Bills at Chiefs - Week 1 - Record: 0-1

Okay, let's just get this out of the way. No need to pull any punches, every Chiefs fan is thinking it, let's just be honest. Let's just get this thing over with and be done with.

It's time to fire Todd Haley.

What? After the first game of the season? Are you kidding me?

Now, who on earth is actually saying those words I just typed in underline right there? Maybe Clark Hunt, and maybe Scott Pioli, and maybe even Todd Haley's mom. But I really don't think anyone else is thinking those words. I really don't.

Let's look at the facts. And this is from someone who pays absolutely zero attention to anything else except the game. I don't read or hear any remarks from any columnist or announcer anywhere anyplace.

I'm just looking at the facts as they are out there on the bare naked field of play.

I have to start with the complete ineptitude of the entire coaching program, revealed in bright bold colors yesterday. This is 100% Todd Haley's responsibility. I can accept that maybe our guys were really, really affected by the lockout. What I can't accept is the catastrophe that was our attempt to overcome it. There is no reason in the world our guys should not have been better prepared for this one. Our exhibition efforts were abysmal and those who say the preseason means nothing only needs to look at the train wreck that is this team. How many of you could see this coming, watching us waddle around in the four "meaningless" games before the season opened?

What was that? Everyone? Everyone and his uncle could see this coming? What a surprise! (Bitter sarcasm purely intended.)

The fact that the offensive line coach was calling in the plays from the booth is something that just appalled me. The complete failure of Haley to get down precisely what he wants to do offensively through the couple of years he's been at the helm is inexusable. The fact that people like Charlie Weis have come and gone means we absolutely cannot get any coherence on offense. Did you see the train wreck out there on the field yesterday? (Whupp, I already used that metaphor, "train wreck," sorry -- 'cept that it's a pretty dang good one for this team so I may actually use it a few more times. Get ready.)

I guess my question is, don't these guys really want to coach for Haley? Chan Gailey, the guy coaching on the other side for the Bills, was unceremoniously fired by Haley and a lot was said about that. Why? Was there a lot more to it than just professional disagreement?

I can't really say, I'll give the guy that, there may be things about Haley that are very good and nice and positive. But when I look at Haley on the sidelines he just looks angry all the time, like he's going to have a meltdown if his idea or his play or his thing just doesn't work right -- that it is all about him. His whole demeanor just smacks of "this is all about me, so everybody make me look good."

Some may say this is just one game. But the fact (oh those facts) is that this is the third straight home game in which the Chiefs have been utterly, utterly blasted -- again, at home. Not just beaten but blasted. I felt awful for all the fans there, packed house at Arrowhead, ready to watch an at-least watchable game. The stadium was empty by the beginning of the fourth quarter.

This season is over, especially since we lost Eric Berry to an ACL injury. That is just a killer. The one guy who we can really put genuine hope in, the next Ronnie-Lott-Troy-Polamalu guy -- a real defensive playmaker -- gone. And gone after the very first scrimmage play of the game. Just unreal.

That makes it now four straight years of first picks in the draft who aren't going to have any real impact at all. The four? This year (Jonathan Baldwin who got injured in a fight in the locker room -- ahem, did you know your players were doing that Todd Haley?), last year (Berry), and the two previous years (Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey -- did you see our run defense yesterday? -- it'd be funny if I weren't so upset about my pathetic team right now.)

Um, sorry, but I'm just not going to go over all the systemic failures in yesterday's game. The loss of Eric Berry alone doesn't explain this train wreck (okay, I won't use it again...)

I'm just going to say this.

Clark. Clark Hunt, listen up.

Find a coach who really, actually, truly knows what he's doing. I happened to catch a bit of the 49ers game yesterday, the one that featured a Niners team whose management fired do-nothing coach Mike Singletary and went out and paid money to get do-something coach Jim Harbaugh. The very predictable result? They handled a good Seahawks team simply because they'd

Been coached.

Even if you can't get that guy right now, still: jettison Haley, get a decent interim guy to manage the team for right now, and be looking for the next studly sideline general. Who cares if we suck this year; in fact our only hope is to suck enough to get a high enough draft pick to select the top QB in the draft next year.

Come on you guys, Clark, Scott, any other major Chiefs personnel, please... have you no humanity. You have millions of fans who every week deck themselves in red and gold and all other Chiefs accoutrements no matter how silly. They adore your team, Clark.

Please, we all beg you, let's make the firmest of all firm commitments right now. Stop pissing away year after year after year of contention because we absolutely refuse to get a highly drafted quarterback and nurture him. Let's get a coach who can do what no other Chiefs coach in all of our history has been able to do:

Skillfully develop that guy.

Don't believe me? Look at the Indianapolis Colts. For every single year they have had Peyton Manning they have been on the lips of everyone who speaks of the top echelon teams in the NFL. Every single year. Yesterday was the first game in eons he didn't play and look. The Colts were right back to mediocre.

Now this blog post isn't about Matt Cassel. I like him, I really do.

But he will not get us to the promised land.

And he won't get us there especially when Todd Haley is our coach.

For the Chiefs to be a Super Bowl contending team, it is categorical. It is imperative. It is unequivocal. It is everything that is true factual actual and any other superlatively descriptive word that implies factitude:

We need a quarterback that will be in the Hall of Fame, and we need a coach that'll get him there.

It is that simple.

Sure these things don't just drop from the sky. It is very hard work and requires a ton of luck (which the Chiefs are soooo due to get in huge massive slabs). Sure we need great forbearance and patience from Clark, Scott, and all Chiefs fans.

But it has to start right now.

Again, who on this planet who even remotely have any affinity for the Chiefs isn't saying in no uncertain terms, "Fire Todd Haley now"?

Okay, so yeah, let's get to it...

Fire Todd Haley now!
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