Sports Radio Interviews

Todd Haley And The Chiefs Ready To Take A Big Step Forward In 2010

It was an encouraging end to the 2009 season and an even more encouraging offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs. With that comes heightened expectations in what will be the second year of the Todd Haley era in KC.

Haley joined WHB in Kansas City for a lengthy interview before the start of training camp to talk about getting his team toughened up in camp, the hiring of Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel as coordinators, the $1 million dollar question about who will be calling plays this year, how Matt Cassell needs to improve just like the rest of the guys on the squad, how he thought Cassell played fairly well all things considered last year, the other transactions of the offseason, his mentor Bill Parcells, and what his thoughts are on the Chiefs’ schedule.

On practicing in the heat in Missouri and if he thinks that will be beneficial in the long run:

“Well people think a lot of different ways in that area. I’ve been a part of teams where we were practicing in the heat and places like Dallas where we went to California and it was very cool. I think the majority of us on our staff are kind of excited about that. It’s an opportunity to toughen the team if you will, and practice the way you knew training camp coming up. And kind of you’ve got keep a monitor on how things are going and how hot it really is and those kind of things. But I’m just excited. I’m excited to be close to home where a lot of fans can get out and see the Kansas City Chiefs.”

On just how much impact the hiring of Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel will have on the Chiefs:

“I don’t know if there’s a way to put a value on it. Hopefully everything goes according to plan but when things fell the way they did this offseason, no one was happier than me to get a couple….really the way the whole staff came together with guys that there’s a great deal of familiarity with, a great deal of experience, a great deal of positive experience – it’s hard to measure. On top of us all really kind of being very similar philosophically when it comes to football and coaching football – so everything went as smooth as possible this offseason for a pretty big transition. So if those indicators are true, I’m excited about getting going with a bunch of guys that know what to expect from me, and I know what to expect from them.”

On who will be in charge of play-calling duties – he or Charlie Weis:

“Well I want to be the head coach and I have a great deal of respect for Charlie as has been said a bunch. We shared an office for three years, and I was interested to see how things would go in the offseason, and when you’re out on the practice field in OTAs and something goes on and I think it and then I see him respond to it, it was really clear to me that those years together, you know, working really as close together as you can work, that we’re of a very mindset. So obviously again I have a great deal of trust in Charlie and I’m excited about that; I’m excited about working together to get this done. I would say he will be the predominant play caller, but me being the head coach and an offensive mind, where we’re both on the same page is we’re going to work together on this to make it go the way it needs to go.”

On how big a leap does he thinks Matt Cassell might and needs to take:

“Well I just think Matt’s no different than every other player on the team – everybody needs to be better. He’s obviously the quarterback so a lot falls on his shoulders, but we can’t have everything fall on his shoulders. He continued to make progress as last season went on; I believe he came into this offseason having continued to build on that. He now has a year of the system under his belt. Because we didn’t have to make any major changes, he’s very comfortable as far as that goes. We’re trying to put some pieces around him that can help him both as us putting them there and players developing and becoming better players to help their quarterback. So I just think Matt, like everybody else on this team, needs to make progress and continue to improve. And if he does that, then good things will happen for the Kansas City Chiefs.”

On what he thinks was so positive about the Chiefs’ offseason:

“I feel good in all areas. I think that’s a great point in that you can’t get everything that you want, so you try to do or get what you think helps you the most at that time. But again, the players having a year of familiarity of what I’m trying to get done as their head coach, and having their second offseason lifting, running, those types of things. The first offseason, it’s been made clear that I don’t think a lot of those guys were really ready for what was going to happen. Well, this year they were ready, so we were able to…we weren’t starting from scratch; we were building from where we were physically, which I think was huge for the players. And you know, hopefully it pays off for the players. Hopefully it means that a lot of guys stay healthy throughout the year which is a key. Again, this whole league is about developing the young players on your team and then assimilating and bringing in new players – whether they’re free agents or rookies – into the system and making that as smooth a transition as possible. When you’re young players are developing and when your new players are contributing, you have a chance to get better.”

On if there’s any bench mark in terms of improvements in the win column:

“No, I don’t think about it that way, but I think about it as we have to be better. No different than if we’re talking about individual players, you’re either going up or you’re going down. If you’re going up then that’s alright. This was a big project coming in last year, we knew that it had been a little bit of a struggle, we experienced some of that last year as a group. But again I think we made progress as the season went on, we went into this offseason and I feel like we made more progress, now training camp is the next step. We have to have a productive, good training camp as we get ready for this season and then continue, the next step will be September 13th.”

On what he thinks of the schedule at the outset:

“Schedule wise, I didn’t have an issue with the schedule. When last year’s schedule came out, it looked like a bit of a bear in year one. But the schedule is what it is. You know, teams that you think one thine of right now, you may think a completely different thing of when you get here. Cincinnati last year for example, you looked at that game on the schedule and you thought we got a chance, and by the time…as the season moves on, you find out that Cincinatti is one of the better teams in the league. So you just don’t know. I like some home games at the end, I’m excited about having a home game to start. I think it’s my first home opener as an assistant coach or a head coach in a long time. I think it goes back to Chicago that I was able to open at home. And obviously with the new Arrowhead and everything that’s gone up there, that’s a big thing for everybody involved, and that’s really what the mindset is for all of us.”

On what’s the maddest former boss Bill Parcells ever got at him:

“There’s so many of those. One happened in the draft room, one happened on the field, one happened at training camp….He got mad at me a lot. But he would always try to come to me and make up. Let the record state…And then he would follow it with I know you can do this because I know you can be good. Somehow it made me feel better temporarily….He was the greatest mentor you could have in any business.”

Listen here to Haley on WHB in Kansas City

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