Chiefs Blow Up Franchise to Rebuild It

RIVER FALLS, Wis. -- The Kansas City Chiefs have tumbled off the NFL's map and out of your consciousness. They no longer are an elite franchise, or even a competitive one. Six victories in two seasons will do that. Three playoff wins since 1969 tell you this isn't an organization that finishes well.

"It's broken,'' says new general manager Scott Pioli (pictured right, black shirt, with coach Todd Haley), the former Patriots personnel whiz who took over this reclamation project on Jan. 13. "We have a lot of work to do here. I'm exhausted at the end of the day, but energized when I wake up. I love what we're doing, what we're trying to build."

What he's undertaken is a demolition, from top to bottom.

Pioli famously refrains from interviews, but his so-called media blackout and bunker mentality in Kansas City is more about him eschewing the personal spotlight and placing an intense focus on rebuilding rather than enacting a policy shutting out reporters.

"I understand the curiosity. But I haven't done anything here yet,'' he says, throwing up his hands with a laugh.

And Pioli's task in Kansas City is daunting: Sort through the rubble and find direction and dignity, after two decades of "King" Carl Peterson's charismatic but ineffective reign over a city and a bombastic franchise that had grown too complacent, too stagnant.

The Chiefs had become masterful at feigning success. Their defenses were renowned for attacking the running back and sacking the quarterback, but three AFC West titles with identical 13-3 marks under Marty Schottenheimer and Dick Vermeil in the 1990s produced only two postseason victories.

Vermiel's '03 team, which went 13-3 in the regular season, was bounced following a bye week in the AFC divisional game by the Colts. That's emblematic of the malaise.

"I've been doing (Chiefs) radio for 25 years, so I have seen it all, what you've said," says Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson , who led the Chiefs to their AFL championships in 1962, '66 and '69 and their Super Bowl IV title in '69. "The good times would come, and then how we just couldn't get it accomplished in the playoffs. Geez, we would get a 13-3 record (in '03), the first week is a bye and still lose? All that stuff? Things really went wrong.

"Now they've gone down to the point where, hey, when you win six games in two years, it's clear you have big problems. It's not one thing or two things; it's several things."

A bloated front office filled with leeches and cronies. Equally bloated players who wanted the trappings of success -- money, stardom -- but weren't willing to work hard for it. No standout quarterback. A soft defense that quit in the fourth quarter, couldn't stop the run and produced an all-time league-low 10 sacks in 2008. A tumultuous ride under coach Herm Edwards' watch the past three seasons that pushed even the most loyal Chiefs fans to the brink of canceling season tickets.

Enter Pioli. The new GM, regarded among the finest talent evaluators in the NFL, has the pedigree custom built for his new role. As a wunderkind scouting assistant under Bill Belichick in Cleveland, a rising young pro personnel coordinator with the Ravens and, later, the director of pro personnel with the Jets, Pioli understands the art of rebuilding. He and his famous father-in-law, Bill Parcells, masterminded the Jets' turnaround from 1-15 in 1996 to 12-4 in '98.

The Pioli-Belichick personnel director/head coach tandem in New England produced 14 playoff victories over nine seasons, including 11 from 2003-07 and three Super Bowl wins from 2001-04.

Eager to put his own stamp on an organization, Pioli was in high demand as a GM following the Pats' perfect 2007 season and their 11-5 '08 run without injured quarterback Tom Brady. But Pioli embraced the Chiefs' plight after spending time with team owner Clark Hunt, son of the late, legendary AFL pioneer Lamar.

Both Pioli and Hunt are 44; old enough to appreciate tradition but young enough to embark on the bold changes necessary to return the Chiefs to the glory days of Dawson, Hank Stram, Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier and Buck Buchanan.

In rapid succession and with Hunt's blessing, Pioli wasted little time initiating changes. Edwards was fired. A fiery, in-demand young coach with a football background and work ethic equal to Pioli, Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley, was brought onboard.


And the two are assuming the role of Pioli/Parcells and Pioli/Belichick in Kansas City: Identifying and rewarding players who exhibit talent, work ethic and attitude, while weeding out the slackers and underachievers.

To anchor this foundation, Pioli and Haley -- who worked together for three seasons with the Jets -- sought out established veteran players who exude professionalism as well as skill, a process aided by the general manager's still-solid ties to Patriots and his intimate knowledge of their organization.

New England desperately needed to clear salary cap space to freshen the roster, and Brady's wildly successful replacement last season, quarterback Matt Cassel, was fair game: The Pats, covering all bases while assessing Brady's recovery from ACL reconstruction, had placed a $14.65 million franchise tag on Cassel.

