New Chiefs Front Office Could Be Bad Fit For Former 1st Rounders

In the three drafts prior to Scott Pioli's arrival in Kansas City a few months ago, the Chiefs selected in the first round defensive end Tamba Hali, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

For varying reasons, all three players could be elsewhere a year from now. Pioli, who came to Kansas City from New England, hired Todd Haley to replace Herm Edwards, and Clancy Pendergast to rebuild a defense that lost its way in recent seasons under Gunther Cunningham. This includes a switch to the 3-4 defense, a scheme Pendergast had some success with during the Cardinals' 2008 late-season surge.

It also means that Dorsey and Hali, drafted specifically for the 4-3, could be poor personnel fits for the new system. For now, it sounds like Dorsey will move to defensive end (opposite '09 first-rounder, Tyson Jackson), and Hali will stand up and play outside linebacker.

Hali seems willing to make the switch -- he told the Kansas City Star's Adam Teicher that "They're trying me at different spots, but I've got to think (linebacker) is probably where they'll want me ... I can rush the passer and play the run while I'm playing linebacker. That's basically what I did at Penn State, so I'm excited about that."

But as Teicher points out, the new regime could choose to cut ties with Hali if things don't work out.

It might be the last chance for Hali to resurrect his career, at least in Kansas City. The Chiefs once pinned huge expectations to Hali, the first player they drafted after naming Herm Edwards as their coach three years ago.

The new administration of Haley and general manager Scott Pioli has no such allegiance to Hali. They drafted defensive linemen Tyson Jackson and Alex Magee with their two top draft picks and added veteran linebackers Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas.

In a previous post, Teicher suggested that Bowe's work ethic could determine his fate in Kansas City. Bowe was 30 minutes late for his very first practice as a member of the Chiefs, but he also was the team's best offensive player in each of his two NFL seasons.

And while I understand that the new regime might want to bring in "their players," and rid the club house of "shiftless layabouts" (and I'm speaking in generalities here, not about Bowe in particular), this is also worth considering: the Patriots -- Pioli's former employer -- had a lot of success taking fliers on players most teams considered not worth the trouble.

Corey Dillon and Randy Moss are two obvious examples. Bowe is Kenneth Parcell by comparison. All else equal, I'm guessing the Chiefs keep him around. As for Hali and Dorsey, well, that could be a different story.