SB Nation - Terrence Holt

Will the Pioli/Parcells/Haley Connection Bring Any Remaining Free Agents to the Chiefs?

Joel Thorman — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:37:19 -0000

Note: Primetime did the leg work on the tables and I did the writing. -Chris

If you're been reading Arrowhead Pride for a little while now, you know that Scott Pioli and Todd Haley are big on bringing in coaches and players that they've worked with before. Which makes perfect sense. It's a natural human instinct to take the known over the unknown.

It's gotten to the point where as soon as we hear of a new player the Chiefs have signed or are interested in, we look for the Pioli/Parcells/Haley connection and it's inevitably there.

Why look for a Bill Parcells connection in addition to a Pioli/Haley connection?

Well because the legendary coach has had some big time influence on the Chiefs current GM and head coach.

Todd Haley began his career as the New York Jets' wide receivers coach under Parcells in 1997. Haley also coached under Parcells from 2004 to 2005 as the wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, while Parcells was the head coach.

Todd is the son of Dick Haley, who is the current Player Personnel Analyst for the Miami Dolphins and former Director of Player Personnel for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets. Haley, his father Dick and Parcells all worked together in New York from 1997 to 1999. Haley was the Jets wide receiver coach; Parcells was the head coach; and Dick Haley as the Personnel Director.

Haley and Scott Pioli worked together from 1997 to 2000, when Pioli was the Director of Pro Personnel for the New York Jets.

As far as Parcells and Pioli go, both worked together in New York for the Jets in the late 1990s while Parcells was the head coach there. Oh, and Scott Pioli also married Bill Parcells' daughter. They're probably pretty tight.

So it's one big happy family over there at One Arrowhead Drive nowadays.

Every single coach hired by the new Kansas City Chiefs' brass has had some sort of Scott Piloli/Todd Haley/Bill Parcells connection.

Special teams coach Steve Hoffman (Parcells)
WR coach Dedric Ward (Haley, Parcells and Pioli)
Defensive quality control coach Pat Perles (Haley)
Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast (Haley)
Offensive line coach Bill Muir (Pioli and Haley)
LB coach Gary Gibbs (Parcells and Haley)
Joel Collier (Pioli)

It's the same thing with the free agents the Chiefs have signed this off season:

LB Monty Beisel - Played for Arizona in 2008 under Chiefs' DC Clancy Pendergast
QB Matt Cassel - Former New England Patriot under Pioli
WR Terrance Copper - Signed to the Cowboys by Bill Parcells when Todd Haley was working with the wide receivers
CB Travis Daniels - Former Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel, who coached under Belichick and Pioli in New England, traded for him prior to the 2008 campaign
WR Bobby Engram -Played for the Bears when Todd Haley worked with wide receivers
LB Darrell Robertson - New England practice squad in 2008 and a former Georgia Tech player under Chan Gailey
TE Sean Ryan - Played last year in Miami for Bill Parcells and for Haley and Parcells in Dallas from 2004 to 2005
TE Tony Curtis - Played for Haley and Parcells in Dallas from 2005 to 2006

Is that enough evidence that these guys prefer working with people they've worked with before?

It makes sense to take a look at who the top remaining free agents and see where the Pioli/Haley/Parcells connection is. It's likely that any future free agent signings will come from this group.

The top offensive and defensive free agents connected to Pioli, Haley and Parcells are after the jump.

Offense
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Pioli	Haley	Parcells
Rex Grossman	QB	6'1"	222	28		CHI 03-04
Lorenzo Neal	FB	5'11"	255	39		NYJ 97	NYJ 97
Marty Booker	WR	6'0"	212	32		CHI 01-03
Kelley Washington	WR	6'3"	218	29	NE 07-08
Jerame Tuman	TE	6'4"	255	33		AZ 08
Brandon Gorin	RT	6'6"	308	30	NE 03-05
Rob Petitti	RT	6'6"	347	26		DAL 05	DAL 05
Terrence Metcalf	G-T	6'3"	325	31		CHI 02-04
Evan Mathis	G	6'5"	304	27			MIA 08
Grey Ruegamer	G-C	6'4"	310	32	NE 00-02
Matt Lehr	G-C	6'3"	300	30			DAL 03-04
Edgerrin James	RB	6'0"	219	30		AZ 07-08

Back on Monday, I asked you what was the biggest positional need for the Chiefs after the draft. You responded by saying that wide receiver, offensive tackle and outside linebacker were the Chiefs' biggest needs.

