SB Nation - Gary Stills

What do the Chiefs do with Haley, Assistant Coaches, and the Offensive Line in 2010?

Jon Yoon — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:12:35 -0000

More photos » by Reed Hoffmann - AP

Last week, I spoke about some of the moves the Chiefs need to make this offseason on offense, but the Quarterback and Receiver issue pretty much hijacked the entire discussion. I want to use this part of the column to round out that discussion by focusing on the Chiefs' offensive line. I also want to talk about the coaching staff and special teams.

What's really interesting about the scope of this discussion is that two months ago, the fans were stressed about the state of the offensive line but pretty psyched about the progress of the coaching staff. Today, it seems like the fans have flipped opinions.

Special Teams: Let me just get this part out of the way. Ryan Succop and Dustin Colquitt are clearly safe. Steve Hoffman has also quietly built an outstanding coverage unit around them and that coverage will only get better as the roster becomes deeper with talent (remember, when there is a lot more uncertainty on a roster, it becomes tougher to keep dedicated special teams specialists like Gary Stills on your roster). I sense that as the roster gets better, you'll see more Terrence Coppers on this team and that will make an already outstanding special teams unit even better. At the Kick Returner position, given that the Chiefs have a need for both a speed threat at wide receiver and a returner, don't be surprised to see the Chiefs try to kill two birds with one stone by bringing in a guy who can do both.

Offensive Tackle: I know there's been a lot of uproar about how the Chiefs must get the best offensive lineman on the board with the top pick, no questions asked. I couldn't disagree more. With a top 5 pick, the only position that carries any positional value is Left Tackle and while I am not a draft expert, I'm not really that wow'ed by the top Left Tackles on the board and I'm pleased enough with Branden Albert's progress over the last few weeks. If Branden Albert is indeed the answer at Left Tackle, then you absolutely, positively do NOT move him to any other position. Especially with your top 5 pick. On the right side, I don't see Ryan O'Callaghan ever progressing to the point where he would be considered a franchise Right Tackle. However, given the Chiefs' high urgency needs at multiple positions, I would have to think that finding O'Callaghan's replacement is pretty low on the priority list. That's a position that the Chiefs could probably fill through the later rounds of the draft. I am all in favor of bringing in a whole truckload of competitive options; I just don't think the Chiefs need to reach to get any specific one. The Chiefs should try to do better than O'Callaghan, but if he is the Chiefs' option in 2010, that's not a decision that will come back to haunt them.

Stays: Branden Albert (#1 LT), Ryan O'Callaghan (#2 RT), Barry Richardson (#2 LT)
Pick up: New starting RT either through free agency or around rounds 3-7/undrafted

Center: I don't know who will play Center for the Chiefs in 2010, but it had better not be Rudy Niswanger. Wade Smith might be an option, but I doubt it. There really isn't an option on the team that makes you do cartwheels. If I was to prioritize offensive line positions, I would have to say that bringing in a top-flight Center is easily at the top of the list. However, Rudy Niswanger will have a secure roster spot because he's fine as a backup and you have to like his flexibility to play both Guard and Center

Stays: Rudy Niswanger (#2 Center)
Pick-up: A higher draft pick (2nd-3rd round) or highly touted free agent

Guard: Guard is a position that I see as a pressing need, but not a pressing priority. Brian Waters isn't the Left Guard we thought he was when he was playing next to Willie Roaf, but he's still a good option. At Right Guard, Wade Smith really isn't a terrible option and there are some players on the roster who might make for interesting competition. I still think Rudi Niswanger could make a decent Guard, and you have two young players on the practice squad---Colin Brown and Darryl Harris---who might be able to compete in the offseason for the starting job. The Chiefs need to start thinking about bringing in a better player than Smith and an eventual replacement for Waters, but for now, the position is such a low level of priority that the Chiefs shouldn't consider an upgrade unless there is a Best Player Available (BPA) option in the 3^rd through 7^th round of the draft or a clear upgrade who slips into free agency.

Stays: Brian Waters (#1 LG), Wade Smith (#1 RG)
Potential In-house Replacements: Colin Brown, Darryl Harris
Pick-up: Either drafted potential #1 RG or free agent #1 RG, Potential replacement for Brian Waters at LG in 2-3 years via draft

Head Coach:

There's been a lot of talk about Todd Haley being a target for firing. I really hope that's not the case and given his contract, I don't think that will happen. Coaches need time to establish their program. It always reflects badly on an organization when they play musical chairs with their coaches. Oakland and Washington are two NFL markets that can never seem to establish continuity because they're continually changing systems and philosophies. Haley has made a lot of mistakes for sure, but most rookie head coaches do and I still think he would make considerably less mistakes if he wasn't wearing so many hats. The Chiefs need to hire an Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach and that's non-negotiable.

