Examining The Chiefs' Rumored Coaching Candidates

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(Zachary Waldron is a long-time Arrowhead Addict reader. He has great passion for the Chiefs and a knack for tracking news and stats. Zachary adds another dimension to AA and we’re thrilled to have him on board. Let’s all welcome Zachary to the staff! He’ll be going by Z. Waldron to avoid confusion with Zach. - Adam)

Well the monkey is finally off of our back now. Herman Edwards has departed and we are moving on. As anticipated, there has been a ton of speculation on who Herm Edwards’ successor will be. Shortly after the news came out that Herm was terminated (or Herminated), there were already reports that Mike Shanahan was close to inking a deal as the Chiefs next head coach. Then reports came out from a Chiefs spokesman that the deal was unlikely but Shanahan was at the top of our list. Friday was a very drama-filled day for any Chiefs fan but it’s time for further speculation on potential successors.

Mike Shanahan

Although right now it seems very unlikely it’s worth a good look.

The obvious point, he has won 2 Super Bowls
He is familiar with working with young teams
Mike knows the AFC West division better than anyone and is somewhat familiar with the Chiefs after prepping for the Chiefs twice a year
Has proven he can develop a young quarterback
Experience

I think that our Chiefs should not hire Mike Shanahan. Granted, he would bring credibility to our organization but history shows that it is very rare that a Super Bowl winning coach goes to another team and wins another one. The Chiefs need a fresh mind to start over with our fresh young team which brings me to my next candidate.

(More on Shanahan: Wikipedia)

Todd Haley

Todd Haley seems to be the most plausible candidate for our vacancy.

Scott Pioli and Todd Haley worked together with the Jets from 1997-99
He took the Cardinals from 18th in total offense to 3rd in just two years
Composes an explosive, balanced offense
He would bring new ideas and schemes to our lacking offense which has plenty of potential (Clark Hunt and Scott Pioli would give him the freedom to do what he wants with our team)
Todd helped take the Cardinals to the Super Bowl!!!

Todd Haley would be a good hire here in Kansas City. A young talented guy with good ideas to match our young owner and young GM.

(More on Haley: Wikipedia)

Chan Gailey

Chan could be a decent head coach for the Chiefs.

Obviously familiar with the Chiefs and their situation
Has head coaching experience

I do not believe this would be a good hire for the Chiefs. I think he can be a great offensive coordinator for us though. The Chiefs lost 8 games by 7 points or less and most of that could be due to our poor defense. Chan also put together an entire new offensive scheme in the middle of the season when Tyler Thigpen had to step in and the system wasn’t bad, especially for having to come up with it in a short amount of time. I say if anything we keep him as our O-coordinator but definitely not as our head coach.

(More on Gailey: Wikipedia)

Paul Pasqualoni

Paul Pasqualoni’s name has been thrown into the mix of possible candidates for the next Kansas City head coach.

Scott Pioli knows Pasqualoni well
Was a major factor in transforming the 1-15 Dolphins to the 11-5 Dolphins
Develops players very well (e.g. Donavon McNabb, Jason Witten)

Well these are the names I have heard floating around for our head coach vacancy. All of these guys seem pretty well qualified but personally I think that Todd Haley would be our best bet out of this bunch. Younger coaches seem to be somewhat of a trend in good teams as of lately, such as the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin. I also think there are some other good coaches out there that we need to take a good look at as well.

(More on Pasqualoni: Wikipedia)

Who would you take out of this bunch?