So by now most have you have probably heard about Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley’s trip to the Lil Wayne concert and the ridicule that he received for it from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. Florio bashed Haley for taking time away from his coaching duties to go to the concert. He called Haley’s reasoning for going “a way to try to justify his detour away from his work duties”. Here’s what Haley said about why he went:
"“Lil’ Wayne — our song last year — we made a video at the start of the season and it was one of his songs. The players took to it. We played it every home game. It was kind of our. . . . When you saw us gather up in the end zone, it was always a song of his. So, I said if he comes into town and I get an opportunity to give him a copy of it and thank him, I was able to do it.”"
So was this just some made up justification for Haley to “shirk his duties” and party with a rap star? Well something about what Haley said about making their own video with music sounded familiar to me. I was pretty sure I remembered seeing a clip of Haley in the locker room after a game saying something about it to the team. So I did a little digging on YouTube, and hit pay dirt.
After the break there is a YouTube video of HBO’s highlights of the Chiefs vs Seahawks game from last season. If you’ve never seen it, definitely watch it. It has some great sideline footage of Haley and Cassel that is a must see. However, if you want to see the locker room footage I mentioned jump to the 2:15 mark.
A couple things about that last clip. I know its short, but you definitely get a vibe from that locker room that the Chiefs had an “us against the world” mentality and that Haley was very much at the center of it. I realize that everything looks wonderful after a win, but that looks like a team that is with their coach. Todd Haley will never let us behind the curtain to see the little man working the levers of the great and powerful Oz, but MAYBE (admittedly I’m speculating too, but at least I dug up a video clip to support my stance unlike Mr. Florio) Haley gave us a little glimpse into the “family business” that he never allows anyone on the outside to see. It may not be a glimpse into handling drama like the Baldwin situation, but a glimpse of how he has bonded with the players and brought them together as a team. So Mr. Florio, MAYBE Todd Haley going to that concert had more to do with getting his team ready then you’ll ever know. Sometimes bringing a team together involves a lot more then just watching game tape until 3am.
I just hope they can bond together and recapture that same “us against the world” attitude this season. Hopefully the recent Jones/Baldwin situation won’t jeopardize that. I’m already on record as saying that I think a win on Friday would be a step in that direction.