While the Kansas City Chiefs are thrilled to be one of the 12 teams in the playoffs, they are falling behind in the offseason game. That is because the other 20 teams that did not make the playoffs have already begun hiring and firing coaches and coordinators.
While the Chiefs aren’t likely to be looking for a head coach following their season, we do know that they will need an offensive coordinator thanks to the upcoming departure of Charlie Weis.
One of the popular candidates to succeed Weis is former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels who was fired earlier this season. Though McDaniels is no very popular in Chiefs Nation or even perhaps, with head coach Todd Haley, he has a very impressive resume as an offensive coordinator and has worked with KC QB Matt Cassel in New England.
If the Chiefs were hoping to take a look at McDaniels they may be hindered by their playoff berth.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that the San Francisco 49ers have had “initial talks” with McDaniels about the team’s vacant head coaching position. The 49ers are believed to be aggressively perusing Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, however it is being reported that the Miami Dolphins are also interested in Harbaugh and that they may be willing to outbid the 49ers for his services.
If that is the case it appears that the 49ers are prepared to move on and that McDaniels may be their second choice.
If this is true then it is proof that teams may still be interested in McDaniels as a head coaching candidate despite his horrendous tenure in Denver. If that is the case and McDaniels does indeed want another shot at being a head coach then it is unlikely he would want to take an offensive coordinator position.
It is important to mention that the Chiefs seem to be focused solely on their playoff run, however you have to believe that GM Scott Pioli is already making a short list of coordinator candidates behind the scenes.
If McDaniels is on his list, he may have to look elsewhere.