Chiefs news: Todd Haley was advised ‘don’t win too many’ early in KC

Former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley offered some interesting advice he received when he took the head coaching job in Kansas City.

While we get closer to Super Bowl Sunday, the news cycle for the 30 other NFL teams does not stop. Within the AFC West, the Denver Broncos made news as they announced they hired Sean Payton as their next head coach.

Like most analysts, former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley weighed in and offered his opinion on Payton going to Denver. Haley, who is a co-host on multiple shows on Sirius XM NFL Radio, was on The 33rd Team radio show to discuss the hire.

Haley started talking about how certain expectations, especially from one that has had success in the past, can put pressure on a coach. Haley then talked about advice he received from his father when he took the head coaching job with the Chiefs.

His father’s advice: “Don’t win too many right out of the gate.”

"Expectations are a dangerous thing. Usually, when you go into a place as a new head coach, you’re going to a team that is pretty bad. When I went to Kansas City, they had won one game, two games in the years prior. My father [Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame cornerback Dick Haley], one of the things he said to me was ‘don’t win too many [games] right out of the gate.’ Expectations are very dangerous."

This is very interesting advice for sure.

As many recall, Haley’s time in Kansas City did not go as expected with rumors of clashing with team personnel behind the scenes. Some of those clashes were seen on the sidelines on gameday with players and assistant coaches.

Haley, who did not win too many games right out of the gate, went 4-12 his first year in 2009, The following season, Haley coached the Chiefs to a surprising 10-6 record and helped the team win the AFC West for the first time in seven years. Unfortunately, the 2011 season was a big setback as Haley went 5-8 and was fired after Week 14.

This isn’t to suggest that Haley intentionally lost games early. But the comment and supposed advice from his father is very interesting. It appears that Haley suggested that if Payton won a lot of games early with the Broncos, then the Broncos and their fans would expect the team to win just about every time.

For comparison, Andy Reid started his tenure as the Chiefs’ head coach with a 9-0 record, which has translated to the highest win percentage in Chiefs history by a coach. The Chiefs have won more games than any team since 2013, which was Reid’s first year as the Chiefs’ head coach.

Again, this isn’t to insinuate that Haley avoided winning football games or anything like that. It is possible he may have even misspoken. But unless he meant what he said, it is certainly very interesting advice for an NFL head coach going to a new team.

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