Time for Clark to Ditch the Glasses, Don the Cape
I get it. I get it. Chiefs fans and players alike have spoken, and it’s obvious that King Carl Peterson needs to be dethroned.
To can Peterson’s Lex Luthor, though, owner Clark Hunt will have to step into a telephone booth, ditch the geeky persona and put on his cape. And if he wants the Chiefs to really become “Super,” he’ll need to keep his cape on for the entire offseason. The past is definitely on Peterson, but the future is in Hunt’s hands.
Clark Hunt’s 12-Step Blueprint for Making the Chiefs Super:
1. Fire Carl Peterson. Personally, I would strip him of his GM title and move him over to the strictly business side of things, but I can also see how that could hinder our ability to bring in a top-notch replacement. Either way, his days making football decisions need to be over. Both the fans and the players have lost their faith in him.
2. Fire Mike Solari. Two years of run-run-pass-punt football has been more than enough. Time to move on. If he’s suchan offensive line guru, then why did he sign off on this year’s line? Alex Gibbs certainly wouldn’t have.
3. Fire Mike Priefer. He’s the worst special teams coach I’ve ever seen. Hit the road, bub, and take those has-beens Eddie Drummond and John Carney with you.
4. Hire an aggressive, open-minded offensive coordinator. Mike Martz was purely an example, and I don’t expect him to be hired. We do, however, need to bring in a guy to play Tom Moore to Herm Edwards‘ Tony Dungy. To balance things out offensively. If Clark was hiring on Monster.com or CraigsList, the ad would read: “Seeking the Next Jason Garrett”
5. Hand out pink slips like you’re Donald Trump. Again, these guys have to go: Damon Huard, Eddie Kennison, Greg Wesley, James Reed, Jason Dunn, John Welbourn, Kendrell Bell, Kris Wilson, Kyle Turley, Pat Surtain, Samie Parker and Will Svitek. Ty Law can stick around, but he might have to play free safety given his current speed. I think he would excel in that role. You can give these guys all the niceties you like, but their days in the Red and Gold need to be over.
6. No more second-tier or aging star free agents. The great teams make championship moves, both via free agency and trades. Look at the Cowboys, who added Leonard Davis and Terrell Owens, both Pro Bowlers, over the past couple of seasons. Now they are likely to make the Super Bowl because of those bold moves. Since we need the most help at cornerback and offensive line…
7. Sign CB Marcus Trufant. This guy is the complete opposite of players we’ve signed recently. He’s an underrated top-tier FA, instead of an overrated second-tier one. He’s playing lights out football, is a team-first guy and is certainly in line for a big pay day. With all the money Seattle has spent elsewhere, can the Seahawks afford to keep him? Ashante Samuel and DeAngelo Hall are also options, but both would likely cost more than Trufant, who’s flying under the radar somewhat, despite making the Pro Bowl. Despite what some fans and experts claim, you need a speedy No. 1 CB even in the Cover 2 with the new rules that benefit wideouts. (See Dallas, Denver, Green Bay, New England, San Diego, Seattle, etc…)
8. Sign OT Jordan Gross. Screw Alan Faneca and Flozell “The Hotel” Adams. Both made the Pro Bowl and are already marquee names, so neither will come cheap. Gross was overlooked for the Pro Bowl, despite allowing only one sack. The Panthers are in such a state of flux that I don’t know if they can afford to keep him. G Floyd “Pork Chop” Womack makes a sneaky second option.
9. Trade for Laveranues Coles. No, not him and Chad Pennington for a first rounder. A third-round pick and possible future considerations dependent on performance (a second-day pick). Coles and Herm already have a relationship, and it is obvious that the Jets intend to move him to pave the way for guys like Brad Smith and Jericho Cothery. If we are truly committed to Brodie Croyle, then we must give him the tools to succeed. Coles, who caught 91 balls and had 1,000-plus yards two seasons ago, would make a spectacular third option. He’s a tough-as-nails receiver who would catch the balls that the Kennisons and Parkers quite often drop. He’d also allow Jeff Webb to move to the slot, where I think he’d be much more effective.
