It was announced Monday that the Chiefs have relieved head coach Todd Haley of his duties with three games left in the 2011 season. Haley led the Chiefs to a division title last season, but it wasn't enough to retain his job after a rather disappointing season thus far, mainly due to season-ending injuries to quarterback Matt Cassel, running back Jamaal Charles, tight end Tony Moeaki and safety Eric Berry.
Following the Chiefs' 37-10 loss to the New York Jets, the Chiefs dropped to a 5-8 record behind back-up quarterback Tyler Palko, who has progressively gotten worse and worse since Cassel was placed on injured reserve. In their 27-point loss, the Chiefs committed 11 penalties for 128 yards, including a 15-yard penalty on Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct.
With his departure, Haley becomes just the second Chiefs head coach to lose his job during the season (Paul Wiggins in 1977 was the other one). He is also the second head coach to be fired this season, as the Jaguars fired Jack Del Rio last month.
Haley's job has been in question since training camp and he seemed to save it when the Chiefs won four in a row after dropping their first three games of the season. The Chiefs then lost games to the Dolphins and Raiders and Cassel went down with a season-ending injury and it has been downhill since then.
Since Palko took over the starting reins in Week 11, they have lost three of four, including a near-upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers three weeks ago. The Chiefs have also scored just two touchdowns since Palko took over as the team's starting quarterback.
Haley ultimately decided to work on conditioning during training camp, in hopes of cutting down the number of injuries. But somehow, it increased with losses to linebacker Brandon Siler in training camp and Moeaki in the Chiefs' preseason finale.
Eric Berry went down with a torn ACL in Week 1 against the Bills and the following week, Pro Bowler Jamaal Charles went down with a torn ligament in his left knee against Detroit. The losses piled up due to injuries and Haley's job was in question yet again.
And that led to his release on Monday.
Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said in a statement, "This was a difficult decision but one that we feel is best for the future of the Chiefs. Although there have been bright spots at different points this season, we have not made meaningful progress."
"We felt that it was necessary to make a change," Hunt said. "We appreciate Todd's contributions during his time with the club, and we wish him well in the future."
There is also a good chance that Haley's departure has to do with his friction with general manager Scott Pioli. It was no secret that the two did not like each other and one was eventually going to be fired and it turned out to be Haley, who really had no chance at coming back when the team lost Cassel.
Pioli has stated that he wants his team to be consistent and the Chiefs have been anything, but that this season. They started off the season by losing their first three games and then won their next four games. They would then proceed to lose four-in-a-row, followed by a win and another loss, thus leading to their 5-8 record."We believe change is important at this time," Pioli said on Monday, following the news of Haley's firing.
Haley leaves the Chiefs, the first NFL team he has ever coached, with a 19-27 record. The Chiefs are currently in turmoil, as they have regressed all season and it doesn't look like they have improved whatsoever.
Cassel hasn't seemed like the quarterback they were hoping for, while three offensive lineman are not likely to come back to Kansas City next season. Charles is still recovering from injury and may not put up the same numbers next season, as he did in 2010. Their receiving corps is good on paper, but unproven -- Bowe is the leading receiver and has been the most consistent player on the team. Breaston hasn't lived up to expectations and really isn't a No. 2 option, while Jonathan Baldwin is a rookie and hasn't put up gaudy numbers that Chiefs expected.
Haley was thought to be an offensive genius, but the Chiefs have struggled this season on that side of the ball -- they average 293.8 yards per game, which currently ranks 28th in the NFL. Their aerial attack also ranks 30th out of 32 teams and likely could be at the bottom at the end of the season if Palko remains their quarterback.
Haley was the offensive coordinator for the Cardinals when they reached the Super Bowl in 2008 and also had previous stints in Dallas, Chicago, and New York.
He is still likely to become a head coach elsewhere, as there could potentially be more teams letting go of their head coaches at season's end.