Less obvious was the pricey contract situation of veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel, a 13-year veteran who was set to earn a $2.2 million base salary in 2009. Vrabel also had a $1 million roster bonus due right at the start of the 2009 league year. His cap figure was $4.393 million.

That helps explain why Pioli was able to obtain both players from Belichick for a second-round pick on Feb. 28. It was a deadline deal to get the Pats in cap compliance and give them badly needed breathing room to sign new players, and just smart bookkeeping on both sides.

Were the Chiefs crazy to sign Cassel, 27, to a six-year, $63 million contract? He was 11-5 last season as a starter after Brady went down with an ACL tear. Cassel twice threw for 400 yards in consecutive games, becoming only the fifth NFL quarterback to accomplish that.

Then again, Cassel was surrounded by exceptional talent all over the field, in particular, wide receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

"No one's denying that. And he could have screwed it up," Pioli says. "No one is recognizing that. He had a tremendous team around him, tremendous skill players around him. And by the way, he could have screwed it up. And he didn't."

Cassel, who was backup to Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC, takes this talk in stride.

"It's not like I'm going to apologize for the guys that were on the field with me (in New England)," Cassel says. "It's one of those situations where you could ask any quarterback around the league that had success, maybe even Kurt Warner and ask, 'Well, if you take away Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, are you going to have as much success?'

"I don't know. But at the same time, I'm confident in my abilities. The other thing that's really interesting is people say you're a "system guy," you're this or you're that. Well, last year when we were struggling a little bit it was Matt Cassel's fault. As I started to play better and things started to turn around for me in the season and I started to pick it up, well, then "he became a system guy."

The contract, the front office and the new quarterback say, is a two-way commitment.

"I'm honored and humbled by the commitment they've made to me," Cassel said Sunday, the first time he's publicly address the contract. "Obviously, I'm excited to be here for the long term. Throughout the entire offseason, you have to deal with that: Is it going to be a one-year deal or is it going to be a long-term deal? Now I can move forward and concentrate on football."

Besides Cassel and Vrabel, a proven playmaker, other building blocks were brought in: 14th-year linebacker Zach Thomas; 14-year wide receiver Bobby Engram; 12th-year guard Mike Goff; 10th-year safety Mike Brown.

"Why them? They're part of the foundation. We're trying to create this new culture, an understanding of the type of player we're looking for, that you want to reward," Pioli explains. "It's not just ability. It's professionalism. Players who believe in the true essence of professionalism.

"Once the head coach is hired, he's the leader -- I firmly believe that. Todd is the leader of this football team. When Todd is hired, it's now my job to bring the head coach quality players. They have to have the right personalities and be the right fit."

Thomas, who was so excited to sign with the retooling Chiefs that he flew to Kansas City on Easter Sunday, is positively rejuvenated. He's back at middle linebacker and eager to showcase his work ethic to the younger players.

"I love it here, what they're trying to do, what I can show these young guys. Everybody thinks they're going to play a long time. Sadly, that's not true," Thomas says. "The Chiefs giving me an opportunity to come here and be a leader, that's what you want as a player."

Says Engram, who also signed as a free agent: "I saw the moves that the Chiefs were making in the front office and it just looked like they had a whole new attitude about the organization. I wanted to be part of that. And it will be special if we can get this thing turned around like we hope we can."

Aging leaders can be a risk, Pioli concedes, but if they're managed properly, they can be the perfect complement to young stars such as wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.

"In order for them to have credibility in the locker room, people need to know that they can play,'' Pioli says of the veteran newcomers.

Hopefully, the experienced additions will be a role model for players such as defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, the Chiefs' underachieving '08 first-round pick who had one sack his rookie season and showed up so out of shape to camp in River Falls, he has yet to be cleared physically to practice with his teammates.

Haley, to his credit, is melding a no-nonsense coaching approach with an open mind. Every player is getting a fresh look -- especially perpetually disgruntled running back Larry Johnson, who has been nothing but positive and enthusiastic since arriving in River Falls.

"When I said a clean slate for everybody, I meant it," Haley says. "This is a fresh start for all of us, and from day one, Larry Johnson has done everything asked of him and more a lot of the time. From the first day of camp, it was nice to see him in pads and running hard and being the physical back he's capable of being. Going from what I see, I'm excited about the player."

In August, everyone's excited. January and February is when Hunt, Pioli and Haley hope to see the Chiefs sustain that fire and intensity, and turn it into meaningful football once again.