Lack of leadership derailing rebuilding effort in Kansas City

By Kyle Anderson  |   Thursday, October 23, 2008  |  Comments( 6 )

Kansas City Chiefs
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After their latest loss, a 34-10 demolition at home courtesy of the Tennessee Titans, there is plenty of blame to go around the Kansas City Chiefs' locker room. The defense surrendered a club-record 332 rushing yards. Journeyman kicker (and recently cut) Nick Novak missed two field goals. The former quarterback of the future, Brodie Croyle, was injured yet again and was lost for the season (his record as Kansas City's starter is 0-8).

Yet none of these problems illustrate the true issue plaguing the organization from the playing field to the front office. No leadership.

Most Chiefs fans embraced the early attempt at rebuilding the team that started in the midst of the 2007 season.

While Herm Edwards privately would have liked to start the process before the 2006 season, there were too many quality (though declining) veterans left over from Dick Vermeil’s tenure as Chiefs head coach. Edwards coached that squad to the playoffs, in large part because of the leadership of Damon Huard and Trent Green.

In 2007, the Chiefs were 4-5, tied for second place in the AFC West, when Croyle “permanently” took over for Huard as the starting quarterback. The Chiefs did not win another game until Sept. 28, 2008 (a span of almost a calendar year). Huard was under center for the victory over the Denver Broncos.

During the 12-game losing stretch, four different quarterbacks took snaps. Fundamentally, the Chiefs lacked stability at the most important position on the field. Croyle, the starter when healthy, never won a game for the Chiefs. Croyle’s first full season is over after a major knee injury, as are his chances to start for the Chiefs ever again.

Whether Croyle was playing or not the past 12 games, no other Chiefs player stepped up to fill the leadership void either. Despite Huard’s success throughout 2006 and the first half of 2007, he was unable to stabilize the position. His leadership was badly undermined last season when Edwards benched him in favor of Croyle.

So without a steady quarterback (or at least one who could stay somewhat healthy), the young Chiefs were forced to look elsewhere in the locker room for a strong leader. Former Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson could have stepped into that position.

However, even when Johnson was healthy, he was busy skipping meetings and providing a bad example for the younger players. Johnson was subsequently deactivated for Sunday’s game, and he spent the week of practice leading up to the Titans game as the scout team running back.

“I think sometimes leadership gets put in a certain box that says you have to be a spokesman,” Edwards said during his weekly press conference on Oct. 14 regarding Johnson. “Sometimes leadership is really how you come to work and how you prepare.”

After the game, the Chiefs released information regarding a fourth altercation Johnson was involved in over the last five years; this time, Johnson got into it with a female patron at a Kansas City nightclub. Wednesday, Johnson said he was “kind of disgusted with myself” related to his recent behavior. Johnson will miss his second straight game this week.

The lone future Hall of Famer on the team is tight end Tony Gonzalez, and therefore another prime candidate to provide leadership for one of the youngest clubs in the NFL. At a time when this team needed leadership more than any other since the pre-Marty Schottenheimer era, Gonzalez requested a trade.

Of course, it is difficult to rely on leadership on the playing field when there is also a lack of leadership in the front office and the coaching staff. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt acknowledged this past week that there are rumblings of management conflict between the “Edwards camp” and the “Carl Peterson camp."

“I’ve had other people ask me that. I don’t sense that,” Hunt said. “If it exists, I’m not aware of it.”

Despite Hunt’s best effort to avoid the topic, he later went on to reinforce the dissension between the general manager and the head coach.

“We have a head coach who was and is very eager to build the team through the draft. That’s something I also believe in,” Hunt said. “Carl, to his credit, was willing to let Herm take that path and had the scouting department in place to help Herm pursue that path in terms of building the team.”

With such a major overhaul of the team, having a steady leader at quarterback could have improved the development of other players. The few recognizable veterans in the locker room could have stepped up to provide leadership. The coach and general manager could work in tandem, instead of working in isolation. And Hunt, the new owner of the Chiefs, has not made a single hire of his own.

If the Chiefs have any chance at competing in 2009, the lack of leadership throughout this franchise must be addressed soon.

Fan Pulse: Chiefs fans can accept rebuilding, but the belief is that Peterson cannot. Nineteen years into the “five-year plan”, it’s time for Peterson to step aside and let Hunt hire a new general manager.

Fans desperately want to draft a young quarterback, but they also understand that the development of the other young players on offense is impeded through inexperience at the key leadership position. Neither Tyler Thigpen nor newly signed former Jaguars quarterback Quinn Gray will provide this necessary leadership.

Fantasy Football Impact: Scour the waiver wire each week to find players who face the Chiefs, and start them. The Jets' defense will be an excellent play this week. With Croyle and Huard out for the season, Gonzalez will be ineffective. No Chiefs player merits fantasy consideration.

Injury Watch: Croyle and backup Huard were both placed on season-ending injured reserve this week. Thigpen will start his second game of his career this week against the Jets. Expect Gray to be starting soon enough.
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About Kyle Anderson

Kyle Anderson is an avid sports fan of both professional and college football, as well as MLB. He is a high school history teacher and an adjunct history professor in suburban Kansas City. He earned a B.S.E. in Social Studies and Journalism as well as a M.A. in History from the University of...
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