Why Scott Pioli/George Kokinis Should Come To Kansas City
There are currently 3 teams that are searching for a new GM (Chiefs, Browns, and Broncos), and there are currently two super hot commodities out there for those positions (Scott Pioli, and George Kokinis). Why should either of them consider the Chiefs over one of those other two teams?
1. The Chiefs were 2-14 last year. Expectations are pretty low right now, so the new GM would have a couple of years to assemble his roster before fans started sour
ing on him. That is definitely not true in Denver, and may not be true in Cleveland considering they did have a playoff season just two years ago.
2. In 50 years, the Chiefs have had 4 General Managers. Some teams have that many GM’s in a single decade. This shows that the ownership is patient and will give you plenty of time to build the roster and execute your plan. If I were a candidate, this would be very important for me. I would want to know that I would be given every chance to succeed.
3. The Chiefs are poised to make a big turnaround as early as next season. While the team’s record was horrible this year, it’s not like the roster is completely devoid of talent. You have talented cornerbacks in Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, and Maurice Leggett, all young players. Tyler Thigpen came into his own and is at least a competitor for the starting QB job next year. Dwayne Bowe is a talented wide receiver, who on a better team would be a Pro Bowler. On the line is Branden Albert at left tackle and Brian Waters at left guard. I believe Tamba Hali will be better if he gets help on the line, and Glenn Dorsey as well.
Add to all that talent the number 3 pick in the draft and $30 million dollars worth of cap space, and this team can really improve next season. If they are able to trade Larry Johnson, they will get even more draft picks. Either way, I believe Johnson is done in KC. If not traded, he will most likely be released, freeing up more cap space. I don’t think they should trade Tony Gonzalez. If they are to make an improvement next year, I believe he has to be a part of it. There is no way any draft pick can come in here and have as big an impact as Tony does on this team.
4. The new GM will be able to choose his own head coach if he wishes. My feelings on whether or not they should do that are known, but I’m not going to be the new GM. Having that authority is obviously important. The Hunt family is well known for leaving those decisions to others and being more hands off than hands on. They are the Anti-Jerry Jones/Al Davis types.
I believe, for all these reasons stated above, that the Chiefs should be able to choose whomever they wish. If Pioli and Kokinis are really committed to winning, they should be able to see that the Chiefs offer them quite possibly the best chance at doing that quickly and for the long term. If money is their main concern, then I’m not sure they would be the right person for the job anyway. But if the Chiefs are competitive in this area, I believe we will get the best available person for the job, whether that be Pioli, Kokinis, or someone else.
January 11th, 2009 at 11:18 am
y does every body think that tamba is just help away from being good.. for a player to be great he has to be great with and without help. His time has come and gone is yet another peterson bust.. time to bring in some one who can pick players that might really have talent. herm is a great coach but i know that kc is not the place for him.. larry is done in kc. another peterson bust. he came in with a bad attitude and he will leave with one lets send him to lions and see how he feels then. He is not a great back.
January 11th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
When Tamba wasn’t the only end you had to worry about, he was good. Not great, but good. He recorded 15.5 sacks in his first two years. You can’t call that a bust. Nor can you call Larry Johnson a bust either. He had back to back 1700 yard seasons! What does it take to be a non-bust in your world?
I do grant you he has a bad attitude, and that is what is leading to his leaving Kansas City this offseason. And I do grant you that it was time for Peterson to go. But just because you didn’t like Peterson doesn’t mean every player he drafted was horrible.