Well a lot has happened since my last post about the Chiefs. They have hired former Super Bowl champion and New England Patriots coordinators Charlie Weis (OC) and Romeo Crennel (DC). Hmmm...something about this seems familiar...
We've all seen this before haven't we? Didn't the mid 1990's Chiefs try to make themselves in the image of the San Francisco 49ers who had had so much success in the previous decade? Let's run down the checklist to see if we are following the trend...
-Pick up [Insert team trying to emulate here]'s backup quarterback that showed flashes in limited time to be our savior and run our team - Check (Steve Bono - 1995; Matt Cassel - 2009)
-Install the same offense and defense of [team trying emulate] - Check (Chiefs installed west coast offense in mid 1990's; Chiefs installed shotgun happy spread based offense, switched to both defenses)
-Take old coaches from [team trying to emulate]'s regime - check (just hired Crennel and Weis, Schottenheimer picked up many people from the west coast coaching tree back in the day)
What is all this getting at? Well the obvious point one could look at would be that it didn't work then, why would it work now? This is a very good question and I will delve into this while talking about my thoughts on the new hires the Chiefs have made by hiring Charlie Weis to run the offense and Romeo Crennel to run the defense.
First, we can talk about why I like these hires. The obvious one being that they are accomplished. Both Weis and Crennel have won 3 championships with the Patriots and are regarding league-wide as coordinators who were once at the top of their games. From the time they arrived in New England their respective sides of the football improved and maintained at a high level for their entire tenure there. It wasn't always the best or the flashiest but, when in tandem, it worked well enough to win a championship (or 3).
Also, both coordinators have prior head coaching experience (even if they weren't all that successful). Weis coached at Notre Dame for five years and Crennel coached the Cleveland Browns for 4 years (sat out last year to recover from hip surgery). What relevance does this have? Well, it was obvious watching the Chiefs last year that Todd Haley was in over his head. Being head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach was too much for a first year head coach (or any head coach for that matter) and was an error in judgment to take on that much. Now, with Weis and Crennel in place he won't have to worry about that. He can have full faith and confidence that Weis will handle the offense and the quarterback and Crennel will handle the defense and he can concentrate on the executive decisions that belong to a head coach.
There if further good news in this arena for Weis and Haley run mostly the same system and are on the same page with what they want from their offense. This means they can agree on a direction they want to go and Haley can turn Weis loose and let him run the offense. The same can be said on defense. I don't think Haley spent as much time with it as he did the offense last year, and that means he left it in the hands of Clancy Pendergast (not a good thing). Now with Crennel the same thing can happen, they can decide on a direction and Haley has the faith to turn Crennel loose and run the defense. Hopefully, this works out well to let the Chiefs run more efficiently on both sides of the ball.
Also, with both coordinators having head coaching experience, they can help out Haley when he encounters a scenario he hasn't seen before. This may be the most valuable asset. This three (if they can) could become a coaching triumvirate that could have this team whipped into shape and running like a machine. That is if all three can put ego's aside and work together for the good of the organization.
However, it is not all merriment at One Arrowhead just yet, there are quite a few unknowns related to these new hires. First, as I alluded to earlier, the questions arises of whether or not all these ego's can coexist. Haley and Weis shared an office together when they worked for the Jets, but Haley has always been the understudy, and yet now he is the one giving the orders. Will this cause an issue? Remains to be seen, but they have apparently discussed this issue and at on the same page. Further, I think Weis is using this opportunity to prove he can still coach at a high level so he won't let this interfere with proving that. Romeo Crennell I never really saw an issue with, it is just whether he is able to set down his head coaching hat and be the defensive coordinator again, which I don't think will be hard for him.
There is also the issue that neither coordinator has reached a high level of success after leaving Papa Belicheck. Which leads one to ask why should we believe that they will be able to recreate their success here? Also, who's to say the magic wasn't all just Belicheck and these two just reaped the benefits? Well there are a few things I have to say about that.
If they can recreate their success from New England here in KC remains to be seen. However, I think that they will both be given the autonomy to do this. Both Weis and Crennell will have major input into the direction their side is headed and the players they get to help them along the way. Not to mention GM Scot Pioli is on the same page as both as well which will help them get the players they need. It might take them more than one year, but I believe both have the coaching acumen to have a high level of success here in KC.
There are a large amount of arguments towards Beleicheck just being the magic and these two reaping the rewards. However, I submit that it goes both ways. They have not had success without Belicheck, and while Belicheck has had success, he has not won a super bowl without them. Not only that, but many players have mentioned how Crennel ran the defense in New England. Belicheck installed the system and made sure they were on the same page, but the defense (day-to-day) was run by Crennel. Same went for the offense. Perhaps this is why they had such great success, because they were able to have the autonomy necessary to use the players they wanted in the way they wanted to make their side work. This is the scenario Haley is going for and hopefully it will pay off.
Ultimately, I like these hires. More for the extra head coaching experience than anything else. It remains to be seen if their past successes can be recreated but the past that these coaches share lead me to believe if they can do then they can do it here. You always like when your team hires big guns like Weis and Crennel, but I have never been a fan of trying to directly copy teams' success. Trying to emulate is fine but out-and-out copying, I never like. Hopefully, the coaches realize that they may share this common past, but they are not trying to recreate the past, rather, use their talents to create and even brighter future in KC. I sure hope that's the case...
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