Friday, February 6, 2009

Chiefs hire Haley; Jack Harry wrong

Posted by Justin Kendall on Fri, Feb 6, 2009 at 8:14 AM

click to enlarge Todd Haley
  • Todd Haley

It's a bad Friday morning for KSHB's Jack Harry. Harry's admittedly unconfirmed big scoop was wrong, wrong, wrong. Mike Shanahan is not the next coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kansas City Star
says the Chiefs have hired Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Haley's Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl but lost.

The Chiefs haven't confirmed the hire yet, but ESPN's Chris Mortensen says Haley is taking the job.

Here's the blog talk:

Arrowhead Addict: Breaking: Haley-Chiefs negotiations in final stages

Arrowhead Pride: Todd Haley is the Kansas City Chiefs' new head coach

Red Zone: The Chiefs weren't kidding with this business about going younger

Update: After the jump, the full news release.

FOR IMMEDIATE

RELEASE                                                                       

        February 6, 2009


TODD HALEY

NAMED KANSAS CITY CHIEFS HEAD COACH

 

        Kansas City Chiefs Chairman

Clark Hunt announced on Friday that Todd Haley has been named head coach. Haley

joins the team after spending the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator

of the Arizona Cardinals. At 41 years old, Haley becomes the second-youngest

head coach in franchise history.

        "We are very pleased to

welcome Todd to the Chiefs," Hunt said. "Todd is an outstanding football coach

with a proven track record of success at every stop in his career, and we look

forward to his leadership."

        "I am very excited that Todd

has accepted the position of head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs," General

Manager Scott Pioli said. "Todd is an outstanding football coach and he has been

an integral part of several very successful organizations.

        "Having worked with Todd in

New York from '97-99 and having been mentored by some of the same people, we

have a shared vision of what it takes to build a successful franchise in the

National Football League," Pioli continued. "He will bring passion, dedication

and energy to Kansas City, and I am confident that this is the beginning of a

partnership that will serve the Chiefs well."

        Haley said he was eager to

begin his work in Kansas City.

        "I am extremely excited and

proud to be a part of the Kansas City Chiefs family and the Kansas City

community," Haley said. "I am looking forward to working with Scott to

re-establish the winning tradition that the tremendous fans in Kansas City

deserve."

        Haley enters his 15th season

in the National Football League and his 13th campaign in a coaching capacity in

2009. He enjoyed previous NFL coaching

experience with Arizona (2007-08), Dallas (2004-06), Chicago (2001-03) and the

N.Y. Jets ('97-00), earning playoff berths with each of those franchises. He

helped the Cardinals win the NFC Championship and reach Super Bowl XLIII,

marking the first time the franchise had advanced to the NFL title game since

'47. Haley was also a member of Bill Parcells' N.Y. Jets staff that guided that

franchise to the '98 AFC Championship Game. It was during his tenure with the

Jets that he began his association with Pioli, who served as Director of Pro

Personnel for the Jets from '97-99.  

        Under Haley's guidance, the

Cardinals offense in 2008 was one of the league's most innovative and explosive

units. Arizona tied for third in the league in scoring, registering a

franchise-record 427 points (26.7 ppg). The Cardinals were fourth in total

offense, averaging 365.8 yards per game. Arizona was second in the league in

passing offense (292.1 ypg) and ranked sixth in the NFL with 20.5 first downs

per game.

        Haley's offensive unit in

Arizona featured a trio of Pro Bowl performers in 2008. QB Kurt Warner led all

NFC passers and established single-season franchise records with a 96.9 rating

and 30 TD passes. Warner threw for 377 yards and three TDs in Super Bowl XLIII.

Meanwhile, WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin formed the league's most

potent receiving tandem. Fitzgerald led all NFC receivers with 96 catches for

1,431 yards with 12 TDs. He enjoyed a seven-catch, 127-yard, two-TD performance

in Super Bowl XLIII and set NFL single-season postseason records for receptions

(30), receiving yards (546), TD receptions (seven) and 100-yard games (four)

during the 2008 playoffs. Boldin had 89 receptions for 1,038 yards with 11 TDs

during the regular season, while WR Steve Breaston had 77 receptions for 1,006

yards, making the Cardinals just the fifth team in NFL history to boast three

1,000-yard receivers in a single season. 

        Arizona's offensive resurgence

began when Haley joined

the Cardinals as offensive coordinator in 2007. That season the Cardinals ranked

fifth in the league in passing (254.1 ypg) and set a single-season franchise

record with 32 TD passes. Arizona also ranked second in the league with a 94.0

scoring percentage inside the Red Zone. The Cardinals ranked seventh in the

league in scoring by averaging 25.3 ppg after ranking 19th in that category in

2006 (19.6 ppg). The Cardinals also rose to 12th in total offense

(344.1 ypg) in 2007, an improvement of 31.6 ypg after ranking 18th in that

category one year earlier.

