The most intriguing story of the early Super Bowl prep is actually a sidebar, which is a weird enough way to start what might be the weirdest Super Bowl ever.

It isn't the Arizona Cardinals overcoming decades of self-applied filth; that one was played out after they beat Carolina. It isn't Anquan Boldin, the Cardinals wide receiver who chose an odd time to pitch a nutty, and is already finding the best way to backtrack.

It is, in fact, the sidebar to the Boldin story -- the fast-developing cult of Todd Haley.

Haley, the Arizona offensive coordinator who snapped back at Boldin on the sidelines during the NFC title game, has become the new prettiest girl at the dance -- the coach who faces down the diva wide receiver by pitching an even more effusive nutty. Indeed, he is the first coach since his mentor, Bill Parcells, to announce loudly and publicly that he is not a "players' coach."

And that is resonating in ways that Haley's work as the offensive coordinator of the pass-happy Cardinals never did. That is resonating so much, in fact, that he is now considered the next coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, which must come as a surprise to Herman Edwards, the current coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) -- New Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz made his first major staff hire Wednesday, bringing in veteran assistant Gunther Cunningham as defensive coordinator.

The two previously worked together as assistants on Jeff Fisher's staff in Tennessee. Schwartz was defensive coordinator under Fisher this past season, when the Titans posted an NFL-best 13-3 record with a defense that ranked second in points allowed.

Cunningham, a 40-year coaching veteran on the college and pro levels, was Kansas City's head coach from 1999-2000 and the Chiefs' defensive coordinator in 1995-98 and from 2004 through this past season.

He'll set about trying to fix one of the league's worst defenses, one of the big reasons Detroit didn't win a game last season.

Terms of his contract were not disclosed.

Cunningham also has served as an assistant with the Raiders, Chargers and Colts in the NFL and California, Stanford, Arkansas and Oregon in the college ranks.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham is scheduled to speak soon to the Lions about a coaching job, the Kansas City Star reported.

Cunningham worked with new Lions coach Jim Schwartz for three years in Tennessee, where Schwartz was defensive coordinator and Cunningham was linebackers coach.

Schwartz, introduced Friday at Ford Field, has begun the process of putting together his staff, though he said he would take his time. He is expected to speak to a number of candidates this week in Mobile, Ala., where NFL executives, coaches and scouts converge to watch practices for the Senior Bowl.

The Broncos' Jeremy Bates and the Jets' Brian Schottenheimer are Schwartz's leading candidates for offensive coordinator, the Free Press has confirmed.

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The Chiefs had a horrible record last year but they were privileged enough to own the third overall selection in the upcoming NFL draft.

I will be putting on the general manager hat for the next half an hour and will point out who I would like the Chiefs to select in the first four rounds of the draft. I'm sorry if you do not agree with who I select, but it's only an article so get over it.

So sit back relax and enjoy.

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It didn’t take long for the Detroit Lions’ new head coach, Jim Schwartz, to begin reaching out to assistant coaching candidates.

Schwartz asked for and received permission to interview Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, who worked with him on the Tennessee Titans’ staff from 2001 to 2003.

Cunningham’s job security in Kansas City is tenuous at best, and the fact that he was one of the first coaches that Schwartz contacted is a sign of how much he is wanted in Detroit. One league source said that Cunningham is expected to be hired in Detroit.

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