However, the clock has started to tick for Haley. The mistakes he's making now are unforgiveable in 2010. He has to become a better game manager. In his defense, a lot of his game management mistakes are situational. Haley has been over-aggressive on fourth down situations, but who's to say he'll be just as aggressive when this team is a little better? When you have an offense that struggles to put points on the board, sometimes you take a few more risks to score touchdowns. When you have a defense that can implode at any given second of a game, sometimes you have to be more aggressive about going for 7 to create some cushion for the defense.

I'm also becoming increasingly concerned about the team's lack of discipline. Haley was hyped up to be a disciplinarian and yet his team plays without any shred of discipline. Maybe the team has started to give up, but it's also quite possible that they don't buy what Haley is selling. Sometimes when you overthink, you become more prone to mistakes.

Assistant Coaches:

I've said from the beginning that the stupidest move the Chiefs made this offseason was to enter the season without an Offensive Coordinator or a Quarterbacks Coach and they are paying a price for it. How many times have we watched another team's sideline and saw a Quarterback make a mistake, then immediately consult with one of the Assistant Coaches. Cassel hasn't had that luxury. He's had to figure that all out on his own. He's a young QB who's had to coach himself, not only on mechanics, but on how to think through the game. It might also help Cassel to have a fall-back guy. When Haley tears Cassel apart for making a mistake, sometimes it helps to have another coach on the staff to turn to for help. I imagine Cassel doesn't have the same access to good coaching off the field either. The Chiefs bought a $60M product and didn't even equip themselves with a training manual. Unbelievable.

On other levels, rather than go into painstaking detail about each and every coach, let's just talk about the ones whose job security might be called into question. The two names that most often come up in discussions are Tim Krumrie and Bill Muir. In my opinion, Krumrie is a scapegoat of convenience. It started several years ago when he got negative publicity for running what many consider to be a useless combine drill. That escalated into hatred when he coached one of the worst defensive lines in football. In the fans' defense, Krumrie probably should have been canned along with Herm Edwards. But I was okay with keeping him on board because Scott Pioli, a completely neutral set of eyes with no tie to Herm Edwards or Carl Peterson, thought Krumrie was good enough to keep on his staff.

The question is, has the Defensive Line improved under Krumrie? My answer is "yes." Don't get me wrong. The Defensive Line still stinks, but you have to be careful about understanding why that's the case. We shouldn't judge Krumrie based on his ability to coach up players who don't have talent to play their respective position in the first place (Ron Edwards) or rookies who might not see improvement until 2010 (Tyson Jackson). Krumrie has taught his linemen to operate in an entirely different defense, and he has improved several of the players within it. Dorsey went from a non-factor last season to a fairly consistent disruptive force at a position that I still don't believe best fits his skill sets. Tamba Hali has improved by leaps and bounds in his role as a 3-4 OLB. Even Wallace Gilberry and Alex Magee have looked pretty good from time to time. In other words, when he has talent and the time to develop them, he hasn't done a poor job and maybe the 3-4 Defense is his sweet spot. If Dorsey and Hali continue to play at a high level, if Jackson plays better in his second season as Dorsey did, and if the Chiefs bring in a legit Nose Tackle (which they have to), the Defensive Line will be a strength for the Chiefs.

As for Muir, that's also a tough call to make. I never really liked him because I was never a fan of the offensive lines that he coached in the past. But like Krumrie, he's actually made a lot of progress with virtually nothing to work with. The Chiefs have horrible players on the offensive line. No amount of coaching is going to fix that. I do think Muir has done a surprisingly admirable job making a bad unit look increasingly better over the past several weeks.

At Wide Receivers coach, I'd expect a change here too. The Chiefs demoted Dedric Ward earlier in the season and plugged in Richie Anderson. I would be surprised if the Chiefs looked at Anderson as anything more than a stopgap, unless they plan to keep him as an Assistant coach somewhere else.

Finally, Clancy Pendergast. I don't like his defense. Behind all the shifts and moving people around, the defense still seems pretty vanilla. To this day, I still wonder if he was hired because he was the guy Pioli wanted or because he was the only one left late in the season. I sense it's the latter. I actually think Pendergast would make a terrific assistant coach, but more likely than not, he's not going to accept a demotion.

