In Herm's Head

"I bet you my man here can beat you," Edwards said, referring to Krumrie. Edwards stuck the dollar bill to his forehead. For a guy this conservative, a dollar bet is big. "Tim is going to whoop you."

Recalling the race after practice November 7, Tyler won't say what happened next or who won. "He didn't get the best of me," is all he'll say.

On draft day, though, the Chiefs picked up Tyler in the third round and put him on the roster as a second-string defensive tackle.

Tyler tells the story about the bet with clear admiration for Edwards. Many of the players seem to share this feeling for their coach — something beyond the standard respect.

That close association with his players, however, could also be costing Edwards victories. Like many former players turned coaches, Edwards often builds a bond with his players that can blind his ability to judge when a starter should be pulled or when somebody isn't cutting it.

Since coming to the Chiefs, Edwards has regularly boasted that he has taken a liking to running back Larry Johnson. This year, that friendship seemed to help him ignore Johnson's lackluster performance. Johnson averaged just 3-1/2 yards per run and scored only four touchdowns before an injury sidelined him in the Packers game.

Behind Johnson was veteran Priest Holmes, who was coming back after a neck injury kept him out of the game for two years. Holmes says he met Edwards for the first time right after the Chiefs hired the new coach. Holmes was on injured reserve, and it looked as if he might never play again. When Holmes told Edwards that he wanted to come back, Edwards answered quickly: "I hope to see you back."

Just the same, while Johnson was healthy, Holmes carried the ball only seven times. Holmes and Edwards kept saying the rehabbed running back was ready to play, but it appeared Edwards' friendship with Johnson led the coach to favor him.

Likewise, Edwards stuck by his starting quarterback long after many observers called for a change. Huard had thrown only eight touchdowns — and 11 interceptions — before Edwards decided on November 12 to make Brodie Croyle the starter.

Even though Edwards hasn't given him much of a chance to win the starting job, Croyle has always been one to defend his coach. Croyle says he liked Edwards after their first meeting, during the 2006 Senior Bowl, a game for college players trying to make it into the NFL. Croyle says he figured out right away that Edwards was a players' coach. "He always says, 'You take care of me, and I'll take care of you.' He knows how to help people because he's done it himself."

Edwards also became attached to kicker Justin Medlock. The team drafted

Medlock this year and was so confident in his ability that it traded away veteran kicker Lawrence Tynes.

It would've been easy for Edwards to see a bit of himself in the rookie. Medlock grew up in Santa Clara, California, not far from Edwards' hometown of Seaside. Like Edwards, Medlock is the son of interracial parents. Edwards developed a bad reputation as a loudmouth in college; as a student at UCLA, Medlock pleaded guilty to a DUI charge after he ran into a call box on the highway and flipped his truck. And like Edwards, Medlock showed great promise, having made 70 of his 88 field-goal tries at UCLA.

Medlock struggled through training camp. During the preseason, he made only three of six field goals. There were signs that Medlock might not have the stomach to kick under the pressure of the NFL. Edwards not only kept him — he didn't invite any others kickers to compete in training camp. The Hard Knocks show caught Edwards reassuring Medlock that he shouldn't worry: The job was his.

"You can do this," Edwards told Medlock after another missed field goal. "You wouldn't be here if you couldn't."

In the first game of the season, Medlock choked on a 30-yarder. He made another, but it wasn't enough to save his job. The Chiefs cut him the next day.

It was a questionable move. Edwards seemed to be overreacting, as if to show that a players' coach could still drop the ax.

Medlock, having played just one game as a pro, is now back home in Santa Clara. Reached by phone recently, he said he still doesn't understand why a coach who told him the job was his cut him after one game. But he says he has no hard feelings toward Edwards. "It's just one of those things. It's part of the business."