WR Marty Booker has already had a workout with the Chiefs and left without a contract offer (We assume).

Former 3rd round pick Kelley Washington is an option too I guess, although I'm not sure what he would bring to the table considering his poor career numbers.

At best, I think any of the offensive line free agents out there would be back ups to our current crop of linemen.

The defensive free agents are pretty slim pickings as well. Check them out.

Defense
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Pioli	Haley	Parcells
La'Roi Glover	DT-NT	6'2"	285	34		DAL 05	DAL 03-05
Chris Cooper	DT-DE	6'5"	275	31		AZ 07	DAL 04
Vonnie Holliday	DT-DE	6'5"	290	33			MIA 08
Rosevelt Colvin	DE-LB	6'3"	250	31	NE 03-08	CHI 01-02
Ebenezer Ekuban	DE	6'3"	265	32			DAL 03
Derek Smith	ILB	6'2"	245	34			MIA 08
Junior Seau	ILB	6'3"	250	40	NE 06-08
Willie McGinest	OLB-DE	6'5"	270	37	NE 00-05
Mike Brown	S	5'10"	210	31		CHI 01-04
Rodney Harrison	S	6'1"	220	36	NE 03-08
Lawyer Milloy	S	6'0"	210	34	NE 00-03
Roy Williams	S	6'0"	235	28		DAL 05-06	DAL 03-06
Keith Davis	S	5'10"	193	30		DAL 05-06	DAL 03-06
Terrence Holt	S	6'2"	208	29		AZ 07
Cameron Worrell	S	5'11"	199	29		CHI 03-04
Mike Green	S	6'0"	195	32		CHI 01-04
Deltha O'Neal	CB	5'11"	194	32	NE 08
Jason Webster	CB	5'9"	187	31	NE 08
R.W. McQuarters	CB	5'10"	198	32		CHI 01-04
Lewis Sanders	CB	6'1"	190	29	NE 08
Aaron Glenn	CB	5'9"	185	36		NYJ 95-00, DAL 05-06	NYJ 97-99, DAL 05-06
Roderick Hood	DB	5'11"	198	27		AZ 07-08
Travis LaBoy	DE	6'3"	250	27		AZ 08

Considering that the top remaining linebackers are all over 34-years old and that the Chiefs have already signed two veteran LBs, I don't see the Chiefs signing Junior Seau, Willie McGinest or Derek Smith. McGinest could theoretically fill at defensive end in addition to linebacker but his age prohibits most investments in him.

S Keith Davis left KC without a contract offer after a private visit to KC back in March.

DE Travis LaBoy, like Primetime wrote this morning, really does seem to be the most viable option for the Chiefs on this list, although I'm not sure what the odds of him coming to KC truly are.

Last year, we would have crossed off any one on this list that was over the age of 27 but that's no longer the case. Now, with the draft over and compensation for many of these players at a minimum, we could be looking at more signings.

Would you like to see any of these free agents signed by the Kansas City Chiefs?

Poll

How many of these free agents will the Chiefs sign?

0

52 votes

1

108 votes

2

212 votes

3

154 votes

4

71 votes

5+

86 votes

683 votes | Poll has closed

Saints Free Agent Review - Linebacker and Secondary

Saintsational — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:00:09 -0000

The next big happening of the NFL off-season will be the beginning of the free agency signing period on February 27th. With that in mind, I figured we could take a look at all of Saints players who will become free agents this year. The coaching staff definitely has some tough decisions ahead of them. Let's try to put our finger on what the organization might have in store for these players.

First, a little briefing on the different levels of free agency, courtesy of the official NFLPA website.