Stays: All Assistant Coaches except Pendergast
Goes: Clancy Pendergast, Dedric Ward
Pick up: Offensive and Defensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach, Wide Receivers Coach

I know it sounds like I'm not pushing for change. Between keeping continuity on the coaching staff

Former Rams populate the UFL

VanRam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:08:56 -0000

What? A football draft that didn't include three months of hype and 'round the clock analysis? The UFL held its innuagral player draft last night, and I think you're going to be surprised at some of the names.

Bledsoe, Sapp, Sanders, Suggs... Well, to be more specific, Fred Bledsoe, Cecil Sapp, Steve Sanders and Damon Suggs. But the rosters of the UFL's four teams have a some names Rams fans will recognize. Leading that list is none other than Adam Archuleta is playing for the as-yet-unnamed Las Vegas team, along with Gary Stills, a special teamer brought in by the Rams last year.

Not surprisingly, the Orlando team, coached by former Rams DC and interim head coach Jim Haslett, has quite a few former Rams...and Fred Bledsoe. LB Tim McGarigle, OT Rob Petitti, and CB Darius Vinnett all spent some time with the Rams during Haslett's tenure.

Drafted doesn't mean contracted to the UFL. According to their web site, these are players who worked out for the league this year, and they'll be offered contracts in the near future. The UFL will continue filling out their rosters in July and August, catching plenty of guys who get cut as NFL teams start shearing their rosters. That should keep some football players from having to use those communications degrees for a while at least.

New "United Football League" Initial Draft Includes Former Ravens

Bruce Raffel — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:07:15 -0000

The newly formed UFL, which is trying to cater to those cities that are either devoid of or "under-served" in their hunger for professional football, had their initial draft and the teams rosters include a bunch of former Baltimore Ravens.

This is the UFL's Mission Statement:

"To fulfill the unmet needs of football fans in major markets currently underserved by professional football by providing a high quality traditional football league comprised of world class professional football players. The UFL will serve the communities with pride, dedication and passion, and uphold a leadership role in the development of football worldwide. The UFL will provide every fan with an affordable, accessible, exciting and entertaining game experience."

The UFL will play in the fall and have four teams playing in seven cities. The four teams are Las Vegas, New York, Orlando and San Francisco, but they will also hold games in Hartford (CT), Los Angelos and Sacramento. Follow the "jump" to see the list of former Ravens drafted to play in the new league.

Here is a list of the former Raven players and their "new" teams in the UFL:

Gary Stills, LB (Las Vegas)

Obafemi Ayanbadejo, RB (San Francisco)

Brian Rimpf, T (San Francisco)

BJ Sams, WR (San Francisco)

Click here to see their web site and the league's info and entire rosters.

Former Chiefs Surfacing in the UFL Draft

Chris Thorman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:20:30 -0000

Primetime told us last night about former Kansas City Chief Gary Stills being drafted by the Las Vegas UFL team. That made me curious what other Chiefs were drafted by this upstart football league.

To get some background on this league, check out their Wiki page. Here is the full UFL draft list too.

Last night was the UFL draft. Here's how this league is filling out their rosters:

Each franchise selected 24 players and now owns the rights to those players if they choose to play in the United Football League. The UFL has already begun contacting the players listed below and expects to announce signings over the next few weeks. This list may be subject to change based on further player evaluations or additional player availability.

The remaining openings on each team's roster will be partially filled in July with players who coaches had previously identified and "reserved". The last invites for the 60-man opening camp rosters will go to players who have been released by the NFL during training camp; with divisional/regional preferences assigned to each of the inaugural four franchises.

The UFL has some big time coaching names associated with it's current four franchises, including Dennis Green, Jim Haslett and Jim Fassel.

So which former Chiefs were drafted last night?

DB Oliver Celestin

The 6th year player out of Texas Southern University was strictly a special teams player for the Chiefs in his only season last year with the team. Celestin is one of the three unrestricted free agents the Chiefs did not resign this off season.

T Ramiro Pruneda

Unless you're pretty hardcore into learning about practice squad guys (And you are if you read AP), you've probably never heard of Ramiro Pruneda. Way back in January 2007, Carl Peterson signed the "Pencil" out of Monterrey Tech in Monterrey, Mexico. I think this was supposed to be sort of a The Air Up There moment, with Carl Peterson playing the role of Kevin Bacon.

