As the discouraging and disappointing 2008 season draws to a conclusion this next Sunday in Cincinnati, we are left to wonder what the team will look like next year. Much of this has to do with the new General Manager brought in to replace Carl Peterson and his choice of a head coach.
There are some players and schemes that we have seen growth in this year that may be completely done away with next year depending on the decision makers brought in. We may go through a whole new phase of trying to pound round pegs into square holes as the new coach determines how to make the guys we have fit into the schemes he wants. Much of this will be determined by whether the new GM & Head Coach are offensive minded or defensive minded and what type of assistants he will be able to bring along with him.
Here are some things we could see drastic changes in next year:
Tyler Thigpen and the Spread Offense
Many Chiefs fans have warmed up to plucky Tyler Thigpen and the exciting Spread Offense Chan Gailey has come up with on the fly. But how will the new decision makers look at it?
Tyler Thigpen did not play well in a conventional NFL offense earlier in the season and only began putting up big numbers when they rebuilt the offense to his experience in the Spread. The majority of NFL people still do not think the Spread Offense if viable in the NFL as an overall scheme and that might be especially true if we get another defensive minded Head Coach (like Cowher or Spagnuolo currently the Giants Defensive Coordinator) that doesn't want to "throw the ball all over the yard" and wear his defense out.
Combine the above possibilities with the fact the Chiefs are looking at at least a top 5 and quite possibly a top 3 overall drat pick where there are likely to be a couple of decent QB prospects that the new GM could look at as the new "Face of the Franchise" could mean the end of Thigpens time as a starter and the Spread Offense in KC no matter how well he has played.
Chan Gailey
Gaileys future is up in the air as well. I think most Chiefs fans recognize him as having a very good and flexible offensive mind and for a new coach that doesn't have a hip pocket Offensive Coordinator candidate to bring with him, we can hope that Gailey will be looked at as a good candidate to retain.
However, if the new Head Coach (like Josh McDaniels, current Patriots head coach who could be brought along if Scott Pioli were hired as GM) is offensive minded, he might have his own schemes he wants to implement and bring one of his assistants from his previous job to hire as his offensive coordinator.
Defense
There are obvious holes and problems with our defense as is, but a new Head Coach / Defensive Coordinator with a radically different scheme could put us even further behind in the rebuild. In the Cover 2 base defense we currently run, we have big hard hitting safeties and can get by with shorter CBs like Brandon Flowers. If the new defensive scheme is based more on man to man, Flowers height could become a much more important disadvantage. The new defensive coordinator might give higher priority to faster coverage safeties than hard hitting run supporters.
And God help us all if the decision is made to switch to a 3-4 scheme. Personally I love the 3-4, but you are talking about overhauling nearly the entire defensive roster to make it work and a player like Glen Dorsey just wouldn't fit.
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Clark Hunt must consider carefully the ramifications of the new General Manager and eventual Head Coach hired. Hiring a "big name" candidate would likely require handing over authority for him to make whatever changes he desires no matter what has already been done with the rebuild up to this point and that could add years to getting to the point where the team is an actual Super Bowl contender again.
Ideally finding a GM with experience in philosophically similar systems that we are currently running (like Chris Polian who has been finding players for Dungys Cover 2 defense for years, though he might be reluctant to raid his fathers team for coaches and scouts) is the ideal and will lead to less disruption in the rebuilding process.
0 recs | 10 comments
Nice post
Chan Gailey seems pretty flexible as an offensive coordinator so I could see him sticking around. I’d be okay with that…although I’m not really sure who we pin the lack of 2nd half production on.
Joel Thorman - December 21, 2008
Everyone and everything
Young players, shallow scheme, worse than average line, coaches, etc.
Sole causes are tempting, but simplistic, IMO.
Bleedingredandgold - December 21, 2008
I don't think its as bad as you make it sound
They have lost like 8 games by one score. Despite all the problems this year they could just as easily be 10-5 at this point as 2-13. I think there are a couple things hanging them up but that they have figured a lot of things out this year (for all the good that does them if they are starting all over again next year with a different coaching staff).
