Jason Whitlock Was for 'Jon Gruden to KC' ... Until He Spoke to Warren Sapp

Now that Scott Pioli has been named the Chiefs' new general manager, Herm Edwards can count on his fingers (and maybe his toes) the days until he's relieved of his head coaching duties.

Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock fired up the Jon Gruden-to-KC bandwagon as soon as the Bucs canned him, although that changed after a brief conversation with Warren Sapp, who played for Gruden from 2002-03.

"He would do a fine job in Kansas City," Sapp told me. "Why not? The thing that would really be exciting for Gruden in KC is that he'd have a strong-armed young quarterback to work with. Hell, Tyler Thigpen damn near saved Herm Edwards' job."

Yes, Thigpen exceeded expectations in Kansas City but let's not just start making stuff up; the Chiefs won twice. All season. I'm pretty sure nobody's job was saved after losing 14 of 16 games.

That's not to say that Thigpen isn't a legit NFL starter, even if he'll never be a franchise quarterback. And Pioli, who watched Matt Cassel fill in admirably for Tom Brady, certainly understands that.

Whitlock, on the other hand, isn't so sure.

Tyler Thigpen is not Kansas City's quarterback of the future. The Chiefs need to draft and develop a franchise quarterback.

"Well, Gruden has never groomed a young quarterback," Sapp acknowledged. "He's turned some into head cases."

Exactly. The former Buccaneer QB I talked to on Saturday made the same point. His contention was that Gruden is a perfect fit for a veteran team, not a young rebuilding club.

Too bad the Jets aren't interested, although the Cowboys could be an option, if only because there's nothing Jerry Jones might do that would surprise me. As to what actually happens, who knows? Maybe Gruden takes a year off and does television, or perhaps he's the next Mike Martz: a one-time smart guy who travels the country destroying NFL offenses one organization at a time.

Actually, I suspect Gruden will be back, possibly in 2009, and he'll be successful. Because a guy doesn't go 95-81 record, make five playoff appearances, and win a Super Bowl by accident.