        He joined Ken Whisenhunt's

staff in Arizona after serving a three-year stint as Passing Game

Coordinator/Wide Receivers coach for Dallas (2004-06). In 2006, the Cowboys

offense ranked fourth in the NFL in passing (239.8 ypg) as QB Tony Romo

developed into a Pro Bowl performer in his first year as a starter and Dallas

qualified for the postseason. Haley's passing attack

helped the Cowboys finish fourth in the league in scoring (26.6 ppg) and second

in third-down efficiency at 48.8%. Dallas boasted a pair of 1,000-yard pass

catchers in WRs Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn. In 2005, Glenn averaged 18.3

yards per catch to tie for the NFL lead and posted 1,136 receiving yards, the

first 1,000-yard campaign by a member of the Cowboys since '99. In his debut

with the Cowboys in 2004, WR Keyshawn Johnson recorded 70 catches for 981 yards

with six TDs with Haley serving as his position coach. 

        Haley joined the Cowboys after a

three-year tour of duty as wide receivers coach for Chicago (2001-03) under head

coach Dick Jauron. In 2001, the Bears went 13-3 and won the NFC Central for the

first time since '90 as WR Marty Booker set a single-season franchise record

with 100 catches. Under Haley's tutelage a year a later, Booker became just the

second player in franchise annals to post back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns,

becoming Chicago's first Pro Bowl wide receiver since '71.

        His initial NFL experience

came as a member of the N.Y. Jets ('95-00), where he served as that club's wide

receivers coach from '99-00. In his initial season in that capacity, he helped

WR Keyshawn Johnson earn his second straight Pro Bowl berth as he accumulated

89

receptions for 1,170 yards and caught eight TDs in '99. Prior to becoming a

position coach, Haley worked as an offensive assistant/quality control coach for

Jets ('97-98), working closely

with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who currently serves as the head coach

at Notre Dame. Haley began his career with the Jets as an assistant in the

scouting department in '95, where he scouted

regionally for the team and assisted in player evaluations.

        Owning a distinguished football

pedigree, he is the son of Dick Haley, a 43-year NFL

veteran. After enjoying stints as the Director of Player Personnel for

Pittsburgh ('71-90) and the N.Y. Jets

('91-02), the elder Haley served as a

Personnel Consultant for the Jets (2003-07), and currently is a Player Personnel

Analyst for the Miami Dolphins. One of the architects of the great Steelers

teams of the 1970s, Haley's '74 draft class with Pittsburgh featured four Hall

of Famers - LB Jack Lambert, C Mike Webster, as well as WRs Lynn Swann and John

Stallworth. The elder Haley also selected Hall of Fame LB Jack Ham in '71 and

tabbed hall of Fame RB Franco Harris in '72, forming the nucleus of a team that

would claim four Super Bowl crowns over a six-year span from '74-79. The elder

Haley spent six seasons playing cornerback in the NFL with Washington ('59-60),

Minnesota ('61) and Pittsburgh ('61-64). 

        The younger

Haley spent his formative years in Pittsburgh, immersed in football with his

father and the Steelers organization. A former ballboy for the Steelers, Haley

spent many summers as a youth at training camp with the club, and frequently

watched film alongside his father. In attendance for many of the greatest games

in Steelers history, he later served as a member of the Steelers chain gain on

gamedays during his teenage years. He attended Upper St. Clair High School in

Pittsburgh, where he was a multi-sport standout.

       

Born on February 28, 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia, Haley was a member of the

collegiate golf squads at the University of Florida and the University of Miami

and participated in the NCAA golf tournament during his time at both schools. He

later earned a degree in Communications from the University of North Florida in

'91. Haley and his wife, Chrissy, have four daughters: Taylor, Peyton, Kady, and

Ella and one son, Richard Todd, Jr.


 

HALEY'S FOOTBALL

CAREER

Years                      Team

                                            Position

1995-00                  N.Y.

Jets                                       Scouting Assistant

('95-96)

                                                                                     

Offensive Assistant/Quality Control ('97-98)

                                                                                     

Wide Receivers ('99-00)

2001-03                  Chicago

Bears                              Wide Receivers

2004-06                  Dallas

Cowboys                            Passing Game Coordinator/Wide

Receivers

2007-08                  Arizona

Cardinals                          Offensive Coordinator

2009                       

Kansas City Chiefs                      Head Coach

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Comments (3)

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Holly Starr trumps Jack Harry yet again. Poor Jack Harry...him and Shawn Edwards oughta hang out with Podolack, Whitlock, guz, NASCAR comic store guy, and Michael Vick.

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Posted by Trevor on February 6, 2009 at 12:14 PM

When is Jack Harry right? He's the most negative person on the radio. Nice flat top buddy.

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Posted by DWV on February 6, 2009 at 11:00 AM

jack harry is like 90 percent smile

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Posted by guz on February 6, 2009 at 9:25 AM
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