Larry Johnson released by Kansas City Chiefs / Image: Zuma Press

Head coach Todd Haley explained the decision making process during his presser today:

“Over the last couple of weeks, Scott (Pioli) and I have been spending a lot of time and energy, along with Clark Hunt, in talking about this and trying to figure out the direction that we wanted to go. We decided that it is the best interest of the Kansas City Chiefs organization to move forward at this time. It wasn’t any one thing. It was the totality of the situation, and even before I was around here. At this time, we felt that this was best for the Kansas City Chiefs as we moved forward and continue to turn this team in the direction we need to go. The totality of the situation was factored in. It was everything across the board, and again, what we felt was best for the Kansas City Chiefs.”

This was the right decision for the Chiefs. No team needs a distraction like this in their locker room. And Larry has pretty much burned every bridge he’s been on—during his college days at Penn State, and with two different coaches at Kansas City during his seven-year National Football League career. Which leads me to believe he will have a hard time finding work these days. Of course, any team with a desperate need at running back might take a chance on a player considered over-the-hill at his position. But I don’t expect Larry’s phone to be ringing off-the-hook.

Source: KCChiefs.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Kansas City Chiefs Release Larry Johnson

Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs / Photo: Newscom

After yesterday’s 37-7 drubbing at the hands of the San Diego Chargers, Larry went off on his Twitter, obviously belittling Chiefs head coach, Todd Haley, by writing:

“My father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches. My father played for the coach from ‘rememeber the titans’. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn.”

(OK, he doesn’t really know how to spell, either.)

In an unrelated but equally ill-considered tweet, he made a reference to someone’s Twitter profile picture, calling it a “fag pic” and referring to the person as a “Christopher street boy,” apparently a reference to a predominantly gay section in New York’s Greenwich Village. LJ’s Twitter profile has since been switched to private and some of the offending posts were deleted.

As if that wasn’t enough, he followed those Twitter remarks with a gay slur to reporters outside his locker today, saying: “Get your faggot asses out of here.” Nice, Larry. How old are you?

The Chiefs and the NFL are in the process of gathering all the facts in this mess. But LJ’s behavior is inexcusable. And because he has prior off-the-field incidents (he previously violated the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy and has since been involved in multiple incidents in which law enforcement was required to intervene), I expect the league to take serious action in this case. Larry’s an outstanding running back with a ton of talent, but who cares? Because he’s also a black eye for the NFL. The league can’t tolerate this kind of behavior from one of its players. And I’m sure they won’t.

Source: KansasCity.com, ESPN.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Larry Johnson Blasts Head Coach on Twitter

Derrick Thomas, Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009 / Photo: Newscom

No player had more sacks during the decade of 1990s than the 116.5 sacks by Derrick. He finished his career with 126.5 sacks which was the fourth highest total by a linebacker in NFL history. Derrick had 10 or more sacks in a season seven times and recorded multi-sack games 27 times during his 169-game career.

As with Bob Hayes, Derrick is sadly no longer with us. So Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson spoke on behalf of the Thomas family. Watching Derrick’s highlight reel reminded me what a dominant player he was. In fact, as far as putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, there were few better. Only Reggie White, Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor come to my mind as being on the same level with Derrick. I like how Derrick used to call out safety sacks before they would happen. Now that’s confidence. Derrick was simply a phenomenal defensive football player.

But Mr. Peterson made sure everyone knew about Derrick Thomas the person as well as the player. Derrick was a winner of the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award as well as the NFLPA’s Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award:

“As much as anything Derrick did on the football field, beyond the seven sacks in one game, and all the sacks in his career, and all the fumbles recovered, and all the tackles and touchdowns and safeties he made, it was his contribution off the field that stamped his time here on earth. He was certainly not a perfect man but I would ask whom of us is? He was a committed man. Committed to helping others. His list of accomplishments off the field had been widely chronicled.”

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Pro Football Hall of Fame: Derrick Thomas

Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs / Photo: Newscom

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli issued the following canned response statement with the news:

“We are happy to announce that the Chiefs and Matt have entered into a multi-year commitment. Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community. His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players.”