Free agency rights depend on the number of "accrued seasons" the player has at the time his contract expires. An accrued season is a season in which the player has been on "full pay status" for six (6) or more regular season games. There are three categories of free agents:

1. Unrestricted: In a capped year, a player with four or more accrued seasons has unrestricted free agency rights. Five or more accrued seasons are required for unrestricted free agency in an uncapped year (1993 or the last year of the CBA). An unrestricted free agent may sign with any team. If the unrestricted free agent is not signed by June 1, his old club may offer him a contract with a 10% raise over his prior year's salary, and thereby obtain the exclusive right to re-sign him after July 15 if he has not signed elsewhere by then.

2. Restricted: A player with three but less than four accrued seasons (four but less than five in an uncapped year) can seek offers from other clubs after his contract expires, but he has only 60 days to do so (from around March 1 to mid-April). If he gets an offer, his old club must choose between matching it and retaining him, or letting him go to the new club in return for draft choice compensation. The draft choice compensation varies depending upon the offer the old club gives the player prior to becoming a restricted free agent.

3. Exclusive Rights: A player with an expiring contract who has less than three accrued seasons can only sign with his old club, provided that he is offered a one-year contract at the minimum salary for the upcoming year. If the exclusive rights free agent gets no such offer, he is completely free.

The first group of players we'll take a look at our the linebackers and secondary. The biggest priority on this list is, of course, Jonathan Vilma. But it's our secondary that needs help the most and quite a few players will have a chance at new deals. Let's see who will probably be around next season and who might be leaving the Saints when free agency begins.

Linebackers

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Marvin Mitchell

ERFA

As an exclusive rights free agent, the Saints only need to offer Mitchell the minimum salary to keep him on the payroll in 2009. Mitchell is still young and has upside so at that price I expect to see him around next year to compete for a spot.

CSC says: Keep him!

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Jonathan Vilma

UFA

I will cancel my season tickets and shut down CSC if Vilma is not re-signed within the first five minutes of the free agency period. There is no need to go at length on this topic. Vilma is the leader of this defense. Gregg Williams is in love with him. Only because of loop holes surrounding his trade does Vilma not already have a contract. This one is a lock.

CSC says: Keep him!

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Troy Evans

UFA

Evans contributed minimally last season at linebacker but he's valuable on special teams and that can sometimes be enough. It shouldn't cost too much to keep him around and I think he's one of those hard-working underdog types that coaches love. Definitely worth another look.

CSC says: Keep him!

Secondary

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Aaron Glenn

UFA

2009 needs to be the start of a new era for the Saints defense and an aging, injury-prone Glenn shouldn't fit into those plans. Other teams may not be interested either. It might be time for him to think about retiring to Florida and catching the early bird specials.

CSC says: See ya!

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Terrence Holt

UFA

If the Saints actually do draft a safety or two this year, it might get a little crowded in the backfield and Holt may be out of a job. Personally, I could care less about the future of Holt.

CSC says: See ya!

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Michael Lehan

UFA

Lehan was a late-season pick up to help fill a roster spot amid the Saints' ridiculous amount of injuries in 2008. I've never even seen this guy play. Have you?

CSC says: See ya!

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Leigh Torrence

RFA

Torrence is in the same boat as Lehan above. It won't cost much to keep him but I doubt he'll provide the much needed help this secondary craves so badly.

CSC says: See ya!

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Chris Reis

ERFA

The hard hitting Reis impressed enough in camp last year to earn a spot on the roster. The Saints will probably offer him the minimum and let him try and impress them again. He's great on special teams and could make for a valuable backup.

CSC says: Keep him!

Player

Position

Years Exp.

FA Status

Evaluation

Josh Bullocks

UFA

You are the weakest link. Goodbye. In all seriousness, if the Saints want to make a real stab at improving their secondary, particularly the safety spot, Josh Bullocks must go. Consider it addition by subtraction.

CSC says: See ya!

Poll

Other than Jonathan Vilma, signing which one of these players should be the Saints top priority?

Chris Reis

18 votes

Troy Evans

14 votes

Aaron Glenn

3 votes

Marvin Mitchell

18 votes

None of the above

36 votes

89 votes | Poll has closed