to continue doing it. However, if performed correctly, it can lead to the solution of most of our difficulties. And as usual, the real trick consists in spotting the breaking point to provide a helpful answer.

Documented earlier, Todd Haley took a big gamble when he decided to jettison Chan Gailey as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator on the eve of the season. It was a bold — yet risky – move that so far, has blown up to six losses in seven games. But the real issue is what happened inside those defeats.

Throughout the season a great deal has been made about Haley’s abilities as a play caller. I have no doubts whatsoever about his talent in that department. He put on a clinic in last year’s playoffs as offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, speaking to the quality of his work.

Being a leading man is a completely different animal. The level of accountability goes beyond that which coordinators are handed. . The stakes are higher, the pressure is greater, and the preparations to face the multiple scenarios that arise in a ballgame are an endless chore. Haley has found this out the hard way.

Some decisions have led to serious second-guessing and two in particular caught my attention:

1. In the Week No. 2 Oakland game, with Kansas City deep in Raiders territory, a few seconds remaining and no timeouts left in the first half, the Chiefs opted to run one more play before settling for a FG. Matt Cassel ended up making a bad decision by throwing a pass in the flat and the clock ran out. What was the real mistake in that sequence? Taking into account that they were coming from their last timeout, Haley should have been vehemently in Cassel’s ear from the get-go, that if the play was not there to get six points, he should have thrown the ball away.
2. In the Dallas game after the Chiefs had found the end zone on Dwayne Bowe’s TD reception, the Chiefs decidedly elected to kick the extra point to tie the game. That left me unsatisfied. I ultimately understood the rationale behind going for the kick. But with 29 seconds remaining in the game, Dallas still had two timeouts and Kansas City had one left. Why not show that they were going for the 2-point conversion in order to force Dallas to burn one of their timeouts? That would have made it more difficult for them to start a drive with only one at their disposal; even if the Chiefs really weren’t going for two, they had a chance to use their timeout to set up their kick.

The examples shown above are not intended to remind vacuously the decisions that took place; they’re intended to supply a remedy. There’s a method in this madness.

Haley is an emotional coach and he transmits that attitude to his team. In the game of professional football you have to start with that; a violent activity requires wearing your heart on your sleeve. But you can’t let your emotions run wild all the time or you’ll probably going to get burned out. You have to pick your spots because in the long run, the thing that is going to make a team successful is achieving a balance that comes from mixing the brawn with the brain. Haley is aware of that.

Back in 2007, Ken Whisenhunt was appointed as head coach of the Cardinals. After fulfilling a not-too-shabby stay as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Whisenhunt took his act to Glendale looking to turn the fortunes of the Cards. Being the play-caller of the ‘05 champs entitled him to initially dictate the plays that would be run on offense, but midway through his rookie season and stuck with a 3-5 record; he cleverly delegated that full-time responsibility on Haley. Why? Because he realized that he needed to be in control of the big picture and not just on the offensive side of the ball.

Needless to say, the up-and-comer Haley flourished at that job. The Cardinals rallied to even their mark at8-8; they finished in the top half of the NFL in multiple offensive categories in the ‘07 campaign, and he helped develop the offense that almost took down the Steel Curtain in last January’s Super Bowl. Whisenhunt had the brains to let the brawn of Haley take over.

Aside from what it is perceived as a lack of talent on his ‘09 squad, Todd Haley needs an offensive coordinator to concentrate completely on the nuisances of his job. Chan Gailey was relieved of his obligations because he didn’t fit the profile that Haley was looking for. I can deal with that thinking; if you want to establish an identity, you have to find people that will help you spread your philosophy. That’s how it goes. Haley likes a certain kind of attack and he did not get that from Gailey, forcing him to step up to the plate.

That’s why –in the middle of the bye week, and complying with Haley’s assertion that “Winners assemble as a team and find ways to win”– I came up with a humble proposal to help Haley (and the Chiefs) steer correctly the wheel drive of their season. The name that popped up in my head was: Mike Martz (left).

The former coach of the Rams is out of work – well, not technically, because he works for the NFL Network – but he’s looking for one more break to get back in the game. Even though he’s been labeled as stubborn, arrogant, hard to work with, and high-maintenance after his failed experiences as offensive coordinator of the Lions and the 49ers, I cannot ignore that in 1999, after two horrendous seasons in his return to coaching, Dick Vermeil trusted Martz with the mission of attacking even more, and he pulled it off. Martz seized the opportunity and engineered what would be known as the “Greatest Show on Turf”. He contributed big-time to the Rams in leading them to two Super Bowl berths, first as a coordinator and then as a head coach — obtaining the franchise’s first Super Bowl triumph in the process.

The best thing that Martz has going on for him these days is that he’s out of the grind. Actually, Mike Singletary did him a favor. The time away from the stadiums is helping him regain the lost focus. No one denies that he’s a bright football mind, and he’ll welcome a return to coaching on the strength of his being recharged. He’ll seek an opportunity to implement his vast knowledge of offensive football because in essence, he’s a teacher, and he wants to prove that he has the wits to pull it off one more time.

Kansas City is the perfect place for him to do it. He could develop Matt Cassel; he could develop another high-flying offense. He could bring his cerebral approach to complement the passionate style of Todd Haley because they share the same attacking mentality. He could be the Yang to his Ying; he could be the Belichick to his Parcells. The possibilities are endless. This time, I’m hopeful Haley has the brawn to let the brains of Martz take over.

I say it’s time to pay it forward. It’s time to air it out.