They’re close, they just haven’t found that missing ingredient yet.
ChiefDJ - December 21, 2008
Not trying to make it sound bad.
Just saying that you can’t necessarily pick out a scapegoat, whose sacrifice will make everything all better. Rather, I suspect there are a number of factors involved, not that everyone & thing that I mentioned suck. As a matter of fact, my guess is that yu improve all of them even just a little bit, and you’ll see a much improved offense. Dominant? Doubt it. But better than this season.
Get some line help, maybe an upgrade at WR, and get them a scheme that they can master before the season begins, not the hodge-podge we have right now.
I’m much more worried about the Defense, at this point.
Bleedingredandgold - December 21, 2008
Good points
So the big question is to rebuild or rebuild again? Tough one. But when you are 2-13 it is hard to nit pick your salvation. Whether that is a 3-4 guy or whatever may be coming.
Gailey deserves a shot, hard to be penalized for doing your job, but it seems unlikely if Herm gets the boot. And I do think the Arrowspread is cool, scores points, and it highly unlikely to win a championship. But a lot of people probably said that when it started in the college game too so who knows.
TheQ - December 21, 2008
Good read
Regading the Head Coach position. My suspect that Mr. Hunt will give his new GM free reign (as it should be) with one condition, Herm gets one more year with this team. Like it or not, does anyone really think it will be any different ??
HankerChief - December 21, 2008
I don't think Herm will be back
The biggest mistake they made with Herm was making him try to win with the old worn out Vermeil Vets for two years before allowing him to do the rebuild he wanted to. The fanbase had plain lost patience by the time they got into it.
As much as I like Herm, I really don’t want to see them make the same mistake twice. They are bringing in a new GM, why make him keep Herm for a year when he will likely want to replace him with one of “his” guys the first chance he gets anyways?
Chances are if they did keep Herm they would still be looking at replacing Defensive Coordinators and some position coaches and then they probably would change them AGAIN when the new head coach is brought in.
At this point I am of the opinion they might as well do it all at once, get the new coaches in place and the new systems implemented so the young players can learn it and move on rather than having to get used to new coaches and plays every year.
ChiefDJ - December 21, 2008
3-4 Wouldn't be THAT bad...
Tamba would be an OLB…Boone and Dorsey I think both are big enough for NT, seriously, have you seen the small guys Dallas and Miami have there? Not every NT is Vince Wilfork size. If not that then they are both suitable for 3-4 DE…and so on…
woodman212 - December 22, 2008
Disagree
We would basically need to build the 3-4 from the ground up – just because Hali is the size of a LB in the 3-4 doesn’t mean he can play LB – Neither Boone nor Dorsey are the type of guy you want at the NT position (their strength is shooting the gap, not sitting there being immovable) -
PVChiefsfan - December 22, 2008
Just a thought
But wouldn’t Boone and Dorsey be good DEs in a 3-4 scheme with Tyler at the NT? Tyler has the wide body that you look for in a NT. Boone and Dorsey are both pass rushing DTs so they fit the bill for what you look for in a DE in the 3-4. The bad part about going to a 3-4 is that we don’t have enough linebackers for a 4-3 so chaning to a 3-4 would mean that we had to draft a whole new defense like Dallas did in 05. Look at that draft for them, OLB Ware and DE Spears in the first round, ILB Burnett in 2nd round, Chris Canty DE in 4th round. They had to use 4 of their first five picks on DE and LB positions. They were lucky that their offense didn’t take a step back because they developed Witten, signed TO when no one else would and got lucky with Romo and Barber (4th round pick). Besides, like someone already said our secondary would have to be rebuilt as well because they are good for the Cover 2 and might not succeed in a different defense. It would be a really long process rather than trying to figure out what we do need to make our Cover 2 work. Cough* pass rush * Cough.
Droppin Deuces - December 22, 2008
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