Do Chiefs now have inside track for Cowher in 2010?

NFL Insider: Do Chiefs now have inside track for Cowher in 2010?
by Tony Grossi/Plain Dealer Reporter
Saturday January 17, 2009, 10:53 PM

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
If the Kansas City Chiefs and new GM Scott Pioli decide to go into the 2009 season with head coach Herm Edwards, it may be a move designed to keep Bill Cowher as an option for 2010.CLEVELAND --- At one point in his search to reorganize the Browns' football operations, owner Randy Lerner fantasized of a front office pairing of Bill Cowher and Scott Pioli.
Now there is speculation that the dream team could be made after all -- in Kansas City.

The instigator was Boomer Esiason, who sits beside Cowher on the set of CBS' "The NFL Today" pre-game show.

NFL.com's Adam Schefter reported Esiason said on his New York City radio show last week that he wouldn't be surprised if Pioli held off until 2010 to make a coaching change in his new job with the Chiefs. Then he would replace incumbent Herm Edwards with Cowher.

Thus begins the first official link of Cowher with a team in 2010.


Cowher was the Chiefs' defensive coordinator from 1989 to '91 and knows Kansas City is a passionate football city -- one of the requirements to lure him out of retirement. Esiason also said Pioli and Cowher are close friends.

It is believed Pioli is holding off on firing Edwards because his top choices were Kirk Ferentz, who is staying at Iowa, and Josh McDaniels, who was hired as Denver coach before Pioli took the Chiefs' job.


Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
A 2-14 record might seal the fate of most NFL head coaches, but the situation could be a little unusual in Kansas City for Herm Edwards.Supposedly, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt favors retaining Edwards, who has a year to go on his contract. Pioli probably figures the Chiefs won't be winners next year no matter who coaches them, so he just might keep Edwards.
There could be legs to this scenario if Edwards hangs on. What other justification can there be to keeping a coach who is 6-26 over his last two seasons and 19-45 over his last four, counting a final season with the Jets?

If all the speculation plays out and Cowher joins Pioli in Kansas City next year, it would be quite a blow to Browns fans who dreamed of landing a superstar, or two, in this latest Browns reboot.

More Pioli: Lerner has not publicly stated why he and Pioli could not reach an agreement.


Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (right) said he was overwhelmed by the qualifications of new GM Scott Pioli (left). Did Pioli and Browns owner Randy Lerner have a difficult interview? Sources around the league say that wasn't the case.A Boston Herald report that Pioli made "outrageous demands" was debunked by a source close to Lerner. The theory that Pioli would not agree to Lerner's insistence to name Eric Mangini as coach has not been shot down.
There's also a theory that Pioli gave a negative assessment of the Browns' roster and suggested the team's 4-12 2008 season was closer to reality than the 10-6 record of the year before.

A source said such an assessment by Pioli was never made to Lerner in the interview. The source said the men talked about philosophy of building the organization but never got into specifics about quality of the Browns' roster. That in itself is hard to believe.

Still more Pioli: It will be fascinating to track the progress of Kansas City under Pioli against the progress of the Browns under Mangini.

The Chiefs were 2-14 last year as the youngest team in the league. They don't have a long-term answer at quarterback, or any other position, for that matter.

In announcing Pioli as the team's general manager, Hunt said, "I was eager to get the best person and at the end of the day Scott was head and shoulders above everyone else we talked to. I went into the interview thinking there was no way that this individual could live up to the hype surrounding him. At the end of the interview, I was like, 'Wow.' Not only did he live up to it, he exceeded it."

Pioli promised no timetable in turning around the Chiefs.

"I know this football team from afar," he said to Kansas City reporters. "I don't know this football team from inside this building. Those are two very different things. When you see players do certain things on the field, if you don't know what they're being asked to do, you can't do a true evaluation on a football player. That's a big part of what needs to be done here in the coming days and weeks."

What about Denver and Detroit? McDaniels, who was one of four coaches interviewed by Lerner, takes over an 8-8 Denver team that lost a playoff game on the last day of the season.

The Broncos have a prolific offense and a young quarterback with a great arm in Jay Cutler. But their defense weighed down the franchise and coast Mike Shanahan his job. McDaniels quickly hired Mike Nolan, a proven, experienced coach, to rebuild his defense.

In Detroit, the Lions surprised no one by hiring Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Schwartz, another limb from the Bill Belichick tree in Cleveland, was scheduled to be interviewed by Lerner, but it was canceled after Lerner decided to hire Mangini.