10. Draft offensive line heavy. Unless the front office feels that there is a can’t-miss quarterback there in the first or second round, all of the first day picks should be spent on offensive lineman. Other less-glaring holes can be filled with the plethora of second day picks we own.
11. Find young, long-term answers at kicker and kick returner and give them time. No more patchwork quick fixes. Special teams is not a facet of the game that should be treated with any less emphasis than defense or offense. But you wouldn’t know that by observing Priefer’s units this season. Whether it be through the draft or free agency, this areas have to be addressed.
12. Apply some serious pressure to Herm Edwards. You’ve had a great offseason and given Herm all the necessary parts he needs to win. Let him know that if the team doesn’t improve dramatically and at least make significant process towards making A Super Bowl, that his time as head coach will come to an end after the season. There’s no more blaming Dick Vermeil — this is Herm’s team now. That is, if you read this and take my suggestions.
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While I agree with alot of what you say, I think it’s wrong to put this all on Clark Hunt. To me, he has only on personel move to make. That is, fire or not fire Carl Peterson.
December 19th, 2007 at 8:13 pmMerlin, you are a very knowledgeable Chiefs fan and one of our best commenters, but this is an opinion that is common among Chiefs fans, and one that drives me nuts. Just firing Carl is
ONLY
the beginning. As much as everyone hates Carl right now, if Clark doesn’t hire the right successor, things could actually get worse. Crazy, but I honestly believe that it could be true.Who else does the future fall on if not Clark? Especially with Carl hypothetically out of the equation?
December 19th, 2007 at 10:14 pmI like these moves, really. I would sign off on them all, myself.
I am Legend.
-cw
December 19th, 2007 at 11:02 pmAdam:I agree that should you fire Carl (I wouldn’t) it is only the beginning. But, I think it’s a mistake to put it all on Clark Hunt. Right now, I think we are going to go through our second offseason of major housecleaning. It’s petty obvious what aging vets need to go and I think we can all identify 95% of them. The last 2 years we have drafted pretty well, much better than under Vermeil. I think Herm and Herm’s experience as a scout helps us there. I guess where we differ is that I take a strict top down approach to management here. To me, Clark decides on the GM only. The GM decides on the head coach and the head coach decides on the assistant coaches. If I were Clark, I keep Carl. If I was Carl, I keep Herm. If I were Herm, I would keep my defensive coaches and seriously evaluate my offensive coaches. In my mind, the special teams coach should be a goner. Solari is close to gone. The one I really don’t like is Dick Curl. I get the sense that he is a wannbe offensive coordinator that undermines Solari. I love the idea of bringing in a good offensive coordinator, I just don’t know who that would be.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:17 pmI definitley agree with the move of not firing CP, but moving him so he is not in charge of Football Operations. I imagine the Hunt Family (Clark included) has respect for CP and remembers how the Chiefs were before he took over. I’m not sure a lot of current Chiefs fans remember what the Chiefs were like before the email, blogs and message boards became popular. The only one I don’t agree with is signing Alan Faneca, he is a pro bowler for a reason-he is good, damn good. If Will Shields was 32 years of age or so, would you sign him for 3 more years or so? I think I would. Great Post!
December 20th, 2007 at 6:31 amAs much as I hate to admit it, firing Carl Peterson this year will not happen until Herm has one more year to build up the Chiefs and take them beyond "respectable." If by 3rd Qtr next season, we don’t have results, the fan outcry will be looking to Bar-B-Q Peterson at the Thanksgiving Tree Lighting ceremony!!!! Personnally, I like the idea of putting Carl on speacial assignment dedicated to the Arrowhead remodel and then making the transition to the business side. There is a lot of family history there and could be part of the loyality issue Clark is dealing with. Don’t know whats happening down in Atlanta with the Parcells breakdown, but Rich McKay may be looking for new work. What other notable GM’s are out there? Anyone?
December 20th, 2007 at 1:24 pmI agree, the one bad thing about bringing in a new GM is that the head coach is not the one he hired. So there could always be issues there that could set us back another year or more.
Parcells went to Miami, but McKay is on the out still. Not sure if he has the talent anymore.
December 20th, 2007 at 1:34 pm