What Mr. Pioli really wanted to say was he hopes the Chiefs gambled all that money wisely.

Source: KCChiefs.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Matt Cassel Gets Six Years, $60 Million

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs also got linebacker Mike Vrabel from New England in exchange for their second-round pick (34th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft. The agreement is good only if both players pass their physicals, but I don’t think that will be an issue. Chiefs new GM Scott Pioli (formerly of the Patriots, of course) was thrilled to bring old faces into new places:

“I have a long history with both players. Mike and Matt are men that I respect both personally and professionally. I look forward to having them as new members of the Chiefs family.”

I am shocked that the Patriots gave up both players for only a second round Draft choice. I think this is an incredible steal for the Chiefs. Granted, Matt Cassel could be a “one season wonder” and Mike Vrabel is in the twilight of his career, but this has the potential to be a very big deal for the Chiefs.

I knew the Patriots weren’t going to keep Matt around as a $14.5 million backup to Tom Brady. So they must be very secure that Tom’s knee rehab is going well. Matt had a great season by anyone’s standards last year (3,693 yards and 21 TDs to only 11 INTs). So, why let him go for so little — especially with what appeared to be a high demand for his services this offseason?

The Kansas City Chiefs, though, are an organization headed in the right direction in a hurry. After finishing the 2008 season with a dismal 2-14 record, they fired head coach Herm Edwards (one of my favorite head coaches, by the way) and brought in aforementioned general manager Scott Pioli to help get things going in the right direction. I’d say he’s doing a great job so far. And that’s what I expected. He hired new head coach Todd Haley just days after coach Haley’s Arizona Cardinals lost Super Bowl XLIII. He’ll be an outstanding young head coach in this league. And with the additions of Cassel and Vrabel, the Chiefs are on the road to greatly improving their personnel. Just like that the Kansas City Chiefs are ready to contend in the AFC West.

Source: KCChiefs.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Patriots Trade Matt Cassel to Chiefs

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley was named the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs today. Even though he’s only 41 years old, this will be his 14th season as a coach (Arizona, Dallas, Chicago, N.Y. Jets). Coach Haley will bring an offensive mind to Kansas City. Look what he did in AZ this past season — tied for third in the league in scoring, a franchise-record 427 points and the Cardinals were fourth in total offense, second in the league in passing offense (292.1 ypg) and sixth in the NFL with 20.5 first downs per game. In an intro presser today, coach Haley said:

“I am extremely excited and proud to be a part of the Kansas City Chiefs family and the Kansas City community. I am looking forward to working with Scott to re-establish the winning tradition that the tremendous fans in Kansas City deserve.”

I think this is a great fit for the Chiefs. I believe Coach Haley’s biggest strength is helping players improve and now he’ll get a chance to lead an entire organization (along with GM Scott Pioli) on the road to improvement. Inheriting a 2-14 football team might seem like a monumental task for coach Haley, but when you consider what the Miami Dolphins did last season (winning one game in 2007 to making the playoffs in 2008), a complete turnaround in one season is not impossible. Consider also that the Chiefs lost a total of nine games by a touchdown or less and things aren’t quite as bad as they appear on the surface. Sure, the Chiefs will need to upgrade their talent at a variety of positions via free agency and the Draft, but Coach Haley already has some great talent to work with, especially on the offensive side of the ball starting at the most important position on the team with second year quarterback Tyler Thigpen. Remember, Tyler had more touchdown passes (18) than either Joe Flacco (Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year) or Matt Ryan (AP Rookie of the Year) last season. Under coach Haley he could really flourish.

Source: KCChiefs.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Todd Haley Named Head Coach of Chiefs

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

A record 11th NFL team will be looking for a new head coach this offseason. The Kansas City Chiefs fired head coach Herm Edwards today. New GM Scott Pioli arrived last week and he and coach Edwards have had a number of conversations since that evidently didn’t produce what Mr. Pioli felt was a workable relationship. So he decided to go in a different direction, understanding that the Chiefs were parting ways with what he described as “a great man and a tremendous football coach.” I couldn’t agree more. I’m a Herm Edwards fan. But a 15-33 regular season record after three years isn’t really getting the job done, so I’m not all bent out of shape about the Chiefs searching for a new head coach. Being the class act that he is, Coach Edwards took the time to release the following statement:

“First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Hunt Family for the opportunity to spend nine seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve as the head coach of ‘Lamar’s Team’ the past three seasons. Lamar was a special, special man, who provided tremendous opportunities to so many, myself included.

