Judgment day for Herm Edwards

Judgment day for Herm Edwards
January 14
Kansas City Star
"Herm Edwards presided over the two most dismal seasons of Chiefs football in 30 years. The Chiefs went 4-12 in 2007 and 2-14 in 2008, yet that might not have been the worst part of Edwards' three-year tenure.

If new general manager Scott Pioli, as expected, decides to make a coaching change, Edwards can trace his downfall to 2006, when the Chiefs actually made the playoffs.

The Chiefs' wild-card berth that season delayed Edwards' plan to overhaul an aging team, and by the time his program was fully put into place this year, he tried to implement it with too much youth too soon and failed.

"We had a plan," he reflected toward the end of a season-ending nine-game losing streak in 2007. "It just didn't come about."

Consequently, all signs indicate the Chiefs failed to make enough progress to retain Edwards, whose club lost 23 of the last 25 games.

When Edwards came to Kansas City in 2006, he inherited a 36-year-old quarterback in Trent Green, ancient cornerbacks in Ty Law and Patrick Surtain and some overmatched offensive tackles.

Once the 2006 season ended, the roster purge would begin.

But on the last day of the season, the Chiefs needed several scenarios to go their way to make the playoffs, including a victory over Jacksonville at Arrowhead Stadium and an unlikely Denver loss at home to a 6-9 San Francisco team.

That's exactly what happened. The Chiefs, 9-7, reached the postseason and were promptly dispatched 23-8 by the eventual Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts.

The taste of the postseason was intoxicating to then-president/general manager Carl Peterson and, to a certain extent, Edwards. So they tried patching up the team with the hope of being good enough to do it again. They signed veterans such as offensive tackle Damion McIntosh, linebackers Napoleon Harris and Donnie Edwards and defensive tackle Alfonso Boone, putting the rebuilding plan on hold.

It backfired.

The Chiefs got off to a 4-3 start in 2007, but injuries to running back Larry Johnson and quarterbacks Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle led to nine straight losses to finish the season. The Chiefs never recovered.

"Your expectations get built up when you get in the playoffs, which is fine," Edwards said late last season of the altered philosophy of 2007. "But as an organization, you know the reality of where you are. You get in the playoffs (in 2006), which was great, but it was basically the same team that was here before.""
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