Clark Hunt Firing On All Cylinders

Not since the Chiefs hired Marty Schottenheimer have the Chiefs hired such a high-profile, completely qualified and attractive head coaching prospect. Clark Hunt has done it this time. He’s landed the biggest fish and he did it in record time. The Kansas City Chiefs machine is revved up and ready to compete for the trophies because Andy Reid is that big a deal.

By parting ways with Scott Pioli the Hunt family has effectively liberated the organization from the the most unpopular  general manager in Chiefs history. Pioli’s cloak-and-dagger know-it-all approach to public relations helped to alienate a fan based that saw the irony of such an approach: he didn’t know it all and was an unavailable failure.

Chiefs fans can come back to the games with confidence now. Andy Reid has been typified as highly organized, successful and comes in with a plan. In the past ten seasons Andy Reid’s Eagles have won more playoff games than the Chiefs organization has won in it’s entire history.

The first and most important decision facing the Reid-Hunt team will be their defensive coordinator hire. Questions abound in this area that will impact half the players on that side of the ball. If the Reid finds a DC who can implement the 3-4 then those defensive players are safe for the most part. If he hires a 4-3 guy, like the defensive he has always run in Philly, no one is safe.

Andy Reid, like Marty Schottenheimer, comes in with success at the helm of another organization where he couldn’t bag the biggest beast of all: the Lombardi trophy. Schottenheimer may in some indirect way been responsible for bringing Reid to KC. When he met with Hunt a few weeks ago, Marty may have been the one to point out that the coaching hire should be done by the owner and that the coach should report directly to Hunt himself.

More good news for Chiefs fans is that Andy Reid knows how to develop quarterbacks and runs a quarterback friendly system. He also knows how to maximize the value of his QB personnel, trading away both McNabb and Kolb. Then Reid drafted Nick Foles, who appears to have a solid future. Check out my breakdown of Nick Foles last January.

Andy Reid may be a short name but, Chiefs fans need to know, it’s also a big one. He will attract coaches and players like never before in the history of the franchise. Reid’s highly organized approach creates an environment that coaches and players want to be a part of. Also, Andy Reid is a winner. He’s 130-93-1 in the regular season, 10-9 in playoff games and his Eagles won the NFC Championship in 2004. Reid is Mormon and a family man with five children. In August of 2012 Reid and his family suffered the loss of their oldest son Garrett, who died in his college dorm room from an apparent overdose of heroin.

Players love Reid and want to perform for him. WR Jeremy Maclin, in response to Reid’s firing said, “I feel like we can play better, individually and as a team. I feel like we let (Reid) down.”

Quarterback Nick Foles said, “I’ll remember great things about him and how positive he was. He still wants us to succeed and keep pushing forward. It’s a sick feeling. All you can do is wish him the best. I know he’ll be fine.”

Ron Jaworski, one time QB in Philadelphia and currently a sports analyst for ESPN said, “There’s no doubt he’s a decent man and a terrific human being.”  However, after a 4-12 season it was time for Reid to step aside and begin a new chapter elsewhere.

Credit and praise should be given to Clark Hunt. He took a cadre of Chiefs organizational people with him to Philadelphia to head Andy Reid off at the pass. Then he pulled out his six-shooter and landed every round in the target. Nice job Mr. Hunt.

Now, let’s get this party started! Go Chiefs!