“There is not a more gracious family in all of professional sports than the Hunts. To Norma, Clark and Tavia, Lamar, Jr. and Rita, Sharron and David, and Dan, I would like to thank them for all of them for the encouragement and many kindnesses they extended to me, my wife, Lia, and our entire family over the years. The Chiefs franchise is clearly in good hands for many years to come under Clark’s leadership. I have no doubt that Clark and Scott Pioli will continue to steer the Chiefs in the right direction.

“I would be remiss if I did not thank Carl Peterson for his support and friendship over the years. He gave me my first opportunity as a player in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also gave me a chance to coach in the league both as an assistant and as a head coach. What a remarkably positive impact Carl made on the lives of so many.

“There are many fine, fine people in the Kansas City Chiefs organization too numerous to mention who worked so tirelessly to help our football team. I am fortunate to call so many of them friends. I am a better man and a better coach in so many ways because of them. Hopefully, they feel the same way because of our time together.

“Finally, to the players and coaches who worked so hard for our team, I appreciate their efforts. This is going to be a very good football team. The support of Chiefs fans across the country has been tremendous. They are truly passionate about their football team. Chiefs fans will be proud to cheer for this team for many years to come. With the tremendous nucleus of young talent on this roster, I sincerely believe that his team is poised to do great things. I respect the tough decision that was made to move in a new direction. I wish the players and the organization the very best as they move forward.”

As far as a replacement for coach Edwards, negotiations are apparently underway between the Chiefs and former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan. No comment from the Chiefs on this yet, but if a deal gets done, coach Shanahan will need to give up some of his control to Mr. Pioli.

Sources: KCChiefs.com, ESPN.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Chiefs Fire Head Coach Herm Edwards

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Adam “Pacman” Jones appeared on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” this morning, being interviewed by Stephen A. Smith. He had a similar interview with CBS Sports’ James Brown yesterday and said he expected to be employed by an NFL team next season — maybe even with the Dallas Cowboys. I think Adam is being extremely optimistic. Unless the Oakland Raiders come calling, I don’t think any other team is that nuts for a pretty average, troublemaking cornerback/kick returner. Maybe the UFL is interested?

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Pacman Thinks He’ll Play in 2009

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson received a one game suspension (without pay, which is $147,000) for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. Larry was deactivated the past two weeks by head coach Herm Edwards and he will also be held out of a third game this Sunday against Tampa Bay. The game he’ll miss because of the suspension is November 9 at San Diego. Larry is not allowed to report back to the team until November 10. Chiefs president Carl Peterson made the following statement today:

“We respect the decision of commissioner Goodell. The NFL player conduct policy sets forth a set of standards that all NFL players, coaches and staff members must abide by. Upon the completion of his suspension we sincerely hope that Larry will be ready to return to the field for the Chiefs determined to make a positive contribution to our team and, with the assistance of the people around him, turn his life around.”

This is the best thing that could’ve happened to Larry. He’s a good guy from a good family. I believe he’ll prove that. Larry knows his life has been kind of spiraling out of control. And this was his wake-up call.

Source: KCChiefs.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

NFL Suspends Larry Johnson

Here’s an interesting one. Recently unretired quarterback Daunte Culpepper was scheduled to meet with the Kansas City Chiefs tomorrow to get a physical and discuss the possibility of a contract. He canceled that visit and told the Chiefs he has a better opportunity with another team. Which team? I have no idea, but last week he told all 32 NFL teams he not only wanted to sign a contract for more than just the rest of this season, he also wanted a 2009 payment of $10 million or more. That’s laughable. I think he has since agreed to negotiate for less. Daunte seems pretty picky for someone without a job. Maybe he’s holding out for a management position.

Source: Fox Sports

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Daunte Culpepper Cancels Visit With Chiefs