USA Today: Chiefs were the toast of the AFL ... after they left Dallas
The history of the American Football League literally begins and ends with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise.
Lamar Hunt not only founded the AFL, which began
play in 1960, but he also owned the Dallas Texans, who relocated to
Kansas City and became the Chiefs after the 1962 season.
"Before there was a player, coach or a general manager in the league, there was Lamar Hunt," late Boston Patriots owner William Sullivan said at Hunt's Hall of Fame induction in Canton, Ohio, in 1972. "Hunt was the cornerstone, the integrity of the league. Without him, there would have been no AFL."
The Chiefs concluded the AFL's 10-year run by thumping the heavily
favored Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV after the 1969 season.
The AFL officially merged with the NFL before the 1970 season.
Teicher: Haley won’t start out calling plays for Chiefs
The Chiefs hired Todd Haley as their head coach in large part
because of his offensive creativity. He designed the offense and called
plays the last two years for the high-scoring Arizona Cardinals,
attracting the attention of new Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli in
the process.
Haley will set aside those abilities, at least to
start the season. Haley reserved the right to take over later in the
season but said Monday that offensive coordinator Chan Gailey would
call the plays.
“This wasn’t a decision that was made quickly,”
Haley said. “I put a lot of thought into it. Chan will call the plays
as I see it right now. This is all part of the learning process of
trying to get it right. That’s where we’ll start from, and I would say
that’s the way we’ll go into the season.”
Gailey is a veteran
coordinator who was widely praised last season after he switched the
Chiefs at midseason to a spread offensive system to accommodate the
talents of quarterback Tyler Thigpen.
But the Chiefs’ new system is one Haley is bringing from Arizona, another reason it made sense for Haley to call the plays.
"This wasn't a decision that was made quickly. I put a
lot of thought into it," Haley told the Kansas City Star.
"Chan will call the plays as I see it right now.
This is all part of the learning process of trying to get it right.
That's where we'll start from, and I would say that's the way we'll go
into the season."
After a 2-14 season in 2008, the Kansas City Chiefs were in need of a major makeover. Enter in new Head Coach Todd Haley (from Arizona), new franchise QB Matt Cassel (83 OVR), and good bye Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez (traded to Atlanta). In Madden NFL 10, the Chiefs are not one of the top teams in the game. They have some weapons in WR Dwayne Bowe (86 OVR) and HB Larry Johnson (88 OVR/96 TRK/96 STIFF), guys who can move the chains for KC. TE is a huge weak spot now that Tony G. left town. Brad Cottam (72 OVR) is the current starter in Kansas City. On defense, the Chiefs added a big part of the puzzle on draft day in DE Tyson Jackson (77 OVR). He is a mammoth DE who is built to stop the run. Derrick Johnson (83 OVR/83 SPD) is inside at linebacker and provides the great sideline to sideline range. The secondary is the Chiefs biggest concern in Madden NFL 10. They have young guys who have potential like Brandon Flowers (77 OVR) and Brandon Carr (71 OVR), but they check in overall with the 32nd ranked CB unit in football. More Info
PFT: Chiefs doing three-year deals for second-day picks
The 2006 revisions to the labor deal between the NFL and its union
limit the length of contract for players not drafted after the first
round to four years.
Previously, some teams were insisting on
five-year deals in round two and beyond. Plenty of players, however,
were doing three-year deals in the lower rounds of the draft.
Once the four-year was adopted, however, more and more teams began using four-year contracts, all the way to round seven.
This year, we've only spotted five teams using three-year deals in the latter rounds.
And one of them is one of the least likely to use the shorter terms -- the Chiefs.
New
G.M. Scott Pioli came from New England, were longer rookie deals were
the norm. But in the first year of the Pioli regime, the three
second-day picks that the Chiefs have inked to date signed three-year
deals: tackle Colin Brown, tight end Jake O'Connell, and kicker Ryan
Succop. continue reading...
Former Kansas City Chiefs star Priest Holmes is studying for a new career in broadcasting.
Holmes,
the running back who retired in 2007, participated in the NFL Broadcast
Boot Camp in Mount Laurel, N.J., last month with nearly two dozen other
current and former NFL players.
Broadcaster and former Chiefs
Coach Dick Vermeil says Holmes showed enough potential that he has
recommended him for a position with the NFL Network.
Holmes, who
is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in rushing and touchdowns, said he
discovered it’s tough on the other side of the microphone.
“I
have a new appreciation for anyone who sits in that booth, because I
didn’t realize how much work goes into it,” Holmes said. “Mentally, it
was draining.”
Kansas City Chiefs: DE Tyson
Jackson (first round; unsigned); DT Alex Magee (third round; unsigned);
CB Donald Washington (fourth round; unsigned); T Colin Brown (fifth
round; signed June 24; three years); WR Quentin Lawrence (sixth round;
unsigned); RB Javarris Williams (seventh round; signed July 23; likely
three years); TE Jake O'Connell (seventh round; signed June 26; three
years); K Ryan Succop (seventh round; June 17; three years). continue reading...
UOTE: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by
every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You
must do the thing you think you cannot do.”—Eleanor Roosevelt
Today, we examine the Kansas City Chiefs’ new head coach, Todd Haley.
BACKGROUND
Like Rex Ryan of the Jets,
Todd Haley comes from a football family and has been around the
professional game his entire life. Starting as a ball boy for the
Steelers (his dad Dick was the team’s director of player personnel),
Todd learned to evaluate players from his father at a very early age,
then started in personnel for the Jets in 1995. He worked his way into
the coaching ranks under Bill Parcells at the Jets and Cowboys. Haley
is a strong-minded coach who is not afraid of confrontation with the
players.