With a nickname like the Pencil, how didn't he succeed in the NFL?

Pruneda made it through training camp only to be cut on August 28th, 2007, right before the season started. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad, then the 49ers before drifting off into oblivion and now the UFL.

FB Ronnie Cruz

Mr. Cruz was supposed to be the heir to Tony Richardson's full back thrown and fill in at backup for Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson when he was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Richardson left for Minnesota before the 2006 season, making Cruz the Chiefs' #1 fullback.

Five weeks into the '06 season though, Ronnie Cruz blew out his knew and was put in IR for the rest of the season. He was let go before the start of the 2007 season.

And of course we have Gary Stills, who Primetime talked about last night. Note: I left out B.J. Sams. I don't really want to talk about him anyway.

Two former Chiefs who tried out for the UFL last weekend didn't get contracts. WR Bobby Sippio and QB Quinn Gray are still waiting on those UFL coaches to call.

Former Chiefs LB Gary Stills Drafted by Las Vegas UFL Team

Joel Thorman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:39:03 -0000

(Photo Source)

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The upstart United Football League is holding it's 24 round draft tonight and the yet-to-be-named Las Vegas franchise selected none other than former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker and special teams specialist (Hey, it's better than guru) Gary Stills.

Stills is a former third round draft pick of the Chiefs in the 1999 draft. He played with the team until 2005 after which he had a two year stint in Baltimore and one year in St. Louis.

In seven seasons in Kansas City, the former West Virginia alum appeared in 88 games with just one start amassing 119 tackles and 7.5 sacks. He managed his lone Pro Bowl appearance in 2003 based on his status as one of the best special teams coverage men in the game.

Of course, something else happened in that 2003 season. Let me paint the picture for you if you don't remember....

[PT went a little crazy and mixed up his Chiefs memories. Fixed...Chris]

The Chiefs were sitting on a 8-0 record playing the then 3-5 Cleveland Browns. Dante Hall, if you'll remember, was electric this season eventually tying the NFL record for kick and punt returns for touchdown. The Cleveland game gave Hall the opportunity to break the NFL record for kick returns for a touchdown in a single season.

After a Cleveland touchdown, Hall receives a kick and breaks the initial wave of defenders at which point most assumed he was gone. The Chiefs had blockers and when Hall got into the open, no one was going to touch him.

Enter Gary Stills.

Stills is leading the way for Hall as they break mid-field. One man to beat and Hall is gone, the Chiefs have the lead and the momentum.

Wait a minute...did Gary Stills just inexplicably just stop blocking for Dante Hall?

A celebratory and apparently moronic Gary Stills lets Cleveland defender Chris Crocker close in on Hall and makes an ankle tackle, stopping him short of the goal line.

If you'll recall (I can't find a specific YouTube video of this return but if you jump ahead to the 2:00 mark in this highlight reel you'll see the play), the missed block was blatantly obvious. One of the best special teamers in the game and he blew it. The Chiefs ended up killing the Browns 41 to 20 but Hall never got his single season kick return record to himself.

I did find some humorous irony to go along with this story. Here is Gary Stills talking about Dante Hall in December 2002:

"There've been any number of times we could have broken one this year. But there always seemed to be one guy who missed a block or (Hall) didn't make the right read."

Like you Gary.

49ers-Rams Wednesday Injury Report

Fooch — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:04:31 -0000

These last two games are not exactly barn-burners in the grand scheme of things, but I'd like to see some of the injured youngsters get healthy and get on the field for some meaningful action before the season ends. Among those are guys like Dashon Goldson and Josh Morgan. As you'll notice from the participation report, things are looking up for those two.

San Francisco 49ers
Did Not Participate in Practice: LB Ahmad Brooks (back), RB Frank Gore (back), CB Walt Harris (coach's decision), S Michael Lewis (abdomen), OT Adam Snyder (ankle)

Full Participation in Practice: KR/PR Allen Rossum (ankle), OT Joe Staley (ankle)

St. Louis Rams
Did Not Participate in Practice: K Josh Brown (groin), P Donnie Jones (illness), LB Gary Stills (knee)

Limited Participation in Practice: CB Jason Craft (back), DT La'Roi Glover (knee)

I can't see how, barring a re-injury, Goldson and Morgan won't be available on Sunday. Morgan played this past week, but Goldson was inactive. Goldson is the one I'm more impatient about due in large part to the poor play of Mark Roman. If Goldson is going to become the free safety next year, we need know what he can do.