KC Chiefs Name New Offensive Coordinator

by John Gennaro on Feb 3, 2011 10:04 AM PST in AFC West Updates

To replace the recently-departed Charlie Weis, the Kansas City Chiefs have promoted Offensive Line Coach Bill Muir to Offensive Coordinator. Any article covering this news is going to stress that Muir was the Offensive Coordinator once before, under Jon Gruden in Tampa Bay (they even won a Super Bowl together). A lot of people are going to look at that and say "Ooohh, Jon Gruden. ESPN told me that he's an Offensive Genius!" They're wrong.

First, let me share my personal standpoint on Jon Gruden, so that you know that I'm probably biased. I think Jon Gruden is a terrible football coach with a gigantic ego. I think he'd rather have a bad QB look good in his system, than a legitimately good one, just so he gets all the credit. I think he revels in the fact that his best teams were QB'd by guys who never really had much success without him (Chris Simms, Brad Johnson, Jeff Garcia).

I also think people ignore the fact that in 7 years with the Buccaneers, Gruden's team finished .500 or better only 4 times. That means that about half of the time, his teams were quite bad … but OMG let's give him total control over the team and the biggest contract in the history of football right now. He's so much better than Norv (4 straight seasons of .500 or better) because he had Derrick Brooks, Ronde Barber, John Lynch and Monte Kiffin handed to him on a silver platter! Long story short, I think Gruden is grossly over-rated.

So the fact that the Chiefs replaced Weis, who took their offense from 23rd in the league to 14th in 2010 (which is about where his Patriots-led offenses were annually), with Bill Muir, whose best Tampa offense in 7 seasons was still only 18th–best in the league, should be considered a good thing in the eyes of Chargers fans. Gruden pedigree or no Gruden pedigree.

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almost agree on Gruden

but he did do some pretty impressive things with the Raiders. Especially considering where they were before him and the depths they have been in since him.

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Feb 3, 2011 10:38 AM PST reply actions

I love the passion John

He may be over-rated by some, but he has had success in two places that have been known as perennial dumps either before he got there (TB) or after he left (Oak).

He deserves credit for guiding a team to a SB Championship and for making two bad teams look good (or at least convincing TB’s offense to put up a couple of points for that killer defense), but I don’t know enough about those respective teams from a Football Outsiders, sabermetrics (yes, I know) type point-of-view to say anything more.

The way I see it, there are two guys with SB rings that seem to be waiting for the right time to come back and the media is drooling over it. You can get mad at the media all you want but it’s not going to change the fact that Gruden and Cowher are “media-darlings” at this moment. Just try to keep it from getting to you.

On the actual topic, I think no Weis is a good thing for Chargers fans.

by Alex Bourque on Feb 3, 2011 11:46 AM PST reply actions

He may be over-rated by some, but he has had success in two places that have been known as perennial dumps either before he got there (TB) or after he left (Oak).

You do realize that Tampa was .500 or better for 5 seasons before Dungy left and Gruden took over, right? And that the year after their AFC Championship run the Raiders lost their start QB, RB and top two WRs (among many others)….right?

He deserves credit for guiding a team to a SB Championship and for making two bad teams look good (or at least convincing TB’s offense to put up a couple of points for that killer defense)

Did you know that there were only 3 teams with 12 wins that season? The Packers (choked on Favre interceptions in the playoffs vs Falcons), the Eagles (would’ve beaten Tampa if McNabb didn’t choke and throw a pick-six with 3 minutes left) and the Bucs. And I completely forgot to mention that they also had Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice (finally living up to potential for one season) on that defense. It was the league’s best defense, and the league’s 24th best offense.

Why does Gruden get credit for that team? For being an offensive genius? Barber, Sapp and Brooks are all hall of famers. Rice could’ve been if he stayed healthy and Lynch could possibly be one. If he DIDN’T win the Super Bowl with that team, it would’ve been a shock. The Super Bowl ring, as far as I’m concerned, goes to Monte Kiffin and whoever their GM was (Bruce Allen?)…..not Gruden. He’s a buffoon.

Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.

by John Gennaro on Feb 3, 2011 12:32 PM PST up reply actions

Simple as this

Gruden has had the talent and won the big games…… NORV has had the talent and not won the big games… In the end the .500 records mean nothing.

by Mikeswc on Feb 4, 2011 6:44 AM PST up reply actions

My understanding

is that Haley will be calling the plays.

My analysis: FAIL

by Cake or Death on Feb 3, 2011 12:39 PM PST reply actions

Never thought much of him as a play-caller, either.

Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.

by John Gennaro on Feb 3, 2011 12:43 PM PST up reply actions

He got lucky he had Warner on that AZ team.

"Watch out where the huskies go, don't you eat that yellow snow."- Zappa

by QuesaDiaz on Feb 3, 2011 1:43 PM PST up reply actions

and Fitzgerald and Boldin…..

Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.

by John Gennaro on Feb 3, 2011 2:24 PM PST up reply actions

MATT CASSEL IS A GIFT FROM THE GODS

KC IS SUPER BOWL BOUND

"Los Angeles is like San Diego’s older, uglier sister that has herpes." - Justin Halpern

creanium.net
Bolts from the Blue

by creanium on Feb 3, 2011 2:43 PM PST up reply actions

Hahaha

QB Rating with Haley calling plays: 69.9
QB Rating with Weis calling plays: 93.0

Fun!

Bolts from the Blue - Destroying your opinions with facts.

by John Gennaro on Feb 3, 2011 6:14 PM PST up reply actions

Exactly

my feelings. He got his head coaching job based on a knee-jerk reaction to the Superbowl appearance, which was mostly due to Warner, Boldin, and Fitzgerald. Those knee-jerk coaching hires are way too commonplace in the NFL, but it’s a league built on the hot-commodity.

by Cake or Death on Feb 3, 2011 6:27 PM PST up reply actions

Morris is overrated, Gruden, maybe not that much.

Gruden isn’t a bad coach, an offensive genius? He certainly isn’t, but he wasn’t at fault for the issues he had with the Buccaneers.

Bruce Allen never allowed Gruden to draft the guys he wanted. It’s said he wanted to get Brady Quinn, but instead they got draft bust Gaines Adams. I know Quinn is also a bust, but under Gruden, who knows what would happen if he ended in Tampa instead with the shitty Browns coaching, where he was benched after three games starting without being terrible in any of them.

Cadillac Williams seemed promising in his rookie season, then he went down to long term injuries.
Mark Clayton looked like a promising WR in his rookie season, but suddenly his production crashed.
Chris Simms looked like a promising QB in the beginning, but after a life-threatening injury he was never the same again.

Those were all 1rst and 2nd round picks that were meant to become starters, seemed to have the potential to be it, but they failed not for technical reasons.

I think Gruden had a lot of troubles that he had almost no control over and still managed to do okay with what he had, Garcia, Griese, Warrick Dunn, were stop gaps, but the Bucs needed them at time, for teh reasons above mentioned;

by CelloDG on Feb 4, 2011 12:13 PM PST reply actions

also remember that Gruden didn’t had first and second round picks in his first two seasons as Tampa Bay coach, because they were part of the deal that brought him to the Bucs in the first place.

by CelloDG on Feb 4, 2011 12:15 PM PST up reply actions