With offense a mess, Chiefs fire four assistant coaches

By Chris Cluff  |   Wednesday, January 02, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Fantasy Football
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article!

After putting together one of the worst offenses in franchise history during a 4-12 season, the Kansas City Chiefs fired offensive coordinator Mike Solari and three other assistant coaches -- line coach John Matsko, receivers coach Charlie Joiner and running backs coach James Saxon.

Commentary: While they are looking for some new offensive coaches, the Chiefs might want to dig up a few linemen to block and figure out who is going to play quarterback because those are big reasons Kansas City scored a franchise-worst 226 points, rushed for just 1,248 yards (least in a non-strike season) and gave up 55 sacks (second most in team history) while averaging 276.8 yards per game (31st in the league).

Fantasy Football Impact: Behind a line that had lost Pro Bowl guard Will Shields and left tackle Willie Roaf to retirement over the past two years, Larry Johnson had nowhere to run for most of the season. And then he got hurt. So did both quarterbacks. The only guys who offered much fantasy value at all were tight end Tony Gonzalez, who somehow caught 99 passes for 1,172 yards and five touchdowns, and rookie receiver Dwayne Bowe, who caught 70 balls for 995 yards and five scores. Imagine if they had a quarterback to throw to them. And if the Chiefs don't find some linemen, they'll have the same problems next season.

Track all of the Chiefs' moves at RealFootball365.com.
Got something to say?

Sign Up and be the first to comment on this article! (0)

About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, ...
read more
Article Tools Share!   |  RSS  |  Bleacher Report About Bleacher Report