Chiefs Offseason Report Card: Todd Haley and the Coaching Staff

Head Coach: As most of you know, I liked Herm Edwards better than most people did. I still believe that he was a decent head coach crippled by a GM who was in his post a few years longer than he should have been and who refused to let his team rebuild in the way Herm wanted to. That being said, I still agree with Pioli's decision to fire him. I hope Herm Edwards goes to another team and becomes a good head coach, but he isn't and never will be a Pioli guy.That being said, the Chiefs lucked out in getting Todd Haley so late in the game. Haley, like Bill Belichick, is a no-nonsense, strict disciplinarian. I have to admit that while I liked the decision to hire Haley, I was still scared about his ability to keep his temper in check. I'm still scared about that, but in recent weeks, those fears are starting to fade a little bit. As a coordinator, spats with your players (e.g. Anquan Boldin) are okay, because it's not your job to be everybody's friend. As a head coach, you have to manage your players and one of the top priorities is to make sure everybody on your roster is motivated, excited about football, and hungry to win. You can't do that if your players despise you. The good news is that he's had a clean track record so far. Josh McDaniels failed in the public relations game, while Eric Mangini looked foolish trying to quickly establish his authority by forcing his players to do pointless, worthless activities during supposedly "optional" offseason training. So far, he seems to have handled his new responsibilities professionally. Granted, much of that is assuming that he was in the right in the way he handled the Brian Waters ordeal, but I think with each passing day it appears that he was less in the wrong than many might have initially thought.